JAYS q-JAYS earphone review

I’ve actually read about the q-Jays in various music forums researching for headphones awhile back and the overall feedback has been great. So when i was asked to review this ” Dual Micro Armature Earphones,” I agreed out of curiosity to see if this Swedish-made earphones really delivers and all those forum chit chat were true.

First, this headphones dubbed as “The Smallest Dual Armature Earphone in The World” came in an excellent, simple but protective box which encased the said earphones. Aside from being the smallest in the world, the q-JAYS are extremely light which is good when using for a long period of time.

It also includes extras like a Y connector, 3.5 mini plug, extension cables (angled and straight), airline adapter, stereo splitter, protective filters, foam tips, and even a small leather pouch, basically…the works. I’m impressed already and I haven’t even tried the product yet.

Anyway, so I unravel the wires and try it on for size and it fits my ear perfectly. Even if it didn’t there are also lots of silicone rubber sleeves of various sizes that comes with it for different ear sizes but as I’ve said, it did fit snugly from the get go.

Now, I’m not really fond of small earphones with wires, mind you so, I’m not expecting much. I’m sure it sounds good enough like the other smaller ear pieces available for your iPod and what have you and so I go through the motions to try this puppy out.

I searched for a nicely recorded track on my iPod, in this case, an old cut from Talk Talk called “I Believe In You” and lo and behold… I was blown away at the clarity and quality of the sound emanating from such a small source. The highs on this baby were crisp and clear and Mark Hollis’ voice eerily feels like he’s actually singing in my ear but what about the lows?

It’s doing pretty well with this track but can it take a pounding? So I checked using another track that’s more four on the floor and my finger landed on Keisuke Kondo’s deep house burner K248 and I can’t believe this is what’s coming out from a small earphone. It sounded like a big pair of headphones with a 50mm driver pounding in my ear but it’s not just loud, it’s clean and undistorted… Amazing!

And as if that wasn’t enough, this small earphones blocks ambient noise with its isolating system keeping out unwanted noise and letting the music reverberate where it should be, in your ears and into your soul.

Currently, I use a Bluetooth wireless headphones for my iPod/iPhone and while that sounds good, I don’t think it’s as good as the q-JAYS and as much as I hate wires, I wouldn’t mind the hassle if the headphones is this good sounding. Do I really have to return this review unit?

Editor: Yes we do have to return it. Speaking of wires, the cable on the q-JAYS is unusually short so the extension cables definitely need to be used.

The q-JAYS are already available for Php12,499. Yes, you are paying top-price for these very high-quality pair of phones but you are definitely going to get your money’s worth. If you’re interested in checking out the different JAYS headphone/earphones, you can find them in AstroVision and AstroPlus located at SM Mall of Asia, V-Mall and Shangri-La.

Editor’s note: This post is contributed by Toti Dalmacion of Terno Recordings with some slight revisions by the editor. Toti is a music freak of nature, observer of pop culture and the obscure, vinyl junkie and collector of good junk, public servant, purveyor of taste… music is his life. You can follow him on his twitter.