By Gadjo C. Sevilla
Headphones are becoming increasingly popular accessories for on the move audiophiles wanting to get a bigger and fuller sound from their media players without the discomfort associated with using most earbud-type earphones, especially during prolonged use.
We gave iFrogz Earpollution CS40’s Comfort Series a try to see if they lived up to their name in terms comfort and fidelity. Lightweight yet surprisingly sturdy, the headphones have marshmallow-soft earpads that fit well even during long periods of use and do a reasonable job of blocking out ambient noise.
IFrogz uses rubber, plastic and aluminum effectively to create headphones that are light and reasonably sturdy. We like how they have made use of a thicker cord for the 3.5 mm plug and how all the parts that swivel and retract didn’t feel flimsy.
In terms of sound, we were more than satisfied with the deep yet well defined quality these headphones delivered. We usually test audio equipment with Steely Dan’s Aja album that has layers of voice and instrumentation that is easy to miss. With the Earpollution CS40, we could pick up great separation and the subtleties between different instruments and vocal tracks and everything was very clear.
The best thing about the Earpollution CS40 that we didn’t need to crank up the volume in order to hear everything well. Most headphones we’ve tested require source volume to be almost at the limit for users to actually hear anything. We also like that they aren’t too heavy on the bass (which makes a lot of headphones sound muddy when you’re listening to music that’s not Hip-Hop or Dance).
We were disappointed that no soft case was included with the iFrogz Earpollution CS40 that is a standard accessory for most headphones at this price point.
These are US$40.00 headphones that can easily compete in terms of quality similar products costing twice or even three times the amount.
Rating 4 out of 5