JAYS T00075 a-jays four Earbud for i-Phone

by JAYS

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7 x 3.5 x 1 inches ; 4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00427WG9U
• Item model number: T00075
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,142 in Cell Phones & Accessories (See Top 100 in Cell Phones & Accessories)

Product Description

Jays has taken the concept of iPhone audio integration to the next level with the a-JAYS four iPhone noise isolating earphones. Featuring the stunning tangle-free flat cable design, rich deep base response and ultra-comfort noise isolating ear sleeves of the a-Jays series, it is specially tuned to complement vocal frequencies and enhanced musical capabilities of the iPhone 4. With its custom noise-canceling silicone microphone and integrated 3 button controller to answer/end calls, play videos/music, adjust volume and even record memos.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 48 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive design. Okay sound and build quality. March 12, 2011

By R. Ocampo VINE™ VOICE

Ever since it was announced, I've been waiting on it's release and eventual availability. Absolutely excellent, clean design that can only come from a European country.

In photos I can only think how they can price it this low for something that looks this beautiful. With materials of matte metal and soft-touch rubber, it will put other earphones in this price range to shame.

When I received the product, it had impressive packaging. A plastic case coated in rubber. Slide open the hefty box to reveal the manual then underneath you'll find the earphone and silicone sleeves in various sizes from XXS to L. Surprisingly, no other accessory included.

PROS:

1. Simple, elegant design with rubber and metal finish.
2. Excellent frequency response (20 to 21,000 Hz).
3. L-shaped plug.
4. Silicone sleeves provide good amount of sound isolation.
5. Flat tangle-free cable.
6. Enhanced sound with good amount of bass and mid that will appeal to the general amount of listeners.
7. Soft touch rubber 3-button remote that are a delight to use and feel.

CONS:

1. I would prefer a more neutral and balanced sound, but this would be less competitive with other manufacturers offering enhanced sound output.
2. Flat cables can be cumbersome to contain due to their width and weight.
3. L-shaped plug may snag on clothing pocket. The cables can transmit feedback to your ears when rubbing against clothing which is typical of in-earphones and cable sizing this hefty.
4. Rubber coating may start to peel over time.
5. No case to contain the earphones and protect when traveling which is helpful due to it's fragile rubber coating.

THOUGHTS:

- Take the time to actually find the right fit for your ears.... These a-Jays Four come equipped with a M sized from the manufacturer and people may assume this is the size for them without trying out the rest. I see people complaining on online forums that they fall off easily especially with the heavy flat cable. If this is the case the earphones aren't inserted properly IN your ears. I thought I had the same size of ear canal as the rest, but was surprised to find XXS was the most comfortable for me.

- I really love the matte metal finish on both earphones as well as surrounding the remote control. I would have wished they used this material all around the remote control and just have the three buttons popping out from it. That's because the rubber coating within a few days of use has already started to show signs of peeling.

This reminded me of my old Audi which had elegant rubber coating buttons all over the car. But then over time the rubber coating started to peel to reveal the plastic underneath. It wasn't pretty and dealers kept on exchanging the buttons down to the radio until they just had to stop replacing it and Audi came out with simply plastic buttons on the next model. The theory on the forums was that any presence of lotion or oils on the skin reacted to the rubber coating. People who live in cold, dry environments are susceptible to this kind of peeling while those who live in humid climates that don't apply lotion on their skin don't affect the product.

This is what has happened to the rubber coating on my remote. The rubber is already peeling on the sides within a few days and revealing a shiny black plastic underneath versus the black matte rubber coating.

I contacted the manufacturer about it and they are asking for the product back and will be sending a replacement while claiming in the correspondence that this issue has been addressed. The only downside is that I will be paying to ship it back from Canada all the way to Sweden.

- The bright sound quality will definitely appeal to the mass market. And I can't blame them with the presence of sound enhancing earphones in the market rather than a more neutral sound which I am more used to as I only use studio monitor speakers at home.

- The flat cables are definitely tangle-free. The only downside is that these definitely contribute to the weight of the product itself.

- The height of the controls sit perfectly a little bit below the mouth and allow the hands to reach onto it for good ergonomic control.

OVERALL:

At this price, I would recommend the product for general use especially with an iPhone. I only gave three stars for now because of the peeling rubber issue and the absence of a protective carrying case which should have been standard considering they spent time on an impressive outer packaging that you just put away forever.

