We talked about these headphones last week and we were able to get our hands on a pair for some in-depth testing.
On the whole, the form factor is quite nice. The headphones are very small and very light. They are connected with a cloth cord which will be familiar to those using Sony portable microphones and other higher-end audio gear. The unit we received, the 128MB version of the XA-A50, could hold about twenty songs on a good day.
First, the player came in a god awful plastic bubble box. It took me thirty minutes to get the bastard out.
In terms of actual use the XA-A50 was a mixed bag. I took it running twice and both times I was wearing sunglasses. This player felt as if it would fall of during the run no matter how I played with the earpieces and the glasses. Now, they did not actually fall off—and I’m sure it’s an acquired physical sensation—but I was slightly disturbed throughout the runs and had to stop a few times to adjust things.
As for quality and UI, the XA-A50s delivered quite an enjoyable experience. I could control the entire player from a set of 6 small buttons. The power button doubles as a stop button and the mode button allows for on-the-fly adjustments of play order and audio settings. The WOW bass-boost and SRS settings were relatively weak with on the Smiths songs I was listening to but there was a noticeable difference in the various genre settings, from Pop to Classical, which told me something was going on inside the gloss black case.
Now for the dork factor. As you can see, these things make me look like that bald guy from Cloud City. I got quite few concerned looks from folks who were alarmed at my apparent ear prosthetics. It is only a matter of time before these things become as small as the current crop of ear buds, but it’s kind of embarrassing to wander around with small snuff cans on your head.
JVC joined the party quite late in terms of MP3 players. This effort is decidedly unique and, in an era where the iPod Shuffle sells a bazillion units, an entirely acceptable alternative to other portable devices with a screen. On the whole, the XA-A50 can quite clearly do its best work as a workout buddy.
