JBL Reference 220 Earphones

JBL Reference 220 Earphones & Accessories

Over-the-Ear Attachments

Under-the-Chin Strap

First, although these earbuds have “reference” in their name, they most certainly are not neutral. Instead, you get something that’s slightly bass-heavy, but still has clear highs and mids. What you get is a good, solid sound, and won’t have to worry about messing with the iPod’s EQ settings.

Although the sound-quality of earbuds is important, what else does your $80 get you? Quite a bit, actually. Included with the earbuds (more on the design of them later), you get a carrying case, silicon ear inserts, foam ear pads, attachments to use the earbuds as over-the-ear headphones, an under-the-chin strap, a phono adapter, and an airline adapter.

The unique design of the earbuds allows them to be used as traditional earbuds, with either the silicone inserts or the foam ear pads. The ear pads are a bit on the awkward side, since the actual earbuds are rather thick. Fortunately, the silicone inserts (you get three sizes) fit much better and the sound quality is the same.

Although the earbuds can be used as just that—earbuds, they also can be used in other configurations. Unfortunately, these are better in theory than in execution. The grey silicone over-the-ear attachments fit onto the earbuds and allow you to clip the earbuds onto your ears. Although they ended up not being in the ear (thus, not having that sound-isolating “seal”), the sound was still pretty close to “normal” use, but a bit tinnier. The under-the-chin strap is a folding piece of plastic that fits onto the earbuds creating something that looks like an awkward stethoscope. This didn’t work at all and just felt clumsy. We would’ve rather seen a headband like the $15 Sonys you see at various retailers.

Other than that, the earbuds themselves are somewhat interesting looking. They are available in white or black and take some design cues from JBL’s Creature speakers. The cord is also a bit unique—rather than plastic or rubber insulation, you get a stitched fabric. This seems very durable (and after a few months of rigorous use did not look “dirty”), but the fabric does seem to carry noises caused by the rustling of the cables.

Overall, the 220s offer quite a bit for the money. The superb sound quality, lots of accessories (including some you probably won’t use), and great design translates into a pretty good choice if you get sick of Apple’s included earbuds.

FX4021

FX4021 Satellites

FX4021 Control Pod + Remote

FX4021 Connections

The FX-line of Altec Lansing’s seems to be the more stylish, but still powerful product line. With a price tag of less than half of the FX6021s ($129), it is priced more competitively with offerings from JBL, Logitech, and Creative. The system also offers about 2/3 of the power, rated at 46 watts RMS. The entire system includes two satellites, a subwoofer, a control pod, and a wireless remote.

First of all, this review is intended to be a review of general sound quality for most computer users, as well as roundup of the features. I’m no audiophile, although I do enjoy listening to all kinds of things in iTunes, as well as watching movies on my computer.

Unlike the FX6021s, the FX4021s have two drivers (one 40mm midrange and one 18mm high-end tweeter) in each satellite, but in our tests, they still pump out enough sound to be more than acceptable. The subwoofer is unique in that it features two 5.25″ drivers, allowing it to stay compact while producing quite a bit of sound. How is this achieved? The two drivers are placed in an isobaric arrangement—it is rather unique and seems to work fairly well.

Setup is like any other Altec Lansing product—put the removable bases on the satellites, connect the satellites to the subwoofer, connect the subwoofer to a computer (or other device) with the included 3.5mm cable, connect the control pod to the subwoofer, and you’re ready to go. A RCA to 3.5mm adapter is included for connection to VCRs, DVD players, TVs, video game consoles, or stereos.

Control pod? What the heck is that? If you’re familiar with the recent trend of computer speakers, the idea is to take the controls off of a satellite, allowing people to put the speakers where they want. The control pod with the FX4021 includes an auxiliary input jack, a headphone jack, a power button, a loudness button, an SFX (Sound Field Xpander) button, and adjustments for volume, treble, bass, and loudness.

