Jays a-JAYS One Review: the earphones we deserve

I wasn’t enthusiastic about earphones before this review; I’m usually more into speakers or headphones when it came to audio – then along came the a-JAYS One. For all my life, I have always stuck with the earphones that came with my devices and the cheap generic ones, but after listening to music with this, going back is a huge pain in the ear.

The a-Jays One has been around for quite some time now. We even have coverage of it already which can be found here. Today, we give it the full review treatment, so read on.

Design & Construction

Design starts with the packaging of this beauty, and it’s surely love at first sight. It’s solid and it looks really classy so we guess it’s okay to bring it around (if that makes sense) or display it somewhere in your place. Inside, you’ll find some labels, the user manual, the earphones and some sleeves.

The earphones themselves come in a matte black color too, just like the packaging. The color is really plain to be honest and it lacks contrast, but that’s okay as it does a good job in blending in with the environment. Aside from the gold audio jack and the labels, everything else from top to bottom is flat black.

Speaking of flat, the flat cable looks awesome and it does what it is supposed to do. In all the days of our usage, never had we experienced a time where the a-JAYS One tangled in our bag and in our pocket that we spent minutes trying to untangle it. It’s awesome.

Another thing I hate about the usual generic earphones is how connections get loose near the end of the plug through time. With an L-shaped plug, that problem can be eradicated; I no longer worry about bending the cables in tight situations.

Usability & Sound Performance

Let’s get to the intangibles.

The experience starts when you place the JAYS inside your ear. Compared to my usual earphones, it doesn’t really feel anything special in this regard. It’s comfortable but it’s nothing groundbreaking. However, when the cables rub against objects with excessive movement, it also creates a stethoscope effect like the t-JAYS One, which can be quite annoying.

Here’s the best part – the audio quality. Jays markets the a-JAYS One as a bass-centered device, and we can’t really argue with that. When I listen to Fall Out Boy’s Save Rock & Roll (which packs lots of bass for me by the way) on my old earphones, it was decent, but when I switched on the the One, it felt whole and I feel like my audio experience was somehow completed. I switched back to my old earphones once again and I noticed the gaps; it cannot be unheard.

Apart from the deep and thick music, each element feels distinct and, at the same time, harmonizing. I can finally put my attention on certain musical instruments and isolate them in my head – the drum patterns, the guitar leads, the bass riffs and etc. – and they all sound great both individually and together.

The highs and the mids on the a-JAYS One does not feel as highlighted as the bass, but that doesn’t mean that it’s bad. It’s actually really good, and if we were to describe it, we’d call it ‘polished’. Messing around with your device’s equalizer can attest to that, and even if you put the high and the mid frequencies louder, the music won’t sound bad.

a-Jays One specifications:
8.6 mm Dynamic Speaker
Sensitivity: 95dB @ 1kHz
Impedance: 16 Ohm @ 1kHz
Frequency Response: 20Hz – 18,000 Hz
18.3 x 11.8 x 13.8 mm
14g
Width 5mm / Thickness 1.2mm
115 cm
L-shaped audio jack

Conclusion

For the price of Php1,799, I’d buy one mainly because I no longer want to stay with earphones that tangle like a puzzle, wear off easily through time and produce mediocre music. It’s not perfect as the cost can’t justify it for everyone and it has the stethoscope effect, but it’s just one of those days when I can correctly say “once you go black, you can never go back.”

What we liked about it:

• Flat tangle-free cable
• L-shaped plug
• Awesome packaging
• Deep & thick bass
• Solid & polished audio quality all around

What we didn’t like about it:

• Stethoscope effect
• No carrying pouch