Souchaku Henshin Kaixa review

The Kaixa sculpt is pretty ok for the Souchaku line. The body parts actually look pretty good, but the head sculpt is of significantly lower quality for some reason. The photon blood running through the mask is too thick, resulting in the head sculpt looking a little off, which sort of ruined the look.

Souchaku Henshin Delta review

The Souchaku Henshin Delta figure is a really nice sculpt! When pieced together, the figure's proportions looks really good overall (relative to the Souchaku Henshin line). The neck isn't too long so it doesn't stick out too much. In my opinion, among all the main Faiz Souchaku Henshin characters, its the most show accurate one.

I also really like the Delta armour's matte coat finish on the shoulders, chest and head armour pieces. The matte application really gives it a different look as compared to Faiz and Kaixa Souchaku Henshin. 

 

My "complete selection" Delta driver XD. I really like the Souchaku Henshin die-cast rider belts!

Mihara (the main wearer) as Delta! The hair sculpt is very off lol.. 

SIC Kiwami Tamashii Autovajin photoshoot

Meelectronics M6 review (Clear)

Design: 9/10

My transparent M6 is really beautiful. The transparent housing allows a look at the dynamic drivers and other internal gadgetry, which is a gorgeous sight to behold. The design also looks very premium, not much to talk about here.

Sound: 9/10

These earphones are really amazing! The score I gave was based on what I paid for (brand new from Amazon), approximately 13USD. For such little money, you will get really premium high quality sound. This earphones put my Klipsch S4 (first edition) and Sennheiser CX870 to shame.

When I put these earphones on, I was immediately blown away by how much detail and such clarity the sound actually has. The sound to me is as clear as water, and makes my CX870 feels really, really muddy. The bass response is just right, and gives a full 'oomph', unlike my Klipsch S4 which sounded a bit thin to me. 

You will definitely not go wrong with these earphones. I have no complaints about them for their price. The frequency covers a really wide range, the sound is clear as water, soundstage is good (I felt like I was using headphones instead of earphones), and the bass is just right, not too much (unlike my Sennheiser CX870) and not too little, just enough to satisfy.

Durability: 8/10

Although these are branded as sports earphones, I don't think I will want to give it a try with a tough workout, and I don't think they will take such a beating either. These are not the Meelectronics Sports S6 either. The construction is really durable though, the cable feels really tough and strong, and the stress points are designed really well. Its probably good enough for the everyday commuter.

Usability: 8/10

Generally quite comfortable, although the first few fittings might be a bit painful. I haven't been using these for long, but right out of the box, they feel pretty alright, although my Sennheiser CX870 are even more comfy.

Overall: 9.5/10

Get these, these are superb. I got it from about 13USD brand new off Amazon. The company doesn't skimp on any materials even at that price. The cable and design feels really solid and premium to me (at least for the transparent clear version), and the included carrying pouch is manufactured really well. You can't possibly go wrong with these if you are a frugal audiophile. 

The sound is really, really good. I will say they are superior to my Sennheiser CX870, Beats Tours, Klipsch S4. This is really the best earphone I've ever had, for the build, price and sound.

CX680 review

Design: 8/10

Great eye-catching design, colourful. Designed as part of a series of earphones, between BMW and Sennheiser. Additional (extra) branding by Adidas.

Sound: 8/10

Check out my review of the CX870 for more information as the sound signature and tuning are almost the same.

Overall, sound is great, good bass response. But strangely, the CX680 is pretty loud, much louder than the CZ870. The CX680 is also of a slightly less refined sound than the CX870.

Durability: 9/10

These are waterproof sports earphones with Kevlar reinforcing on the cables!

Usability: 5/10

I don't know what Sennheiser had in mind when they designed this, but the earphone is too short to use normally without the extension, and too long and heavy to use with the extension. It's only good if you're wearing an armband, but even then, it might still be a little short. In conclusion, it sucks.

