After a long wait and anticipation, the a-Jays Four by JAYS are finally here and they are not alone. The a-Jays Four are the fourth addition to the a-Jays line of in-ears that are designed to match the iPhone 4's industrial design and feature a full-feature inline three-button remote. I reviewed the a-Jays Three a while back and loved them so I had really high expectations for the fourth installment from JAYS. Catch the full review including a comparison between the a-Jays Three and Four right after the break.
It's no doubt the Swedish know how to make good sounding earphones and headphones. Nocs are a Swedish in-ear and headphone maker bringing us well designed audio products like the NS200 earphones that feature a remote and mic compatible with the iPhone, iPad, iPod and even Macs. The NS200 are Nocs' first model out of three others. The Nocs NS200 feature dynamic drivers which produce a very warm and full sound with beautiful bass that brings every song you're listening to, it's own beats. The NS200 are constructed from aluminum for maximum durability and have superb built quality. Full review after the break!
The Monster Turbine are a very well made pair of in-ears with extremely solid metal construction that feels and looks awesome. Iv'e been using the Turbines for a month now and I enjoyed every minute of my music. These have no connection to the more known Beats By Dr. Dre line and are entirely by Monster. The Turbine take a very similar shape and design of Monster's popular video cables, they have red and blue rings to help distinguish from right to left while also adding a lot to the overall design. Metal construction is always a good to help you enjoy your earphones for many years without them breaking, and the Turbine are very well constructed and don't feel cheap. There is a nice heft to them but once you have them in your ears you don't notice them.
The SuperFi 5vi are a great sounding pair of in-ears. They deliver very detailed and clear sound for all music genres but they do lack a bit of bass. Those of you who need punchy and deep bass, the SuperFi 5vi will most likely not feed your hunger and will leave you wanting more. With that being said, after hours of burn-in time, the sound did improve a bit and so did the bass - still not deep but certainly sufficient for most people. The SuperFi 5vi are also a headset for the iPhone and BlackBerry with an inline mic and controls. The single button control cannot control the sound volume but only play/pause music and videos. When listening to music, you can double click to skip songs. You can answer calls, end calls and to bring up voice control on iPhone you simply click and hold for two seconds.
A great thing about the Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5vi is that they come with Comply foam ear tips for maximum sound isolation and comfort. After using these foam tips, you won't want to use any of those regular rubber ear tips anymore. What's so good about these foam tips is that they fit everyone's ears perfectly because they form inside your ear to it's shape and block almost all background noise. I should note that after about a month of everyday use with the foam tips, you will need to replace them with new ones.
The build quality could be a bit better. The SuperFi 5vi feel a bit cheap but they do look stunning. The cable is a tangle-free cable which works well. It's a bit thin but feels very durable so I wouldn't worry about it when exercising. You can wear these in-ears over your ears or under depending on your style. Half of the right monitor is colored red for easy and quick left/right identification, which is a very useful little detail.
The SuperFi 5vi are one of the most clearest sounding pair Iv'e listend to. This allows for very detailed and undistorted or muffled sound. While they do lack in deep bass, I would highly recommend them. With the SuperFi 5vi included are: a hard carry case, Comply foam tips, various sized silicone tips and an ear war cleaning tool. Price $189.99. Available on Amazon for less.
In-ear headphones hovering around the $60-80 range are often the most popular candidate for people wanting to replace sub-standard stock earbuds, so Padacs has taken a shot at this market, specifically for iPad, iPhone and iPod owners. Enter the Padacs Aksent, a pair of in-ear headphones including volume play/pause and volume control buttons and a microphone, priced at $69.95AUD. These earphones are a great step up from the stock Apple earbuds and will no doubt satisfy anyone looking for a decent upgrade.
These earphones are encased in a very stylish looking chrome shell, and the foam tips’ black colour complements it nicely. The symmetrical cable is also black and has a rubbery texture, similar to that of the Sennheiser CX300s. This cable is not specifically tangle proof, but it does relatively well at keeping tangles to a minimum. The 3.5mm stereo jack features a slim profile, so owners of iPhones/iPods with cases can rest easy that the plug will fit. The other major feature of this model is the buttons and microphone attached to a black housing that lies directly before the wire splits into two.
The sound quality of these earphones is great for the price range, delivering rich sounds through its drivers and directly into the ear canal. The earphones produce a powerful but rich bass, while the treble is still clear and is not distorted. For those who don’t enjoy big bass, these might have too much of a punch behind them, but for most the sound is a clear overall blend that produces excellent sounds with almost all music types. It should be noted that for good bass response, it’s essential that the foam tips provide a good sound seal to achieve the best sound. The included tips should be a comfortable fit for most, and the best way to insert the earphones is to compress the foam, place it in the ear and allow the foam to expand to the shape of your ear.