Operation of the speakers is how you’d expect—turn them on, adjust the settings to your liking, and go from there. The buttons for loudness and SFX
simply enhance the sound (loudness boosts the high and low frequency sounds, while SFX gives the impression of a wider stereo image). Having both turned on makes music better almost 95% of the time in our tests.

The remote allows access to the same features, but in a more portable form. It is infrared, so you have to point it at an unobstructed control pod, but is handy, especially in dorm rooms or other areas where the computer could be unattended on the other side of the room.

You can have the slickest speaker system, but it’s useless if it sounds awful. Fortunately, in our tests (watching movies, some TV shows, and listening to a wide range of music) the FX4021 fared well for the most part. The system’s subwoofer excelled at rock music and other constant heavy-bass things. In other situations, it is better if the loudness feature is turned off. The FX4021 seems to have trouble with music with very subtle bass, but this has been the case with many computer speaker systems in this price range that we’ve tried.

Our only other gripe is that wall-mounts were not included with the speakers, but a “free, but you pay shipping” coupon is thrown in with the manual. Something that small could have just been included.

Basically, the FX4021 is a system that gives people something that is aesthetically pleasing, slightly-better-than-average-grade sound, and can still be plenty loud. We wouldn’t necessarily recommend this to audiophiles, but for most people this system should be rather satisfying.

Boostaroo Revolution

Boostaroo Revolution + Cables

Boostaroo Revolution (Battery Compartment)

Priced around $80, the Boostaroo Revolution is a small device about the size of an iPod shuffle, and features 3 minijacks—one input and two outputs. It comes with two small audio cables (one is 4″ and the other is 7″) and is powered by two AAAA batteries. A red LED indicates power.

The Revolution is described as “an audio amplifier that separates the signal into individual stereo channels to drive two separate headsets or speakers, and images surround sound into 3 channels. Depending on the ohm rating (electrical resistance) of your headphones, the Revolution will provide an 11.5 dB boost with no more than 1% harmonic distortion.” Although headphones with ratings above 60 ohms are recommended, the Boostaroo Revolution will work with other models.

The amplification aspect of the Revolution can bring up your device’s volume to 4x the original, and will allow you to drive headphones rated up to 300 ohms portable devices (the built-in amplifier on iPods and other portable devices really have a hard time driving these headphones normally).

In our tests, our Sennheiser HD280 Pros sounded beautiful with a 5G iPod and Boostaroo Revolution. The standard iPod headphones distorted a bit at higher volumes, but they were almost too loud to listen to anyway.

It’s worth noting that you should turn the volume all the way down on your device before using the Revolution, as the volume increase could damage your hearing.

There are only a few downsides to the Revolution: the price, use of AAAA batteries, and compatibility with certain headphones. At $80, it’s not for everyone, especially if you’re using cheap headphones. Furthermore, those who use headphones that are rated at 32 ohms or less will find that the Revolution creates too much distortion—not its fault, as it is designed for “better” headphones. Finally, the use of harder-to-find AAAA batteries is something we find annoying. Supposedly (we’re not confirming or denying this) there are cheaper sources for AAAA batteries. The device has a 20 hour rated battery life, so you might be changing batteries frequently. We would’ve settled for a larger device if it could use AAA batteries.

Overall, the Revolution is a good device for those who need amplified audio for higher-end headphones, or want to split an audio signal between two people. It provides better sound than an average splitter and even is able to give the illusion of a fuller, richer sound.

As most Macs do not include an audio input, the iMic from Griffin Technology is a workaround. Essentially, it’s a sound card that communicates with the computer using USB.

iMic

iMic Close-Up

iMics New & Old

Priced around $40, but as low as $35 in some places, the small silver iMic allows you to use guitars, microphones, tape decks, turntables, VCRs, and more with your Mac. The iMic also features a high-quality audio output, in case you’re looking for better sound out of your speakers.

The iMic is ideal for anyone who wants to use their favorite microphone with iChat AV or play their guitar on GarageBand on an iBook or Mac mini. As expected, the iMic has the same excellent product design as the other Griffin products and is very easy to use.

