For some people Ferrari is the coolest word in the English (or Italian) language. It means driving a beautiful vehicle in the Tuscan sunshine, Formula 1 world championships and horses. Motorised, petrol guzzling horses.
For other people, Ferrari represents arrogance. The refusal to compromise - in a mean way . Both with regard to its thrusting, macho cars, and the bankers and footballers that drive them. In an age of environmental angst, Ferrari now stands for something old, and decadent. For some it's like the last Caeser, gorging on cherry tomatoes, drinking limoncello spiked with sedatives.
Despite both of those extremes, to the average person Ferrari represents something else. Something pure. Something honest.
Cars?
Nope. Merchandise.
More than many other car makers Ferrari is a brand machine. Walk into its Regent Street store, as HuffPost did recently, and you can't fail to be overcome by the marketing blitz. Its logo is everywhere. On T-shirts, cups, laptops...
... and now headphones.
Working with Logic 3, Ferrari has just released a host of new headphones and earphones to suit a wide range of price points and design sensibilities.
The range of seven styles are designed to "celebrate Ferrari’s excellence and flair, both on the road and in motorsport, by delivering superior audio performance and beautiful design".
The Scuderia collection, inspired by its racing cars, are made with Ferrari's famous red, yellow and black aesthetic. They are bold. They are flashy. They are - objectively - hilarious. They are the headphones that Silvio Berlusconi wears in the bath.
The Cavallino Collection, by contrast, are a rather more sober - and stylish - affair. Inspired by the GT road cars, this collection eschews the red and yellow for simple black and silver, and is all the better for it. They are still bold - you can't miss the silver on black horse - but they are tasteful.
The T250s - the pair HuffPost tested in detail - are a solid, expensive pair of headphones. They cost around £229 and are made with "careful craftsmanship, sumptuous leather and precision construction", Ferrari says.
Featuring a two-way folding design, soft and breathable earpads, leather-trimmed earcups and headband and precision machined metal arms and housing, the T250s certainly live up to that description in build quality. (We tested the black pair, but they also come in tan.)
Inside the box you'll find the headphones nestled in a Ferrari carry case, which while black in colour still comes across as flashy (the material looks like a woven carbon fibre). For Ferrari fans, it's exactly what you'd want. For us, it was a bit of an eyesore.
Still, the headphones themselves are folded inside, and they click open with a satisfying thud.
Performance wise, they are very good too. This publication's aversion to purple-prose when it comes to audio is well established, but we can say that while they sounded a little bass heavy to us, these are high quality earphones. Logic 3 have provided the technical assistance, and they've done the job well. If you're listening to most modern audio sources you'll notice an immediate boost. They don't sound as good as a Ferrari does. But they sound good.
Unfortunately, there is no kind of active sound cancellation - present on the lower-end T150, T150i and G150/150i models, which is a shame.
Then there is the fact that since the T250s are made of leather and metal, these headphones are also really heavy. If the intention was to remind you why you paid the cash, mission accomplished. But you'll also be reminded of that when your neck aches.
Ultimately the problem with reviewing the T250s is that you, the reader, already know whether you want them.
If you're a Ferrari guy, these are the coolest headphones on the market, and the best of the Ferrari range. But for everyone else, there really isn't anything other than the brand to recommend them. There are far better, cheaper alternatives with more features ready to take (less of) your money.
Although admittedly, that's never stopped Ferrari selling cars before.
Or merchandise, for that matter.