iClever IC-HS25 (Meow Lollipop) Review

iClever IC-HS25 are cute headphones for kids and toddlers who love cat ears and want to look cool in front of their friends. They’re also relatively safe regarding max loudness but lack a built-in microphone and an even quieter volume limit (like 75 dBA).

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• List price (MSRP): $19.99
• Manufacturer: iClever

Category ratings:

Related: Best kids headphones – Best headphones for toddlers – Best headphones under $30

Our Conclusion

iClever IC-HS25 (or iClever Meow Lollipop) are definitely the cutest of them all. They come in pink and purple colors with stars and extra kitten stickers to beautify the exterior.

Most importantly, the cat ears light up, shining solid or blinking in red, blue, and green at different speeds. Of course, headphones’ maximum loudness is also limited to 85 dBA, but more on loudness measurements later.

Furthermore, a wired connection can be a bonus, as some parents are concerned about Bluetooth radiation exposure. You can learn more about that in our in-depth article.

While cute and all, these headphones lack a few essential features that would make them more versatile, like a quieter 75 dBA mode and a built-in microphone for video calls and homeschooling.

Can you forget the lack of those features at $20, or should you get something else instead? Let’s go in-depth and compare them to competitors.

Pros & Cons

Compare to similar headphones

1.

Model iClever IC-HS25 Meow Lollipop

$19.99 at Amazon.com

Sonic9Score 3.0

Cute cat-ear headphones with balanced sound & accurate limiters but questinable durability

Sound rating 3.5

Comfort & fit rating 4.0

Durability rating 2.0

Features rating 3.0

Noise isolation rating 2.5

Value rating 3.0

2.

Model iClever BTH18

$9.69 at eBay $26.99 at Amazon.com

Sonic9Score 3.9

Fun, comfortable kids' headphones with cool RGB effects but too loud volume limiters

Sound rating 3.5

Comfort & fit rating 4.5

Durability rating 3.0

Features rating 4.5

Noise isolation rating 3.5

Value rating 4.0

3.

Model BuddyPhones Play+

$37.20 at Amazon.com $37.20 at Walmart.com $49.99 at Buddyphones.com

Sonic9Score 3.4

Affordable kids' headphones with 3 volume modes & a study mode

Sound rating 3.5

Comfort & fit rating 4.0

Durability rating 2.5

Features rating 4.0

Noise isolation rating 3.0

Value rating 4.5

4.

Model BuddyPhones School+

$14.75 at eBay $29.99 at Buddyphones.com at Amazon.com

Sonic9Score 3.1

Bright-sounding yet balanced headphones with detachable boom mic for homeschooling

Sound rating 2.0

Comfort & fit rating 4.0

Durability rating 2.5

Features rating 4.0

Noise isolation rating 2.0

Value rating 4.0

Our Analysis and Test Results

iClever IC-HS25 performed pretty well in our tests, most notably in frequency response and maximum loudness tests. While slightly louder than advertised, they’re still safe for kids to listen to, even though we would prefer to see a 75 dBA mode, too.

On the other hand, the noise isolation tests confirmed that on-ear headphones simply aren’t cut for blocking outside sounds.

Sound

3.5 Almost Great

iClever IC-HS25 have a very balanced sound signature with slightly bright vocals, but they never verge on the sibilance. They’re great for listening to all music genres.

Key points:

• Balanced response means that all sounds are similarly loud and free of harshness.
• Detail retrieval is low, but that’s expected for the price. Kids also don’t care about that.
• Measured music loudness is generally in line with the advertised 85 dBA, but it can sometimes peak over.

Bass: Balanced and pleasantly controlled

The bass response on these headphones and the iClever BTH18 is completely opposite. The latter often muddies due to excessive power, whereas the IC-HS25 stays balanced and natural.

A slight boost adds some warmth to the sound, which, in combination with a smooth treble, creates a pleasant listening experience.

The lack of boost also contributes to better control when music gets a bit wild. So, if your kid is into rock music, he’ll love these headphones.

Midrange: Lush and a bit bright

The midrange is also balanced, with instruments having the lushest tone. Even electric guitars sound natural and never too harsh.

Vocals, too, sound relatively natural, but just a tad bright. However, that never results in harshness or sibilance.

Treble: Smooth and lovely

Treble is smooth as butter, and cymbals produce a lovely shimmer when listening to more relaxing, jazzy songs. The air and resolution are missing, but that really doesn’t matter at this price.

At least you get a decently wide soundstage (how far out of your head you hear sounds playing).

Sound comparison

My conclusion

iClever IC-HS25 boast a pleasant sound that makes them versatile for casual use and for practicing songs to play on instruments (if your kid goes into music school).

