iFrogz Earpollution earphones my review

BLASTmedia
11313 USA Parkway, Suite B-302, Fishers, IN 46037
P 317.806.1900 x 115
F 317.806.1422
http://ifrogz.com/earpollution/
http://ifrogz.com/proddetail.php?prod=EPToxix

Strengths: They come in a variety of colors. Great prices. Extremely fashionable. Stylish and good looking. High fidelity sound at a ood price. Over the ear models are very light and comfortable. Earbuds and other styles as well.

Weakenesses: Not as clear on the vocalization part (based on my iTune setting) but pretty good though.

Ratings:5/5

Reviewed by Dr. Eric Flescher, Olathe, KS(dreric1kansas@aol.com)

I have had all types of earphones over the years. While I don’t own an iPod, I’ve used earphones extensively fwith my iMac computer and iTunes, on my laptop and on jets.I am not an “earbud person” but prefer the” on the ear fit because for me, these feel more comfortable. When I look for a good earphone, I look for ones that are comfortable, light weight, have good fidelity and are good the price. Well I am happy to say that all these factors are in the excellent category.

I heard about these new iFrogz Earpollution line of earphones which launched in November 2008 ( Before then, iFrogz only offered the D-33 earbuds, but no other earbuds/headphones). . Based in Logan, Utah, it is a leading developer of accessories for iPod™ and other consumer electronics with the expressed intent to individualize the look of music lovers iPods and additional music related devices. EarPollution is the name for the new features which include three different types of headphones : eardbuds, on-the-ear and DJ-style. These are currently available online and in retail stores and there are different types to choose from to meet your needs. These affordable earphones come in a variety of fashionable colors (silver, gold etc). Each type of headphone in the new EarPollution line features three or more different styles that vary in function as well as look. All of the new headphone styles give crisp, clean stereo sound.

Providing unique styles have been a trade mark of this company’s designs of accessories. There are a three types of Earbuds: D33 – Noise isolating with a snug, secure fit and rich, deep sound. Each package includes three ear fits and a convenient travel case; Plugz – Noise isolating headphones that provide a crisp sound and the comfort of direct-to-ear delivery. Each pair includes three ear fit pieces ; Metal Drumz – Noise isolation with a sleek metal direct-to-ear delivery. Each set features clean stereo 20 sound and dynamic bass. I am not an earbud fan and so I let my wife test those out. (She liked the fit ).

insert ifrogzearpollution.jpg

There are several option/ characteristics for the earphones that make them highly desirable for use with iPods, MP3 players, for music, listening and other activities.

insert ifrogsearthphonetypes.jpg

Earbud style earphones includes the following:
D33 ($19.95) are noise isolating with a comfortable, secure fit and give a rich, deep sound. Each package includes three ear fits and a convenient travel case.
Plugz ($14.95) are noise isolating headphones that provide a crisp sound and the comfort of direct-to-ear delivery. Each pair includes three ear fit pieces.
Metal Drumz include noise isolation within a sleek metal direct-to-ear delivery. Each set features clean stereo sound and dynamic bass. The speaker is wrapped with a chrome accent and each 3.5mm jack is encased in a stylish metal sleeve.

On-the-ear has these features.
Toxix ($19.99)– Stereo headphones offering a stylish and comfortable fit. I particularly like the way they are adjustable to fit your ears and the way I wanted them to fit around the padded phones. I liked the simple grey fashion color.
ThrowBax ($29.95) – Offer a little more options and are stylish, retro design and comfortable with a fit which yield a deep bass and smooth stereo. Metallic coated speaker cups easily adjust for a perfect fit along the metal side rails. Each pair also features padded ear cups for extra comfort and noise isolation.
Nerve Pipes – Feature chrome multihued accents and contrasting color. Comfort cushion ear cups, a foldable headband and rotational hinges adjust for the perfect fit. Each pair offers deep rich bass and smooth stereo sound.
Fallout – A traditional fit offering smooth tones and dynamic bass. Each pair features comfortable cushion ear cups for extra noise isolation, chrome accents and contrasting color.

insert EqualizeriTunesAcousticsetting.jpg

I don’t have the expensive top of the line Bose acoustic ear canceling headphones headphone, which is supposed to be (one of ) the best so I can’t provide a direct comparisons. However I did a lot of research and bought the popular Sony noise canceling headphones MDR-NC6 ( which at that time were a little more then 2 times the price of these). These have a slight thin padding over the ear cups while the earpollution ones don’t have a pad over the top. I would compare these to the Toxix earphones with the a nice inner reservoir which contrasted with the Sony’s fit of a padding over the reservoir. The Sony also uses a battery that can turn off/on the noise canceling. This is on the right side of the headphone while t he ear jack connects to the left side. The Toxix also has this configuration with the ear jack on the left (seeing which one is left/right is a little more difficult to see but is evident after l looked more closely.

Insert my19songstesting.jpg

I am not a musician by any means. I only can do a little dabbling with piano and that’s it. My children are much more musically inclined and know more then I do about music. They know and hear the subtle parts of music, instruments and harmony when they play their instruments and listen to their music on their iPods. I enjoy music and the musical scores that are my favorites. So I have to go with my what I hear. I also have to admit that I wear hearing aids because I have lost some of the” high end noise” capabilities. I use hearing aids mostly when working with students in the classrooms and in public. When I listen to music, it is 90% of the time with headphones on my Imac. I can hear the subtle sounds and basically am focusing on the music now and what pleases my ears and the sounds I expect to hear when I listen to my music. I don’t use the hearing aids when I listen to the music with the earphones. I am hearing what comes to me through the headphones.