Go for the CX680i if you really need a Sennheiser sports in ear, as the cable is at least of normal length lol.

Overall: 7/10

Sennheiser CX870 review

Design: 10/10

The design of this earphone is amazing! The design is actually part of a series of earphone designed in collaboration between BMW DesignWorks Singapore Studio and Sennheiser. Naturally, Sennheiser provides the drivers and sound, while BMW the design. 

These pair of earphones look really sweet and will definitely catch people's attention. It is lighter and more plasticky than the commercial photos. The 'chrome finishing' on the earphone is just painted plastic, but it is needed to keep the earphone lightweight. The only real chrome part is at the cable splitter.

In conclusion, these earphones won't disappoint with the practical yet beautiful looks. It's minimalistic but at the same time stands above the crowd, just like an Apple product.

Sound: 8.5/10

These phones are worth exactly their value, and are mid range earphones, good enough for the general consumer, unless you're a golden ear audiophile (which I'm not).

Although the balance and separation isn't as good as the original Klipsch S4, overall bass response is a lot better, fuller and has a heavier thump than the S4. Generally, I feel the highs, vocals and bass are more emphasized and possibly better than the S4, although the bass is slightly muddier but not too noticeable. Also, the mids and lows are not as well brought out as the S4, although it's there.

The sound preference will really differ from person to person, but generally I feel the sound signature is really warm, with instruments well brought out. The sound is also generally balanced with bass response being just right for my tastes. I would put it on par or even better than the Beats Tours (lol)

Durability: 9/10

Sennheiser being Sennheiser, will definitely design lasting and durable products. They design more for practicality than the general feel of the product, unlike their competitors, like Klipsch.

The Klipsch S4, and possibly even S4 II will not last very long due to their weak cable housing and poorly designed connectors (usually stress points). But the CX870 feels really durable, and the connectors feel strong and supple. You can definitely put these in your pocket without fear of stressing the cables.

Usability: 9/10

Although the earphones seem quite large, they are actually really lightweight. But sometimes, they might just loosen with a little walking. I fix that by fitting the earfins from my CX680 (totally adaptable and is a perfect fit).

Overall score: 9/10

In conclusion, an earphone good enough to last and for everyday on the road use. Great sound, affordability, quality, design and durability. The only company able to pull this off is Sennheiser. Buy it without hesitation.

Telling between real and fake Beats headphones

Hello! Fellow tech enthusiast, today, I'll be telling you fail proof ways to tell the difference between any real and fake beats headphones with my years of experience! 

You might be asking when will such a skill come useful, well, such a skill will not only ensure you not to get scammed buying Beats headphones, but also finding or buying real Beats headphones second-hand.

1. Build quality and the metal 'B' plating:

Inspect the first and second picture of the Beats Tours and Solo respectively above. Look closely at the 'b' logo. Firstly, if its the real deal, it will not be a sticker, but rather a metal plate. Secondly, even if its metal, you must ensure that the 'b' has a somewhat glittery and textured pattern, and the metal has silver scratches running down (Inspect the above photo for example). The fake headphones won't be having such intricate details to cut costs on the manufacturing process.

Of course, apart from the metal 'b' plating, do ensure that the build quality is good, as usually the fakes have a lousy build quality.

These traits should be the first key feature between any real and fake Beats headset, even without listening.


2. Sound quality:

In order to confirm that the Dr Dre headphone is authentic, you will of course have to check for sound quality. And in order to know if the sound is really 'authentic', trust me, you don't necessarily have to be an audiophile to tell the difference between Dr Dre's intended EQ and a crappy speaker. There are actually no hard and fast rules to telling audio quality, (which is the reason you buy headphones for), but rather as a guideline. Here's mine:

Beats Tour:
Really good bass, decent instrument separation.

