BigsDeals via eBay has a super low price on these Altec Lansing UHP306 Snug-Fit Diaphragm Earphones!

For a limited time you can get some great savings on these very compact and stylish earphones from Altec Lansing. When you’re just looking to get that music in you on the go from a smartphone or other media player it never hurts to have that ease of portability. These little earphone provide that and make it even simpler with the inner-ear design and comfortable tips for long listening sessions. The sound quality is pristine as well, so you can hear every bit of your music or video which is a definite bonus at this price point. There is a cable control clip on there as well, to clip and forget for the walk or train ride and thanks to the handy carrying case they are easy to stow away when not using.

Get these headphones for $22.95 with no shipping cost.

In my reviews for various audio equipment, one of the things I always look for is whether or not myself or any user for that matter can tune the overall sound of the equipment to their liking. Being able to adjust the way a device sounds on the fly is really key to getting the most out of any equipment on a song-to-song basis. So when I found out about MEElectronics’ SP51P headphones with the ability to tune the sound using a set of small gears that screw into the back of the earphones, I was excited to see a clever solution to this problem approached in small, portable headphones.

First of all, the basic sound of these earphones is very clear for the price. A bit more full than your standard generic earphones, they don’t quite make the full leap up from entry- to mid-level in terms of audio quality. Any time a cymbal is hit, I find myself wincing slightly from the way the sound sort of rings in my ear, and while lowering the volume clears this problem up, it leaves me listening to my music at a level lower than I am accustomed to. It’s a trade-off I’m not exactly thrilled to make, but then I figure that’s where the performance tuning of this product comes into play.

The MEElectronics SP51P earphones come with a set of 6 small, color-coded gears that screw into the back of the earphones. The silver gears represent neutral bass, the metallic colored ones offer enhanced bass, and the black ones provide extreme bass. When I went to go increase the bass to see just what these headphones could do, I was disappointed to find that mine had shipped with the black gears already inserted. Certainly the bass on this level is a bit stronger than most cheaper earphones, but going downward brought the bass to nearly inaudible levels. Certainly, not everybody likes booming bass, but to take it out of the equation completely is kind of silly.

The earphones’ cord is fairly long, surrounded by a clear flexible plastic that should keep it from getting nicked or scraped up. The downside being that if a break in the wire were to occur, I imagine it would be very difficult to get in there and start trying to tape the wire up. In addition to the different tuning gears, the SP51P’s also come with a few differently shaped covers for the earphones themselves, and these fit in the case just as easily as all of the other items, making them nicely customizable as they might be passed around to listen to different things for different people.

For the list price, I expected a more rich sound from the MEElectronics SP51P, instead getting something only sligtly above the most commonly available, $20-range earphones. Because the design of them is so wide as well, I have a harder time keeping them in and keeping noise out compared to more compact and round designs.

MEElectronics’ SP51P earphones approach a common problem for smaller headphones in a fairly clever way, opting for something that can be done about the actual hardware itself rather than a traditional tuner used to adjust the levels. The concept of these earphones is fantastic, and I hope that MEElectronics continues to pursue this idea, preferrably with some more power in a higher-end model, but these don’t really justify the jump in price from a standard pair to this more specialized set. If you want something a little fancy and unusual without spending $75 on earphones, you can get away with enjoying these, but I found their main selling point of tuning the sound to be an overall disappointment.

Editor’s Rating

2.5 out of 5 stars

Fair

Bottom Line: The MEElectronics SP51P earphones address are trying to pioneer a very worthwhile idea: headphones with adjustable levels, but by really failing to deliver on that main promise, they leave a bad taste in the listener’s mouth. Correcting the problem would be as simple as marketing these as bass-reducing headphones for people who don’t like the buzzes and thumps, but as it stands the extreme bass option is anything but.

