Airdrives Review!

Since I've been back to running lately I've been using my iPod Shuffle and the little white ear-buds that came with it when I go out for a run. And while the ear-buds are perfectly fine for general use they're not the most secure things in my ears and there is the issue of being a bit cut off from environmental noise that we all know can be isolating and unsafe.

So, I was intrigued when I was asked to review a new type of ear-phone called Airdrives

If you don't want to go clicking the link (tho you should because the demos are pretty cool) I'll give you the lowdown: The premise for these particular headphones was to create a unit that would stay securely on the ear but not block the ear-canal like a typical in-ear bud so you can still be aware of environmental noises (like that delivery truck pulling up behind you to turn right as you prepare to cross the street it's heading for).

The speaker portion of the ear bud sits on your tragus (that little bump of flesh on the inner-front aspect of your ear) and projects the sound both through your mandible and back into the auricle (the big stickey-outey part of your ear... what you'd call your "ear").

Ok... the concept is cool, right? But what do I think of these new fangled devices? Well, overall I'm pretty pleased with the Airdrives. They do exactly what they say they're designed to do. They stay put comfortably with the adjustable over-ear hook, and they make me feel a lot safer when I'm road-running because I can hear everything going on around me, in addition to my music. I can even say, "good-morning" to my neighbors as we walk/jog past each other without having to wonder if I've just yelled at them. The sound quality is good on the upper and mid-range, but even with my bass-boost turned all the way up on my iPod I found the bass to be lacking. That said, I don't know that I've had a single pair of earbuds that performed adequately in the bass range... there's just not a lot you can do with a speaker that small.

Volume can be adjusted both on the music player and on the cord, which is a neat feature, but when you turn the volume way up (like when you're feelin' like Rocky and want to really jam out!) people around you will be able to hear your music much more clearly than if you did the same thing with in-ear buds. These are not necessarily the headphones you want to use at the gym (the dude squatting 450 in the cage might not want to hear your Michael Bolton), but when you're outside, if you want to be able to hear the world around you (before it runs over you) these DEFINITELY fit the bill.

I think these would make a fantastic Christmas gift for the runner in your life.

Posted by Lexy at November 27, 2007 04:11 PM