If
you are an avid listener you music on your PDA, you may have noticed
that your headphone cord is often a little long and gets in your way
when you are trying to do things. JavoEdge figured you
wouldn't want to have to deal with cords being to long and developed the
JavoeBuds, featuring a retractable cable. When retracted, the
headphones cables are neatly stored away making the full package only a
couple inches long. When extended, the headphone cable reaches 47
inches. While JavoEdge has been innovative in their efforts to
design a useful product, the question becomes, is it a good purchase?
Instead of coming with a case like most ear buds on the
market, the JavoEdge ear buds have the case built right in. They
use a self winding mechanism, allowing for the cable to be extended or
retracted to seven different lengths. The product is easy to use,
just pull on the ear buds and the headphone jack simultaneously until the
desired length is reached. Then let lose until the mechanism catches and holds the
length. When you are done and want to retract the headphones, pull
slightly on each end and then let loose, letting the headphones retract.
With the eBuds you don't have to worry about tangled cords.
While the JavoEdge eBuds have an excellent style, do they function as
well as headphones without retractable cables? Instead of just
doing a listening test, which is often bias depending on the listener, I
took some extra time to compare the eBuds to KOSS's KSC-19 ear buds and
Sony's Fontopia EarBuds based on the manufacturer specifications. Here is a
comparison:
| |
JavoEdge |
KOSS |
Sony |
|
Impedance |
32 |
16 |
16 |
| Low-end
Frequency Response |
100Hz |
20Hz |
12Hz |
|
Sensitivity |
117dB |
98dB |
108dB |
| Price |
$19 |
$15 |
$15 |
Let me take a second to
explain how to read these numbers. For Impedance, lower is
better because it basically means there is less resistance. In
this test, the KOSS and Sony ear buds come out on top. The
low-end frequency response is the lowest frequency the headphones
can respond to. The maximum of all tested were the same (about
the maximum of human hearing), but the Sony's can produce more lower
end sounds. This however is not really a huge factor as all
three produce extremely low frequencies, so the difference between
100Hz and 12Hz, while it could be distinguished by some listeners, is not
really that different. Finally, the sensitivity
relates to the loudness of the sound. The JavoEdge eBuds come
out on top, though again, it is doubtful that you will listen to
your ear buds as loud as the eBuds can handle (it will ruin your hearing). Chances
are based on the specifications, there will be little noticeable
difference between the different ear buds, though if you are a real
audiophile, you might find the JavaEdge eBuds a little lacking.
Overall, the JavoEdge eBuds are a solid product.
While they might be a couple dollars extra over other ear buds,
having the retractable cable is very much a plus for portability and
easy of use. Personally I would have like to have seen a
little more competitive specifications compared to similar products,
but aside from that, they are good. This weekend, instead of
packing my Sony ear buds like I normally do, the JavoEdge eBuds went
in my bag with my Pocket PC.
Dave's Score - 8.0
This means, this product is a very good product,
though has some features which could be improved. This product embodies
quality in its design and application, and is something I would use
though I think there are still areas for improvement. Weigh
the pros and cons before purchasing, but in my opinion this card is a
good buy.
|
Click to enlarge
 |
