Amazon Premium Headphones Review - Review 2022

Is information technology the misuse of the term headphones to describe earbuds? Is it the obscenely low price? Or perhaps that Amazon's ubiquity makes a foray into earphone manufacturing seem simultaneously random, inevitable, and dubious, as if anytime, everything we own will be made past Amazon? Perhaps it'south all these things, but I absolutely approached the Amazon Premium Headphones ($fourteen.99) with a measure of caution. While they have a sleek, simple blueprint, they don't expect similar premium headphones, nor are they priced like a premium production, so how could they possibly sound any good? Well, they really don't sound bad, simply even for such a low price, that's not a ringing endorsement. Y'all can find far amend earphones for just a picayune bit more coin, and you tin can even do somewhat amend for fifty-fifty less with the JLab JBuds2 . Our expectations for upkeep headphones have risen in recent years, and this is a production that's behind the times.

Pattern
Available in blackness, the Premium Headphones ( at Amazon) are really earbuds: They do not enter your ear canal and seal it off, though they practise take a nozzle that attempts to aim the audio in the right direction, like in blueprint to the Apple Earpods ($18.29 at Amazon) . Typically, not sealing off the ear culvert means you will go a less authentic stereo image and less bass response. It also means less ambient room noise is blocked out. The fit is comfortable, but it's non terribly secure without whatever silicon eartips, and then this pair is probably not the all-time choice for running or the gym. The earpieces snap together magnetically for easy stowing in a bag when not in use, which is a nice, uncomplicated touch.

Amazon Premium Headphones inline An inline remote command and mic is located effectually mid-torso. It includes a cardinal multifunction push for playback, phone call direction, and rails navigation, equally well every bit defended Volume Up/Downwards buttons (that are not compatible with iOS devices). Below the remote control compartment, the cable is of the flat, linguini-esque variety. Amazon deserves credit for creating a simple, clean, fashionable blueprint.

Operation
On tracks with powerful sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the Premium Headphones deliver a commendable bass response at moderate-to-somewhat loftier volume levels. The drivers predictably brainstorm to distort at top volumes, but nosotros've heard $100 earphones fail this test, so we'll cutting Amazon some slack hither. At normal volume levels, the drivers don't distort, and they provide a decent sense of rich bass depth.

Bill Callahan'southward "Drover," a rail with less in the manner of deep bass, sounds well-baked and well-divers in the high-mids and highs through the Premium Headphones. Callahan's baritone vocals go plenty of treble edge to bring out their contour, and a decent sense of low-mid presence to showcase their richness. The drums on this rail lack much presence in the bass section, with an attack that sounds more like a weak tapping than a thud. To be off-white, they shouldn't really sound bass-heavy, and they sound too thunderous on a lot of modern headphone pairs. However, the lows seems near absent here, and the track sounds a fiddling thin at times.

On Jay-Z and Kanye Due west's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop gets plenty of loftier-mid and loftier-frequency presence, assuasive its attack to retain its sharp edges and slice through the multilayered mix. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat don't pack too much of a bass punch—they're more implied than delivered, with their raspy top notes continuing out far more than their ominous sub-bass presence. The vocals on this track are delivered cleanly, but can sound a chip besides vivid in spots.

Orchestral tracks, similar the opening scene in John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound bright and clear through the premium headphones, with higher register brass, strings, and vocals taking center phase. The lower register instrumentation has less of a notable presence, unsurprisingly, and takes on a subtle supporting role here. The sound signature isn't brittle, but in that location's far less body in the lows and low-mids than there is presence in the college frequencies. In short, this is not an earphone pair for bass lovers, nor is it an earphone pair for those seeking flat response

The Amazon Premium headphones exercise non sound terrible, but they don't sound terribly good, either. When you tin spend just a little bit more coin and exponentially increase the security of the fit and the quality of the audio functioning, it'due south hard to recommend these earbuds, which feel as though they are made to be included for free with tablets and readers. For nether $fifty, there are plenty of solid in-ear options, like the RHA S500i ( at Amazon) , Skullcandy Method ( at Amazon) , JLab Fit 2.0 ( at Amazon) , and the even less expensive JLab JBuds2. It'due south not that the JBuds2 sound and so much better than the Amazon Premium Headphones, it's that they sound slightly better but cost half as much. Amazon'southward earbuds can expect above and below them in their price tier and find an array of models that do a improve job.