Customer Reviews

JVC HAFX34B Marshmallow Headphones

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

After reading a couple of negative reviews, I was skeptical, but the positive ones had me intrigued. I am very glad I bought these. They sound wonderful, and are comfortable. Yes, make sure you put them in right. I was pleasantly shocked at the richness of the sound. Great also for being in noisy environments, yard work, etc. One would use these when they don't need to be connected with their surroundings, so don't ride a bike with them--unless you're in the open country, and careful if you jog in the city or on a path that's shared by bikers. All I can say is these sound great on my iPod. The bass is rich, the mid and high ranges are strong and clear. At this price, this is a terrific find. Will be getting at least another pair. They do come with a second set of earbuds, which is nice.

It would be helpful, although probably not realistic, to get to know more about reviewers who rate audio products. To wit; I really don't care about a review complaining about lack of bass response from one of those individuals who cruise around with their hatch open and the volume up so loud that the bass from their washtub sized subwoofer rattles windows in homes and buildings. Likewise, self proclaimed audiophiles who nit-pick a product based on charts and numbers leave me cold.
In my world there are three issues that are important relative to ear buds. In order of importance they are: (1) comfort (If their not comfortable, I'm not going to wear them no matter how good they sound. My wife gave me a pair of conventional earbuds that sounded great, but after three days of use, my left ear was so sore that I couldn't put them in.), (2) sound quality (Do they deliver a good bass without fuzz or distortion and midrange and high notes without sizzle.), and (3) price (Here's a tip. If the manufacturer offers an "easy payment plan", you can probably find something just as good for a lot less). Based on these criteria, I give the JVC HAFX34 Mashmallow's five stars.
These are the most comfortable ear buds (or for that matter, headphones) that I have ever used. They fit in my ear perfectly and I can wear them as long as I choose without discomfort. I can even sleep with my ear on a pillow while these are still in with no problem.
After reading some negative reviews about these buds sounding tinny, or having a lack of bass response, I immediatly brought up some of the songs I use to evaluate phones. Quite frankly, I was blown away by how good these buds sounded. I listen to music from what I like to think of as the golden years of top 40 music. This includes several genre of music (yeah, it wasn't all rock 'n roll) and artists range from Montovani to Floyd Cramer, and Carl Perkins to U2. One of my favorite bands to use in an evaluation is Creedence Clearwater Revival. In songs like "Run THrough the Jungle" they have a really thumping bass and some really high pitched lead guitar. These buds transfered it all clearly and distinctly, without fuzz or sizzle. I have never heard a background hum (but I can hear my own breathing). A couple of times since I received these FX34's I've found what I thought might be a shortcoming in their performance, only to find that the fault was in the source material (they didn't call them "garage bands" back in the 60,s for no reason) and not in the buds. These buds also seal out any peripheral noises, much like ear plugs do. That would make them dangerous to use around traffic, but great for "zoning out" around the house.
With a price under $20, these are a steal. My only regret is that I couldn't get a case of them.
Well, that's my two cents worth. For me, these are the best bang for the buck around. I realize that one man's drink is another man's poison, but if you're in the market for ear buds, I would give these serious consideration.

I bought a pair of these in the Denver airport-for quite a bit more than Amazon is charging. The spongy earphones are just like foam hearing protectors so they cancel out airplane noise wonderfully and don't take up more room doing it. I no longer have to crank my Sansa up to dangerous sound levels to hear it above road or airplane noise. I also use them on an electric travel guitar with a pocket rock-it preamp that you can plug 1/8" headphones into.

The earphones have to be squished down like a hearing protector to fit in your ears and then they expand. If you just try to mash them in your ears, they will fall out. I would not recommend these earphones for any kind of athletic activity-if your ears get sweaty they will fall out. I would also not recommend them for bicycling or jogging - they cancel out too much road noise and would leave you not able to hear approaching cars.

Some other reviews complain of tinny sound but I have not experienced that.