Beats Solo:
The audio has a thumping and slightly boomy bass, instrument separation is pretty distinctive, but the mids are slightly muddy. (That's just how Dr Dre's EQ works)

Beats Studio:
Bass is not as strong as Beats Solo, but is still somewhat augmented. Mids here are pretty much clearer than the Beats Solo and instrument separation is pretty good.

Beats Pro:
An almost flat eq with slight bass augmentation. Really thin sounding audio (thinner than Beats Solo)

3. Serial Number

On the headphone band, real Beats Solo HD will show a sticker label with the serial on it. The fake beats won't have any sticker with serial number.


Conclusion:

Trust me, if your Beats headset fulfills the points that I've stated, it is most probably an authentic Dre headset. I did not do a comparison of the box or packaging, as there are tons of comparisons out there on the internet for those already.


Extra information - A rough idea on the Beats manufacturing:

Well, you might still be wondering, how does some retailers (3rd party unauthorised ones) still manage to sell their authentic Beats headset for such ridiculously low prices? (deal extreme.com used to be one site I know of).

The explanation is actually really simple, the manufacturing costs of each Beats headset is really not more than a fraction, or probably about 5USD for Beats Tours, 10USD for the Solos etc. (Trust me I've dismantled the headset and I know how cheap the parts really are)

Klipsch Image S4 Review

Design: 8/10

The Klipsch Image S4s are are an extremely well-designed pair of earphones. They look pretty sleek without being too 'quirky' or 'outstanding' unlike the Beats Tour by Dr Dre.

Sound Quality: 10/10

Since I'm no audiophile, to put it across in words for the average consumer, I would say that the Klipsch S4 really excels in having a balanced EQ with sufficient bass, resulting in details being brought out of music. The sound quality difference between these and 50 dollar earphones are like night and day (or between the S4s and Tours haha, the Tours suck, seriously). You will suddenly start hearing the twang or vibrato of string instruments, the piano keys in much more detail. 

Bass - Enough bass to be sufficient for any genre of music without bass boost, but it doesn't come across as being over powered. The bass is also not muddy at all as compared to the Beats Tour which I recently reviewed, in fact, you can hear almost every single detail. Overall, I would describe the bass signature as a slightly sharper 'thud', as compared to Sennheiser's deep 'thump'.

Mids - The mids frequencies are truly brought out in the Klipsch S4.

Treble and Vocals - The trebles are extremely good, and doesn't drown out the other frequencies. But what's exceptional about these earphones are the vocals. The vocals are perfectly tuned for almost any song I listened to, and they sound just right, which is having the limelight without sounding too harsh and piercing unlike most other earphones I have heard.

Sound Signature:

The sound signature of the Klipsch Image S4, to someone switching from the 'warm and deep' sound signatures of Beats Tour or Sennheiser, might sound a bit 'harsh' and 'crisp' at first but not in a bad way. Thus, soundstage might not have as much depth to it as Sennheisers, largely due to the lack of 'oomph' in bass, unlike conventional headphones or earphones such as Beats and Sennheisers. But after listening to it for sometime, you will pretty much get used to it.

Durability: 6/10

Urgh. One thing I hate about premium materials are they never tend to be durable, Klipsch should really just follow Sennheiser and provide durability over a more premium feel. The part where the driver chambers and the wire meet (at the top) is the most fragile part of the earphone, as the connector design will almost certainly rip apart after a period of use.

My friend's Klipsch S4 had totally ripped apart on both sides, so a note to all readers if you purchase these earphones, be extremely careful and take good care of them! I wouldn't say they are even suitable for chucking into pockets either. Hmmm...

*Update: After one year, my Klipsch are falling apart*

Usability: 9/10

These earphones are one of the most comfortable earphones I have ever worn for an in-ear earphone. Their patented oval in-ear gels work extremely well, and you can definitely tell Klipsch did pump in some R&D money into developing the ear gels to be fitted for human ears (like the Apple ear pods), unlike other brands like Sennheiser, which probably just pack in cheap rough ear gels even for their mid-range models.

