Orange Wired Earbuds Look And Sound Good

True wireless earbuds are a modern marvel of audio freedom. But they come at a monetary and usability cost. My blue JBL Tune 230NC buds are overall great, and they only set me back $50 on sale when I bought them. About a year later, though, they started glitching — ugh. It has worn me down over time. And recently, I was turned onto good ol' fashioned wired earbuds. So I decided to give'em a go. To sweeten the new wired setup, they come in vivid orange — yes! Do low-tech earphones sound like a smart upgrade?

JBL, oh well?

I have two wireless JBL audio devices: Tune 760NC headphones and Tune 230NC earbuds. The former has been working perfectly for over two years now. But with the latter, the right earbud has been glitchy for months. It randomly and suddenly cuts off while the left one keeps playing. To fix it, I must remove it and tap it on a hard surface a few times. Not ideal, but it usually works. Sometimes it takes one tap, other times it takes five or so. It has become too frustrating.

Panasonic rescue

Say hello to the Panasonic Ergofit RP-HJE120 earbuds. This audio fix looks and sounds good.

First of all, they're affordable at just $10 on Amazon. That's it! That's like, what, two coffees?

Who knew audio could look so cool?

Second of all, they're colorful. Of course I grabbed the awesome orange ones that match my Spritz Orange Razr, but they're available is many other colors too. Pick yer fave. Since they're so inexpensive, why not buy two or three pairs in various colors? I might keep a pair at work and a pair at home.

The colorway isn't just a style choice, it's also functional. I can't stand searching for small black objects inside a dark EDC bag or on dark floor if they fall. Color makes them stand out, helping my eyes find them. (Black earbuds are fine…if they have RJB lighting in them.)

These Ergofit buds are best of all simple. They're tethered to a nice round 3.5mm jack — if it aint broke, don't fix it. I love how they're true plug-n-play with any device. Like most wired earbuds, the simplicity of these Panasonics makes them easy to use:

• No batteries that die
• No need to charge
• No case to keep up with
• Not easy to lose
• No Bluetooth pairing
• No dropped signal

Audio Quality

They're not bad. I'd say for $10, the soundstage, clarity, and mix of bass/mids/highs is what you might expect. With three silicone-tip sizes, I was able to get a perfectly comfortable seal with the large ones. They're snug but not tight, not falling out even when lightly pulled.

Downsides?

The catch here is of course the wires. They can get caught on your arms or other objects, potentially yanking the buds from your ears. Wires might take some getting used to for me. But then again, I use wired headphones sometimes, so it shouldn't be too hard to adjust. The real test will be how the wire(s) tangle in my EDC bag. To avoid a spaghetti mess, I'm using a small pouch to hold them inside. The wires also transmit sound via the in-ear buds, like a stethoscope, when they rub or bump against clothing. But honestly, that has been minimal and practically unnoticeable.

Another drawback might be that the orange Ergofits lack noise-cancellation. But so far, their natural in-ear noise-isolation works well enough. And I don't need to fuss with switching between noise-cancel mode and "transparency" mode. These things are simply in or out of your ears. Audio on or audio off — those are the options — such binary restriction is ironically liberating.

Speaking of options, I chose earbuds with a 3.5mm jack instead of a USB-C plug because my laptop and my Nintendo Switch still have 3.5mm ports. So to use my Panasonics with my Android phone or iPad, which each have a USB-C port, I connect a simple adapter. Some Android phones still pack a 3.5mm plug and I might someday buy one of those. The headphone jack persists like Neo in The Matrix — many people still choose to use it.

Two other issues worth a mention:

1. The short plastic stem can put acute pressure on part of my ear when I push them in too far or at a certain angle. It hurts, but I’m able to consistently get a comfortable fit with a little adjustment.

2. Sometimes the UCB-C adapter connection can cause the audio to cycle between play and pause. It repeats until I reconnect them. It’s annoying but has only occurred a few random times. Still, it’s less annoying than trying to get Bluetooth wireless connected overall. I plan to try another adapter.

Wrap-up

Going for wired audio might only be a fun diversion, a little tech experiment. But I think it'll work out for good overall. I've been down this road before with a pair of $7 Sony in-ear buds (that died after more than a year). They weren't bad. So far, these Panasonics seem better.

I also still enjoy my JBL Tune 760NC over-ear headphones. They're great because while wireless, they also have a port and wire for connecting an included 3.5mm headphone cable. I use that with my Switch regularly. They work with my Moto Razr, but I prefer in-ear buds while listening at my desk job. That's when I use these new Panasonic earbuds the most.