Gadgets

Earphone Alternative: a-Jays One

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief February 1, 2011 · 2 min read

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We’re tried that Php12k q-Jays earphones back in December and most of the readers commented that the price point was way beyond their budget so the distributor sent us another pair. And this time, it’s one of their entry level earphones — the a-Jays One.

Been using it daily for about a week when I go to the gym so I’m pretty much familiar with the audio performance. Before anything else though, this unit retails for only Php1,799 — which, IMO, up in the alley of most other entry-level branded earphones.

The a-jays One comes with this pretty neat packaging — a solid oval-shaped plastic that actually took me a bit of time to unbox (there’s that clever little latch that locks up the packaging securely).

Inside the box is the pair of earphones plus 4 additional sets of silicone sleeves with varying sizes from XXS to L. That should allow any user to pick the right size and make the right fit on your ears.

The long cable is flat (about 5mm in width) and has a bit of weight to it — a somewhat different approach to the usual thin, cylindrical cables of most earphones (including the high-end q-Jays).

Just like the q-Jays, I liked the audio quality. It’s not as impressive as the q-Jays I’ve tried before but for most of the time, the sound performance is indistinguishable (that’s as far as I can remember it to be) especially with the bass.

The silicone sleeve effectively blocks ambient noise although the earpiece often falls off due to the weight of the cables. Clear and crisp sound with good bass is all I mostly care about in-ear earphones but the cables just feels a little bothersome with all that heft. Maybe, I just need to get used to that configuration (which claims allows for minimum tangle).

a-Jays One specifications:
8.6 mm Dynamic Speaker
Sensitivity: 95dB @ 1kHz
Impedance: 16 Ohm @ 1kHz
Frequency Response: 20Hz â€“ 18,000 Hz

But then again, with a retail price of Php1,799, I think I am more likely to pick this one up over the q-Jays off the shelf. Jays’ attention to detail with their earphones (including the packaging) deserves some plus marks too.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

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76 Comments

nathan · 14 years ago

bro, baka gusto mo nang a-jays four white.. mayroon ako, gusto ko sanang makipag swap, hindi ko kasi magamit ito dahil d pwd pang nokia pang apple lng./. send me an email fa****@yahoo.com

Anth · 15 years ago

Hi Sir Yuga, there’s a new a-jays one+ with remote and mic, hope you can do a short review of this, and when it will be available locally (and price). Also, my CX-200 Sennheiser earphone broke a week ago due to tangled wires, i used it for 2 years tho and now im thinking of replacing it with this, what do you guys think? Thanks!

Xiao Duan · 15 years ago

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thepurplecrown · 15 years ago

how come the price on A-Jays online store is around 2,200php? Did they increase the price?

JAYS Philippines · 15 years ago

Yes unfortunately. We had to in order to align with regional asian pricing.

iPimp · 15 years ago

Those who own iPhone 4s should take a look at the a-JAYS Four. Jays sent me one and I reviewed it on my blog.

mongi · 15 years ago

a-Jays One Look Great

JAYS Philippines Distributor · 15 years ago

@achter109 – JAYS products carry global 2 year warranty. We honor purchases through our retail partners. Currently these are:

* AstroPlus in SM MOA, Vmall and Shangri-La
* PC Hub @ Gilmore

Purchases made through Silienation are also honored by us. Thanks for the interest.

– Maclin Electronics, Inc.

achter109 · 15 years ago

@Geo ayun nakita ko yung seller sa tpc, kaso nag aalangan talaga ako sa warranty sir.

For those who want to buy from a legit retailer, I found that the A. Store at eastwood has them jays.

Eastwood Mall, Libis, Quezon City
July 23, 2010
A.Store

JAYS j-JAYS – Php 2,550
JAYS s-JAYS – Php 4,050
JAYS d-JAYS – Php 5,130
JAYS q-JAYS- Php 9,200
JAYS v-JAYS – Php 4,050
JAYS c-JAYS – Php 6,250
JAYS a-JAYS One – Php 1,850
JAYS a-JAYS Two – Php 2,210
JAYS a-JAYS Three – Php 3,000
JAYS t-JAYS One – Php 3,350

source:
http://www.headphiles.org/index.php/topic,11.0.html

GEO · 15 years ago

@achter109

should be tipidpc pala not tipidcp nandun yung ad nya….yung sa warranty tinanong ko sa kanya dati contacting ko lang ulit siya and siya na bahala sa warranty

achter109 · 15 years ago

@GEO

alright I’ll look into it, pero pano yung warranty?

GEO · 15 years ago

@achter109

bought it at Tipidcp look for silie (member)…door to door delivery pa…she sells all kinds of a-jays suggest ko sayo bilhin mo yung a-jays three may kasama ng carrying case tsaka splitters

achter109 · 15 years ago

@GEO
Where did you buy your jays? I want one of those too man. hehe

GEO · 15 years ago

ive been (using/abusing) my a-jays since august 2010…this earphones are very durable…gamit ko to pag nag momotor ako to and from the office about an hour travel expose to (dust/rain/sunlight)…ganda quality matibay talaga…i also have senheiser but it broke down after 2 months of abuse…Sa sound quality naman compared sa senheiser…kung senheiser 10/10 ajays would be 9/10 little difference lang sa sound quality pero sa durability a-jays na ko with 1 year warranty pa…sulit bayad ko dito…:)

JunAlquis · 15 years ago

@Herce
yeah I also have the Soundmagic PL30’s they are definitely bang for the buck and very clear. the balance and clarity is great for the price but for Bassheads like me these earphones might not be for you because of its more balance approach.

