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Impressions: JBuds J3M Micro Atomic In-Ear Earphones (w/ Mic)

Last week I bought a set of JBuds from Amazon to replace my stock iPhone earbuds (that were about to die on me). I don’t use a Bluetooth set, so I don’t have to carry yet another device in my pockets; so a I wanted buds with an inline mic.

After searching online it came down to either the Apple In-Ear buds, or these JBuds J3M. Since my stock Apple buds were wearing-out from regular use I was worried that the Apple in-ear buds would wear-out quickly also. The JBuds looked tougher and cost a quite a bit less.

I received my JBuds and was immediately pleased with the build quality. The buds, mic, and plug are all made of aluminum. The cord is much tougher than Apple earbuds, and a bit stiffer to avoid tangles.

Of note: Some people don’t understand that in-ear buds have to be really pushed-in to your ears to create a seal to isolate sounds and to hear any bass. Most 1 star reviews online are from people who don’t understand this.

Upon listening I noticed the sound is a bit bass heavy and muddy compared to my big headphones (Sony MDR-V6 I love) but also isolate sound a lot better. While a bit muddy the JBuds do offer better sound than the stock iPhone buds. I have noticed the sound quality slowly improving with use due to brun-in. I expect they will improve more with use.

The mic sounds great, I suspect slightly better than the stock Apple earbuds mic. The only down side here is that there is no volume controls. There is a button for play/pause and pickup/hangup etc that works fine with my iPhone. There is also a version of these earbuds without the mic that cost a bit less.

Overall I’m very happy with the purchase for the price. I even got a separate JBuds travel case in the same order for less than the Apple in-ear buds.