I had to set up a way to test the earphones while playing my music on my Imac and my iTunes. I chose 19 of my songs and put them on a playlist and then whittled the list down to one song to compare for this review. That one that I selected for the final decision was Arrowsmith’s Armegedon because of the musical score, voice accentuation and the full range of instruments employed

Basically to test the fidelity, I made the following settings on my iTunes by first setting my iTunes to the following:

iTunes > Windows (setting) > Equalizer > Acoustics.

I put the earphones to the test by listening to my favorite (no snickers please) music that I enjoy and felt would highlight the different instruments, music and voices to compare and contrast. I listened to a range of ones that I liked for this testing playlisting. I then compared these to my other earphones.

I finally narrowed it down to one song to test Arrowsmith’s Armegedon. This song has the drumming in the background and with the music flashing back and forth between the different sides of the headphones. Full range of orchestra instruments to listen to and “zone in on”. I wanted to see whether the earphones would transmit certain sounds that I expect to t hear. The tingling of the triangle instrument in the background near the end, the vocalization, the violins and more. Then I rated the song by listening through the earphones alternating each pair and then trying to decipher and write down the differences if any. I did this 10 times for each headphone for this Armegedon song.

Conclusions:

This was tough as they are both good models. I basically was evaluating the earphones on three characteristics that I selected as I felt these are what and most people look for when they order/buy headphones.

(1) Style and comfort : Toxix 10/10 (exceptional) with Sony 9/10 (good).

For style, the iFrogz are more stylish and have more colors.These headphones are light, smart looking and are versatile. The ear buds have different parts to them which create even more comfort. Each pair also features comfort cushion ear cups. They both were adjustable although the Sony’s were a little easier to adjust as the track was not as “sticky”. Comparing I give the Topix 10/10 to the Sony functional not splashy but nice 8/10. The Toxix are little lighter but I really like the padding with the Sony. While that makes them slightly heavier they are very comfortable and I love them too. Hard to decide but the edge goes to Topix.

(2) Fidelity : Toxix 9/10 (exceptional) with Sony 10/10 (good).

Sony I could hear that the piano was a little cleaner. I noticed with the drums blending in really clearly. With the Sony, I could hear the subtle low piano sounds in the background in the beginning and then followed later with the drums over it with the choral instruments. There is a tingling instrumental in the background as the words flow along. I could hear the tingling trailing off in the end.The violin with a little clearer. More music was coming out of the left ear. Lots of the tingling in the background which was very clear and distinct. Not as much base. I felt that the sound resonating from the reservoir made it more melodic. There seemed to be less bass sound and much more of the subtle instruments in the background and I could hear the bugle like instruments clearly. The tingling triangle was there at times throughout. There was a lot of resonance back and forth with the two sides of my headphone. The violins were really melodic and stretched and you could hear the violins going all the way until they lowered and died out. It took many trials but I noticed that the vocalization was very clean. It melded with the symphonic sounds well.

I felt that the Topix had more base sounds in the beginning. The piano was really evident in the beginning and was a little cleaner with the drums and the violin in the beginning. Some of the sounds were a little shrill. There was a lot of blending of the instruments. Horns were in the background. I could hear the tingling and could hear the violins in the background. The piano sounds were clear. I seem to notice the bugle type instruments better. I could hear the "tingling triangle sounds" but it was a little muted. Had a little more base throughout. I liked the stereophonic blending between and back and forth both sides. The instruments in the background were not as evident. In the end the music trailed off with the triangle blending. I finally targeted that the vocalization was definitely not as clean.

This was really tough. The headphones are both tremendous and sounded great. It took 10 trials to find out which had a edge. The edge in fidelity goes to Sony because the vocalization was much cleaner. The lead singer had a much clearer tone even when it seemed like he was “screaming”. It sounded less “hoarse”.

(3) Price (for performance): Toxix 10/10 (exceptional) with Sony 8/10 (good).

So the final tally is Toxix (29/30) to Sony (27/30). But your tally might depend on your musical needs and more.

There are many reasons to buy one headphone over another. I chose my three top preferences. What I like is that both these earphones provide the music that is very engaged and easy for listening. They are both comfortable with little differences between the two. With the Toxix, being lighter, I almost forget I am wearing them. In fact, if they have a model someday that is not tethered to the device, these might be ideal. The Sony is a little cleaner sounding with the vocalization. If I would fly on a jet as I will do soon, I will take the Sony because of the noise cancellation capabilities to test those and possibly compare to these at that time. But that’s in the future.

Lastly, both earphones are great sounding but the edge may go with you if you prefer different colors and styles. Check out the Toxix earphones are great buy for the price, acoustics and their styles. They would go well with any music device, many iPod/ MP3 player colors . If I were you, I would run out, find them, try them out and/or buy them. I think you will be as glad as I am. Plus I did not have to “break my bank” to hear some cool, soothing music!