Two different rather nice value sets of earbuds from very different places, First from Crystal Acoustics their i-40 offering. The second set from a name more known as a motherboard producer the H11 from Gigabyte.
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Crystal Acoustics i40
A stylish looking set of ear plugs and because your ears are plugged there is a noise reduction element as well as a bass increase.
15cm down the black lead from your left ear is the normal mute and answer option found to allow you to take phone calls without needing to extract the smartphone from your pocket.
The total lead length is 1.2metres and after .35 metres the two flat leads merge into one, this can be adjusted to suit. Flat leads have become more popular as they tend to knot less when taken off and rolled up before placing in your pocket or the supplied zip up pouch.
The pouch also contains four different sizes of replacement earbuds. I tend to wear such leads over my ears as otherwise the flat cables tend to rub against my cloths and pick up movement noise, the extra movement away from the neck alleviates this.
There is a single column User Manual that seems to cover everything. The other side is covered in the very small print associated with most warranties.
If anything the plugging mechanism makes a little more bass than I like. The ear buds are made of aluminium and are light. The 3.5mm plug bends 90degrees from the cable to suit most MP3 devices.
The stated warranty is for two years but I did not read the small print, this of course keeps lawyers and opticians in work.
Wearing while out and about means you need to keep your eyes open for traffic as the ear plugging effect means you hear little outside sound.
The Crystal Accoustic i-40 are available from the link below for £24.99 with free delivery.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B0WX5SG?ie=UTF8&tag=gadge0a-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634
Gigabyte H11 in-ear
These are just for listening as there is no switch in the 1.2metre lead to answer phone calls. The white lead is a simple pair of leads joined together .3 metres from the ear buds. The soft material that makes up the buds means your ears are filled.
Like the unit above I wore the leads over the ears to prevent noise from rubbing on my clothes echoing to destroy the music.
There are a single set of extra earbuds in the box together with a small sheet that just identifies the model, the manufacturer and states two year warranty.
I noticed a little more external noise when out and about than with the buds above.
As to the sound if anything these had even more bass than the other units. According to the box the powerful drivers absorbers delivers intense bass. The aluminium body of the buds give crystal clear mid and high sounds.
I found the earbuds comfortable to wear even over a long period and while there was some noise reduction it did not take it to the extreme.
These are still very new and currently only available from this link below.
The Gigabyte H-11 in-ear are available from the link below for $19.99
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=81322
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Comment by paul_smart, 2 June 2013 8:10