Herce · 15 years ago

I’m a IEM enthusiast and Jens of Sweden (now known as Jays) has disappointed me everytime I bought one. Since their high end buds are such crud, I am not sure how much better these would be than the stock headphones that come with a high end MP3 player.

Sennheiser is hit and miss. Since they have gone mass market, their canalphones range from crap (like I think these Jays) to decent to awesome (and its not based on price), so you need to know what you are buying. At this low end I would say, for example, that at the same price point the CX300 would probably be much better than these (never owned the CX 300 so I can’t say for sure).

Locally here, the other problem is fakes. Senn and Sony are probably the most faked canalphones. I tried to buy a pair of CX400s a few years ago in Park Square and demanded I be able to open the box so I could see if they were real or not (I had detailed pictures of the difference between real and fake) and they were fake! Can you believe that?! I ended up getting them from Anson instead, who had real ones.

However, I found a pair of great IEMs for kick around/bluetooth use I would recommend here. I paid, converted, about P900 for them in HK. Soundmagic PL30: http://soundmagic.en.alibaba.com/product/222448537-200635275/PL30_earphone.html. For the price these are fantastic IEMs for low quality audio sources and they have adjustable bass, which is what caught my attention to begin with. I’ve since bought a few other Soundmagic cans when I am in HK and its been hit and miss but, for the low prices, some of them are real steals but none beat the PL30 for price/performance.

Just for reference, I use ETY HF5s for the airplane (best isolation but mechanical sound so only good for the VOD). My current favs are Earsonics SM3 (ear heaven and great for classical) but I switch to my Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10 for that thumping bass for dance/hip hop.

Messie · 15 years ago

Right, earliest problem of cheaper earphones and OEMs is the loss of sound in one of the buds. Sabi nga nila, I’ll rather be safe and seating pretty with a pair of authentic pairs rather than nervous and unsure with copies.

To each his own talaga, some maybe lucky like Charli3, pero more people have stories of being disappointed with their earphones turning to junk in 3 months or less.

@Lezure Thanks for sharing! Those are worth looking at din :)

Charli3 · 15 years ago

@Billy
I think my senn is OEM and I have it for 1 year na, everyday ko to ginagamit, at wala pa akong nagiging problema so far. So hindi ko talaga magets yung sinasabi niyo dito na madali sila masira. case to case basis siguro.

Billy · 15 years ago

@Messie, the quality of the OEM version of Senn is actually good. :) Madali lang talaga masira :(

@Pabs, A4Tech is leagues below Senn!

pabs · 15 years ago

Why don’t you try A4tech. Sounds good and very cheap!!

Lezure De Merveilles · 15 years ago

I’ve actually heard some good stuff about these pair of in ears. At this price range, this would actually be a good buy.

Other alternatives for me would be a:

soundmagic PL11 – at 900 pesos from Gogadgets, a lot of the audiophiles I’ve talked too recommend this IEM.

Koss KSC75 – probably at around 600 to 800 pesos, this Clip-on has extremely good reviews.

Messie · 15 years ago

For 1.8k, this is definitely a must try. The Senn earphones which you can buy online at a 1.5k – 2k price range smells fishy. There are many claiming that these are not really authentic (only OEMs or Class As), which does make sense since you can buy these Senns from the mall at around 3-3.5k price range.

At least when you buy this Jays from official sources, alam mong 100% authentic ang binibili mo.

If I get tired of the stock phones for my Ipod, or if masira na to, I am definitely going to buy Jays to replace it. :)

PS: Sana may promo soon =P

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 15 years ago

@charli3 @JunAlquis – can’t really say since I have not tried a Senn before.

Teks · 15 years ago

I hope this help…

http://iluvattila.multiply.com/photos/album/57/JAYS_Earphones

JunAlquis · 15 years ago

@Charli3
good point

Charli3 · 15 years ago

malamang way better pa din ang senn. hindi nagrereply si abe which means the best pa din ang senn, hindi lang nia pwedeng sabihin kasi paid ad ata ito ng a-Jays. XD

Billy · 15 years ago

Anyone who has compared this with Sennheiser yet? Would really like a comparison. :)

RJCA · 15 years ago

Where can I get one of these? The price is really good, makes me regret buying my OEM Beats. :|

JAYS Philippines Distributor · 15 years ago

@wites, @Brent

Thanks for the interest. Currently available in AstroPlus Shangri-La, VMall, SM Mall of Asia and PC Hub.

wites · 15 years ago

pretty nice substitute for my old ipod earphones. where can you get this pre?

Brent · 15 years ago

Where can we grab one? :D

Bogcess · 15 years ago

Whoa! Pretty competitive price range. Great review abe.

Jonaflormicfren · 15 years ago

What a nice step to reach the consumers afford-ability to their products. http://youshudno.blogspot.com/

Jon · 15 years ago

Senn is still the best in my experience, but sadly, it breaks easily under normal daily use. I’ve had several Sennheisers already (CX500, CX400, CX300, and CX300 II), and all of them broke in some way or another.

Now, I use an Altec Lansing Backbeat 326. Sound is pretty decent, but no way near Senn quality. I just bought it because it looks and feels it could withstand punishment. I was not disappointed.

Anyway, I do hope to see a comparison between a Senn. :D