Pros:

• The SP51P model includes a microphone which can be utilized with most smart phones and several other devices to switch between listening to music and making a phone call or other recording
• Three different sets of tuning gears that screw into the earphones allow listeners to adjust the bass levels to their liking
• Comes packed with a sturdy, zippered case that houses the earphones and the adjustment pegs which can fit into virtually any pocket comfortably

Cons:

• The different tuning levels only affect the output strength of the bass, so that other aspects of the sound can not be adjusted
• The highest bass level feels fairly standard at best, with the lower levels becoming virtually bass-free and take away from the listening experience
• The tuning gears are incredibly small and round, which makes changing the settings on the road in a car, bus, or even an airplane an extremely bad idea.

The MEElectronics SP51P Sound Preference In-Ear Headphones are available at Amazon for $42.15.

Buydig is offering a super low price on these Klipsch Image S2 Comfort-Fit Noise-Isolating Earphones which come to just $24.95 + Free Shipping = $24.95!

For a super low price you can experience every bit of music anywhere you go! Get the most out of your iPod or other portable music device and listen for hours on end with superior comfort that will make you want to keep them on. They deliver some intense sound with great bass which fills up the experience while at the same time utilizing a noise-isolating design to keep your music with you. They fit into your ears with soft and flexible ear tips which fit in your ears for a closer sound.

SkullCandy via eBay has a super low price on these Skullcandy Ink’d In Earphones Earbuds for only $9.99 + Free Shipping = $9.99!

Take your portable audio experience further than you imaged for pocket change! These Skullcandy Ink’s In Headphones are super small and designed for ultimate portability so you can take them anywhere. Earbuds are designed to fit into your ears so the sound becomes a part of you, and are specifically designed to be used with many portable devices like iPods and other Mp3 Players, and with a new and enhanced audio experience you can take new appreciation for all of your music. To make them even more useful they also include a Mic-IN input on the cable as well as a control center for your iPod which includes Play, Pause, and Track control so you can quickly navigate without going for your iPod. They have a 20-20,000hs frequency response for full range audio.

Deal expires 2/7

Klipsch has made a name for itself with their Image series of earphones, which offer stellar sound quality at affordable prices (I’m a fan of the Image S4s myself). They’ve now announced three new headphones, the Image One, S5i (pictured), and S3. The One is an over the ear can style headphone, a first for Klipsch, which have in-line controls. The S3 is a less expensive version of their in-ear earphones for the budget-minded, and S5i are for the iPhone, with a remote that is moisture-proof for your daily commutes. The three sets will be available in November for $150, $50, and $130, respectively.

Klipsch Broadens Headphone Offerings with Three New Designs

INDIANAPOLIS (September 3, 2010) – In just three years, Klipsch has carved out a niche in the heavily saturated headphone market by manufacturing products designed to offer unequaled comfort, noise isolation and musical accuracy at any price point. Today, the company plans to build on its success with three new headphone models catering to cost-conscience consumers, athletes and people who prefer on-ear solutions.

Ranging from $49.99 to $149.99 (US MSRP), these headphones maintain the same high-quality sound signature and comfort levels as previous Klipsch headphones, but introduce enhancements in design, cabling, performance, packaging and accessories. These new models join the existing Klipsch headphone line, which includes the best-selling Image S4, Image S4i and Image X10i.

Image One

The Image One brings high-performance Klipsch sound to people who prefer an on-ear design. Not only is it the company’s first on-ear headphone, it’s among the first to feature an Apple-based mic and three-button remote for taking calls and controlling music on iPods, iPhones or iPads. Each lightweight, pivoting ear cup features premium leather and high-density memory foam for comfortable wear and superior passive noise-isolation, designed to block out ambient noise and provide enhanced bass. The ear cups fold flat for placement inside the included carrying case. Purchase these sleek headphones for $149.99 (US MSRP) at authorized retailers and klipsch.com in November.

