Review: Apple In-Ear Headphones

When Apple announced their new earphones way back when, I was very excited. Finally, the company behind the world’s greatest music manager (iTunes) and MP3 player (iPods) are getting more serious about their earphones. Could they translate their success in those respective fields to the earphone market? In short, not really. Let me go over some of the things that I liked about these headphones first.

Sound:

I can safely say that these earphones sound really good. I have heard thing that sound better, but at a significantly higher price tag. They sound GOOD. The highs an mids (especially vocals) sound especially crisp. The bass is a bit lacking, but not entirely. The new tweeter/woofer build that they touted as revolutionary (or just boosted about) during their iPod conference last Fall is a little exaggerated. The bass is decent and may satiate the palette for many, but for a lot of you fans of the rock and hip-hop genre will be disappointed. All in all, they sound good enough to justify the price tag if you listen to a lot of acoustic, classical, or vocal-centric music. Fan of bass? Look the other way.

Fit:

This is were the Apple earphones end for me. The cable feels cheap and tangles VERY easily. At this price tag, I would expect a better build. Something that is more rubberized to reduce the tendency to tangle. The earphones come with 3 earphone tips (three pairs, that is) and the metal cap replacements. Great on paper. Very nice attention to detail. HOWEVER… The ear tips suck. Based on my ear size, I use the small tips. The fit great, but in and around the one hour mark, they become a nuisance. I can really feel them drilling my ear canal and just the uncomfort is too much. Sadly, Those are the only tips that fit. Apple could have gone above and beyond had they included cone-shaped tips, or foam tips. Instead, you receive a small/medium/large combo. And odds are, only one will actually fit right, but not for long.

Above I mentioned how the sound quality excels in certain genres and may justify the sticker price. However, the only thing that really detracts from that is the lack of comfort. Especially during long periods of time. If your music library is acoustically rich, and not deep in the club-thumping, booty-popping bass, these earphones may be for you. BUT… and this is a big but… pay attention to the fit. At most retailers, you don’t get a ‘try-before-you-buy’ scenario (which is just unhygienic). So ask about the return policy and try them out for yourself. This review is simply me expressing my opinion and my experiences. Ultimately, every user has a different ear shape and musical taste. Cheers!

Final Score:  (out of five)

PureBuds Earphones Review

I recently was fortunate enough to receive a review unit of the PureBuds Reverse Sound Technology earphones. The basic concept of these earphones is that sound is pumped outward from the ear canal and then bounced back into the canal to provide a ’safer’ listening experience. That is a basic synopsis of the device, so make sure to check out the company website for more info. On top of the Reverse Sound Technology, there are three different sleeves that are included with eahc pair of earphones:

- A surround sound tip

- A bass boost tip

- A full range tip

Let me start off by saying, that the claims of this being a safer listening experience MAY be true. When I was pumping my music, it did seem a little softer to say the least. However, this may not always lead to a BETTER listening experience. The watered down sound will not be for everyone, especially audiophiles. If you have sensitive ears, or even a really young individual, this sound might be okay. But audiophiles will immediately find the headphones to be rather muddy and, depending on which sleeve, to have a tunnel-like sound.

The inclusion of different ear pieces to vary the sound is a great concept on paper, but was, in my opinion, executed far too hastly in the PureBuds. Sure, you get three different tips, but they are all a specific size, and we all know when it comes to earphones, one size does NOT fit all. The bass boost tips are probably the worst tips. When you wear them, every low end sound seems to sound as if it were coming out of a tunnel. The surround sound tips are okay, but don’t sit very well in the ear. The full range tip seems to be the best choice out of the bunch. It delivers good sound, especially for you clubbers. They fit in the ear somewhat nicely and seem comforable.

All in all, these are GOOD headphones. They concept is cool but, from my grade 12 physics background, I can tell you that there is some inteference going one when sound is bouncing back into your ear. This ultimately dissapates the sound, giving it a watered down effect. It may be nice for a specific niche of people that want a softer tone, but the general crowd may not be to fond of effect. If theres one piece of advice I could give to the crew at PureBuds, it would be to scrap the Reverse Sound Technology, and come out with a pair of earphones that deliver great sound based on the different tips included. Include at least five different tips, all of which in conjunction with one another will hit a wider consumer group and satisfy a great deal of them as well.