Wood, its not just for making coffee tables anymore. Its long been used for surround sound systems and shelf speakers. Now it seems to be the future of high quality sound and Kickstarter created a new player in the high-end audio game.
I was skeptical at first of how wood could make that much of a difference. It makes physics sense that a stronger material could make the sound hold and hit more natural tones. Words like "rich", "powerful", and "encapsulating" don't begin to explain the sound that these simply designed (not to say the science behind them was simple...) in-ear headphones produce.
Grain Audio, a start up that used crowd funding on Kickstarter, decided that wood was the answer. We agree.
The simplistic design, using grey to both change up from the traditional black or white or a flashy third option, simple controls and Walnut wood finish give it a look that might initially make it hard for your friends to tell what your wearing. But don't you want to be the first one wearing Grain rather than the next one with Beats?
The fit is nice and snug without creating a bunch of pressure in your ear. With four different tip sizes, you should be able to find a solution with what comes in the box. The in-line mic and audio controls work great on iOS devices and have limited abilities with Androids. Only the volume doesn't function for our Galaxy S5. The mic is a good one, nothing to go crazy over but it works. The inline controls are very responsive and give good feedback when pressed.
All of that is window dressing, the magic is when they go in your ears. Mid tones are like we have never heard in ear buds and ear buds at this price range ($100). Bass is so well mixed and strong with the IEHPs, the drivers do an incredible job of balancing all of the sounds that your tunes make.
They are great all around as well. Spoken word, bass heavy, acoustic, all sorts of music tested very well for our bass loving ears. Vibration and shoddy construction weren't found here like in many ear buds. Its good to see someone put a lot of investment in ear buds that can handle music of all kinds.
If you like natural, rich sound in ear bud form and find incredible value these have with their $100 price tag, support Grain Audio and grab a set of these.
GRADE: A
I was skeptical at first of how wood could make that much of a difference. It makes physics sense that a stronger material could make the sound hold and hit more natural tones. Words like "rich", "powerful", and "encapsulating" don't begin to explain the sound that these simply designed (not to say the science behind them was simple...) in-ear headphones produce.
Grain Audio, a start up that used crowd funding on Kickstarter, decided that wood was the answer. We agree. The simplistic design, using grey to both change up from the traditional black or white or a flashy third option, simple controls and Walnut wood finish give it a look that might initially make it hard for your friends to tell what your wearing. But don't you want to be the first one wearing Grain rather than the next one with Beats?
The fit is nice and snug without creating a bunch of pressure in your ear. With four different tip sizes, you should be able to find a solution with what comes in the box. The in-line mic and audio controls work great on iOS devices and have limited abilities with Androids. Only the volume doesn't function for our Galaxy S5. The mic is a good one, nothing to go crazy over but it works. The inline controls are very responsive and give good feedback when pressed.
All of that is window dressing, the magic is when they go in your ears. Mid tones are like we have never heard in ear buds and ear buds at this price range ($100). Bass is so well mixed and strong with the IEHPs, the drivers do an incredible job of balancing all of the sounds that your tunes make.
They are great all around as well. Spoken word, bass heavy, acoustic, all sorts of music tested very well for our bass loving ears. Vibration and shoddy construction weren't found here like in many ear buds. Its good to see someone put a lot of investment in ear buds that can handle music of all kinds.
If you like natural, rich sound in ear bud form and find incredible value these have with their $100 price tag, support Grain Audio and grab a set of these.
GRADE: A