JayBird Endorphin Rush for iPod

This is far from the first time I’ve tested iPod earbuds that have had a higher than usual bass-to-treble ratio. But with the Endorphin Rush, JayBird throws caution to the wind, cranks the bass ratio up about as high they possibly can, and are apparently willing to go ahead and accept the fact that anyone who doesn’t care for a large heaping of bass isn’t going to be interested in their product. As fair warning, JayBird begins the product description with “Step up the bass” and then goes on to mention “bass” twice more in a four sentence span.



So what are the results? Actually, they sound phenomenal. With that big of a bass sound coming from earbuds, you’d expect there to be a metaphorical crack in the audio architecture once you crank up the volume even a little, but that’s not the case. The bass sounds brilliant at any volume, as does the treble – that is, if you can even pick out the treble in amongst all that bass.



I emphasize the bass thing (as presumably does JayBird) because while other earbuds like Scosche’s IDR600 and v-moda’s vibe ii have a higher than usual bass to treble ratio, they still manage to fall within was most would consider mainstream tastes – which is to say that unless you hate bass, you’ll be fine with the ratio on those products. But with the Endorphin Rush, if you don’t love bass, you’ll probably hate these earbuds. The big bass is pervasive enough that you even end up with something of a “big bass” sound on acoustic rock ballads that don’t have a bassline.



That having been said, bass lovers will likely consider the Endorphin Rush a gift from above. In terms of overall audio quality they’re about equal to the $79 IDR600, meaning you’re essentially paying $20 extra for all that bass. And there’s the fact that the buds themselves are larger than most.

Learn more at JayBirdGear.com