The only step is to plug the iMic into a free USB port and pick it in the Sound Preference Pane (a similar process for Windows). Once set up, the iMic is just as easy to use. One jack is labeled as input (it does both line-level and mic-level). Another jack is labeled as output, for headphones, speakers, or something else.

The iMic boasts a professional codec, and can record and playback up to 24-bit, 48kHz audio. The iMic’s sound quality is close to many other higher-end audio devices, but it lacks some of the “pro” features. Of course, it also is a fraction of a price.

Also included with the iMic is a RCA-to-miniplug adapter and a CD with a manual and Final Vinyl (an audio recording program).

This iMic is a bit smaller than the previous one, and gone is the Power Mac G4-style silver-and-clear-plastic look. Instead, this new iMic is all white with dark grey text. A switch on the side lets you pick between mic-level or line-level input. This is a big improvement over the unlabeled switch of its predecessor.

Aside from that, the iMic feels sturdy, and is very easy to use. If you need to get sound into (or out of) your USB Mac, and don’t want to spend too much, the iMic may be the product you’re looking for.

SoundSticks II Satellites

SoundSticks II Subwoofer

SoundSticks II Light

Eventually the SoundSticks appeared as a complete alternative to the Pro Speaker/iSub combo. These speakers used the USB port, and all the controls were handled by the computer. Because so many people wanted SoundSticks that worked with other devices, especially the ubiquitous iPod, Harman/Kardon released the SoundSticks II, a product that looks similar to its predecessor, but has a few minor changes.

With a price tag of around $170, the SoundSticks II are slighly more expensive than some other 2.1 (two satellites and a subwoofer) systems, like Harman Multimedia’s own JBL Creature II. For the extra cash, you get a beautiful product that offers slightyly better specs and more drivers than the Creatures. Each satellite plugs into the subwoofer, and a hardwired audio cable plugs into your audio source. There’s also an AC adapter to power the whole system. On the subwoofer, there is a blue LED to indicate power and a small knob on the back to adjust the volume of the subwoofer. According to Harman/Kardon, the SoundSticks lack bass and treble controls, as equalizer settings in programs offer more customizability. Another omission from the SoundSticks is a power switch—they are always on, unless you unplug them (but you can mute them if you don’t want audio coming through).

The satellites feature four drivers, that look a lot like the single drivers found in the Creatures. There are also adjustable metal bases under each satellite, that are wrapped in rubber to prevent skidding or other mishaps. The satellites aren’t labelled for right or left, but the right satellite has two touch-sensitive buttons for volume control.

The silver touch-sensitive “buttons” will be familiar to anyone who’s used a third-generation iPod or any of the other recent JBL products. One turns the volume up, while the other (not surprisingly) turns it down. Pressing both at the same time mutes the speakers. We found these to work quite well, despite many complaints about the older iPods. Muting the speakers is a good alternative to the idea of turning them off (which you can’t do).

These speakers sound good without any major adjustments, but the subwoofer control is a handy addition for those living in apartments or dorm rooms.

As stated earlier, we really find the omission of full-blown controls a tad annoying, although we got used to it after some time. The lack of a headphone jack is also a slight disappointment.

One thing we really liked about these speakers was their appearance—they look good. Unlike the G5-matching Altec Lansing FX6021 speakers, these look like they’d be more at home next to an iMac G3, Power Mac G4, or even the Cube. Despite this, the silver and clear color scheme still looks great near any Apple product.

In our tests, the SoundSticks held their own against the FX6021s, although they are close to half the price. They excelled in the treble department, and had surprisingly good bass, despite having a smaller driver. The FX6021s were able to be cranked up much louder, but the SoundSticks are more than adequate for room-filling sound. Compared to the Creature IIs, the SoundSticks offered similar sound, but it did tend to have a higher level of clarity, which is expected for the additional price.

If you’re looking for a speaker system that offers more punch than the Creature IIs, or just want something that will look great sitting on your desk, the SoundSticks II are an excellent upgrade, as long as you can get over the lack of controls.