Volume limiter performance

iClever IC-HS25 only arrive with an 85 dBA volume limiter. That’s a standard loudness limit for kid’s headphones, but since these headphones are targeting young kids, we would love to see 75 dBA mode, too.

Nevertheless, as with all headphones for kids, we tested the IC-HS25 to see how accurate the manufacturer’s claims about maximum loudness are. After all, it’s vital to protect your child’s hearing.

For our test, we used:

• Loudness-calibrated MiniDSP E.A.R.S measuring rig
• Samsung USB-C audio dongle

For audio, we used:

• White noise, as it consists of all audible frequencies playing simultaneously, which reveals potential frequency peaks and exposes overall max loudness.
• “Baby Shark” by Pinkfong is an example of music kids might listen to. We measured the loudness at the loudest point in the song.

Volume limiter results

Based on our measurements, iClever IC-HS25 are a few dB louder than advertised. Target loudness is surpassed by 7.1 dBA when playing white noise and by 3.1 dBA when playing music.

However, on a positive note, when observing the loudness meter during the “Baby Shark” song, the average loudness stays between 85-86 dBA.

In conclusion, these headphones are relatively safe for listening to music. But if possible, keep the volume below 90% to stay below 80 dBA for even safer listening.

Comfort & Fit

4.0 Great

iClever IC-HS25 stay fixed on your kid’s head regardless of how much they’re running around. However, they might cause some earlobe pain after a while due to their on-ear design.

Headphones have on-ear earpads, which means they rest on top of the earlobes. Thanks to slightly more generous foam padding than the competition, they’re pretty comfy at first.

However, after a few minutes, you already start noticing some pressure. After half an hour or so, the pressure might evolve into an ache. Note that this is a shortcoming of all on-ear headphones.

Fortunately, slight discomfort is good, as it forces kids to pause their listening session, letting ears rest for a bit and protecting their hearing at the same time. It’s also helpful it that means they spend less time using tech gadgets.

One thing worth mentioning is that the iClever IC-HS25 follow the RoHS safety standard, which means they don’t contain hazardous materials that could harm people, especially children.

Conversely, faux leather ear pads are permanently attached to the frame and cannot be washed when they become dirty or sweaty. Learn how to keep your headphones clean, even if you can’t remove earpads.

Moving to stability, headphones remain stable on your child’s head regardless of what they’re doing due to a decent clamping force.

During my head-shaking test, my headphones didn’t budge when shaking left and right, with minimal movements when rapidly nodding up and down. The only thing that would push them down would be if the cable got stuck. More on that under durability.

Compared to other similar models

iClever IC-HS25 Meow Lollipop are comfier than most competitors in their price range, like BuddyPhones School+ or Play+, although even their comfort doesn’t last very long.

Durability

2.0 Adequate

iClever IC-HS25 can survive a bit of rough handling, but cable and screwed-on cat ears make them less resistant to twisting and pulling. There’s also no sweat resistance or the option to remove earpads.

The longevity of the IC-HS25 is a bit mixed. While most headphones for kids are made of flexible plastic, these ones have a few features that make them extra vulnerable.

Note that I’m only stating these potential durability issues, as I know kids can be a bit rough with items. These issues aren’t as severe when headphones are used in a normal way.

• First, they have a cable, which is susceptible to damage when pulled or excessively twisted. Fortunately, it is braided for extra tear protection and has strain relief on both ends.

• Second, the cat ears are permanently attached to the headband with screws. While the headband is flexible like any other kids’ headphone, the cat ears aren’t. I managed to break one of the screws while twisting the headband, and I can’t put the ears back in place.

• Third, they lack an IP rating, even for sweat resistance. Kids can be clumsy, spilling liquid on the headphones. Without any water resistance, that would easily damage them.
• Lastly, faux leather ear pads aren’t removable or washable. They seem permanently attached to the ear cup, but only partially, as you can still pull some of the pleather lip out. However, you can’t put it back into the seam, so the lip stays out indefinitely (see the image above).

How do they feel in my hands?

iClever IC-HS25 feel like most headphones for small kids, meaning they’re very lightweight and entirely made of plastic. Headphones can also fold but lack a carrying pouch for some extra scratch protection during storage.

Considering my concerns above, they probably won’t last long unless you’ve taught your kid how to handle items with care. Then, the longevity shouldn’t be that problematic.

Durability comparison

While using similarly flexible plastic as any other children’s headphones, the iClever IC-HS25’s weak spot is their cat ears. Consequently, they’re less durable than the competition.

Features

3.0 Good

iClever IC-HS25’s most notable features are the flashing cat ears and the 85 dBA volume limiter. Sadly, they don’t have an inline microphone, making them less versatile than other kids’ headphones.

Feature-wise, iClever IC-HS25 are all about the flashy design and just a little about safety.