The oval ear-gels also fit in so well that even if I walk briskly they show no signs of falling out at all. Surprising for an earphone with such a large driver housing design.

Overall score: 8/10

If these earphones were somewhat more durable and can take much more of a 'beating' (Being chucked into pockets), I'd have given them 9-10 points. But too bad they aren't and I'm giving these 8 points because they aren't very durable.

Dismantling the Beats Tour

So recently, I've been thinking since there weren't many people who dismantled their beats products, I thought I might give it a shot for my authentic Beats Tours.

So here's how I did it and my thoughts afterwards:

I dismantled it by simply unscrewing the earphone at the driver housing, pretty simple for a 150USD earphone. Once I got inside, I discovered the parts of the earphone are ridiculously cheap and simple.

Trust me, Dr Dre makes more ugly money out of every single earpiece sold than Apple Inc, the product cost to profit ratio is disgusting. That's why, never ever support dr Dre products, every single one suck from every perspective possible. The product cost of the tour to profit ratio is probably 1:150 in USD :p

Ok, rantings aside, in the driver housing, all you will see is one single tiny speaker unit. I tried cracking it open to see what they use for the diaphragms but to no avail ^_^ The speaker has some sort of rubber band attached to the front. And the speakers are linked to the jack by two thin green and red copper wires.

Beats by Dr Dre Tour review

Hello! I'll be doing a review of the Beats Tour by Dr Dre ^_^

Design: 9/10

The design of these Tours are extremely sleek, and they definitely look very good when you are wearing it.

Sound Quality: 7/10

Since I'm no audiophile, to put it across in words for the average consumer, I would say that the Tours sound quite good with a strong bass, vocals and trebles but with high distortion. The soundstage is definitely very good, perhaps due to the driver chamber design (which is quite large). 

Dr Dre's personal EQ has extremely high distortion, lol. However, as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, some people might like this EQ, while others might not. The EQ pattern goes something like this:

Bass - Good thump, very muddled and distorted, some emphasise but not overpowering neither underpowered (Unlike some people who describe it likewise)

Mids - Virtually reduced to none, creating a very 'deep' and good soundstage.

Treble and Vocals - Very, very high emphasise, much more than the bass, but not shrill, sharp or overpowered.

So thats how I would roughly describe the EQ (Note that it might not be fully accurate as I am by no means an audiophile :( ). Distortion is very, very evident, however it doesn't twist the song into something completely alien. Thus, I can only conclude that audiophiles would only hate the Tour's to the extreme. Since I'm no audiophile, to put it across in words for the average consumer, I would say that the Tours sound quite good with a strong bass, vocals and trebles but with high distortion. The soundstage is definitely very good, perhaps due to the driver chamber design (which is quite large).
However, when I compared it to Sennheisers and Klipsch, the difference is like night and day. The Tours lose too much details for music to be worth recommending at its price. Dr Dre never fails to disappoint :)

The Tours are definitely good enough for the everyday consumer, but maybe not so for audiophiles. Definitely overpriced for the sound though.

Sound Signature:

The sound signature (in my opinion) feels slightly 'warm' (not harsh sounding), but also muddy at the same time. The clarity of premium earphones thats found in brands like Klipsch and Sennheisers are definitely not present.

Durability: 9/10

These earphones are extremely well made and durable, and they hardly show any signs of wear and tear from day to day usage.

Usability: 7/10

These earphones also stay put extremely well when you wear them, and unlike the iLeaf pro by Ounuo, aJays or any other flat cable earphone I have tested before, these earphones hardly fall out.

My only quibble is, sometimes, when you walk with these earphones, you can actually hear the sound of the cable rubbing against your body, thus making the music go 'thump thump' as you walk.

Overall score: 7.5/10

While these earphones might definitely be really distorted, they don't sound bad in particular. However, the EQ seemingly makes the music sound better in certain cases. This is probably due to the fact that I mostly only listen to Japanese electro-pop and acid jazz, maybe not classical music haha :X

However, these earphones are definitely overpriced for its sound, and there are many others which are much better and priced much lower such as the Sennheiser CX500, and certain JVC, TDK, Sony and Audio-Technica earphones.

iLeaf Pro by Ounuo review (Update in progress)

Hello fellow web user, today, I'll be doing a review of Ounuo's iLeaf Pro earphones. I recently picked these up to replace my Sennheiser CX280, which gotten stolen (Lol). These earphones are extremely solid, well designed, sounds great and durable right out of the box. According to the company, they are designed to be extremely eco-friendly, and even the packaging is eco-friendly as it once you open it up there's no way of resealing it :|

I recently did a search for the review of these earphones, but I couldn't even find a single good and comprehensive review, so here goes mine (one of the first :D) :

Design: 9/10

The design is extremely beautiful and minimalistic, and it goes extremely well with my iPhone 5 rugged WorkMate casing. However, the design is almost identical to the Beats Tours, except for the back of the driver housing, which is flat like a leaf as seen in the image above.

Build Quality: 9/10

The build quality feels extremely premium and solid. The rubbery flat cable makes it feel expensive, and the metallic earphone housing definitely feels durable, though I feel this will pose a problem to the usability of the product as it might be too heavy and keep falling out.

Sound Quality: 8/10

Sound quality is almost top notch, and is on par with 100 dollar earphones such as Klipsch and Sennheisers. Audio is extremely clear, and bass is sufficient. Instrument clarity is also superb, with every instrument being heard pretty clearly when I listened to Elbow's 'One Day Like This'. However, as with all in-ear earphones, what these earphones lack is mostly soundstage, due to its enclosed design.  But overall the sound quality is good enough for everyday use, with sufficient bass.

Usability: 3/10

I must say, the weakness of these earphones lie in their extremely large design, just like the 'Beats by Dr Dre' Tours (I believe the mold is the same). When walking around in these, I sometimes have to keep pushing the earphones in as they tend to loosen after a while if you make any sudden turns or movements. This fault is due to its extremely heavy 'flat cable', and also the weird driver housing design (exactly like the Beats Tours), which is unusually long and heavy.

Anyway, I have never onced liked the design of Dr Dre's Tours simply because its just too impractical to have such a heavy driver housing that will keep falling out, and I have no idea why Ounuo did not even improvised. My theory is they wanted to cut costs, thus they used the same mood to make the driver housing and cable as the Beats Tours.

*Update after a week's worth of usage*

These earphones are extremely heavy and impractical, due to the extremely heavy housing and flat cable design. They tend to fall out almost every time I start walking, and would only stay put if I sit down or stop walking. I do not know about the other users, but this design problem is bugging me a lot.  The earphone is rendered almost useless by the weird design, as there is practically no point in owning an earphone that is not meant for mobility.

Durability: 7/10

The build quality of these earphones are really good, and you can stash them in your jeans pocket or bag and expect them to last.

Overall score: 4/10

These earphones fail to meet my expectations, simply because of the poor design. These earphones were clearly designed for style over function, as the flat cable and the metal driver housing makes it extremely heavy, thus making it fall out all the time. I could not walk around without it not falling out. Thus, I wouldn't recommend these earphones to anyone, bottom line, they suck terribly due to the idiotic design. Who would want to use them?

Apple iPhone 5 Earpods review

Quoted from my Facebook status: "Wow! The Apple Earpods are a complete blow away experience! It can totally replace my everyday earphones :D satisfying bass on par with HTC's coveted 'Beats Audio' (if u turn on bass booster), and this is coming from a person who has owned Bose in ears, Sennheiser in ears and over ears and Beats in ears ^^ Much improved clarity and mids too, very balanced EQ."

