The search for perfect Earbuds to replace the cruddy ones that come with most MP3 players is a tough job. Creating good sound in a such a tiny device is a marvel of engineering. And the EarHugger EH-240 earbuds are without a doubt, not the answer to that search.
•• Hardware ••
The EarHugger EH-240 earbuds come in a cheap plastic case that supposedly allow for the buds to roll up inside. In theory this is great. In reality, the shoddy construction of the case makes this winding up a chore. I usually don't bother and just throw them in the gym bag.
The buds themselves are inordinately large. They sit in my ear fine, but they are thicker, for some reason. As a result of the cord sticking a little further out, gravity has a bit more leverage and they tend to fall out with a minimum of exercise the only kind of exercising I do). Mix sweat into the mix and they don't stay in at all.
The cord is only 4 feet long which may be great for those who have their MP3 player on their arm. but fore those who travel or want to use them or anything other than exercising, you'll find that you reach the end of the cord very quickly and the buds pop out. Along those same lines, the cord is extremely thin and I question the durability and sound connectivity.
Finally, the earbuds are rather uncomfortable after a long period of time. The padding that comes with the buds is so stretched due top the enlarged size of the buds that they are stretched way too thin. The material is so thin, that it doesn't feel like there's any padding there at all. I yanked them out after about an hour of use. They are amazingly uncomfortable.
These earbuds are not noise cancelling so don't expect them to block out any outside noise beyond what other earbuds do.
The plug is a standard gold mini plug with an elbow. I haven't noticed any sonic difference between gold and non-gold plugs, but the elbow shape should help to reduce wear and tear on your player's headphone jack.
•• Sound quality ••
The EarHugger EH-240 earbuds have an advertised frequency response of 50-18000 Hz. This would explain the cruddy sound. This range of frequency is fine for voice, but less than adequate for music. I wouldn't settle for a range of less than 20-20000 Hz for any headphones. Obviously, these earbuds fall out of that range on both ends and, on paper, deliver inferior sound.
In reality this is the case. The bass is not as deep as others and the highs tend to clip. The mid range is present, but it is overwhelming even with EQ. Swells in classical music were muddy and the drums in rock were anything but clean. Higher vocals tend to distort and grate. It wasn't a pleasant listening experience. No matter how much I fiddled with the EQ settings of my player, I couldn't get the sound to be anywhere near what I would call good.
For testing's sake, I used the EarHugger EH-240 earbuds with an MP3 player, a CD player and a home stereo. Jazz, classical and pop all sounded flat and dead.
•• Conclusion ••
Even at $10, I've used earbuds that sound much better than these pieces of garbage.
Recommended:
No