The bright yellow wiring provides a distinctive, playful and sporty feel to Japanese designed Audio Technica’s leap into the in-ear bud for the fitness fan.
Perhaps better known for their On-Ear, enclosed and noise cancelling earphones, for which they make with an engineering prowess to rival Bose and Sennheiser, ATH Sport 2 provide a viable option for the serious sports fanatic who want a fuss-free listen.
As with any in-ear bud, the quality of audio is compromised, with a slightly tinny top end and a bass that is slightly muffled. This can be fixed a play around with your device’s EQ settings, which can see the little speakers deliver a punchy bass, however, AthSport 2 is not ready for a plug and play without a little manipulation. However, this more present, un-coloured mid boost, lends itself to more spoken word content, such as podcasts or talk radio – especially good if you’re more likely to be listening to this type of programming as you run or workout, meaning you never miss another word because of outside noise sources.
The earphones are provided with four sets of rubber in-ear pieces to ensure the best fit possible, meaning you get a good sound isolation experience. However, annoyingly the product doesn’t provide inline controls or a microphone, meaning you will have to remove your device or phone should want to skip tracks or answer a phone call – a bit of an oversight on Audio Technica’s behalf as the majority of music is now played on smartphones rather than iPods or other MP3 players.
Brilliantly these earphones are IPX5 Waterproof Certifed, which could mean the end of ruined in ears because of sweat – yes, headphones can be irreparably destroyed with a few drips of sweat from your hair.
The Good: Bright colours are attractive and the ear moulding provides a good fit for the ear – even when jogging. Strong brand Waterproof certified.
The Bad: Strong mid, lacking in bass. In inline controls or microphone.