For safety, headphones have an 85 dBA volume limiter, which is pretty accurate during music listening (see our test results above). I would love to see an additional 75dB limiter, but for $20, that’s good enough.

Cat ears

Headphones have two flashing cat ears attached to the headband. They’re powered by user-replaceable batteries that are already installed in the ears.

A piece of plastic prevents them from making contact to ensure they don’t arrive empty. You can easily pull the plastic flap from the ears without opening the battery cover. Note that you don’t need to pull both plastic flaps (each ear has its battery) for LED effects to work.

Speaking about effects, you get 3 “RGB” modes:

• Solid RGB
• Slowly blinking RGB
• Rapidly blinking RGB

You control the modes by clicking the switch behind one of the cat ears. The ears use standard CR2032 3V batteries that you can buy in any store.

Kitten stickers

The packaging includes a set of stickers depicting a cartoonish kitten in various situations, such as playing a guitar, going to school, eating a lollipop, and so on.

Kids can use them to decorate headphones or other things, like their school books or furniture. The possibilities are endless.

No built-in microphone

Built-in or inline microphone is useful, especially if your kid is frequently homeschooling or has audio or video chats with friends.

Nowadays, where you can use built-in mics from a laptop or tablet, not having a separate mic in your headphones isn’t such a big deal.

However, it is a problem if you only have a stationary PC. In that case, you would need to buy a separate microphone. Instead of that extra expense, buying different headphones with a mic is probably better.

Features rating comparison

Noise Isolation

2.5 Average

iClever IC-HS25 have a decent passive noise isolation, but due to the on-ear fit, don’t expect to completely isolate the outside noise. Also, they emit some sound leakage, so you’ll hear what your kid is listening to.

Passive noise isolation can only be decent when using an on-ear design. Since ear pads don’t cover the entire earlobes, you get a looser seal, and the noise passes through the gaps between the ears and pads.

However, that is fine when using headphones at home. Weaker isolation is also helpful, as your kid can more easily hear you when you call his name. It also increases awareness of nearby dangers like passing cars.

Here’s a table of how effective is iClever IC-HS25’s passive noise isolation at blocking specific frequencies:

How severe is sound leakage?

Sound leakage is quite noticeable when listening to headphones at around 90% volume. That’s because of the weaker seal and thinner plastic walls of the ear cups.

Therefore, expect to hear a little bit of what your kid is listening to. Fortunately, it isn’t nearly as loud as if your kid were using laptop or tablet speakers.

Noise isolation rating comparison with other models

Should You Get iClever IC-HS25?

3.0 Good

iClever IC-HS25 are fun and cute headphones with a pretty accurate volume limiter, but their questionable longevity slightly lowers their overall value despite costing only $20.

Pros & Cons

Who are these best for…

• Energetic kids who like kittens and would love to have cute cat-ear headphones.

Who should avoid them…

• Kids who might be a bit more aggressive with toys or often spill liquids on stuff.
• Kids who need an all-in-one package for music, studying, and homeschooling.

How do iClever IC-HS25 compare to the competition?

Here’s their value rating compared to similar alternatives:

Are they worth the price?

At merely $20 (calculated from the Australian Amazon website listing), these headphones are definitely worth the price if you already have a device with a built-in microphone. Otherwise, you’re better off buying a similarly priced alternative.

iClever Kids Headphones Cat Ear, LED Light Up, 85dBA Safe Volume, Stereo Sound Toddler Headphones…

iClever Kids Headphones Cat Ear, LED Light Up, 85dBA Safe Volume, Stereo Sound Toddler Headphones…

$19.99

in stock

1 used from $9.59

as of October 10, 2024 9:27 pm

Buy now

Amazon.com

iClever IC-HS25 alternatives

BuddyPhones School+

Brighter-sounding on-ear headphones for children with an equal 85dB limit yet no flashy RGB. Instead, they offer stickers to tape all over the frame and ear cups.

Most importantly, they have a boom mic for clear phone calls and removable and washable ear pads. The cable is also detachable.

BuddyPhones School+ review

BuddyPhones Play+

Slightly more expensive but also more fun-sounding on-ear headphones with 3 volume limiters (75dB, 85dB, and 94dB).

Instead of wires, they use Bluetooth connectivity and have a built-in microphone for calls. Like with School+, they have stickers for some additional customizability.

BuddyPhones Play+ review

What’s in the Box?

• iClever IC-HS25 wireless headphones
• Two (installed) CR2032 3V batteries
• Stickers
• User manual

Specifications

Peter Susic

From a childhood fascination with sound, Peter’s passion has evolved into a relentless pursuit of the finest headphones. He’s an audio expert with over 5 years of experience in testing both audiophile and consumer-grade headphones. Quote: “After many years, I can confidently tell which headphones are good and which are terrible.” Find his honest opinion in his reviews.