I purchased the Jbuds Hi-Fi Noise-Reducing Ear Buds for $10, the Skullcandy S2INBT-UB INK'D Earbuds for $13, and these JVC HAFX34B Marshmallow Headphones for $12, all at the same time. I also own a couple of the sennheisser cx300 (paid $17 from another site)(if you go to bensbargains.net, they show when they go on sale) and the CXL400 (sound a bit better than the cx300 but hated the lanyard, so I gave them away), Of all of these at $10-18 price range, overall the cx300 are the best ones, or if you don't mind the lanyard, get the cxl400, 2nd I would go with the skullcandy, follow by these JVCs and way last are the Jbuds, they sound , feel and look cheap compare to the other ones. Of the 3 cheaper ones, the best fit are also the skullcandy, they are also the best looking ones, I got the blue/black ones. If you can pay a little more, get the Ultimate Ears-Metro.fi 200v Noise Isolating Earphones for iPhone. They go on sale at Amazon for $30 ($100 reg price) they can be used w/ the I-phone since they have a microphone and/or also use with MP3/4s.I use it w/ my iphone and it is a big improvement from the ones they came with. I also use them with my Zune 30gb and my Sansa clip and the 8gb. The sound is way superior compare to all the other ones. I liked them more than the BOSE in ear since the BOSE don't fit that well even thought they sound very good, they don't block as much outside noise as the UE. My friend and nephew also tried the UE and the others and were very impress by the difference and even asked me to get them for them when they go on sale again. One big note, when you use any in ear-phones you need to make sure to use the right size tip and to insert them all the way in your ear canal, not doing so will make them sound flat, the bass is only appreciated when they are all the way in. Make sure that the volume is low when you first put them on.

Yeah, they sound tinny if you dont put them in right... they're called "marshmallows" for a reason: they're soft and expand to the shape of your outer ear canal. When I first put them in, like you would with the standard iPod style headphones, they sounded weak. But all you have to do is push them in a little more and then they lock in. Once that happens, you get really nice, thick bass! I actually prefer these to the standard iPod headphones which are pretty decent ones too.

I actually own two pairs of these types of headphones; one in green and one in blue. I actually wore the blue ones so much I started to wear out the wires(it took a couple years of 8 hr a day wear though).

I work in a sometimes noisy lab and listen to audio books and/or music all day long and these headphones were a godsend for me. The marshmallow bud is super comfortable and conforms nicely to your ear. It has the added bonus of working like an earplug and blocks out a lot of background noise. I love them because I can listen to my music softer and not have to try and turn it up over the background noise.

Also I was very surprised at the range of these headphones; they are the best that I found for sound range (both bass and treble). I actually tried an expensive pair of Sony noise canceling headphones and another expensive pair of Skull Candy headphones before ending up with these ones. These are cheap, had the best sound of them all, and were the most comfortable of them all.

A great find; my only worry now is that they will stop making them and I will have to find something else.

I've had a lot of earphones (Shure e3c, XtremeMac FS1, Sony MDRs) over the years and am usually good at losing them, so when I saw a deal to get JVC Marshmallow's in black for $8, I pounced on it. I was not expecting much but they block out sound well, fit comfortably, have adequate cord length and sound like they are worth 5x the purchase price! These earbuds are sturdy and have lasted longer than the others (though I lost the Shures..oops). I've used these in the subway and on planes and they preform well. Really for the $9-15 price range they sell for, you cannot go wrong.

These headphones make noise canceling HP obsolete. I use mine for listening to my GPS while riding my motorcycle. It decreases ambient noise by at least ~28 decibels (similar to earplugs). I bought mine for $20 at Bestbuy. Great bass as well! Great price!

A bit about me first. I worked as a DJ in a club that had the better part of a million dollars invested in their sound system. I know from bass. The bass stacks there were 6 feet tall, 10 feet wide, and when one stood at the apertures during a good bass hit your hair literally blew as in the wind. I mean seriously, soul shaking bass, the kind you could feel if you were completely deaf. Bass hits that were nearly inconsequential on lessor systems made your heart nearly stop at close range with the audio compellors tuned properly.

I've listened to ear buds that were free (jet blue rocks) and those that cost several hundred dollars. Dollar for dollar these earbuds are unbeatable. Those that complain about the bass either suffer from drastic inner ear damage, or are, perhaps, putting the wrong end in their ears. A quick listen to Flo Rida's Elevator, or any other track featuring the fabled Roland 808 should be plenty to convince you these earbuds are the real deal. Once inserted, even gentle music completely drowns out all around me, much to my detriment, the wife included.

For the price, or even an order of magnitude more expensive, you will not find a better bass response.

...and fantastic for the price, as another reviewer said. I've tried several different kinds of headphones/earbuds and these are the BEST. They are called marshmallow because they are squishy and you can shape them for the size of your ear. I don't have any problems with them falling out PLUS the sound quality is excellent. nice bass, clear sound, and although they aren't noise cancelling per se, they do drown out other sounds to some extent. I bought mine for twenty five dollars so this here is a deal. plus they come in several different colors. :)