PC Magazine reviews Apple’s In-Ear Headphones: fairly flat response some audiophiles will prefer

“The white Apple earbuds that come with every iPod are quite possibly the most instantly recognizable and ubiquitous tech accessory ever made. Trouble is, they don’t sound good—at all. Apple’s own $79 In-Ear Headphones attempt to solve this problem by offering a more secure fit, some remote control options, and, of course, improved audio quality. There’s a microphone too, and it works with both iPhone generations, but the earphones are intended for use with the fourth-generation nano, the 120GB iPod classic, and the second-generation iPod touch—to record voice memos. The extra features are likely to excite some iPod owners, but the audio quality isn’t quite $80-caliber,” Tim Gideon reports for PC Magazine.

“Apple has certainly improved on the dismal bundled earbuds in terms of fit and output. But that’s not a difficult thing to do. The In-Ear headphones are certainly crisp, and offer more bass than the earbuds, but they don’t offer nearly as much bass and overall fullness of sound that even Ultimate Ears’ $40 Loud Enough earphones do—and those are a pair with a limited volume output to protect your ears. On songs with deep bass, the earphones do not distort—which is good—but they also lack the power to reproduce those low-end frequencies with any real oomph. The result is a fairly flat response, which some audiophiles will actually prefer,” Gideon reports.

“The allure of Apple’s In-Ear Headphones is primarily the in-line remote control and the Voice Memo feature they unlock on the newer iPods. Bass fiends should steer clear, though, as there isn’t much to be had here,” Gideon reports.

Full review here.

MacDailyNews Take: Gideon sounds like he’s the first one in the room to run over and mash on the “loudness/Mega Bass™” button. That’s not a good thing in an audio reviewer.