Amongst all the other Apple toys released in the last two months (iPhone 5, iPad mini, iPad nano and Touch among others) came the new Earpods, the first redesign of iPod/iPhone headphones from the folks at Cupertino.
And just in time for Christmas. Definitely these headphones are a nice stocking stuffer price ranging from $34.99 to $35.99 and compact size.
One of my pet peeves for headphones is the lack of a carrying case to keep cord tidy and the earpieces clean. I remember watching in horror one day on the bus when a young man let his earbuds drag on the floor while he untangled the cord and then nonchalantly put the dirty buds in his ears. The new Earpods come with a handy little case to avoid those problems.
The new earpods fit snugly in the ears without bothering your ears. Great for exercising as they are also more sweat and water resistant than the original earbuds.
But what about the sound? I compared the sound from the same iPod on the original earbuds and the new earpods on four different types of music (Elvis gospel, Jane Siberry, an aria from Bellini’s I Puritani mono recording from 1953 and Beethoven piano concerto #5).
All the recordings sounded better on the new earpods. Definitely get the deeper bass tones that Apple promised. Most instruments are more detailed. The Jane Siberry cut definitely revealed deeper textures than the old earbuds. The only cut that didn’t show big improvement was the Beethoven piano concerto which really surprised me as it is a fully digital recording but I suspect it is because there are so many different instruments all at once. The earpods do best with music that is less orchestrated and where the emphasis is on one or two instruments or voice.
Great buy for someone wants headphones that work with all their Apple phones/pods, are more water and sweat resistant and don’t listen to symphonies much.
