Hey gang, Valkor here. CES Unveiled 2015 has come and gone. And while I usually post some kind of coverage of the event, this round the vendors were lacking in what I’d like to cover for this site. But that doesn’t mean I walked away empty handed. I got the opportunity to hang with the folks at ToughTested, who offer up a wide range of audio products made specifically for those who work hard – real hard. While the company had a few earbuds on hand, I was able to snag “Jobsite” and if you’re job deals with a lot of noise, then these are the headphones for you.
ToughTested Jobsite earbuds were built for those who face a rigorous – and loud – work day; the buds are made of a squishy flexfoam rubber, similar to the ones worn by those who work around loud equipment, which comes in multiple sizes for just the right fit in any ear. And they’re attached to rubber hooks that go over the ear but they can also be removed for a hanging method. The buds are attached to a sturdy nylon cable, with Kevlar inside so that it can handle the stress of any kind of pull without breakage. Attached to the cloth cord are your controls for volume, answering calls/pausing your music; and right next to the up button is your mic and on the side is a switch that either lowers the decibels of your music or enhance the vocals of your call. You could switch it to the "call boost" button with your music but then you'll lose bass, but vocals come in nice and clear. Finally, attached below the controls box is a rubber coiled cable, which gives you additional slack and can handle all of the stress of pulls, tugs, snags and sudden grasps without having the plugs yanked from your ears.
With the ToughTested Jobsite earbuds you get an extra set of hooks, earplugs and a 3.5mm extender, plus a nylon carrying case. And not to jump the gun, but the packaging is the best I’ve ever seen with a tough-looking, plastic shell; I don’t normally keep the packaging of any item I’ve ever bought/reviewed, but this ToughTested case is a definite keeper. Now let’s see how well these babies handle in the TOV Breakdown.
The Bang:
ToughTested Jobsite earbuds are built to handle a serious work day; my days aren’t that rough, but if you’re in the market for some earbuds that work well at canceling out loud noises and sturdy enough to handle the roughest of days, then I’d have to say these babies will work just fine. The flexfoam buds by themselves block out a great deal out sound. And when you add music to the mix, you get the perfect noise reducer as well as the best protection for your ears when dealing with loud machinery. Audio wise, sound is pretty good though soft and it can sound a bit muffled… but this was on the Nexus 6. However, I stretched my testing over to a couple of newer (yet older) devices that I added to the Val-cave repertoire to get more balanced results. I recently purchased a Nokia 928 and iPhone 4s; both devices offered a bolder sound, though you still get the muffled audio. And with any of the devices, vocals came through clear, not as crisp as I would like but I’m not complaining so long as I can hear what’s being said/sang. And you get just the right amount of bass that’s not too thick, plus there’s no distortion at higher volume settings. Call quality, with the boost turned on, come through loud and clear, with no issues with the inline mic. Finally, with the added coiled cable, you get more than enough slack that can handle the stretch of any kind of activity, without losing your plugs in the process. In the end, ToughTested, with their first outing in the cave, have shown they’re “tough enough” to go the distance.
The Slack:
I just have one minor gripe and it’s not even going against the product, but it’s more of suggestion – you can lose the 3.5mm extender. The cable itself offers more than enough slack to give you just the right amount of reach, so much so that the extender isn’t really needed.
If you’d like to know more about ToughTested products, especially since they offer more than just audio gear, then click that logo over to the right. But as it stands, the Jobsite earbuds offer sweet sound quality, with a crazy amount of noise reduction, in awesome packaging. And out of TOV 5 stars, I’m giving ToughTested Jobsite earbuds a 4 and they’ve been Valkor tested, TOV Approved.