Although I can’t fully substantiate this, I feel nobody loves listening to music more than I do. In fact, on a near daily basis, I can been seen tuning out the world’s environmental noise and din while walking around listening to my iPod ad nauseam. Rather, I might be providing my world with a better (albeit personalized) soundtrack. Take your pick.
So when I was granted the opportunity to try out Audio-Technica SonicFuel in-ear headphones, I got excited. I have been an avid music fan since the mid-1980s, and I have lived long enough to see the evolution of headphones. Over the years, I have refined my preferences of features that come with headphones. It just so happens, the features that I have come to appreciate in earbuds in the last few decades are noise-canceling abilities, comfort, and sound quality. The SonicFuel buds come with multiple features that come in handy for smartphone users as well.
Noise Canceling
When you are on a plane listening to your favorite music, nothing can ruin the experience faster than the droning noise of airplane engines or a chatty fellow passenger. In the last few decades, noise-canceling earbuds have become fairly ubiquitous. In fact, one could argue that noise-canceling should be a standard feature of all earbuds on the market. When I tried out the SonicFuel buds, sure enough, I could only hear my music and occasionally my breathing. I found this to be impressive and it definitely blocked out all external noises that could detract from me enjoying my favorite tunes (and my “me” time).
Comfort
The way an earbud rests on your meatus (ear canal opening) is key. I remember some of the earphones of yore would gently rest in your ear holes just fine, but the only protective barrier between your skin and the earbud was a thin layer of foam. Although, for its time, that was passable for being acceptable, but now higher quality earbuds generally use silicone pieces. Audio-Technica SonicFuel comes with an assortment of silicone ear pieces allowing the music fan to customize their ear comfort. Nowadays, earbuds generally come in one-size-fits all. Since people come in all different sizes, Audio-Technica recognizes the importance to maximize comfort for each individual’s ear size. The SonicFuel comes with a storage pouch to house all the different ear pieces. The eartip of the headphone rotates—allowing some give should your music player or smartphone get dropped or snagged on something. These eartips come in 3 different sizes as do the C-tips. As the name implies, C-tips are C-shaped pieces that fit snugly into your antihelix (the curve just outside your ear canal opening). The C-tips offer additional stability that prevent slippage. In the instructions, there is mention of experimenting with all the different pieces to make sure your ear bugs are customized to fit your ears.
Sound Quality
Of course, the sound quality an earphone provides is crucially important. In my experience, I have found with some genres of music I might prefer a headphone over using earbuds. However, when I use earbuds, I have a clear understanding what level of sound quality to expect. I want the music to sound crisp and not too overpowering. I listened to many bands from ABBA to Marilyn Manson, and the SonicFuel buds absolutely met my expectations for sound quality. I even played some hiphop music on my pod, and the bass range was definitely up to par. Another cool feature of the buds are a volume control switch found on the wire itself. There is a small switch that enables you to bypass your device to control volume. This is convenient when your device is in a pocket or just out of reach.
Another Cool Feature
For smartphone users, many states have outlawed the usage of cell phones while driving. The SonicFuel buds have a built-in microphone. This might enable the user to talk on the phone while staying in compliance of hands-free driving laws (Note: You will need to check with your local jurisdiction to find out if SonicFuel buds qualify).
The Good:
- Fine sound quality for your favorite music
- Comfortable interchangeable ear pieces allowing customization
- Rotating eartips to provide additional comfort and accommodate for movement
- Terrific noise-canceling capabilities
- Built-in microphone for smartphone use
- Volume control on wire
The Bad:
- Might not be street legal in all areas for hands-free smartphone use
- Fine-tuning the comfort level with all the components takes a little bit of time
Audio-Technica SonicFuel ATH-CKX5iS is available for purchase on Amazon.
Note: Audio-Technica provided me with a product for review purposes. The opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced by the company.
All photos by Anthony Frohlich