By Odeisel
If there was ever anything that annoyed me about portable music, it’s cheap ass headphones. I know sometimes you get caught out there and you have to buy some on the run occasionally, but cheap headphones can totally ruin music for a two big reasons.
You’re probably playing some “music” nobody else likes but thanks to your poorly made headphones, everyone can hear every single word of your crappy music, even on the loud subway, even though you’re at least 10 feet away from others. Second, you’re already listening to an mp3 and the quality of your music needs all the help it can get to stretch itself into the realm of CD quality sound. (Tough luck trying to get that big echo record sound. We’re out on that). A good pair of headphones can bring out the lows and treble highs without sounding like noise.
You may prefer ear buds with noise reduction or ear muff style, over-the-head phones that block out sound. If you’re at the gym, those may not be the most conducive to getting your workout on (and not breaking your headphones). This column is about introducing you to the latest in headphones of all varieties and brands.
This episode examines Wicked Audio’s Mojo line of earbuds. These aren’t premium earbuds that allow you to hear butterflies flap their wings at a WuTang show, but the kind of rugged, urban headphones you can jog or workout in and beat up a little. The Mojo’s come in an assortment of different colors to fit the increasingly wild palettes of youth apparel. There are vibrant colors that don’t stick to the usual red, blue, black, silver lane.
The cord is short enough to get your workout on the machines without getting them tangled, but as with all rubberized cords, getting them to stay straight can sometimes be a chore. Doesn’t matter when you are listening to music much, but when you are trying to talk on the phone and you can’t keep the mic facing front, it can be very annoying.
How do they perform? We tested the Wicked Mojo earbuds during a recent taping of The Firing Squad Show. I hooked the earbuds up to a Samsung Galaxy3 and called into the show live. I was able to ehar clearly over the audio bed and hear each of my co-hosts distinctly. There were a couple points in the show where my voice was drowned out, but again that was due to the mic turning to the other side.
Next, we listened to indie rapper Akil’s latest single Listen, featuring vocalist Sheena Grier. The drum heavy track features robo digital atmospherics at the breaks, and ambient, light strings running in the back ground. The Wicked Audio Mojo’s allowed you to piece everything out across all the normal high/low ranges but didn’t bathe you in sound. That’s not really what they are built for anyway.
Bottom line, the Wikied Audio Mojo earbuds are built to take a pounding and give you a fiar range of solid sound at a price that allows you to get multiple pairs to try and match them with your new sneakers or your back to school school clothing
- Impedance: 16 ohms ± 15%
- Drivers: 10 mm
- Sensitivity: 106 dB
- Cord Length: 4ft. (1.2m) with 1/8″ (3.5 mm) gold plated headphone plug with control microphone.
- Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz
