Advance
your sound.
If
you only use your headphones primarily to talk to Siri and tell her
to remind you to make your dentist appointment next week, these might
not be for you. With so many recent technical advances in the way we
listen to music, it's easy to forget the whole point of headphones –
your tunes. To that end we've spent a bit of time with the Advanced
Sound M4 In-Ear Headphones.
These are small, light, and zero-fuss wired earphones. Advanced Sound have put the M4s together to be both robust and industrial looking. The metal buds look great on the end of the twisted wires; wires that actually are free and twisted together, apparently to cut down on tangles. They come in the box fitted with expanding foam ear tips – the kind that can be squished down, inserted into your ear, and then gradually re-expand to fill the canal.
Because
of that, we found that the Advanced Sound M4 In-Ear Headphones were
exceptionally good at keeping external noise to a minimum. However,
because of the air-tight seal, those of you who dislike in-ear
headphones will probably hate them. One of our party (an over-the-ear
headphones or nothin' type) loathed them for that quality, but most
other people will probably appreciate it.
Plugged
into your audio device the Advanced Sound M4 In-Ear Headphones look
great; not too showy and unnecessarily large, but with enough style
and build quality to stand out. There is a mic on the lead, as well
as a play-pause button, so although these have been aimed at fairly
serious audiophiles, there is still some modern touches. You also get
a nice little carry case to stow them in, as well as a few changes of
buds, including more standard rubberised ones. There are lots of
sizes in there, so there should be a pair for most sizes of ears.
Right,
the 'meat' of the 'phones. Look, these things are worth less than
£30, so you might not be expecting too much. But you should, because
despite the low price the Advanced Sound M4 In-Ear Headphones punch
high above their weight. Everything sounded very balanced and true,
and unlike with most other cheaper in-ear headphones with ideas above
their station, they don't just increase the bass in the hopes of
sounding more powerful.
Highs
were crisp and clean, while the bass was rich and deep without the
cases of the 'phones shaking themselves in your ears. It all sounded
so 'genuine', if you see what we mean; as if the headphones were
simply reproducing it the best possible way they could. Listening to
tracks on a phone, we went into the settings and played about with
the levels to see if there was any improvements to be made. But
nothing could really match the Advanced Sound M4 In-Ear Headphones
for their built-in profile. Everything was just... nice.
Getting
a pair of in-ear headphones that perform so well, while also
possessing sound-blocking abilities, and a decent range of thrown-in
accessories, for less than £30, really pleasantly surprised us. Nice
one, Advanced Sound.
£29.99
Available
from www.mobilefun.co.uk