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I picked up some new headphones recently, a pair of Skullcandy INK’D earbuds after reading some great reviews and getting some great feedback from some folks I know.  My review: ★★★☆☆

…moderately satisfied. The seem like a “good enough” value (speaking to the quality-to-price ratio, here).

PROS:

1. The most comfortable in-ear headphones I’ve ever tried (and have owned more than a few over the years).
2. Nice seal in the ear blocks out a surprising amount of ambient noise (even at low volumes).

CONS:

1. Vibrations (e.g., the cable against your zipper) tend to amplify and compete with the music in your ear.
2. I’m not sold on the sound, which seems tinny and weak to me; I heard a lot of folks rave about these ear buds but the bass seems average at best.

MISC.:

1. I prefer an L-shaped connector and was disappointed that this one was straight.
2. The cable has a good texture and seems not to tangle.
3. Very comfortable if you expect to wear them for extended period but you can probably do a lot better in the sound department for not much more money.

(Original review posted on Amazon.com.)

UPDATE: The sound quality might be a little better than I originally gave it credit for – but it seems like you need to jam the earbud pretty deep and snug into your ear to get any satisfaction below ≈200 Hz.

UPDATE 2: A little over a year later, one of the buds has crapped out.  You get what you pay for?  I would have liked to have gotten another year out of these, at least.

About Rob Friesel