Yurbuds' Ironman Headphones are Great. If You Don't Do Anything Athletic
By David Spark | Monday, January 10, 2011 at 10:45 am
David Spark (@dspark) is a veteran tech journalist and the founder of Spark Media Solutions. Spark blogs regularly at Spark Minute. Read his recent article 16 Annoying Communications that Must End in 2011.
I go through earphones like crazy. I abuse them. I yank the cables by accident, I sit on the ear buds, I step on them. I’ve broken so many earphones that I purposely never spend that much on them. I usually can find decent ones for about $20.
At the ShowStoppers event at CES I saw a new set from Yurbuds from their Ironman Series (retail $49.99). To promote the headphones’ athletic usage, Yurbuds had two Ironman athletes in their booth.
In addition to promoting them for athletic usage, Yurbuds advertises its headphones as soft, comfortable, and guaranteed to not fall out. I’m in agreement with two out of three. They are soft and they won’t fall out, but they’re not hugely comfortable. In fact, they’re kind of painful. After having them in for just an hour, my ears became rather sore. Were my ears working out?
Ear soreness is actually not Yurbuds’ worst problem. Sitting on the plane and walking through the airport they sounded great. But as soon as I went for a run this morning and started jumping up and down, the soft rubber buds started rubbing against the hard plastic, and the cord started bouncing all around. The combination of all three started movement and rubbing of the soft plastic which caused a low, loud, and constant “squeaking” noise.
I thought I was crazy so I had my wife try them. Same experience.
Has anyone at the company actually tried these headphones for their advertised and intended purpose? If so, they would have discovered the same problem I did.
The Yurbuds Ironman Series ear buds are only appropriate for couch potatoes that only want to listen for less than an hour. If you plan on moving faster than a walking pace, avoid these headphones.
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January 11th, 2011 at 5:40 am
Try the Phillips Specked earbuds if you want durability. Good price – BB carries them. Very strong connector.
January 13th, 2011 at 4:34 am
David,
I also got a pair at Showstoppers. I must have much larger ears because I didn't have the level of discomfort you described, I wore them all that night after Showstoppers, to bed, and most of the next day. However, I did run into an issue with these otherwise great headphones: don't trip on the wire going to the earbud… it'll simply break. 🙁 I really liked them otherwise.
-Chris
January 14th, 2011 at 11:15 pm
No strain relief on the earpieces, it's true, but Apple doesn't have any on theirs, either.
I run with an iPod Shuffle, and take the surplus cable under my shirt so it doesn't bounce around loose.
I like the acoustic separation, and so far (I've had them two days, not yet running) the earpieces are pretty comfortable.
April 23rd, 2011 at 8:31 am
I bought the $29.99 ones, they might have been called Inspire or something. I tried them on and immediately hated them. They stretched out my ears and I am going back to Best Buy to return them today.
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:56 pm
I had exactly the same experience: as soon as I start running, the cables start sliding and dangling inside the earbuds, making a very annoying ticking and 'rubbing' noise. How dare they sell these as sports earbuds? I love the comfort and fit of the silicone buds, but the noise is ridiculous.
December 29th, 2011 at 7:31 am
Hi, Ive had mine for at least two years. They feel great and work fine. Now the only thing I did different was follow the custom fit instructions. I believe you send them a photo of your ear.. and a Quarter next to them. Maybe try that.
February 9th, 2012 at 8:52 am
my ipod shuffle becomes unresponsive, I cant turn it off! I Can
only somehow control my ipod with the remote on my headphones… is
there a soulution ?
February 9th, 2012 at 9:10 pm
I have apple earbuds but they are so uncomfortable that why i was finding the right earbuds for me which is never fall out and comfortable. But you made it easy for me and i would like to thank you for your this great post which is very useful for me to find a right earbuds.