Review: blueLounge’s Posto is the handsome headphone stand you can still afford after buying Beats
When the iPod was surging, full-sized headphones were flailing. For decades, big “cans” were the only proper way to quietly listen to the massive audio players stored in home A/V cabinets. But by 2006, portable audio devices were king, and their pocketable little white earbuds were everywhere. Then Beats by Dre came along and convinced people that big headphones were worth buying again, even for portable media players. Beats’ signature Studio headphones aren’t as easy to carry around as little earbuds, but as their growing popularity demonstrates, people haven’t seemed to mind.
blueLounge’s new Posto ($20) is the latest in a series of “big headphone” stands made by Apple accessory companies. I’ve previously tested heavy, all-metal options such as Just Mobile’s HeadStand, which hover around the $50 price point and — to their credit — try to do one or two nice little things to justify that sort of price point. There are also cheap headphone stands that tend to look… cheap. Posto is clearly the result of a different theory of design. The black version is made from several different materials that somehow look nearly indistinguishable from one another, reducing the cost, weight, and assembly challenges found in other headphone stands. (A white and silver version uses different-looking parts.) Consequently, Posto works much the same as HeadStand, but costs less than half the price. If you’ve just dropped $250 or more on a pair of big headphones, Posto lets you manage them without breaking the bank…