A neutral sound would have been better so we can let the audio material dictate what we really hear. However, considering this was built as in iPhone accessory for mobile communication then I can only guess it was necessary for them to enhance the sound including the mids.

If they are truly able to fix the peeling rubber issue then this deserves another star. We will know in time. Oh, and toss in a travel case. I don't care about the heavy rubber-coated packaging. Or perhaps minimize the packaging so it acts as a travel case as well. Just saying.

UPDATE: April 7, 2011

I'm going to upgrade my initial rating of 3 stars to 4 stars on the grounds of customer support. This is by far one of the best companies that provide excellent support as well as quick turn-around response time. I've contacted Jays Sweden directly and due to time difference I am able to get a response in less than 24 hours each and every time.

These guys definitely care about their product and the company. Kudos.

I've been shuffling back and forth between this and the similarly priced Ultimate Ears 500vi. And although the a-Jays Four feels heavier and heftier, I still find myself reaching for the a-Jays Four for everyday use. The build quality is top notch for the price. And it feels more ergonomic in the ear than the UE 500vi which feels like it's protruding despite being lighter.

The tangle-free flat cables of the a-Jays Four works and stays tangle-free. The trade-off is the extra wide cables that tend to rub more against your clothing and the sound is transmitted to your ear which may be annoying.

Also the plug can produce a static sound on both my iPhone and MacBook Pro if you try and move the plug around. The UE 500vi does not do this at all.

I'm still wishing for a hard case for traveling.

Still, if this is your price range and for everyday use (not critical listening) then the a-Jays Four is a no-brainer that I'd strongly recommend. This purchase only makes me save up for their higher end product which I'm hoping to buy and review some day. Read more ›

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Design...Bass Lacking May 23, 2011

By JBX74205

I picked these up after I accidentally broke my pair of A-Jays Ones, which I loved. I figured if I was going to buy another pair, it might as well have the iPhone mic built in. I wound up returning them and going for another pair of the Ones. Here's the rundown...

THE GOOD
The Fours have the same terrific design as the Ones, and the mic/control is terrific. The buttons are easy to find and the different shapes make them easy to differentiate. The whole setup really looks like these should be what come with the iPhone instead of Apple's stock headset. I didn't really care about the adapters that came with the Twos and Threes, so the fact that they weren't included here didn't really bother me.

THE BAD
After unpacking what I thought was going to be the perfect pair of headphones, I put them on and was immediately disappointed in the lack of bass. My Ones had great bass. It was strong, but not overwhelming. The bass coming out of the Fours is almost nonexistent. I had read some other reviews saying that the phones were tuned to amplify voice frequencies, but there really is a massive drop-off in bass from the Ones, and it was something I couldn't get past. It unfortunately reminded me of listening to my laptop speakers. I even tried two pairs to make sure that I didn't get a bad set.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Personally I prefer the Ones. If they could make a set of headphones that had the sound quality of the Ones and the features of the Fours, I would be a very happy camper. In the mean time though, I'll settle for my Ones for music and my Bluetooth for calls.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Shame. I love them, but my second set have just failed November 17, 2011

By ADC

Decided to write a review as this is a bit coincidental for it not to be a reportable issue.

When I looked at reviews myself before purchasing these, the only thing close to a common complaint were a few people saying one bud stopped functioning after a period. Simply based on this only being a few reports against quite a good number of positive ones, I decided to buy.

Also, the one thing with these buds is they collect a lot of wax, and the speaker grill can become clogged. So some of these failure reports may have come from people who didn't expect that and didn't read the cleaning instructions.

About 2 months after purchasing my first pair, the left earbud became very quiet compared to the right, until it eventually stopped working. Cleaning did not help, so I took them back and a replacement was issued (which are my current ones).

About 6 months on into my second set, the left bud started playing up again. (note the left bud is the one without the control). Sometimes it would work until I pushed it into my ear. Again, cleaning did not help. The bud was either off or on intermittently, but definitely related to movement. (E.G. it wouldn't just shut down while in my ear).

Now the the left bud is dead and it's not even intermittent anymore.

It's a shame. I like these units otherwise. The design is outstanding. The sound quality is great (when they work :-D). However they do appear to suffer from a build quality issue. I had a pair of shures for 3 years without a single issue before they finally fell apart.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars BROKEN!! October 30, 2012

By Jay

Amazon Verified Purchase

After a few months the headphones broke. The headphone jack fell off. I tried contacting the seller to see if the warranty would replace it they never replied back. So I'm not really satisfied with this purchase.