Lady Gaga gets a Heartbeat

Fans of the bubbly and sometimes bloody Lady Gaga will be raiding HMV stores next month for Heartbeats -- headphones designed by Lady Gaga together with Beats by Dr. Dre and produced by Monster Cable, the boutique cable manufacturer best known for its lofty prices.

The geometric design of the earbuds are actually not as look-at-me trendy as we expected from the shock-and-awe pop diva. They have a sort of 1980s rock chick look that would be perfect for the Misfits on Jem. We mean this in a good way.

But Monster Cable told us that Heartbeats aren't merely about fashion. They're about good sound, as well.

“The best headphones are what we call 'transparent,' as if you aren’t wearing them at all," said Monster Cable project manager David Leung. "It’s the closest you’ll get to the actual music performance.”

We tested Heartbeats out with "Poker Face" and found that we could hear a lot of the detail usually missed when the song is blaring over a crowd at a club. There was texture and richness to the sound that actually made the over-played song somewhat bearable.

Hard-core audiophiles and professional musicians will probably opt for the slightly more subtle Turbine Pro earbuds, the sleek black buds that promise to sound like "subwoofers in your ears."

Jazz guitarist Eugene Pao said: “I can’t wait to try them out. I’ve always been a fan of Monster Cables for my guitar.”

Heartbeats by Lady Gaga, HK$1,080; Monster Turbine Pro, HK$2,780. Available at HMV in November 2009.