Roundup: 16 Headphones : Jays Q-Jays
8. Jays Q-Jays
One Worry: The Case
Although the Q-Jays are almost perfect, one small detail holds them back: their case.
While even entry-level in-ear headphones come with solid plastic cases, Jays has provided a soft leather pouch for these headphones--the same one that's found on the D-Jays.
It's a very tight fit in there, and you need to pack everything in a certain way--if you don't, it's too easy to squash the silicon ear plugs.
Although somewhat unknown outside its home country, Swedish manufacturer Jays has managed to build up something of a cult following for its excellent in-ear headphones with low prices. A quick look around at the company's website even shows how many professional hi-fi publications have commended on its top-quality headphones. These Q-Jays, part of the same family as the slightly cheaper D-Jays, are the flagship product.
Handling
The first surprise comes as soon as you open the packet. Jays boldly claims that these are the smallest in-ear headphones with two transducers on the market, and we're prepared to believe them. Much smaller than Shure's SE serieds, the Q-Jays are hardly visible outside your ears when you're wearing them.
The next pleasant surprise is the healthy collection of accessories that you get (see below). There are no fewer than seven different sizes of silicon ear plugs, and two pairs of black foam plugs. On top of that, there are two adapters--one for using your headphones on an airplane, the other for splitting a mini-jack signal in two to share with a friend--and two extension cables, one straight and the other flexible.
The big choice of silicon plugs is a very wise move on Jays' part, and allows you to get a lot closer to a perfect fit than with the three sizes usually on offer. The foam plugs are good quality, too, and keep their shape a lot better than the traditional yellow pads still found on the majority of in-ear headphones.
Finally, while wearing these headphones in the "traditional" way is perfectly comfortable, a very clear manual from Jays suggests passing the wire up over the top of your ear, and it's a good tip that makes the Q-Jays fit even more snugly.
 |
| The Q-Jays come with an impressive bundle of accessories |
Sound Quality
If the tiny size of the Q-Jays is a good thing when it comes to comfort, the same is not necessarily true of sound quality. Nevertheless, the two transducers definitely make their presence felt, and the performance is impressive. We found it very hard to find any faults with the audio produced by these headphones: a sense of space is delivered, and the sound feels open and attractive.
The separation of all of the different instruments in a track is particularly impressive, meaning you can hear a whole wealth of detail. Right down to the slightest sigh or warble, or the scratching of a bow over strings, you can hear everything clearly. Counting the number of instruments you can hear in a Tchaikovsky or Mahler recording becomes a real pleasure, but the Q-Jays do equally well with jazz and rock.
With these in your ears, you should get great results from just about any type of music, although a tiny little more bass would push dance music into the realms of the totally exceptional.
One final criticism would be that the Q-Jays are just too probing, giving a slightly cold sound. Headphones like the Shure SE 420 and SE 530 are a little warmer, but lack the Q-Jays' excellent detail. When it comes to isolating outside noise, you need look no further--the Q-Jays are excellent for that, too.
Jays Q-Jays LE
The Q-Jays LE are the six different colored versions of the regular Jays Q-Jays in-ear headphones we tested. Available in your choice of red or blue, everything else is the same and our technical verdict in the main test remains the same.
The Jays Q-Jays headphones can be purchased online at Amazon.
| Jays Q-Jays | |
|---|---|
| Pluses | Minuses |
|
|
| Small, comfortable, light and incredibly powerful, the Q-Jays did well with every kind of music we threw at them. A must-have that sets the standard for others to beat. |  |
Finally, as a general rule of thumb, you'll probably spend around half as much to get a pair of in-ear headphones that's as good as the equivalent regular on-ear headphones.
They must have meant half again as much?
Where are the regular head phones reviews. All we get are buds and in ear headphoes, where are the regular ones that you lead into your article with a picture of?
Wasted my time as i dont like buds....bleh.
what about shure? probably the best in ear headphones on the market
what about shure? probably the best in ear headphones on the market
agree , but also one of most expensive one
I didn't read the article, and after looking at the list of products "reviewed" I guess there's not much room for variety. Like so many stuff out there, it's so relative! What might sound amazing to me might sound like crap to you. Besides, you can use the $20 headphones, and with decent equalization and moderate playback volume, after a few hours of listening it will sound great. Try it...
I can make two additional recommendations for headphones with which I've been completely satisfied:
- Yuin PK3. Earbuds, hard to find in the US, sound quality equal to many full size cans. Good bass, fantastic mids and highs, great definition in the highs. About average comfort. $39, and best most earbuds you'll find for less than $150.
- Koss KSC75. Open over ear with earclip. Incredible sound, great bass, good highs (highs could be better). Overall great sound profile. $12-18 with sound better than just about any in-ear or earbud you'll find for a reasonable price, and give more expensive over ear phones a run for the money. Everyone should own at least one pair of these classics.