Image S5i Rugged

Extremely durable and perfect for active outdoor lifestyles, the Image S5i Rugged in-ear features a mic and oversized moisture-resistant three-button remote to put music and phone call controls at your fingertips. Offering bold styling, highly intelligible phone calls and full music and/or voice control on select Apple products, these headphones retail for $129.99 (US MSRP). Available in a black finish, the Image S5i Rugged comes with three pairs of different-sized patented oval ear tips and a heavy-duty safety case with a built-in flashlight and removable belt clip. Purchase the Image S5i Rugged at select retailers and klipsch.com in November.

Image S3

These affordable in-ear headphones offer a major boost in sound and comfort over similarly priced competitor models. Available in a gun metal gray, red, pink or green finish, the Image S3 accommodates virtually any device with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. It comes with three pairs of different-sized patented oval ear tips and a carrying case. Purchase the Image S3 for $49.99 (US MSRP) at select retailers and klipsch.com in October.

The JVC HA-S650′s are a lightweight and affordable solution for those looking for a decent pair of comfortable headphones.  With sound quality fitting to the under $50 price range the JVC HA-S650′s bring significant quality in an streamlined package.

Visually, the JVC HA-S650′s look pretty nice with black glossy and matte finishes blending together to create a very modern aesthetic.  The cushioning on the earpads is very soft and comfortable, and wearing them for extended periods of time presented no such annoyances.

The cord is of a standard length and is also lightweight and easy to deal with.  The stainless steel headband works well with fitting and is accurately shaped.  I was very pleased with the overall weight and fit of the JVC HA-S650′s and they would be great as an airplane headphone for an older adult.  There is no such noise reduction technology in effect but the JVC HA-S650′s do a fair job at warding off unwanted frequencies.

On the sound side, the JVC HA-S650′s are just ok.  There’s going to be nothing really that standout about these headphones as they are kind of dull in their representation of the sound spectrum.  They sound closed off and narrow and not very full.

The bass was a bit muffled and treble and mid range frequencies were about the same.  Nothing about the sound was very crafted and it didn’t seem to be a major focus of the design.  I enjoyed them more while playing video games and watching TV, but I thought they weren’t very good for listening to MP3′s.

The JVC HA-S650′s are going to be best received by people my parents age (early 60′s) that are more concerned about the comfort of the headphones rather than the quality of the sound.  In fact, anybody who doesn’t really have a discerning audio palette will enjoy these headphones.  With price in mind, these are a great pair of headphones that will be easy on your head as well as providing adequate sound depending on the scenario.

Pros:

• Lightweight
• Cushy feel
• Affordable

Cons:

• Nothing special sound

Buy the JVC HA-S650 Lightweight Headphones here for $42!

Looking for a new pair of earbuds?  Look further.  The PineApple Electronics Vibrating Earbuds have to be the most dull earbuds I have ever had the discrete pleasure of listening to.

Their whole gimmick is that they vibrate in your ears to the music.  In theory,  it “sounds” like a great idea, but in reality they make a mockery of sound reproduction with their muddy as all hell bass and almost non existent treble and mid range.

They actually look really nice and are fairly lightweight.  They also boast a 100% waterproof feature because they don’t have any earholes.  They use the new fangled “Bone Conduction” technology to deliver the sound and it sh(bl)ows.  I have reviewed bone conduction underwater earphones before and the sound really suffered because of it.  I understand the reason for incorporating this tech into something that is designed to work underwater, but for something like this, which doesn’t need bone conduction for proper sound, I just don’t get it.

The buds are easily marked and come with three different sized inserts.  The cord is split and is really too long for its own good.  With no clip it tends to hang all over the place and gets in the way of trying to do anything active.

The main problem with the vibrating feature is that they pretty much vibrate out of your ears.  They are also really ticklish and make you feel like there is something itching at your inner ear.  Every once in a while I enjoyed the vibrating bass, but it was really more annoying than anything.

