by Kate Gowers

Created on: December 11, 2008

It is, apparently, a bad idea to wrap your headphone cord around your iPod or mp3 player. I do it anyway, for lack of any better ideas to keep the cord from becoming a tangled mess in my pocket. As a result, I go through earphones like nobody's business (apparently, wrapping the cord damages it).

I recently purchased from Tesco a pair of black JVC in ear earphones, as my last pair of Panasonics were by now only broadcasting from one ear (mostly). I paid 12.99 for these (around $20.00). Irritatingly, you can't try out in ear earphones before you buy. This is a shame.

We all hope our earphones will deliver decent sound - how decent we expect is no doubt related to how much we've paid, and how sensitive we are to stereo fidelity. I have an iPod 30gb Video. I listen to folk, rock and classical by and large, and I'm not a stereo sound aficionado - I want my music to sound true, with depth in the bass and accuracy in the treble. I'm not, however, the type to be endlessly fiddling with graphic equalisers to get a 'perfect' sound. I'm like Peter Cook and art - I don't know much about it, but I know what I like. Because I don't mollycoddle my headphones, I'm not prepared to pay a fortune for them, however, I am willing to buy a few models up from the super cheap sets out there (Tesco had some at 3.99). I mention all this so that it is clear what I'm hearing and what I'm expecting.

One thing I do need from my in-ear earphones is a good fit. I find the standard iPod shape earphones (the rigid ear buds that come with iPods) to be hideously uncomfortable. However, I like the convenience of buds, as they fit easily in a pocket. I have very small ear canals, and so comfort can be tricky to find.

We now come to the crux of the matter. The 'Marshmallow' part of the name refers to the memory foam earpieces, which come in two sizes (though I can't tell by looking which is the larger size). You are supposed to smush the earbud between two fingers for a few seconds, and then hold the earpieces into your ears, at which point the memory foam is supposed to expand, providing a snug and comfortable fit. For me, these earphones don't hurt (which is a bonus), but the fit is far from snug, and they have a habit of falling out and coming loose.

This habit of sitting loosely at best and falling out at worst impacts the sound quality. When I physically hold the earphones in my ears with my fingers the sound is good - most notably the bass. The relative rigidity (compared to other sorts of non-rigid

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>