As you can tell, I'm a bargain shopper.
This review seems slanted.. no Shure, no Ultimate Ears? Two of the best brands out there. Also, no Skull Candy, not the best but very popular (and affordable)... Then they throw in M-Audio and Cardo 'over the ear' cans? Headphone and earbud reviews should be separate, totally incomparable experience (not to mention there are many other over the ear cans not mentioned). Also, the only buds that get 5/5 have links directly to amazon in the body of the review. Its like an article to pit 16 random products together to put one on top. It's a paid advertisement. This is an incompetent article. WTF Tom's?
What about Shure? The SE210 is probably the best value high quality consumer head phone set out there. Absolutely superb headphones and from a brand that I'd trust more than a lot of the ones already included in the review.
The whole Sennheiser in ear series requires a long burn (playing music/test tones at a moderately loud volume continuously) in period. I have the IE8 and the review does not do the final product justice. The IE8 benefits from at least 250+ hours, but they keep improving even after 400+ hours. The overpowering bass is greatly reduced leaving a warm, fun headphone with excellent detail, treble extension, controlled yet powerful bass that doesn't intrude on the other frequencies, and the widest soundstage (headstage) of an in ear headphone.
One of the best bang for the buck headphones though is the NuForce NE-7m for $50.
This review seems slanted.. no Shure, no Ultimate Ears? Two of the best brands out there. Also, no Skull Candy, not the best but very popular (and affordable)... Then they throw in M-Audio and Cardo 'over the ear' cans? Headphone and earbud reviews should be separate, totally incomparable experience (not to mention there are many other over the ear cans not mentioned). Also, the only buds that get 5/5 have links directly to amazon in the body of the review. Its like an article to pit 16 random products together to put one on top. It's a paid advertisement. This is an incompetent article. WTF Tom's?
This is not a paid advertisement.
For all of you asking why certain products were not included in this roundup, I ask that you please read the introductory paragraph at the top. We only included products where we had a review unit to test. We cannot test a product we do not have on hand.
Thanks for you article. And it's a good thing to keep it in a state of "work in progress". Definitely looking for updates.
TERRIBLE selection.
No Ultimate Ears, no Etymotic, no Shure, no Westone, just overpriced junk with the slight exception of SOME the sennheisers.
I usually don't bash articles but this is a comparison of all the crappy overpriced earphones and IEMs on the market, I'm surprised there is no BOSE!
For all of you asking why certain products were not included in this roundup, I ask that you please read the introductory paragraph at the top. We only included products where we had a review unit to test. We cannot test a product we do not have on hand.
I understand this well enough, but you can not exclude the GOOD products in a product survey. You might as well do a CPU roundup with only VIA CPUs.
Sennheiser earphones has to be listened for some hours to get the optimum sound quality and a warmer sound out of them, did you take this into account?
unfortunately out of the packaging the Sennheiser IEx series will sound terrible because they are dynamic driver type headphones. after about 100 hours or so of burn-in time, they will beat everything on this list by SQ alone. this review is generally ill-informed and amateurishly approached. i would check out more dedicated communities for headphone reviews such as head-fi.org
I understand this well enough, but you can not exclude the GOOD products in a product survey. You might as well do a CPU roundup with only VIA CPUs.
Yes, we can. When we get more products in, we will review them too.
unfortunately out of the packaging the Sennheiser IEx series will sound terrible because they are dynamic driver type headphones. after about 100 hours or so of burn-in time, they will beat everything on this list by SQ alone. this review is generally ill-informed and amateurishly approached. i would check out more dedicated communities for headphone reviews such as head-fi.org
It sounds like you're in the market for very high-end, expensive headphones (audiophile quality). This review doesn't include any of those, so far, so you'd be better off for now doing research at another site.
I agree with smallcaps,you need to burn in dynamic driver earphones for them to show their full potential. Many dynamic earphones won't start sounding good until over 50 hours of burn in. Balanced armature earphones don't require burn in, giving earphones such as the Q-Jays an advantage in this group comparison. If you are going to review earphones you need to learn their differences. If you are not willing to take the time and learn the basics behind comparing earphones, you should not do it at all. And,fyi, head-fi.org may feature some very pricey earphones, but they also review earphones within the price group represented by your sample.
It sounds like you're in the market for very high-end, expensive headphones (audiophile quality). This review doesn't include any of those, so far, so you'd be better off for now doing research at another site.
The Senns IE 7/8s are audiophile quality as well as the klipsch custom 3.
You should contact more companies for more earphones, like these:
Ultimate Ears, Shure, Etymotic, Westone, exct.
This article is a good first step, Tom's really should get into audio more.