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IHarmonix has a nice line of audio products. Their earbuds have a variety of features, as well as excellent all around quality. Recently I had the pleasure of reviewing a pair of Iharmonix's Platinum EV-Series earbuds. Their performance is very satisfying and the features they sport make them an even better deal. When it comes to audio products, every detail can, and does contribute to the experience of sound, giving you, the listener, a more involved surreal experience. To check out the review, click read more...
Provided By – IHarmonix
Closer Look:
The front of the package is stylin' enough. It lets you see the basic components. I was surprised when I noticed the actual volume controller was not featured through the clear packaging. Oh well. It's there, I assure you.
The back of the package gives some of the nifty features and specifications of the earbuds (we'll get to those in a bit). The companies website is located at the bottom, and different compatible audio players are shown. The overall packaging may not grab you as particularly outstanding, but this just goes to show you can’t judge an earbud by its cover.
The picture below gives you an idea of all of the contents. The carrying case is a classy feature. I don't like putting metal earphones in the same pocket as a screen because of scratches that can result. Nice idea.
Stereo output is the order of the day as evident by the two black rings in the picture below. The cord material is tough and flexible. Another important point is that these are gold plated to ensure proper sound quality and connection.
The earbuds themselves are silver with a gun metal backing and the iharmonix logo shown below. Even though you can't really see it from the picture here, there is a tiny "R" and "L" to indicate which ear each bud goes into. Again, the cord is well secured and reinforced to the bud so that it won't short out with extended, less than gentle usage. If you've ever lost a pair of earbuds to that defect, you'll likely appreciate a good quality connection. For all you pocket audio listeners out there, you might wanna be careful when putting these in the same pocket as your portable device. As I mentioned earlier, the back edge may be damaging to the front of the screen. Use the carrying bag.
You can see the vent on the left earbud in the picture below as well as the speaker with the tip removed. I would like to point out that these tips squeeze around the speakers well so that the ear gels won't accidentally stay in your ears when you yank the earbuds out. I've seen that develop into an embarrassing situation. Very embarrassing.
The cord is also an impressive length. You could practically keep your iPod in your shoe and you would have enough cord to reach.
The in-line speaker control is fairly self-explanatory. Move it upwards to max out the volume, downwards for silence. If you have trouble with this concept, you'll have to find a tutorial to help you out.
Leaving those people to themselves, let us now proceed to the specifications and features list...
Specifications:
Sound Output: Stereo, Gold Plated 3.5 mm DC jack
Magnet Type: NdFeB
Frequency Range: 20Hz-20kHz
Driver Diameter: 11mm
Cable Length: 1.3m
Plug Type: 3.5mm Gold Plated
Impedance: 16 Ohms
SPL at 1kHz: 102±4 dB
Max Input Power: 100mW
Features:
Volume Control
Advanced Sonic Accuracy
Super Bass
Brushed Stainless Steel Casing
Polished Gun Metal Alloy Finsih
Includes Soft Ear Gels in Three Sizes for a Comfortable Fit
Deluxe Stylish Design
Now let's get to testing!
Testing:
With the testing of these earbuds, I'll focus on a few areas that are absolutely critical to inspect when you're looking to buy a pair. First I'll look the higher tones, the trebles that provide some piercing excellence. Then I'll look at the mid-level tones that are mostly made up of guitar tracks and vocals. After that I'll do some tests to try out the low-level, or bass tones in music tracks. After that I'll take a look at the speed, or responsiveness that these Iharmonix earphones provide. I've already taken the liberty of ensuring that they have a good life by letting them burn in for 24 hours straight. This works to loosen up the voice coils and give the earbuds an improved sound quality. Which it did. Let's go!
Treble
There were absolutely no hard feelings towards these headphones as I moved into the testing, and none developed. Things sounded great in the high level range and I was quite impressed by this especially given the earbuds price level. I tried a variety of songs and all of them were very satisfying, and quite immersive. One thing's for sure, if you’re looking to be deafened by Ozzy Ozbourne this will get the job done painfully fast. It's either that or spend a fortune on concert tickets. Your choice. For the high level tones, the IHarmonix Platinum ev-Series earbuds get a 7.5/10.
Mid-Level Tones
Most mid-levels are present in the form of vocals and guitar tracks. These make up the heart and soul of just about every rock song. These tones also proved these earbuds to be quite worthy. All of the mid-tones are very distinguishable and this was especially evident while I was listening to some of my favorite movies. I couldn't have been much happier. They're just a touch sibilant in parts, but for this price, golden. Very good job. 7.5/10. A solid, sustained sound that satisfies is something special, and these earbuds rock. But enough with the alliteration, let's check out how these earbuds perform in the lowest of the low.
Bass Tones
This part of the test is always special for me. Just how much of a thump can you put in some pea-size piece of electronics. The answer? A lot. I did a few bass and subwoofer tests to push the range, and quality of these earbuds to their limits. Far beyond the limits of other earbuds you'd normally find for under $100. The louder I got, the more I was impressed. I showed these off to my friends and family next to otherwise comparable earbuds, and their responses were all very similar. Wide eyes, nodding heads and the inability to breath at key points in the songs. Every bass-filled song made me wonder why my head was the only part of my body shaking. Very powerful bass in these puppies. If you choose to buy these after reading the review, I cannot be responsible for the dance moves that will inevitably follow. Just my own. Excellent. 8.5/10 for the bass.
Speed
When it came to rapid notes in quick succession, I was fairly surprised as well. Individual beats came across very powerfully and very clearly like I knew they would. Other earbuds and headphones that cost this much usually sacrifice some responsiveness in the interest of cost effectiveness, but these earbuds found a great balance. I'm a big fan of Stepmania and similar games like PSP Revolution, so when tougher songs pump out the beats per minute like nobodies business its good to have a set you can rely on. A truly enjoyable experience. These Iharmonix earbuds performed greatly in this area. 9/10.
Here's everything summed up:
Treble/High-Level Tones: 7.5/10
Mid-Level Tones: 7.5/10
Bass/Low-Level Tones: 8.5/10
Speed/Responsiveness: 9/10
The conclusion is located on the following page.
Conclusion:
All around, these IHarmonix earbuds prove themselves to be an excellent pair. I had a lot of fun thoroughly reviewing these. For this level of quality, it's usually a gamble buying something in the $50-70 range but this pair is definitely a pair of winners that easily compares with some earbuds twice as expensive. There may not be a whole lot of people that look for earphones in between the cheapies and the uber-quality expensive ones, but if you've been waiting a while for excellent quality earbuds to come down significantly in price, these may be the ticket for you. Let's take another quick look at the goods and bads now.
Pros:
- Great sound
- Very Comfortable
- Good Price
- In-Line Volume Control
- Good Availability
Cons:
- None
All things being said and heard, I hereby award the IHarmonix Platinum ev-Series earbuds the Golden Overclockershq.com Award.
