You may not be familiar with MEElectronics, but the audio manufacturer makes earphones worthy of comparison to bigger name brands like Shure and AKG. There's nothing particularly alluring about the visual design of the simple MEElectronics A161P, but this $99.99 (direct) pair offers solid audio performance, iPhone controls, and a treasure trove of accessories. Some distortion on deep bass tracks at maximum volumes keeps the A161P from being a masterpiece. But at $100 it's a great option, and worthy of consideration for anyone who doesn't listen to deep bass music exclusively?or does so at reasonable volume levels.
Design
Aside from a gold-colored band that separates the black eartips from the glossy black plastic portion of the earpieces, the A161P is fairly nondescript. A small inline compartment along the right ear's cable houses the phone controls and microphone. These controls also double as a remote for the music menus on the iPhone. The 3.5mm connector is narrow enough to have no issue fitting into most cell phone cases.
The A161P ships with more accessories than a typical earphone pair in this price range. Included are 6 pairs of black silicone eartips in various sizes, half of which are flange-shaped, and half of which are simple, rounded eartips. Two adapters are also in the box: one TRS adapter for smartphones that don't use the typical 3.5mm headphone jack, and another for connecting to both the audio output of your PC and the microphone output, so you can use the earphones for video calls. Two soft, flexible cable guides for looping the cable over your ears are included (though the fit is secure enough that you may not need them), plus a shirt clip and a zip-up protective case.
Performance
At maximum volume, the A161P suffers from some serious distortion on deep bass tracks. This, however, is forgivable for a couple of reasons. First, the price of $100 is reasonable and doesn't enter audiophile territory; bass distortion at high volumes is fairly common below $150 or so. Second, at very high volumes short of maximum, the distortion is not an issue, and the bass response is indeed deep and resonant. So, while The Knife's "Silent Shout" does distort when you crank the volume to top, painfully-loud levels, at moderately high volumes it sounds clean and intense.
On classical music, like John Adams' "The Chairman Dances," the A161P sounds fantastic even at maximum volume; it's clean and robust, delivering the lower register strings with a slight, pleasant boost of the low frequency range. At more moderate levels, the mids and highs take center stage on both classical and pop music. At medium volume, in fact, the A161P offers a great balance between low frequency push and clarity in the higher ranges.
The clarity of the microphone and earphones for phone calls is nothing to write home about?you can understand what your call partner is saying without any real issues, but, especially cell-phone-to-cell-phone, don't expect the A161P to improve your phone's clarity. There does seem to be a minor lag or delay on some calls, but nothing significant enough to cause any communication issues.
Conclusions
In the $100 price range, the A161P has some serious competition. At a lower price, the AKG K 350 ($79.95, 4 stars) doesn't sound quite as good, but is excellent for its price. If you're looking for an earphone pair that offers more booming bass in this price range, consider the Paradigm Shift e3m ($129.99, 3.5 stars). The excellent Shure SE215 ($119, 4 stars) is just slightly more expensive, but offers a detachable cable, which extends the life of the product by being replaceable and adds some value to the price. If you're just looking for an affordable earphone pair for listening to music and making calls on your iPhone, the Skullcandy FIX In-Ear ($69.95, 3.5 stars) offers reasonable quality at a much lower price.
All told, the MEElectronics A161P's distortion isn't really a deal-breaker, as at safe-to-moderatly loud listening levels the bass performance is deep and distortion-free. It also has plenty of value to offer in solid audio perrformance, and in the form of all of those useful accessories (something you don't often see with more expensive pairs).
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