The JAYS t-JAYS One earphones are small and light buds that employ silicone rubber sleeves to form a seal in your ear canals. This seal is responsible for creating a deep bass response that can not only be heard, but also felt.
Because the JAYS t-JAYS One earphones
sit tightly in your ear canals, they also do a reasonable job of blocking out external sound, which makes them a nice option for anyone who travels on public transport. They don't block everything out to the point where you are oblivious to your surroundings — for example you still might be able to hear people talking on the bus if they are sitting near you, but it will be muffled.
The seal between the earphones and your ear canals mean that you can hear a lot more detail in your music when you're outdoors. Furthermore, because the JAYS t-JAYS One earphones have a low impedance of 16 ohms, you don't have to run your MP3 player at a high volume to be able to actually hear your music. We compared the t-JAYS One earphones to a pair of discontinued Sennheiser MX 90 earbuds that we are used to listening to on a daily basis.
These earphones have an impedance of 64 ohms and the comparison turned out to be an unfair one. At the same volume level, the JAYS t-JAYS One earphones were over twice as loud. There wasn't noticeable distortion at full volume, but in saying that, you won't want to listen to these earphones at full blast unless you've got a deaf wish. (Although the high volume does come in handy when listening to albums that have been mastered with a low volume level to begin with, such as many early '90s hip-hop albums.)
Sounds are created by the JAYS t-JAYS One 10mm speakers that have conventional cone-based diaphragms and voice coils and, despite being tiny, they produce a big sound because the attached sleeves direct the sound deep into your canals — they don't work properly without the sleeves (and they won't sit in your ear without the sleeves anyway).
When playing an assortment of music (but mostly bass-heavy hip-hop tracks - JAYS makes a point to say these headphones are good for bass lovers), we found the low frequency response of the JAYS t-JAYS One to be deep and clear. We were able to hear subtle basslines that are usually drowned out on a normal pair of earphones such as the aforementioned MX 90s, and foreground beats were pounded with ease into our headspace. The best part is, the low frequencies didn't make a mess of the mid-range vocal tones and higher frequencies. This paved the way for a most enjoyable and enlightening music listening experience.
Recently purchased albums that we'd only heard through our older headphones sounded so much more vibrant, and we were able to pick up on subtleties that we'd previously missed out on when listening in a public space full of external noise. We didn't even have to resort to customised EQ levels to make the music sound fuller — it just did. We tested the JAYS t-JAYS One earphones with a Creative Zen and an iPod classic and both MP3 players sounded a lot better than we've ever heard them to date — it definitely pays to get a great set of headphones for your portable player.
But while the sound quality of the JAYS t-JAYS One earphones is excellent, there are a couple of things to be weary of. Firstly, you must choose the correct size sleeve to attach to your earphones; if you pick one that is slightly too big for your ears, when you put the earphones in they will be tight. While they might feel fine to begin with, your ears will end up feeling sore after you take them out. If you choose a sleeve that's too small, then the bass response might be diminished; you need to experiment with the sleeves that are provided — they range in size from extra, extra small (XXS) to large (L). We used the extra small size in our tests after finding the mid-sized sleeves to be too tight in our ears.
Another thing to watch out for is the packaging. It may look fancy, but it can be a danger to the earphones' 60cm cord, especially if you repack them. The way the earphones are packed, you have to slide them out of their case. If the cord gets between the two pieces of the case as you are sliding it, there is a realistic chance you could damage the cord (as we almost did in our tests). Luckily, the cord is tough but not stiff, and it has a rubber texture.
The JAYS t-JAYS One earphones occasionally became a tangled mess in our pocket or bag, but not as bad as other headphones we've used. The 3.5mm plug is gold plated and sticks straight out of a headphone jack, rather that being right-angled. This can be inconvenient with some players (such as the Zen) and you might be tempted to fold the cord at a right-angle yourself, which could fray the cord over time.
Because the JAYS t-JAYS One in essence plug into your ears, vibrations travelling up the earphone cord can be annoying. For example, if you use them while you're on the go and the earphone cords start hitting the zipper on your jacket, that sound of the impact will be audible in your ears during soft moments in your music.
Overall though, it's the sound quality that matters most and we think you can't go wrong with the JAYS t-JAYS One; they produce amazing sound and, as long as you select the correct sleeve, they will sit comfortably in your ears and make your music sound louder, clearer and fuller than typical earphones. We heartily recommend them.
Specifications
Driver: 10mm Dynamic Speaker; Isolation: JAYS Sound Isolating Sleeves; Sensitivity: 96 dB SPL @ 1 kHz; Impedance: 16 Ohm @ 1 kHz; Frequency Response: 18Hz - 20 000 Hz; Cord: L 0.60 m (~24 inch) + 0.70 m (~35 inch) extension cord, W 2/1.5 mm (0.079/0.059 inch); Weight: 8 grams (0.28 oz); Plug: Straight, Gold-Plated Stereo Mini-Plug 3.5 mm (1.8 in)
JAYS t-JAYS One
Verdict
The JAYS t-JAYS One earphones are loud, produce excellent clarity and bass, and, best of all, they are very small. Even though they are designed to plug in to your ear, they are very comfortable. However, you have to make sure you use the correct rubber sleeve size. The bottom line is, these earphones should be at the top of your shopping list if you value excellent audio quality and portability.