Hit the YouTube link below for my unboxing review:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ggYUq06SU7c

Review:

The Apple earpods are by no means a low quality earphone. When you wear them, the full thump of the bass will definitely blow you away! As expected for all Apple earphones, these earpods are superb when it comes to instrument clarity and separation too.

Bose IE2 review

Product Overview:

These pair of earphones are the third generation Bose in ear series, that are targeted at the high end market.

Design: 9/10

These pair of in ear earphones are extremely well designed and really sleek in my opinion. They are also pretty big and eye catching. These earphones will definitely turn heads when you wear them outside, and Bose's design language is very unique for in ear earphones. Bose has definitely done a good job at making these earphones look and feel premium, which obviously should be the case as people will be paying a premium for these earphones. The brushed metal feels extremely premium, and also the metal grills covering the speakers. The cable housing is also very unique, with its black and white alternating design.

Quality: 6/10

The build quality is the only part where these earphones does not exceed in. In my personal opinion, the way the audio jack connector is designed feels extremely weak, as its pointing upwards diagonally. I do not really know the reason on why Bose designed it to be like this, but it feels very weak.

Also, one must be extremely careful and take good care of the earphones, if one wants it to lsat. You must place these earphones in the provided pouch all the time after use, if not they might not last. A unit of these earphones would probably only be expected to last 2 years on average, unless you take extremely good care of it.

Sound Quality: 9/10

Sound quality is especially decent for these pair of earphones, even for a non in ear. The bass and its sound stage will probably be its selling point if you were to ask me to sum up its overall sound experience. The bass provides a very satisfying thump, without being too loud, but it can be slightly muddy at times. The sound stage is also one of the best for earbuds, you get a very good feel of the sound stage, firstly due to the fact that they are non in ears, and secondly its 'open back' design. Apart from that, mids and trebles were acceptable, and vocals doesn't come across as overly piercing, though a bit loud in my opinion.

Usability: 7/10

These earphones are very good for normal everyday use, due to its good sound experience and extreme high level of comfort when you wear them. However, the audio jack connector design results in you having to be more careful than usual when you slide your phone with the earphones connected into your pocket.

Durability: 4/10

I highly doubt these earphones would last for more than 2 years without getting a replacement pair. All of my friends are already experiencing some problems with their IE2s as the physical condition deteriorates very quickly if you don't take good care of them. My friend's pair is falling apart (Bose IE2) after approximately a year and a half's worth of usage. For his unit, the rubber cable connectors between the cable and the main drivers themselves are already tearing apart, and also the audio jack connector, like I mentioned earlier. For my own pair, I actually had to send in my unit one for a replacement pair, as I accidentally snagged on it once, the rubber cable housing already had a small tear on it.

Overall Score: 6/10 

You should only get these pair of earphones, provided that your lifestyle demands you not to subject these pair of earphones to more rugged environments. These earphones are not really built to last, however good the comfort and sound quality is.

Sennheiser CX280 review

Product Overview:

The CX280 mid tier Sennheiser in ear earphones are good for normal everyday use. These pair of in ears also features a volume control compatible with Apple iPods.

Design: 7/10

These pair of earphones are moderately well designed. They stand out well from normal earphones, thanks to its unique zig-zag pattern on the earphones. However, these pair of earphones aren't overly attention grabbing, due to its dull dark colours. Therefore, these pair of earphones are perfect for those who are looking for a pair of discreet earphones with solid sound! 

Build Quality: 9/10

As expected of the Sennheiser company, these in ears are extremely durable, and also feels tough and solid. The plastic used to make these earphones are extremely strong, and the cable housing is also slightly rubbery and feels strong (slightly stiff, a good sign of quality). When on my daily commutes, I usually just stash them in my pocket along with my phone, and they show absolutely no signs of wear and tear at all. Unlike most other earphones, the audio jack connector is L-shaped, thus its extremely reinforced and durable, which eliminates the problem of the cable housing wearing off at the jack connector, unlike most other earphones.

