Hello!
It's springtime outside, and it's time to get your bike out! Here are just my headphones for pokatushki (Samsung EO-EG920L) I managed to spoil – a couple of times they caught them on the corner of the table, and now one earphone does not work, and the remote control does not increase the volume. It was very sorry for them.
Thus, I was faced with the need to buy headphones that should fit well in my ears, and at the same time, they should not be plugs, but earbuds so as not to cut me off from the surrounding reality.
Taking into account the needs and planned features of operation (cycling), the main emphasis was on good fixation and on a comfortable design, so the sound quality was not paramount. After going through the electronics stores, I chose one of the most inexpensive options – Philips SHQ1300LF in a bright, light green color for 1190 rubles. There are three more color options, orange with white wire, gray with pink wire, and black with white wire.
There were no orange and black ones, so I had to take gray ones with light green wire.
Appearance and materials
The headphones are sold in a cardboard box with beautiful printing that sets you in a sporty way.
The box contains the headphones themselves, two sets of replaceable gray ear pads, a clothespin for attaching headphones to clothing and a soft, fabric bag for carrying headphones.
Another set of ear pads (size M) is already on the headphones. The ear cushions in sizes M and L have a special stop that prevents the headphones from falling out.
The S-size ear pads, on the other hand, do not have this feature. I was surprised by this fact. Apparently, the manufacturer believes that in people with small ears, headphones should not fall out in principle. It's strange. The size of the ear cushions is marked on the inside and is not easy to see.
Bright, light green cable, length 1.2 m. It's soft and quite thick, which means it shouldn't get tangled (not true).
The clothespin is toothy and very tight. One more thing – the clothespin sits very tightly on the cable, so it's better not to move it up and down, there is a risk of damaging this cable. If you need to place it lower or higher, it is best to remove it and reinstall it in a different location.
At the junction of the two wires from the headphones, there is a gray soft sleeve made of a material similar to rubber, on which the country of origin proudly flaunts.
The headphones have an L-shaped, gold-plated plug with a housing made of the same soft material as the sleeve. The fact that the body of the plug is soft should have a positive effect on its lifespan.
The headphones have a somewhat futuristic look, thanks to the design of the case, at the base of which a hole is made through which the wire looks through, and the general, unusual geometry of this case itself.
The ear cushions are soft and bend easily, which in theory should not cause discomfort in everyday use.
The side (L and R) is marked on the case in large letters on a gray background. The location is not the best, but this is not a problem, since it is very difficult to mix up the headphones in places – they simply will not fit into the wrong ear.
Workmanship
The ear cushions are made by stamping and are not of a very high quality. Quite tangible and clearly visible are the stamping seams that protrude from the body and interfere with placement in the ears.
The holes in the ear pads are also sloppy, which either gives out a very inexpensive product, or the manufacturer's unwillingness to invest in quality equipment and precise stamps.
If you remove the ear pads, we will also see a not very beautiful picture. The speaker mesh looks like a cheap, low quality plastic toy. The headphone housing has burrs and stamping seams, and the design itself leaves much to be desired.
The headphones did not make a very good impression on this parameter.
Convenience
Having rather unpretentious ears, I rarely think that headphones may be uncomfortable for me. So it was this time. I bought it without thinking about this parameter.
Elastic, soft and generally comfortable wire straightened within a couple of days and did not create problems. Moreover, it is very easily soiled, and quickly gets tangled, despite its impressive thickness.
Ear pads. This is the first time I've come across such uncomfortable headphones. Within literally an hour of using these headphones, my ears started to ache and burn. There was a feeling as if the inside of the ear was smeared with pepper. However, there are no allergic reactions. This is a corny inconvenient design. I changed the ear pads to the smallest ones, without support, and tried to be like them. It didn't help much. On the first day it seemed that everything was in order, but this feeling persisted literally until the next day, when in the morning I tried to insert them into my ears again. It hurt, and it turned out to be absolutely impossible to use.
At the moment, the headphones are on sale for a symbolic price on one of the free classifieds sites.
Sound
After the chapter on convenience, writing about sound doesn't seem to make sense. But, suddenly, it’s just this model that didn’t fit my ears, but for someone else they will fit perfectly in the ears.
I tested headphones with the main source with which they were supposed to be used – the Spotify service.
The main characteristic of the sound that arises in the head when these headphones are mentioned is no frills.
The sound is plastic, flat, dirty. There is a humming barrel effect. It lacks detail, depth and transparency. There is no 'air'. It feels like all the sounds are heaped together.
The main audible frequencies are medium. The bass is indistinct, without richness and depth – you want to twist the equalizer to add low frequencies. The treble is muted.
Despite the fact that it makes a lot of sense to demand a good sound from headphones of such a cost and purpose, even with such assumptions, I definitely did not like the sound.
Conclusions instead of conclusions
Buying these headphones was impulsive. Impressed by the breakdown of my main bike Samsung EO-EG920L, I tried to buy something similar, also inexpensive, but from another manufacturer. Alas, the attempt was unsuccessful. In fact, for the indicated price, we received a product with an extremely uncomfortable body and fit in the ears, and with a very mediocre sound for 'three-plus'.
If you are looking for an inexpensive solution for a use case where it is important to hear not only the music, but also what is happening around, then for an inexpensive solution it is better to look for something else. In other words, don't waste your money. For 1200 rubles, there are a lot of more worthy options.