Last Updated on July 9, 2023
From time to time, Aldi rolls out headphones. Many of them are under Aldi’s Bauhn label (including earbuds), but the grocer occasionally brings in kids’ headphones that are not a house brand. These are an example.
Click to enlarge.
The Disney and Marvel Kids’ Licensed Headphones, which we picked up during the Christmas shopping season, retailed for $14.99 at the time of this post. They’re made by eKids, a company that seems to specialize in licensed technology. Accordingly, these headphones are not an Aldi exclusive: they can be found on Amazon or at various big box retailers. The Amazon reviews are middling at best, though the headphones do come with a 1-year warranty. Aldi also gets credit for selling these at one of the cheaper prices you’ll find.
In the year we tried them out, Aldi sold four different variations: Spider-Man, Star Wars, Shopkins, and Minnie Mouse. They all look pretty cool, and we were particularly impressed with the Star Wars and Minnie Mouse versions; the Star Wars headphones have really nifty textured Millenium Falcons on the ear pieces, while the Minnie Mouse headphones have a giant pink bow atop them. They’ve got other cool little details, too, which indicate to me that someone gave the look of these more than a passing thought.
With a big pink bow. (Click to enlarge.)
They look even cooler in person. (Click to enlarge.)
Parents will also appreciate the switch on one side that can be used to limit the volume. The packaging and instructions even offer some guidance on what levels are best for what devices, although there’s no substitute for actually testing them out yourself.
So they look good, and the sound is both decent and adjustable to prevent kids from damaging their eardrums. All good.
Except one big problem … or more accurately, a small problem.
These headphones aren’t very big. At all. We tested them on a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old; they fit the 6-year-old fine, but they were too small for the 9-year-old. This is a serious disappointment; it would seem to us that licensed headphones ought to be good at least through elementary school students, but these are not. Our 9-year-old shared in the disappointment; she was really excited about the Star Wars headphones and really let down by the size. That’s a fail in our book.
The Verdict:
These headphones should be a home run. They look cool, sound pretty good, have a switch for parents to control volume, are backed with a 1-year warranty, and only cost $14.99. But they’re also far too small, in our view. Preschool and lower elementary kids might be able to use them, but upper elementary is most certainly out. Be aware of that before buying them.