Sound Quality: 9/10

These pair of earphones offers very decent sound quality, as expected of Sennheiser. Clarity was very good in the in ears, and the violins and cellos felt alive when I listened to Vivaldi's 'The Four Seasons - Spring'. The sound stage is also quite decent, or even better than most other in ears. Bass was strong, not overpowering, but yet clear and satisfying at the same time. In fact, they have even more bass than Dr Dre's iBeats.

As for the mids and trebles, they were pretty average and neither is lacking. Vocals were also clear but not piercing. Overall, for its price, the sound quality is very good, I even feel that they can go on par with higher end earphones, such as the Klipsch S4.

Usability: 8/10

There wasn't many problems with using these in ears. Comfort is very high and sound quality is good. My only complain is the cable often feels slightly heavy, due to the volume control located near the wire splitter. 

Durability: 8/10

These earphones are definitely made to last, from the way it is designed! Jacks, connectors are all really well made. 

Overall Score: 8/10 

Though these are not an extremely high end pair of in ear earphones, the sound quality is definitely very good for normal everyday use, and are even on par with higher end earphones like the Klipsch S4. You definitely will not regret getting these pair of earphones!

HTC UrBeats / iBeats review by Dr Dre for Android

Hello, today I'll be doing a review of HTC's famed 'Beats by Dr Dre' iBeats! Before I start the review, I'll admit that though I'm no audiophile, I've actually tested and owned enough headphones and earphones from most famous brands, to be able to differentiate from 'good', 'bad' and 'poor' headphones or earphones. (For the record, I've owned Bose IE2, Sennheiser HD203, Sennheiser CX280, Audio Technica CKL303, JVC Sports HA-EB75 and many others...)

Product Overview: 


These are the HTC or Google's Android compatible Monster Beats by Dr Dre UrBeats, or more commonly known or referred to as the 'iBeats', as the design and drivers are almost exactly identical to Monster Beats by Dr Dre's other pair of in-ear earphones, the iBeats.

These pair of earphones were manufactured especially for HTC's phones, and ships with many HTC phone models such as the HTC Rezound (Verizon), HTC Beats Sensation XL, HTC Beats Sensation XE and a few others where only the first batches received the earphones, such as the HTC One X and One XL. Also, for optimized performance, the user is required to turn on the 'Beats Audio' software integrated into the mentioned HTC phones, which in layman terms is just equalizer settings, in the form of a setting close to bass boost.

Design: 8/10

First off, since the image is just right above, lets talk about the design. These little pair of earbuds definitely look extremely aesthetically pleasing, and looks premium right out of the box! Even the carrying pouch has an extremely nice feel to it, except for the fact that the pouch snaps together too tightly, making it hard when you try to open the pouch to take out the earphones. The design of the UrBeats or iBeats is very nice to behold, and also extremely visually appealing. In fact its one of the most visually appealing in-ear earphones I have ever seen!

The casing of the drivers for the earphones, or the main components are housed in a metallic light silvery circular container, with Dr Dre's instantly identifiable 'b' logo at the sides of course. The casing for the drivers felt extremely premium and strong, and I doubt these will easily be damaged in normal everyday use. The cables for the earphones has a nice, rubbery and slightly smooth exterior, and were colored in Dr Dre's iconic bright red colours of course. The control talk button was made of plastic, with a metallic coating given, and also felt quite premium. Overall, I must say these pair of earphones were designed really well. 

Quality: 1/10

Since these earphones were made to be bundled with phones, naturally I suspect the manufacturer would want to cut costs as much as possible, thus compromising on the quality of the earphones. The cable housings disconnected from the control talk section right from the moment I started using it.

