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Review 2 of 3
Price Paid:
$16.00
from www.jandr.com Summary:
Aiwa's latest attempt falls a little short of their previous marks...
For basis of comparison, my pair of Aiwa in-ear phones from 1996 have tight bass and crisp treble. My 1998 pair have less treble response, but due to a larger resonance chamber, they have incredible bass (the most I've heard in the in-ear style). Both pairs have in-line volume controls and storage cases. I rate both pairs A+, even with their age!
Now with the V165's, I expected a little more. Because of the smaller size of the drivers, the frequency response has changed. They have great bass, given their size, but the midrange to high-mid's are way too sharp. Try to imagine boosting the mid/high-mid (but not high) channels of an EQ, and that's what you get with these.
On the plus side, due to their small size and Aiwa's latest invention, "acoustic plus" cushioning (an air-filled rubber cusion surrounding each phone), the V165's are very comfortable. You can wear these for hours and your ears will not hurt at all. 9/10 for the comfort factor.
The phones come with an in-line volume control and a storage case. A volume control (or a mute switch), in my opinion, is essential equipment on any headphones. No more fumbling with the player controls to try and find Volume, Stop or Pause, just grab the cord and turn it down. Unfortunately, the included storage case is incredibly hard to wind, not due to cord snag either. It seems the movable plastic parts are dragging against the case, making it nearly impossible to wind. My older Aiwa cases never had this problem.
In conclusion, I only wish Aiwa had continued with their larger driver design. When you're dealing with speakers this small, size does matter, and the difference is obvious in the sound. Dispite this shortcoming, I think these phones are great for the money. While they don't measure up to their older siblings, they still beat every other brand (Sony, Panasonic, Koss, etc.) of in-ear phones in comfort factor alone!
PS: I strongly suggest (as a previous reviewer did) buying a pair of foam pads (sold separately) for a tighter fit and increased bass response. (Sadly, my older phones came with pads... just goes to show they don't make them like they used to!) Strengths:
Very comfortable, good bass response, inexpensive. Weaknesses:
Midrange is too high for my taste, hard to wind cord in carying case. Similar Products Used:
Aiwa In-Ear Pipe Phone headphones (1998), Aiwa in-ear headphones (1996)
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4.33 of 5
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