Product Requirements:
Device:
iPod earbuds
You gotta know that you’re doing something right when your product spawns a
legion of accessory manufacturers. Case in point: the
Apple iPod.
There are probably more cases, cables, and plug-in doodads available for
this one digital music player than there are for all the different music player
brands and models combined! But now the bar has been raised yet another notch…
now there’s even an accessory for an iPod accessory!
Griffin Technology, one of the
premier iPod accessory makers has just created a nifty little product that
enhances stock iPod earbuds.
Griffin’s EarJams are ingenious little plastic caps that snap onto the ends
of the earbuds and claim to do three things:
- Raise volume levels by 10 decibels
- Deliver massive bass and improved sound
- Enhance comfort and fit
Pretty strong claims huh? Keep reading…
Made of white plastic, these little caps match the color of your existing
iPod earbuds perfectly. Installing them is a snap… literally. Just remove the
fuzzy pad from the earbud, and snap them on.
EarJams come with three sizes of washable / replaceable soft grey thin rubber
ear pads. The medium size is attached by default. Removing and installing the
pads is a simple operation. They easily pull off and slide on with minimal
force. The EarJams product will also ship with a small zippered carrying case
which is a nice touch.
This product effectively turns your stock iPod earbuds into the type of
earbuds that fit inside the ear canal and isolate you from outside noises. The
advantage to this style of earbud is that they tend to require a lower volume
level for comfortable music listening. Griffin claims that the EarJams increase
volume levels by 10db. Although there is really no way I could accurately test
this claim, I did definitely notice a difference while using them. I have two
iPods, so I have two sets of iPod earbuds. I attached the EarJams to one set and
left the other set as is. Using the non-EarJam iPod buds, I listened to several
songs and found that the volume set to approximately 33% was the most
comfortable for me. With the EarJams, I had to turn the volume down to about 20%
to get the same comfortable feeling.
The claim that the EarJams deliver massive bass is also true. They really do
make a big difference. As for improved sound, I’m not sure what they mean by
that exactly. Yes, the bass has a lot more thump, and yes the volume is louder.
But, along with that, I noticed that the sound was somewhat dulled. It’s like
the treble has been turned down. Luckily the iPod has a treble booster setting
which remedies this problem. I think people that enjoy music with heavy bass
lines will really appreciate this product more than people that listen to other
types of music.
However, not everyone will find this style of earbuds comfortable to wear. I
personally can’t handle having something stuck into my ear canal for very long.
Besides just feeling slightly uncomfortable to me, this type of earbud also
tends to make me feel cut off from my environment. Using them while on a plane
would be fine, but wearing them during my day job really wouldn’t work out for
me as I would have to remove them every time someone would come to my cube to
talk to me. Regular earbuds don’t have this problem because you can usually
still hear everything just fine as long as you pause the music.
EarJams are a unique iPod accessory that will turn your stock iPod earbuds
into in-the- ear-style earbuds at a fraction of the cost of real ones. While
they do increase volume and bass, the treble is sacrificed in the process. EQ
settings will help this situation, but I’m not sure audiophiles will be happy
with the overall outcome. That said, audiophiles probably wouldn’t be using the stock earbuds (or maybe even
an iPod for that matter…) in the first place though.
So, if you would like a boost in volume and bass, and don’t mind this style of
earbud, this is a product you should check out.
Price: $14.99
Pros:
Easy to use
3 sizes of pads
Increases volume and bass
Cons:
May not be comfortable to wear
Dulls treble
Product Information
| Price: | 14.99 |
| Manufacturer: | Griffin Technology |
| Pros: |
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| Cons: |
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Similar products have been around for a while. I’ve used ones from http://www.slicsound.com for well over two years, bought from the local Tower Records and Virgin Megastore. Really useful when you’re on the subway or walking around a noisy downtown.
Interesting! I’ve never seen that product before.
Cool. Does it only work for iPods earphones or can it work on standard type earphones.
I am looking at using it for those Nokia handsfree. My Nokia phone comes with built-in Radio but I cannot use Sony earphone as the plug-in is unique.
Very much prefer this type as it holds much better.
I just measured the diameter of the iPod earbuds with a pair of calipers. The EarJams should fit any round earbuds that are 0.666 in / 16.91 mm in diameter.
I noticed in your 4g iPod comments that you usually use B&O A8 earbuds. Since I don’t have a caliper handy, will the EarJams fit these? I have had these since I got my iBook, and I never took the Apple earbuds out of their wrapper. Unlike you, however, I would welcome something that would fit into my ear, as the A8’s don’t seal into the ear canal that easily for me.
I think it would be difficult to seat the B&O’s with the EarJams attachment in your ears due to the over the ear bracket thingy. I don’t have calipers handy, so I’ll have to check when I get home. My guess is that they will fit.
As I have a small protruberance on the edge of one ear canal, I generally cannot use the bud-type earphones (you wouldn’t believe how painful it can be, having to use a set of the Sony “behind the head” ones…
This looks like it *may* solve the problem for me – how maleable is the end that goes into your ear ?
