Samsung is one of the world's top makers of home entertainment gear, so it's no surprise that the company has been working on a range of headphones. Earlier this month at Samsung's headquarters in Suwon, Korea, I got to try the new Level headphones on and talk to the designers.

The Level headphones come in three models, plus a Bluetooth speaker. The Level Over is clearly the flagship: big, cushiony over-the-ear cans with a padded headband. I found them very comfortable. The outside faces of the headphones are touchpads; you stroke them to change the volume or pause the music. They pair with other devices by NFC (tap to pair), they have active noise cancellation, and they work in Bluetooth lossless Apt-X or wired modes. The headphones have 30 hours of Bluetooth battery life with noise cancellation off.

Samsung made a big deal about its 50mm neodymium driver, which it says provides "more natural" sound. The sound was rich, absorbing, and didn't overly play up the bass. My notes include the words "bell-like" and "crystalline." Are these nice headphones? You bet. Price will be very relevant.

I was less entranced with the Level On, on-ear headphones, which hurt my ears after just a few minutes. The problem, as I've found with other on-ear headphones like the Beats Solo series, is that the stiff headband squeezed my head very tightly. Level On has 40mm drivers and no touchpads on the outside; I found the sound to be good, but not as immersive as the larger Level Overs provided.

Finally there was Level In, Samsung's premium earbuds. These also have a very clean sound, with a lot of midrange and lower high-end; Samsung wants us to know about its three built-in speakers for different frequencies, which aren't a unique innovation. More importantly, I found them comfortable, and they have volume controls on the cable. The earbuds come with four silicon and three memory foam eartips, a good selection.

Samsung's Level Box is a metal Bluetooth speaker/speakerphone box that I didn't get to try; it looks like yet another tap-to-pair, NFC-capable wireless speaker, so we'll have to get it into the labs to find out if it's really special.

This isn't anywhere near Samsung's first attempt at releasing headphones or Bluetooth speakers; the company has released some great-looking units like the DA-E750 with its visible vacuum tubes. It hasn't made its mark with sound quality, though. Our reviewers found the current Shape M7 home speaker system and HW-E550 speaker set to be stars in the design department, but skimpy on the audio high end. Level is an attempt to change that rep.

The Level headphones currently have no plans for a U.S. release, which is strange, but Samsung says they'll come to the U.S. eventually. We'll keep our ears peeled.

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