[yourstruly]

Before reading this review, keep in mind that I can't stand IEM's, and I find headphones that most people think are comfortable very uncomfortable.

Sound Quality: Extremely mediocre. The bass is extremely weak, I used a FiiO E3 to boost the bass, and its still weaker than all my normal headphones. However, the mids and high's are tolerably good, which is saying quite a lot considering these are $8 Best Buy's/Target/name a convenience store stock headphones.

vs Ksc 75 and PX100: I did side by side comparisons of both of these and the Gumy's. To be fair, I amp'd the Gumy's and didn't amp the ksc 75's. These two still blow the Gumy's away, absolutely no contest.

However, the Gumy's are significantly better than the Apple IBuds. I find the IBuds to be completely intolerable, while the Gumy's sound is listenable. If we were to compare headphones to liquor, IBuds would be like Popov; utterly undrinkable any way you look at it, while the Gumy's would be like Smirnoff. Still doesn't taste very good, but its smooth enough so that you don't really notice it's mediocrity.

Price: I bought these for 8 dollars. Dirt cheap, will not care if I lose them. Definitely one of their pro's. Plus, you can find these everywhere, and if you need a pair of buds on the fly these are not half bad.

Comfort: This is by far, THE greatest feature of the Gumy's. I'm completely obsessive-compulsive over comfort, and these are the most comfortable things I've ever worn. I can't stand either the px100, ksc 75, or any other earbuds for over 30 minutes. Infact, before I bought these I have never found a comfortable pair of headphones. These are much more comfortable than the HA-F130's, which are slightly oversized. I guess after making several generations of these things JVC finally found a winning shape.

Aesthetics: I personally find all the colors except for black to be cheap looking (yes they're cheap but we don't need to advertise that to everyone

). They're low-key, and look like a quality product.

Overall:
px100: 6/10 (uncomfortable)
ksc75: 5/10 (even more uncomfortable, clips take forever to adjust)
Gumy's: 5/10 (sound quality sucks, but comfort+price pulls it's score up)

Overall, this is a very mediocre product SQ-wise, but the fact that it's better than IBuds in every way thinkable(especially comfortwise), justifies it's existence.

I doubt very many people will care about this, but I think it'll make a nice reference for the search function.

 

[gameboy115]

thanks for your review

 

[walkingman]

I love these things. Dirt cheap and extremely comfortable (this coming from an IEM user). SQ is tolerable but it isn't something I particularly care about as I use them only when jogging.

 

[Max Minimum]

I just got a pair of these today and have to say that I'm impressed.  Yes, like you say, the sound quality is only mediocre.  But they are enjoyable with the right set of expectations and with some kind of bass boost.  The comfort and build quality really caught me by surprise.  I was specifically looking for something I didn't have to worry about breaking and thought, "Heck, 8 bucks a few of times per year... not too bad."  But they actually don't feel like they're going to need to be replaced that often.  I could see them lasting a long time.  And their small size and rubberized covering make them comfortable and easy to adjust.  That adjustability is particularly nice.  Not only does it allow you to get a comfy fit, but it allows you to pretty dramatically change the audio balance.  No matter how you seat them, they won't match my other cheapy favorites (the Skullcandy Titans) for absolute sound quality, but hey, they're 1/4 or 1/5 the price of those already very affordable 'phones.  Overall, I'd say they're a very good deal.
 
EDIT:  Just wanted to add that these are great headphones if you like to listen to music while doing other things, like studying, for instance.  Non-fatiguing and unobtrusive while still being pleasant when you have a moment to drift back into the music.

 

[egosumlux]

I'd say they are not altoghether bad but I like Koss Jams KE10 a little better even though their mids are not as forward and they sound a little constrained, their bass is a bit better even though they are by no means airy they still have a better soundstage at the cost of a flimsier cable and a cheesy cheapo look. The worst problem with the Jams is their lousy rendering of female voice and no front and centered focus of it. The Jams sure sound grainy as sandpaper but remember they cost 7 bucks anyway.

 

[Hammerburst]

Before reading this review, keep in mind that I can't stand IEM's, and I find headphones that most people think are comfortable very uncomfortable.