I remember readong about only one other product like this in, I think, the UK edition of T3 magazone (my Bible !!), where they sent you some gel substance which you stuck in each ear to get a mold on the ear shape – you sent these back to the company and they MADE a set of earbugs that were GUARANTEED to for you and only you perfectly… Obviously, this service comes at a price – I seem to remember somewhere around the 50GBP mark…
Just wish I could remember who they were…
moldor:
The ends are pretty soft and flexible.
Regarding the ear mold product, I would guess that they might be from Etymotic:
http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/etymotic-earphones-review.html
Hello,
I have a set of these items that I received two days ago. Within an hour of use I asked for a refund. The audio quality is degraded by these additions to the ear buds. Yes, undoubtedly, the bass is boosted but at such a cost to the remaining audio that it I cannot justify using them. I think anyone that deeply cares about the quality of what they are listening to will not be happy with these. The money spent would be better put to use on a new set of earbuds. The naked Apple ear buds sound much better then they do with the clip on Earjams. I think the original reviewer was being overly kind in the description of the sound quality. It is poor, in my opinion very poor. I applaud the efforts by Griffin but they do not cut it on this one. Also I notice a rattle of the earjams on the ear buds which is annoying. They may have done well to put a foam gasket on the earjam to seal up against the ear buds. As they stand, I would suggest to anyone to keep their money in their pockets.
BRaab:
A ‘rattle’? How loud are you turning up the volume? You’re scaring me 😉
No No No… they rattle even when there is no sound playing through them. That was what I experienced anyways. Only the loose the marbles rattle when I turn it up as loud as you are referring to. :rolleyes:
BRaab:
Hmmmmm, I’m not sure what exactly that you are hearing. I’ve never experienced a rattle when the sound is off or on.
Absolutely awful! They degrade the ‘all around sound’ of the iPod earphones terribly. Yes, there is an increase in volume and bass but the range from bass to treble is reduced significantly and everything sounds like it’s being played through a tunnel! A lot of the pre-set graphic equaliser settings suddenly all sound the same too.
The case they came in is cute and and will be used more than the Earjams themselves…a bad buy!
I hate to admit it having just bought a pair, but the sound quality really is horrible while using the Griffin Earjams 🙁 Griffin are a good company, and many of their other products are great, but these are best avoided in my honest opinion. Sounds like listening through water, all bass and no treble, squashed and boomy. Bass and volume are increased as claimed, aye, but treble is flushed down the pan. Thankfully I only paid a fiver for them on eBay rather than the £29.99 asking price in the stores here…..
No one has mentioned a serious problem I found with these Jams. Maybe because my earholes are so big – I wear the largest gaskets that came with the Jams, and they were always coming off. Now, I’ve lost one. At least one would always stay in my ear when I pulled them out. Good thing is that the fitting was the same as some Panasonic earbuds a friend owned, and he gave me the largest gaskets, so I’m back in business, And they stay on.
I am very pleased with the general volume and sound quality improvement the Jams give, but they are at least twice the price they ought to be for the design and materials.
My first reason for getting the Jams was to keep the buds in my ears when I exercise. But I like the way they block some, not all, outside noise. I don’t feel like I’ll get run down by a car I can’t hear.
My only explanation for poor sound quality some people experience is that they are using the wrong size gaskets or are not pointing the Jams forward, into the ear canal.
I can’t believe the negativity in the comments left here 😡 . Griffin’s Earjams are an AWESOME addition to ANY earbuds! I have adapted them (by using a hair dryer to get the brackets more flexible…then, after fitting them, letting them cool to re-harden) for my Creative MP3 Players earbuds. In an extreme situation, I’ve had to superglue them to work with certain earbuds. That may not sound good to some of you, but that should show how much I value these EarJams. I PERMANENTLY adheared them to my awesome earbuds! 😀 :wow: 😎
I have tried ‘ibuds’, the silicone version (or ATTEMPT at a version) of Griffin’s EarJams. I have had NO ill effects to sound quality, only IMPROVEMENT.
Those that are complaining about problems should look at what size pads you put on. I also put a SLIGHT amount of superglue to the earpads I prefer, so to make sure they aren’t accidentally removed. HOWEVER, if I wanted to change the pads, the amount of superglue was negligable, so I could pull them off and still put on a new set if I desire.
Another thought, to those complaining, is to make sure the EarJams are pointed in the proper direction, not angled at all (as I’ve seen someone else here commenting on). Also, pay attention to how far you NEED to push them in to get the desired effect.
Those that complain about not liking something jammed into their ear canal?….well, I too had that feeling when I FIRST started using EarJams. Then, I just decided to give them a fair chance and now am COMPLETELY sold on EarJams. I was VERY upset to find that RadioShack, where I got my first pair) stopped selling them. I have since found them at Office Depot, Circuit City and many other local places.
My suggestion to the negative nancies out here is to use the product for at least 2 months before posting a review. Even after that, we have to consider that there are more people that are ‘never satisfied’, so there’s nothing we can do about that. Not to mention that MOST people do NOT look to find reviews on an item unless they have some kind of complaint, which is unfortunate. So many see the bad and jump to comment on it:eek: , but when it’s good, they forget about it and don’t leave any good comments. Notice I said MOST, not ALL.