Recently, my beloved Beats broke. The audio cord that connects them to a device shorted out. I was suddenly without headphones. The other cord that came with the headphones—the one with the microphone and volume controls—shorted out years ago, whereas my attempt to fix the cords DIY-style failed miserably.
There will be a replacement cord in my future. In the meantime, I asked my dad to pick up some cheap earbuds to tide me over. He chose a pair of Via earbuds from Family Dollar, which cost $1.
First Impressions
The Via earbuds come in very simple packaging. I only had to tear the cardboard back away from the plastic front. In hindsight, I should have been more careful doing that because I destroyed the product information that’s printed on the back cover. I ended up needing those instructions later. Oops!
Out of the package, the earbuds are cute. The cord and buds are solid white, though the buds have transparent rubber tips. I regretted getting the white ones right away. I have super waxy ears (no matter how much I clean them). The light color does nothing to disguise the dirt that inevitably collects in the seams on the heads. I frequently have to remove the tips and clean everything.
The Spool
The standout feature is the spool. Situated midway between the buds and the headphone jack, the spool is an oblong-shaped mechanism that manages the cord. Essentially, it works like a measuring tape. The singular cord is rolled up inside there and weaved through the spool as though the headphone jack and the buds exist on separate cords on opposite ends of the mechanism. Internal springs control the cord’s movements.
While using the spool is tricky, the package gives very clear instructions. When you want to use the headphones, you grab the buds and the headphone jack ends and pull them both out until the springs lock. When you’re done with them, you yank both ends until the springs unlock and the spool sucks the cord back inside. It’s fun to play with, and it’s definitely a better system for dealing with the cord than my usual reckless methods.
And don’t underestimate the cord itself just because it looks thin and flimsy. It may be more durable than it seems. Fun fact: we accidentally refrigerated the earbuds for two hours. The cashier put them in the bag with our frozen groceries, and my dad unknowingly put that same bag into the freezer. Amazingly, they didn’t sustain any damage.
Fit & Sound
So, what is it like wearing and listening to the Via earbuds? They feel good. Now. There’s a ridge across the head where the front and back halves of the earbud come together that scraped the inside of my ear at first. Eventually, the irritation disappeared. I guess my ears and the buds adjusted to each other.
When it comes to sound quality, the earbuds don’t hold a candle to my Beats. The music sounds hollow and muffled. I fiddled with the iTunes equalizer to see if it could improve the sound. A lack of treble seems to be the culprit based on how much the Treble Booster setting helped. The bass, on the other hand, is mostly only audible if you shove the buds deep into your ears. And even then, the right bud thumps far harder than the left one. All-in-all, I don’t especially like the sound, but I’m used to it.
One positive thing is that the earbuds do an excellent job of blocking outside noise. I can’t hear a thing when I’m wearing them.
Issues
The only major problem I have with the earbuds is the cord’s length. The package says it’s 29.5 inches long (+-5%). By my measure, it’s 31.5 inches long, or nearly 16 inches on either side of the spool.
That’s too short for me. If I’m standing up, I can’t put the phone in my pocket without the buds popping out of my ears. If I’m lying down, my iPad has to stay on top of my stomach or against my hip. If I’m working on my laptop, I have to hunch over my desk slightly. The cord needs an extra five or so inches to be more useful.
The cord’s length is especially annoying for devices that have their headphone jack on the top, like my iPad mini. The headphone jack is a vertical plug rather than a handle-shaped one. It has some flexibility built in thanks to a series of accordion-like indentations on the end of the plug. But the cord’s shortness, combined with the fact that the spool itself is relatively heavy, still wrenches the plug sideways.
To lessen the stress on the plug, I unlock the iPad’s orientation and turn the device upside down when I use the earbuds, which puts the headphone jack on the bottom. I shouldn’t have to do that.
Verdict
The Via earbuds pretty much meet my expectations for a $1 pair of headphones. They look nice, they sound so-so, and the spool is cool. I would make a few small improvements, but it was a dollar well spent overall.