The sound was really hard to find anything positive about and it really seems as though the designers just dialed out the treble and mid range and cranked the bass without really paying attention to the specifics.  All my MP3′s sounded drab and uninspired and I was really disappointed in they way these earbuds performed.

If there was some way to tighten up the sound and make the earbuds stay stable in your ears then I’ll have some thing different to say about these.  I’m giving them one star because they do what they say they do, vibrate.  You’ve been warned.

Pros:

• They vibrate
• Lightweight

Cons:

• Downright bad sound
• They vibrate out of your ears
• Overpriced
• Cord is way too long

Buy the Rumble K Earphones for $80 here!

Many people live with discomfort.  Many people wear shitty earphones that don’t fit.  YurBuds are out to change that.  Their not saying ditch your crappy earphones, but instead send them pictures of your ears and they’ll make you a pair of custom adapters to fit over your poorly designed white ones.

For only $20, YurBuds will scan the pictures of your ears and give you the most approximate custom molding that type of money can by assuring you a better fit.

For most people, the earphones that come with the gadget are usually good enough and they are often too ignorant to know any better.  Let’s hope they care about this specialty service as anybody in the know has already ditched the white ones completely.

[via TheGadgeteer]

Read

Over the last couple days, I’ve seen cameras and camcorders made out of Legos, so it really doesn’t surprise me to note the new addition to the Lego electronics family, the Lego earphones.

No, seriously.  They’re called the “Sundries PLAYBRICK”, and with a name like that and a design like that you can probably already guess where they’re from.  I’ll give you a moment to let the collective facepalm die down and tell you that they’re from Japan.  That and I’ll give good odds that the name comes from some frantic lawyer’s cries of “we’re gonna get SUED if we don’t call them something different!”

You have your choice of six designer colors, and they’ll cost the equivalent of $23.  If you want nothing so much out of life as to have Lego earphones, just make your way over to Rinkya, the link to which is below.

Via [Crunchgear]

Read

During my quest for the ultimate earphone I have had the chance to review several pairs from companies I had not previously heard of.  Being pleasantly surprised on many an occasion, The Cresyn C750E’s are just that. Having a solid sound and a comfortable fit, I am compelled to recommend these earphones to anyone looking for a great package at the $100 price range.

Judging today’s current batch of earphones you are not only looking at sound but you are also grading how they fit and what features they flaunt.  I can say right off the bat that the Cresyn C750E’s possess all of the above.  Embracing a sturdy fit and competent sound reproduction in a lightweight and compact package, the Cresyn C750E’s easily rank as some of the better earphones I’ve used all year.

In comparison to other earphones I’ve unboxed, the Cresyn C750E’s was pretty basic.  Three sizes of inserts and a nice feeling carrying case.  That’s it.  Not that the Cresyn C750E’s needed anything else anyway.

Besides what I mentioned earlier in regards to what I liked about the Cresyn C750E’s, I also really liked the shaped of the earphone.  While the majority of the time they fit great, they would sometimes need adjusting.  The beam shape of the Cresyn C750E’s really help you readjust them on the fly and without looking, you could grasp them and instantly know their orientation.  I have ran into earphones in the past where it was more difficult to adjust them because you couldn’t tell how they were fitting in your ear without looking in a mirror.

The C750E’s featured a sturdy clip that slid up and down the cord with ease and really helped pull slack off of the weight of the earphones.  Not that they were heavy or anything but another anchor point always helps.  Other than that the earphones don’t have any other standout features.

In the area of sound, the Cresyn C750E’s have a lot going for them.  They’re nothing that will blow your mind but will compete bravely with anything you can throw their way.  They never distorted when I cranked the volume and were never too harsh on my ears regardless of the bit rates my MP3′s were running at.

They could have used a bit more gradual bass in my opinion but the whole mix felt generally pretty balanced and I enjoyed my overall listening experience.  Through my main testing grounds of riding my bike and going to the gym the Cresyn C750E’s performed well under those parameters and they didn’t get in the way whatsoever.

