Rockford Fosgate PP15mm Punch Plugs In-Ear Headphones (Black) Review

I have been on a long quest to find quality earbuds that provide a listening experience similar to larger headphones or even standalone speakers. I have some less expensive Sony MDR-ED21LP Fontopia In-The-Ear Headphones that sound okay and Philips SHE9850 In-Ear Headphones with Advanced Acoustics that look nice, but have nowhere near the sound quality you'd expect from their original ninety-nine dollar list price (they have no bass). For a comparable list price, the Rockford Fosgate PP15mm Punch Plugs provide a much better listening experience.

They come nicely packaged and the information on the box lets you know what to expect even if it isn't overly technical. It should be fine for most consumers though. As you can see above, you get the headphones, a carry case and assortment of comfort plug attachments to help you custom fit them to your ears. The size that came pre-attached on the Punch Plugs work fine for me. The cord is 4 feet long including the 1 foot of split cable to each ear. This seems to be a good length -- not too long but enough for most applications. There is a nice little Rockford Fosgate logo symbol where the cords meet. It's not too big and adds a touch of class appropriate to hundred dollar earbuds. The cord itself is flat, supposedly to prevent tangling. It is a nice touch and so far it hasn't tangled, but time will tell. They come with a one year limited warranty.

The buds themselves fit comfortably in my ears and securely enough so that while jogging they won't work themselves loose (finally!). They do a pretty good job of canceling out ambient noise as well. As for how they sound, all I can say is WOW! I've never had earbuds with this much low end bass. I don't find it overwhelming though, even after listening to a variety of musical styles. Classical sounds as good as rock or pop, though the latter is where the added bass really shines. Rockford Fosgate touts the Punch Plugs as having their company's particular sonic signature. I think this is illustrated in the "Punch EQ" image above where the low end bass and higher range treble is enhanced up to +18 and +14 dB respectively. Audiophiles may prefer a more even dispersal, but think it sounds pretty darn good, better than the headphones I mentioned at the beginning of this review. The "class leading" 15mm subwoofer (sorry, I have to laugh at the concept of a 15mm subwoofer) does it's job well, adding strong bass and a good overall fullness to the music. The upper range treble sounds ever so slightly tinny, but no worse than that of any other earbuds I've used.

All that said, I have to compare the Punch Plugs to the buds that come with the SanDisk Sansa Clip 2 GB MP3 Player. Both Clip and buds currently cost thirty-five bucks on Amazon and I got mine refurbish for fifteen plus shipping. The sound quality of the Sansa Clip earbuds are the best of anything I've heard in the sub one hundred dollar range. They can't match the low-end bass of the Punch Plugs, but they do have solid bass lacking in so many other earbuds and very nice full range all the way to the upper treble. They are a great value. However, the foam covers come off easily and are not so easy to get back on. They sound great when snug in your ear, but I find that I have to keep pushing them in to keep the sound quality good. They work loose very quickly during physical activity. And the cords tangle. So I have to say the Punch Plugs are the better earbud but if you're on a budget and don't mind dealing with the caveats I listed, these are a good alternative. And you also get the Sansa Clip!

I would recommend Punch Plugs to anyone looking for comfortable earbuds that stay put and pack quite a base punch, while also providing good mid and upper range sound. They don't distort at full volume and the cord doesn't tangle easily like so many others. They cost more than a lot of other headphones out there, but you get a quality product that (so far) looks like it was built to last. You could do a lot worse, as I have in the past. This set was a complimentary sample for reviewing purposes, but I'd buy the Punch Plugs again.

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Rockford Fosgate PP15mm Punch Plugs In Ear Headphones.

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