Jays q-JAYS review

Just like good or evil, United or City and medium or well-done, the size of one's headphones tends to be a particularly personal choice.

Jays, Swedish headphone specialist, knows which side of the fence it's on. Its new q-Jays are, apparently, the smallest in-ear design around.

Despite their tiny dimensions, the q-Jays incorporate two drivers per ear. The size also reduces these 'phones' weight: the q-Jays are among the few in-ear designs we've tested that don't feel as if they're obeying gravity and dragging at your ears.

Among the extensive collection of accessories are six differently sized pair of silicon rubber sleeves to ensure (a) a good fit and (b) effective reduction of background noise.

Small product, powerful sound
Powerful, punchy and detailed, the q-Jays are accomplished enough to reveal when your songs are suffering for their compression ratio. Grandaddy's He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot sounds excellent as an Apple Loss-less file: spacious, well-integrated and natural.

The same song at 128kbps sounds very compressed.

For out-and-out quality-per-quid, we think the q-Jays are a fraction expensive. However, there's no denying the quality of their sound – if you're the type of person who doesn't like in-ear 'phones, these lightweight in-ears are for you.