Zune Thoughts: iHarmonix Platinum Earbuds: Easy Listening on the Go

Most of us have a media player of one sort or another. Whether it is an iPhone, Archos or Zune, PMPs typically come with stock earbuds. While great for space and portability, they usually lack decent sound reproduction. iHarmonix manufactures several lines of earbuds to improve upon what comes packed in a tiny bag of cellophane. I had the opportunity to put one of their Platinum ev-Series Earphones through its paces and I was fairly pleased with what I heard. Perhaps as an indication of thoughtfulness, the earbuds thankfully do not come in a cut-my-arteries-blister-pack, but one with a cardboard backing which is much easier to open. Inside, the earbuds came with three sets of ear gels in different sizes, a soft velvety pouch to and a slip of paper to serve as instructions.

The headphones have a good heft to them giving a sense of quality. The weight did have me concerned that they would fall out while running around but the way the ear gels are designed the earphones stayed snug in my ears. The sound was fairly good for earbuds. Stock earbuds that come with PMPs usually produce very little bass and a lot of the outside world bleeds in. Other earbuds use cushions or ear gels to isolate the noise and typically have improved bass but are a bit muddy. I found the iHarmonix earbuds to provide a very clear and crisp sound. I definitely felt the bass, but I found it a bit on the light side. I found the ear gels block out a lot of the world allowing me to enter my world of music with only a little sensation of air suction. The in-line volume control also came in handy, being able to soften things by feel instead of having to look at a display but I didn't really find the velvet pouch useful. My wire-wrapping-fu is mediocre at best and I really miss those clamshells that wound up cables nice and tight. Overall, I like the iHarmonix earbuds. They're definitely a notch above my current collection of earbuds, with better sound reproduction a nice fit in my ears. iHarmonix has a wide range of earbuds running from $14.95 to $59.95 with the Platinum ev-Series at $59.95.

Hooch Tan is a Contributing Editor for Digital Home Thoughts. He works in the voice application industry and spends most of his life basking in the glow of monitors. Fortunately, this has not tempered his interest in technology and he remains interested in how it can improve our day to day lives. He lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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