MEElectronics M16P – Review

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On May 31, 2011

I am one who, like many others, has used only Apple’s included earphones for several years. I had always wanted something better, but I never got around to actually buying any alternatives (mainly due to the fact that I already had a pair of Apple’s earphones, which seemed to be decent enough). But today I tried MEElectronics’s M16P budget earphones.
 
These earphones, which are advertised to provide you with “Fun sound with enhanced bass,” do provide just that. “Fun” sound is provided with pretty good bass, though this “fun” sound ended up feeling a little second-rate to me. Despite this, the sound provided is much more immersing than that of your typical earphones due to the in-ear design. I tried my Apple earphones after using these, and I noticed that they felt weird in my ears. The sound wasn’t as full as I had once believed either.

For budget earphones, these really are quite good. They won’t, however, suffice in one’s search to find earphones which provide realistic sound reproduction. (For this you could look into MEElectronics’s A151, which was recently voted best sub-$100 headphone, or affordable Clarity series.)

But enough about the sound quality. When you buy something, you want it to last. Will these? Yes, I think so. The build quality seems to be pretty good, and you are also provided with a nice MEElectronics case for your earphones too.

Your earphones also comes with a built-in microphone, audio controller, and handy clip. These are useful, maybe even essential, for many people. However, I am not sure that the earphones are best for runners. While the controls seem like they would be great for runners, the in-ear design is not. The design requires you have the earphone in your ear in a specific way, and I feel that they would shift too much while running. (MEElectronics also has a great sports-styled earphone section, so be sure to check this out if your are a runner.)

But again, these are great earphones. Sure, the sound quality is a little inferior to Apple’s earphones, but the in-ear design and superior sound delivery more than make up for this. The sound delivery is so good, in fact, that it made me prefer the inferior sound providing earphones for the more immersive music listening experience. At $30, these really are a bargain for anyone on a budget.

If Apple’s headphones are a three-star product, then MEElectronics’s M16P receive a solid four-star rating. I, for one, definitely won’t be using my three-star earphones while my M16P are nearby.