In this Gadling gear review, we’ll take a quick look at one of the newest earphones from headphone maker Ultimate Ears. The LoudEnough earphones have been specifically designed for kids, and feature small silicone ear gels, 3 vibrant colors and integrated volume reduction.
They are suitable for kids 6 and up, and the package includes silicone ear gels in 3 different sizes (extra small, small and medium). As with all products from Ultimate Ears, the LoudEnough earphones produce great sounding audio, while at the same time keeping the volume to a safe level.
When plugged into my desktop PC, I was able to turn the volume to 100%, without the earphones getting anywhere near a dangerous sound level. With regular earphones, the 100% level sounds unbelievably loud, and would most likely cause hearing damage if listened to for any length of time.
The headphones feature a regular 3.5mm jack which is compatible with the iPod, iPod Touch, iPhone (including the first generation) and most other MP3 players, game devices and portable DVD players.
A good example of an audio source with unpredictable volume is the in-flight entertainment system in many airlines. Often when the system is reset (which also happens a lot), the volume settings return to “default”, and can produce some extremely loud static. With the Ultimate Ears LoudEnough earphones, this noise is reduced by as much as 25%, bringing things back down to a much safer level.
Another upside to these headphones is that you no longer need to keep an eye on the volume level your kids set their device to – even when set to “max”, the headphones reduce enough noise to keep their ears safe.
The Ultimate Ears LoudEnough earphones are not just for kids – the medium size ear gels fit most adults, and obviously, kids are not the only people that need to keep the volume to a safe level. A chart showing noise reduction, and the technology used to reduce the volume can be found here.
The LoudEnough earphones retail for just $39.95 (or as low as $34.95 through Amazon). The earphones come in three colors (plum, mint and blueberry) and a matching carrying box is included along with the ear gels and a user guide.
I’m very impressed with the LoudEnough earphones – volume is efficiently reduced, without sounding too modified. Bass is reduced significantly, but not to the point where music sounds “wrong”. The purchase price is also very reasonable. The LoudEnough earphones come with a one year limited warranty.