Quality is one thing these earphones are seriously lacking in, and also quality control. With reference to my inferred statement above, I would like to say that right from the very first day I started using these pair of earphones (Fresh from a HTC Sensation XL), the cables at the Control Talk section disconnected right away. The housing of the cable housing disconnected from the Control Talk, revealing the wiring. Upon closer inspection, what was holding these two components together was cheap glue. So right from the very first day I received these pair of earphones brand new, even with the cable ties, it was already a defect. This is clearly unacceptable for a pair of earbuds thats marketed with a thousand dollar contract phone, or sold at a retail price of approximately a 100 dollars, where most people would buy the phone with consideration of the earphones included (Really, fooled into thinking the audio and quality is good, read on for my review on the audio)

Sound Quality: 3/10

On a fair test as a normal earphone without Beats Audio, all I got was acceptable bass, enhanced trebles, and piercing vocals.

Believe me, if you're buying these earphones solely for the purpose of not displaying them in your glass cabinet, I would highly recommend you not to buy these pair of earphones. After doing a burn-in of more than 12 hours, the eq I got, instead of having great bass like most people said, the bass was pretty normal, or maybe even slightly lesser than normal bass. Instead, what was overpowering was actually the treble and the vocals. The vocals were even somewhat slightly piercing. Do note that all these was tested without the famed 'Beats Audio' bass boost software. I tested the earphones on an Apple iPhone, an Apple iPad, a HTC ChaCha and a Walkman player. On all these devices, they sounded equally sharp and horrible, with less than decent bass.

Even to my audiophile friends, the vocals sounded slightly if not very piercing. Audio quality was just horrible. Many details were lost, and the sound stage was small. There was no depth in my songs at all, and I didn't get the feeling of 'wow', and also didn't have the urge to listen to more songs, because the audio quality is really average if not horrible thanks to the piercing vocals.

So don't be fooled, these pair of earphones will only work with HTC phones that COMES with Beats Audio, so if you have neither, you are probably out of luck. I find this an extremely smart marketing strategy, making the earphones sound noticeably better on HTC phones with Beats Audio.

Usability: 1/10


With its cheap construction, extremely poor audio, bad design and extreme uncomfort, I could have given it a 0/10. Well, not only did it broke right away on day one, had surprisingly poor audio quality, theres actually more in store for you. These earphones are only meant to look good, and are not practical, it just looks cool in my opinion. The design of the earphones was such that it actually weighs down on one end when inserted in the ear, as its extremely heavy, thus it doesn't fit properly and noise isn't isolated, not to mention that it makes music sound more horrible. Also, the earphones were extremely uncomfortable, and my ears seriously hurt and were sore after using them. I couldn't find the right fit with all of the earbuds provided, as its either too big (to make music sound decent, and not fall out), or its too small (using it becomes extremely painful, it inserts too deep into the ears)


Durability: 1/10


Trust me, these cheaply constructed pair of earphones won't last, just like Dr Dre's Beats Solo, which only lasted about 2 months for me, snapping at the headband just by normal usage.

Overall: 1/10


These pair of lousy earphones couldn't possibly have asked for more stars. With HTC claiming their retail to be about 100 dollars, yet are shipped free with their smartphones, I simply think that its not worth going the extra mile, buying that HTC phone just for the earpiece. The quality is extremely and cheap, and the rubber housing also dirties very quickly if you own the white version. Sound quality was just not my cup of tea, with vocals sounding quite piercing (even to my audiophile friends), and the bass was less than spectacular, which was supposed to be its selling point. Also, using it is extremely painful, as the earphones insert too deep into your ear canal when fitted properly, thus giving me a headache and sore ears. The earphones also tends to keep coming out of your ears, as its very heavy on a single side, thus making music sound horrible, and not isolating a lot of noise. These earphones are only meant to look good, and will probably be worthless. The sound wasn't what I expected it to be, so don't get these. You can definitely get much better earphones for less than half the price, these currently retail online at Amazon for approximately 60USD, so I would recommend you to check out either JVC's lines of earphones, Sennheiser's CX series or Audio Technica instead.