All in all, Cresyn is a company that I will now recognize and be able to speak highly of the C750E’s as a great pair of earphones.  Most of my earphone reviews are usually not this glowing and it’s nice to not really have to gripe about anything.

Pros:

• Lightweight
• Awesome Sound
• Easily Adjustable

Cons:

• Might Be A Bit Pricey For Some

Buy Them Here For $106!

On sale now at the Scosche website are the new IDR350M Noise Isolating Earphones.  Especially tailored for the iPhone 3GS and the 3rd Gen Shuffle, these earphones host a bevy of features, which include: play/pause controls, adjust volume, skip tracks, navigate playlists, record voice memos, activate the voice control feature and answer/end calls, all without the iPhone or iPod having to leave your pocket.  Very cool indeed.  They also come with six color cap inserts to match your mood, personality, or outfit.  The Scosche IDR350M’s will be available at your favorite retailer for $50 in the coming weeks.

Read

Earphones.  Now that the MP3 fully dominates we are seeing more and more products associated with them.  As a result earphones are being manufactured by a countless number of companies in an attempt to capture even a fraction of the MP3 accessory market.  Although I’ve never heard of Maximo, they reached out and asked us to review their iM-590 earbuds.  I happily obliged.

The first thing I noticed about the 590′s was they were very feature intensive.  They sport a cord clip, several rubberized inserts, a 2 foot extension cable, an airline dual plug adapter, a 2.5mm adapter, and a circular carrying case that holds the inserts and lets you wrap the cable around the inside.  Out of the box the 590′s should have most any scenario covered, minus the 6.3mm adapter.

The clip while functional was a bit ‘chintz’ and a bit too small and slippery for my liking.  Either way a clip is a dire necessity and it does work to provide adequate slack.  The cord is comprised of a braided fabric that is slightly malleable and lends itself to crimping, especially at the base of the input jack.  I would have preferred the cord to have been a little thicker as it still falls into some of the rubber/plastic trappings.  It does have a nice feel, though and is lightweight.

The box states that the 590′s are Enhanced Definition Isolation Earphones.  Listening to them as I write this review, I can still hear incoming messages in iChat on my computer, but I cannot hear my dog’s toenails scraping against the hardwood floors upstairs.  I use earphones for about 30 hours a week when riding my bike or working out at the gym, so active travel and exercise scenarios are my main testing grounds.  The 590′s dealt with wind noise well due to its tiny design and the farther you jam them in your ears the more sound they blocked out.  That leads me to my main problem with the 590′s.  None of the inserts fit me very well and they needed constant adjustment. They seemed to fit better for a moment if I rotated them, but eventually they would slide out.  Sitting still they stay in fine, as they are right now.  So to reiterate, they’re not great for exercise and moving around, but good for fixed postures and sitting still.

On to the good stuff.  The sound of the 590′s is a well rounded spectrum that did well with the majority of my MP3′s.  I listen to mostly high production value metal and the 590′s didn’t leave me hanging.  They did not distort when cranked and presented better bass than expected.  Never shrill, the 590′s had buttery smooth mids and highs.  So if you don’t buy (i.e steal) your music you’re probably going to end up with a collection of MP3′s of varying bit rate and as a rate varying sound quality.  The 590′s feel like they are tailored to this type of digital soundscape and really shine in the audio reproduction department.

So, even though they don’t really work for my type of lifestyle (e.g bike riding, running), I can wholly recommend the Maximo iM-590′s to anyone looking for high quality sounding earphones for under $50.  I see so many suckers with crap earphones (I’m not going to mention any one company name) out and about, and I just chalk it up to them not caring about sound quality.  What would I do if I didn’t care about sound?

Pros:

• Exemplary sound
• Lightweight and Small
• Lot’s o’ features

Cons:

• Not good in active scenarios
• Clip could be better
• Cord crimps too easy

Buy it here for $44!