Aircoustic "Black walnut" - micro review
Sep 7, 2011 at 2:15 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 3

Wiggy Fuzz

100+ Head-Fier
Joined
Dec 10, 2008
Posts
196
Likes
0
I wouldn't normally do an earphone (or a headphone review), but these really caught my attention, not because they sound truly amazing (they don't), or because they are resistant to tangling or anything (they aren't), but because richer sounds had them on sale for £10 (from £49.99, since gone up to £15).
 
I needed a pair of dirt cheap ear phones, so i tried a pair of a jay ones. and as enjoyable as it was having a tangle resistant cable, i was having a constant issue with excessive wax build up (a jay's solution was to use the "supplied filters"... which weren't supplied in the box). They offered me a pair of the aircoustics as replacements, and i didn't think much of it, or question why they had such a huge mark down in price.
 
Listening to them, though, i have to say they are probably the best sub £50 earphones i've ever heard. the sound isn't perfect - there's plenty of base, but the highs could do with being less flat, but for the price, they were unbelievably good sounding.
 

 
(not my own image - wanted to keep this as quick as possible, and face it. I doubt anybody would want to see my rather excessive build up of wax)
 
The earphones themselves are rather well built - however there isn't a protective filter over the driver, it's just a silver tube, so i was always on the lookout for stray wax trying to invade the tube. Accessory wise, you get 3 different sized tops (the smallest ones were the most comfortable for me), and a bag which was too small to be useful. I didn't actually notice them at first, almost throwing them away with the box. 
 
According to aircoustic's website, there are other different kinds of wood earphones, each offering a "different kind of sound", which i believe would have to be heard to believe, but the black walnuts claim to be the bass oriented of the lot.
 
So, that's that. Earphones I probably would have overlooked prior to their odd mark down in price. 
 
The pros:
Probably unbeatable value for money (at the moment)
Comfortable
Made of wood and (i hope) metal = no horrible chrome painted plastics
Braided cable feels nice and tough - also, I didn't notice earphone cable noise as much as with my a jay ones.
Gold connector - if anything, it looks cool.
 
The cons:
Useless accessory bag.
Not great highs.
Only 3 size options for the tips - I haven't tried see if any foam tips work yet.
Very minor sound leakage - I asked my brother in an empty room and he said he could just about hear my music (by now I'm really just nitpicking...)
 
So, yeah. If you have a richer sounds in your area and you need a cheap set of ear phones, by all means look at these. 
 
Dec 8, 2011 at 7:56 AM Post #3 of 3
Well... know this is a long-dead thread, but thought I'd revive it temporarily, since these have been for sale on Richer Sounds for £10.
 
First a quick background:
 
I purchased these on a whim, as I already own Sennheiser CX 150s which, though a budget earphone, seemed to suit me with the limited quality of my source (Samsung Galaxy S2), and since my greater obsession is in Hifi/Over-ear headphones.
 
I was not expecting a great deal.  In fact, I strongly suspected that the original price had been set artificially high in order to make these appear greater value than they actually are.  But they looked nice, and for a tenner it seemed worth a shot.
 
I am pleasantly surprised.
 
As mentioned, the bass does not have high detail.  The highs are not harsh - the overall sound is relaxed, and, as mentioned previously, warm.
 
They are considerably more enjoyable to listen to than my CX 150s, and seem to be of a higher build quality.
 
For £50, perhaps you'd find better value for money.  But for £10 - an absolute steal.  You could do far, far worse than these.
 
For £10 - 10/10
For £50 - 5.5/10

 
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top