Sound Quality: Extremely mediocre. The bass is extremely weak, I used a FiiO E3 to boost the bass, and its still weaker than all my normal headphones. However, the mids and high's are tolerably good, which is saying quite a lot considering these are $8 Best Buy's/Target/name a convenience store stock headphones.

vs Ksc 75 and PX100: I did side by side comparisons of both of these and the Gumy's. To be fair, I amp'd the Gumy's and didn't amp the ksc 75's. These two still blow the Gumy's away, absolutely no contest.

However, the Gumy's are significantly better than the Apple IBuds. I find the IBuds to be completely intolerable, while the Gumy's sound is listenable. If we were to compare headphones to liquor, IBuds would be like Popov; utterly undrinkable any way you look at it, while the Gumy's would be like Smirnoff. Still doesn't taste very good, but its smooth enough so that you don't really notice it's mediocrity.

Price: I bought these for 8 dollars. Dirt cheap, will not care if I lose them. Definitely one of their pro's. Plus, you can find these everywhere, and if you need a pair of buds on the fly these are not half bad.

Comfort: This is by far, THE greatest feature of the Gumy's. I'm completely obsessive-compulsive over comfort, and these are the most comfortable things I've ever worn. I can't stand either the px100, ksc 75, or any other earbuds for over 30 minutes. Infact, before I bought these I have never found a comfortable pair of headphones. These are much more comfortable than the HA-F130's, which are slightly oversized. I guess after making several generations of these things JVC finally found a winning shape.

Aesthetics: I personally find all the colors except for black to be cheap looking (yes they're cheap but we don't need to advertise that to everyone

). They're low-key, and look like a quality product.

Overall:
px100: 6/10 (uncomfortable)
ksc75: 5/10 (even more uncomfortable, clips take forever to adjust)
Gumy's: 5/10 (sound quality sucks, but comfort+price pulls it's score up)

Overall, this is a very mediocre product SQ-wise, but the fact that it's better than IBuds in every way thinkable(especially comfortwise), justifies it's existence.

I doubt very many people will care about this, but I think it'll make a nice reference for the search function.

Years later, and I just wanted to say, I enjoyed your review. It is still relevant. "Comfort is King". IEM's also bother me, (especially while eating). Have tried the IEM's: Yamaha EPH-100SL and the Etymotic ER3SE. The Etymotic was like a torture chamber for me. You had to insert it extremely deep in your ear canal, to hear the bass. One day, while walking around in my house with the Ety's in, my hand accidentally hit the wire. The left side of the earphone gave a little tug, on the left ear. It wasn't even hard at all. The next few days, my left eardrum would buzz, like Tinnitus. That was 3 weeks ago, and it still feels weird, (although the buzzing has stopped). The buzzing lasted for about 4 days. That scared the hell out of me. That is not a natural way to listen to music. FWIW, the Yamaha EPH-100SL was much more comfortable, (but not comfortable compared to earbuds). Although the Yamaha died after 1.5 years, (one side lost sound, a notorious problem with those).

These old-style, JVC Gumy earbuds, are like a breath of fresh air. The silicone-y coating around the bud, is so nice and comfortable. You forget they are in your ears. The size and shape is nearly perfect. I also had the old-school, iPod earbuds, with the 3.5mm jack. The comfort and sound quality was not as good as these. (They were still comfortable though). Yes, the JVC earbuds, could have better sound. The bass is weak, and if you have experienced high-quality headphones, the sound of these is average. But they are good enough for me, usually. Also, you can't replace the experience, of just sitting with them in, (on your laptop eating, or waking up in the morning on your laptop), and not feeling any discomfort, only sound.

Especially as someone who wears glasses, which makes many headphones uncomfortable, (not all though). Truly, the JVC HA-F140, and the JVC HA-F14, are the best JVC Gumy's ever, imho. You will see that many people complained about the sound, or comfort, when JVC changed the sound, or shape of these. They are much better for me than JVC's new, IEM-style earphones as well. Here's mine, I'm rockin' the pink! Lol! Hey, they were the only ones left, and only $6, (another bonus for these). Like you said, they are so plentiful and cheap. (Getting harder to find now in 2020 though):