There’s one thing that I should clarify, although most people probably wouldn’t mind this. The ‘volume control’ is a slider, and rather than directly changing the iPod’s volume, it lets you change between 0% to whatever volume your iPod is currently set at. This isn’t as accurate as having two individual buttons like the Apple earbuds, but in return it makes it much simpler to change the volume. For me, this wasn’t an issue, and the main button I used was the pause button. Like the Apple headphones, double clicking this button will change to the next song, which is a feature I absolutely love. The ‘remote’ is quite large, but this will only be a problem if you plan on using these while going for a run.
The Padacs Aksent earphones are a highly recommendable pair of earphones, and while the remote design could use some tweaking, for the price the sound quality will not fail to impress. Included is also a small carry bag, plus a shirt clip to keep the cable from moving excessively. If they sound like a pair to suit you, check out the link below to see the item’s web page.
Iv'e reviewed and listened to many high quality earphones and headphones in the past to be able to notice a good sounding pair. I did not think that something so small can produce such an amazing sound, until I got my hands on the a-JAYS Three by JAYS. The a-JAYS Three pack such an incredible sound, all in an ultra compact design. Right out of the box these sounded just amazing. I really got blown away to how close they come compared to a pair of full fledged over-ear headphones. JAYS really do an amazing job with every single product they make so far. The a-JAYS Three are absolutely stunningly crystal clear but also, they have incredible punchy bass. The 8.6mm TCD neodymium driver produces such high quality bass that makes you feel your music. The sound is in no way distorted or muddy on any kind of music genre. The a-JAYS Three have a very rich warm sound that most people like including myself. They are very well balanced throughout the sound spectrum.
The design and built quality is just as good as how they sound. The a-JAYS Three have a very nice soft touch coating surrounding the hosing with a glossy plastic cap. The slim profile makes for a very comfortable listening for long periods of time. Once in your ear, the a-JAYS Three are very unnoticeable so if you like to lay down while listening to your music, it won't be a problem for you. I really love the flat tangle-free cord which is the best flat quality cord Iv'e came across. The only thing I can say that did not impress me was the audio jack's design, which looks like a cheap piece of rubber without any design really. It will fit most devices due to it's slim profile. The a-JAYS Three come with a pretty useless hard storage case that is very slim. I had a hard time placing and closing this case with the a-JAYS Three neatly tucked inside.
Depending on which silicone tip you choose to fit your ears, I was able to get a decent amount of sound isolation from outside noises. The a-JAYS Three are so lightweight that I would forget I even have them in my ear, which made me focus much more on my music than having to worry about them falling out and discomfort. I would highly recommend the a-JAYS Three for any music genre. The price, sound and build quality makes these a perfect pair of in-ears. Price $60.
Audio for Rockford Fosgate isn't something new, they are the pros of audio sound systems mainly for cars. And now they have produced the Punch Plugs in-ear earphones. Iv'e had great expectations from these and they definitely did not disappoint. I have received the newest model of Punch Plugs that include an inline mic with control buttons to control your music and calls. The Punch Plugs deliver outstanding bass performance that will make you not want to stop listening to your music. The bass is very clear and solid, very similar to what you will find on the Monster Beats Studios by Dr. Dre headphones. So all of you who just can't get enough of great bass, I would highly recommend the Punch Plugs for you. The overall sound quality is very warm and clear sounding, no distortion or muffled sound to be found. Inside are 15mm dynamic drivers.
The Punch Plugs really let you enjoy your music, whether you are listening to some great heavy bass songs or vocal and acoustic songs. They really do a great job with sound quality. Now how is the build quality? The only con I see with the Punch Plugs is their flat tangle-free cord. Yes the cord does a great job at not getting tangled however it's too thin and flimsy. It would be better to make it a little thicker to add more strength to it. The housing of the Punch Plugs are made out of strong plastic and are very solid.
Sound isolation is great once you find your perfect silicone ear tip. The silicone tips that come with the Punch plugs block out a good amount of outside noise, also sound leakage is at zero which is a great thing. The Punch Plugs are very comfortable even for long hours, you just forget they are even in your ears. The Punch Plugs will not sit flush in your ear but stick out some bit, so this might be an issue for you if you plan to lay in bend listening to some music. With the Punch Plugs provided is a nice compact semi-hard carry case with silicone tips. Price $129.99 and $99.99 for the non-headset model.
