Introduction

Head-Direct is an online headphone store which sells just about everything you need in order to get a serious listening rig. Head-Direct carries a lot of interesting Asian brands. One of those interesting Asian brands is the relatively unknown VSONIC. Head-Direct only sells their earphone products. The earphones are called R02-PRO and should be quite neutral in their music presentation. The design of them is definitely different than that of most conventional earphones because several details are made of rubber.

The VSONIC R02-PROs cost a mere $69 which is to be considered cheap by earphone price standards. These earphones are only available in an iPod like white color. They come with a good selection of silicone tips which should ensure that you can get a good fit while using them. The R02-PRO is the natural successor of the R02s that where launched last year. They were battered around quite a bit because the supplied tips were horrible comfort wise. With the arrival of the PRO version things are looking up for VSONIC, not only have they improved the comfort by adding more tips, the sound quality should also be a bit better with the price remaining the same.

At $69 these earphones are aimed at the more budget conscious in-ear audience. Up until the release of Head-Direct's RE2s these earphones were the only sub $100 earphones to really rival those of the more established brands in terms of sound quality.

Specifications

• Driver units: 11mm(CCAW Drive units)
• Rated impedance: 24ohm
• Sensitivity: >105dB
• Frequency: 8-28,000Hz
• Distortion: less than 0.2% at Max sensitivity (20upa)
• Channel Balance: less than 1dB(at 1000Hz)
• Rated Input Power: 10mW
• Maximum Input power: 30mW
• Plug size: 3.5mm gold-plated stereo plug
• Cord length: 130CM O.F.C cored Non-PVC wire

The specifications for these in-ears look similar to that of other dynamic driver based earphones. With an impedance of 24 Ohms you can drive these earphones to their true potential through just about any DAP on the market today. The cable length is good and a little longer than most.

The Package

The R02-PROs come in a pretty ordinary box. In it the earphones lay very well protected in some foam. With the R02-PROs you also get quite a lot of tips and extra carrying bag. One of the things you notice the first time you hold these earphones in your hands is the fact that the cable rod that extends over the back of the body is made of rubber. It is kind of odd at first, but it makes good sense because it makes the earphones easy to get a firm hold of.


With the R02-PROs you get a well thought out bundle. You will receive four different tips, a carrying bag and a shirt clip. The shirt clip will help to reduce microphonic noise and stop the cable from getting tangled while wearing them.


With every VSONIC R02-PRO you get a small piece of paper with the specifications of the units printed on it. This paper also doubles as a quality test paper where you can see how the earphones measured in the factory.


These in-ears have a bigger body than for example the Head-Direct RE2s. The shape of the body is like a rounded off cone with a rubber back. The rubber part of the body extends out from the center and it acts as a cable stress relief.