Primark 238808 review

Though‐designed, cheap. The wires are interesting, thinnest ever but have been cased in wide plastic, like a noodle. Soft too, so should be tangle resistant and easy to untangle. Soft rubbery plug has an all‐in‐one strain relief that feels like it may protect. That’s a microphone, though I didn’t try it, and a volume slider that feels reasonable. Housings are matte‐finish and small, tips have three sizes and loose wings, should hold good. Robustness should be good for what they are. The 808s may put pressure on ears, but are easy to put in and get out. Mine are in a color called ‘mustard’. I think the colors are good, overall style reasonable.

Passable volume. Only reasonable volume range. Not much attack, and a numb decay. So timing is passable. They don’t compress or stagger much in swells. They scratch on upper strings, blare trumpets, dash at cymbals, and boom in lowband, but these quirks are small, not outstanding. The frequency range is light on lowband, but some lowband is there—EQ suggests they slope down from 60Hz or nearby—which is high, but is a slope. Highband rolled, but high up. There is also clarity, an avoidance of echo and resonance. And detail on attack, from the frequency response, though none on decay. As I’d expect, color is good everywhere, if cardboardy. Scale is poor and positions vague, but no wander.

Outstanding vocal earphone. Slow for rock, bass plays but plods. Pop music, mono recordings to electronics, is outstanding. Ok, the cardboard color and dull decays show for solo recordings. Games and soundtracks have treble response and stable positions, even if lowband is missing and scale is narrow. But the nice frequency response so solidity is welcome everywhere.