The Gumy 'Aint Worth The Money! (JVC HA F130B Gumy Headphones)

Member Name: Nar2

Product:	JVC HA F130B Gumy Headphones
Date:	21/06/09 (124 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good blister pack means its easy to get at, flexible ear design ensures soft fit.

Disadvantages: No carrying bag/wrap, easy to tangle, poor sound quality, some outlets charge a fortune,

As a musician I own quite a few semi-professional headphones and in-earphones for different applications and in the last year or so I've made some surprising purchases that haven't been too expensive. Today however my iPod headphones (Sony ones) decided enough was enough and after fiddling with the cord from left to right, sometimes I'd get stereo and sometimes I'd not. I guess it was time to buy a new set of in-ear headphones...


At 8am however the kinds of retailers I want to shop at are never open and either being compromised to buy cheap brands I've never heard of, I was more or less pushed to purchase the "Gumy" series by JVC. Why they are called "Gumy," I'll never know because they are not gummy in their construction and its probably a name conjured up by JVC to appeal to many on the basis that its blister pack looks like a large clear jelly bean; what a pity that no carry case comes with it though. Usually Gumy in ear headphones cost around £5 to £8 in retailers like Comet or Argos. WH Smith at Buchannan Bus Station in Glasgow however decided to charge me an astronomical £14-99 for a pack of these Black Gumy earphones. Even the salesman agreed they were very expensively priced. I felt royally ripped off when I saw the identical pair hanging in the audio accessories section at John Lewis priced at £5-75!


Thankfully the packaging isn't too difficult to open though; containing blister perforated strips it is relatively easy to break open the blister pack and by default you get a 1 metre soft rubber cord long in earphones, a gold plated 32-mm Jack ready to go and...well that's it really. Each cup is made out of plastic, has an additional funky ear shaped piece of flexible rubber designed to fit cleanly and securely into the ear channel and its all black in colour. Yes the whole concept works well but I'm surprised to read reviews on Amazon that state these headphones have contrasting colours such as black and white. Available in whole colours such as pink, green, blue and black it would appear here that what you get is black and nothing else. Thanks to the additional flexible rubber that has been attached to each earphone I generally find that these headphones are easy to fit into my ear and without fear that they will fall out due to the extra winged flexible rubber that sits permanently around each speaker. I guess that explains the "gum" like associations but they're made out of rubber and not gum...


Plugged into my iPod with its several different sound settings, I find the Gumy headphones to have a basic sound quality which I think is frankly shocking. In a bad way! With the obvious different sound settings available I thought I'd be able to hear at least some decipherable differences between settings such as "Classical," to "Dance," (both of my favourite settings on the iPod) as the "Classical" setting produces more tone than bass whilst the "Dance" setting usually gives off more bass (but not too much) and a club like quality in its reproduction. Although these headphones don't have a bass boost set into their sound production, there is some bass, less tone and more of the audible sound quality you would expect to hear if you watched a You Tube music video without its "High Quality," application added! In short, the tone is muffled and hopelessly any sound on these headphones badly leak if the volume is raised. No wonder I'm being so critical given the price WH Smith ripped me off at, but in the hands of others who have only paid £5 the good news is that the Gumy series is at least cheap to buy and reasonably made but for my musical ears the Gumy series just isn't good enough for an all round listening experience.


Another feature that the Gumy copies is the fact that current in-ear headphones now sport a tiny little rubber band that can increase or decrease the amount of cord sprouting up at you just above the main bond seal that seals the two cords together. This with the short 1 metre cord is enough to seal the Gumy's fate doing nothing of real innovation or added versatility. Think that the shortness minmises the cord of being tangled? Think again! It took me a few minutes to detangle these headphones when I had wrapped them around my iPod Classic and the adjustable short band that increases or decreases the amount of cord isn't really needed. Short of using on my Nintendo DS, I won't be finding much use for these Gumy headphones because sound quality is generally poor.


The JVC Gumy headphones will probably aspire to many who need emergency headphones or at best something for children to use instead of what they get with their iPods and Mp3 players. However there are better in-ear headphones out there (Panasonic make good budget ones available at Argos for example) and for what you're paying for here, although comfortable to fit, they won't fit everyone given their in-ear design by default whilst the sound quality isn't as balanced as it could be. For those in Glasgow who need emergency in-earphones just don't buy them at the WH Smith shop in the bus station! Thanks for reading. (c)Nar2 2009

www.jvc.co.uk

Summary: Surprisingly disappointing from a mass brand name like JVC.

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