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Less tangle with a-Jays Four earphones

Swedish company Jays released its first product in 2007 and is now in the process of sorting out distribution in the UAE. A pair of a-Jays Four earphones made its way to me to test and I have used them for a few weeks now in a variety of situations.

These earphones are especially made to be used with Apple’s i-products, like iPhone, iPod touch, iPad etc. That doesn’t mean the a-Jay Four cannot be used with other devices. In fact, I actually did one whole radio show (www.dxbtech.com) using the a-Jay Four connected to a Blackberry smartphone standing on a restaurant boat on the Bosphorus Straits in Istanbul, calling in to the studio in Dubai.

Besides that being a very cold hour for me, the earphones performed very well both in terms of me hearing the host in the studio in Dubai and my voice reaching out over the airwaves. One issue reared its ugly head though and that was that my ears were hurting at the end of the show. That’s not uncommon, however, as I often have trouble with the in-ear type of earphones. For some people changing the soft tips of the earphones, the buds, makes a difference and the a-Jay Four comes with a wide range of buds.

Jays have clearly thought a lot about the design of these earphones. From the tangle-free cords to the buttons on the remote, attention to detail is evident in many places.

The tangle-free cords are flat and made out of a particular rubber material that make them hard to get caught up even when you bundle them up quickly and throw them in a bag or pocket. That’s very refreshing and something that others should take after. It does, however, make the earphones slightly heavier than others, which may be a problem for some users.

The remote control on the right cord has three large buttons, a refreshing change from many earphones that have remotes with small and fiddly buttons. Here, buttons are easy to press, have a nice click sound to them, and have a simple and straightforward functionality: volume control, pause/play, and take a call.

Apparently Jays are working on sorting out local distribution so you will probably not find these earphones in local stores. However, they are available online from sites like Amazon.com where the price is $70. For that price you get well-designed earphones that deliver good sound. There’s not a lot of bass response but there’s good range and clarity throughout.

They don’t quite reach the level of my Monster Turbine Pro Copper earphones, which deliver much more bass but also better detail and clarity throughout the range. The comparison is a bit unfair though as the Monster earphones cost around $400.

If you’re looking for a replacement for the iconic white Apple earphones the a-Jay Four is a good option. The tangle-free cords and the remote are clear attractions and the sound is also good for the price range.

Magnus Nystedt talks and writes about technology as much as he can. Follow him on Twitter as @mnystedt for the latest on consumer technology in the Middle East

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