Skullcandy 50/50 earbuds review

My daily wear earbuds recently died (I often refer to them as "disposable", as I have rarely kept a pair functional for more than a year) and I decided that a replacement was in order. I do have a pair of over the ear headphones at home, but due to their very "open" design, sound leakage is a significant problem (well, to be honest, it's not really a problem for me but rather for those around me!). For those looking to purchase new earbuds, the choice is literally astounding today. The real problem is finding an earbud that sounds good; specifications provided by the manufacturer don't tell the whole picture.

The previous pair of "disposable" earbuds I purchased were from Skullcandy and as I had been quite satisfied with them, I decided that I would look at other models from the company. Now I am aware that Skullcandy products are not the best that can be found on the market. But as they are easily available, usually pretty decently priced and fairly durable, they are usually a good solution for daily wear earbuds. Looking over the various models on sale at The Source (yes, I still shop there once in a while!) I saw the Skullcandy 50/50s in a separate display.

I looked over the package to see the specifications on these buds, set at almost double the price of other Skullcandy products in the store:

Features


Speaker Diameter: 11mm
Magnet Type: NdFeB
Frequency Response: 20-20k Hz
Impedance: 16 ohms
Max Input Power: 100mW
Cable Type: TPE
Cable Length: 1.3M
Plug Type: 3.5mm Gold Plated
MIC + CONTROL SWITCH + VOLUME
PLAY / / PAUSE / / TRACK CONTROL +
VOLUME CONTROL
Nylon Mesh Carry Case

But specifications are not always what they appear to be. The real test is in the listening and I can safely say that these earbuds are quite good, considering the price point and the mass production aspect of Skullcandy. One of the pleasant surprises was to find a carry case in the box; one of the primary causes of damage to earbuds is incorrect (or improper) storage and a carry case can really help in this regard.

So far, I am quite satisfied with the sound, although I suspect that a break-in period will only be a benefit that far too many users forego. If you are using an iPod Touch or iPhone, there are several applications that are designed specifically for this purpose. For users of other devices, simply create a varied playlist and use that as your break-in sound source. Nonetheless, these were quite good, right out of the package, which is very surprising. The comfort level is quite high and the finish is also quite good.

If you are in the market for a new pair of "disposable" earbuds, do yourself a favour and see what's available at multiple price points; you might just find a new set that makes your music new again!

Pick of the week: DIY Audio Projects

High fidelity, audiophile quality equipment has always been very expensive and out of reach for the average person. But this has not stopped many from building some of the highest quality audio equipment in the world and sharing the research and results.

DIY Audio Projects is a gold mine of plans, pictures, information, research and more on the construction of almost every type of audio component you can imagine, from high-end turntables to class A mono tube amplifiers and more, the site is a dream come true for electronic enthusiasts and musical fanatics on a budget.

Worth taking a look if only to remind ourselves that every item, no matter how well made, is made by someone. The lesson is that anything can be made!

My experience with the Blue Snowball

I've been using the Blue Microphones Snowball USB Microphone for the last two months and so far I have been rather impressed. I had been in the market for a new microphone for a little while; I was torn between the expense of a standard microphone and preamplifier setup and the ease of use and lowered expense of a USB microphone. Then only real drawback of a USB solution is the lower recording quality inherent to the devices currently on the market.

But the Snowball changed that; the recording quality rivals some of the lower end standard microphones, but the ease of use sets it in a category of its own. It really is a plug and play device and only requires slight system setting modifications to work on practically all home computers, whether Windows or OS X-based.

My only negative comment to date is essentially cosmetic: the shell of the microphone is made up of two sphere halves, connected at the midline and the resulting seam covered by a chrome-type sticker. This sticker has a tendency to come off regularly, though in most cases, it simply loosens on one end or the other. Nothing  major and in no way does this impact the recording quality, but it's a visual annoyance nonetheless.

I can sincerely vouch for the worthiness of this microphone and for the price, I feel that it is an excellent value indeed. Highly recommended.