Mobility Digest Review: Thinksound TS01 In-Ear Headphones

We live in a society that is very music centric, let’s face it we love our music be it on an MP3 player, our phones, computers or stereos. One thing I’ve never understood is the fact that people are happy with the cheap, sub-standard headphones that come with their MP3 players. Think about it for a minute here, most people will think nothing of spending a couple hundred dollars on a portable media player only to use the inferior headphones that come with it. Sure there might be exceptions, some players do come with decent sounding headphones but it’s rare. Personally I don’t use the headphones that come with my players, I use an after market pair as I want my music to sound good. I’ve spent the money on a quality MP3 player, so why not truly enjoy it through a good set of headphones!?

Today for review I’ve got a product from a relatively new company called Thinksound, it’s a pair of in-ear headphones that they call TS01. This set of headphones puts the emphasis on bass. These headphones are not only good sounding but they’re lightweight, inexpensive and very comfortable. If you’re looking for a decent set of headphones to replace the cheap ones that came with your MP3 player then you might want to give these a look…

Thinksound Thunder In-Ear Headphones Review

Author: Kristofer Brozio

Vender: Thinksound

Price: MSRP: $74.99

Overall Rating: 4/5

Introduction:

Thinksound TS01

(Formally known as Thunder)

In-ear 10mm high definition headphones with passive noise isolation. Features crisp highs, balanced mids and tuned for enhanced bass.

Model: Thunder 10mm in-ear high definition headphone with passive noise isolation
Colors Available: Black Chocolate or Silver Cherry
Appearance: Wood housing with aluminum baffle
Weight: 10.3g
MSRP: $74.99

Product Features:
* Works with iPhone, iPod, MP3, CD, DVD, PSP and computers
* Wooden housing for crisp, accurate music reproduction
* Available in two beautiful finishes, Silver Cherry (shown above) and Black Chocolate
* Passive noise cancellation minimizes ambient sounds
* Ultra lightweight design with PVC-free, tangle-resistant cable
* Dynamic driver features 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response
* 3.5mm gold plated plug for increased sound clarity
* Four sized flexible silicon ear inserts for secure fit (s/m/l/xl)
* Cord clip and cotton carrying pouch included
* Six month limited warranty

What’s in the Box?

The Thinksound TS01 Headphones come in a recycled brown colored carton. There’s a window on the front so you can see the headphones.

(Please note the box says Thunder, but for legal reasons Thinksound has changed the name to TS01 so new packages will reflect this change)

Inside you’ll find the headphones attached to a cardboard insert along with a brief user manual/warranty paper and a cloth pouch with the Thinksound logo on it.

The cloth pouch is used for carrying the headphones if you wish, but inside of it are three sizes of ear buds and a plastic clip.

The headphones themselves are very lightweight, they’ve got a nice long cord and they seem well made.

There’s a metal piece in-line with the Thinksound logo and the 3.5mm audio connector is gold plated.

One of the things that set the Thinksound headphones apart from many others out there is the fact that they are made of wood and not metal or plastic like most others are. They are aluminum as well, but the main sound channel is wooden. They have the Thinksound logo on the ends of them. They’re also labeled with L and R to let you know which is right and left. They feel solidly made, but yet they are very lightweight and very small.

Impressions:

I used the Thinksound TS01 headphones with my Zune to listen to various types of music.

I found the Thinksound TS01 headphones very comfortable to wear for long periods of time, which is of course a very good thing.

There is almost no line noise with these like you may have on other sets of headphones. What I mean by line noise is that with some sets of headphones you can move the wires and you can hear it in the speakers, it’s pretty annoying.  What I mean by ‘almost’ no line noise is that in a situation where you’re just sitting there, or maybe walking you really won’t hear anything, but you will hear some noise with vigorous activities like running or exercising, but it’s not that noticeable. Thinksound provided the clip for just such things though, using the clip to hold the wires still eliminates virtually all noise.

The idea of TS01 headphones is that they enhance the bass in your music, if you like a lot of bass then these would the set of Thinksound headphones that you would choose obviously.

This do enhance the bass very well,. almost too well really. At low to moderate volume levels the bass is fine but at high volume there is some distortion in the music. Then again you really shouldn’t be listening to music at very high volumes anyway…

I have to tell you though that I don’t care for heavy bass in my music, I like bass yes, but not overpowering  or very heavy bass. The Thunder headphones are bass heavy, and I don’t care for that as I like a nice balance in my music and I like the ability to hear everything, every little note etc.

The highs are very high actually, again almost a bit too high really. I like highs in my music, but with the Thunder they seem just a tad too high.

The idea of being made of wood is to help them sound more natural. If you go and buy a good set of speakers for your home stereo you’ll find the housing is made of wood. The reason being of course is that they sound better. There is a big difference between wood, metal and plastic. If you like your music to sound the best it can you’ll get wood encased speakers plain and simple. This holds true for headphones as well, put on a pair of plastic ones and put on a pair of wooden ones, you’ll hear the differences. Now this isn’t true all of the time though, there are expectations of course, I’ve got a pair of FutureSonics Atrio M5 headphones that are plastic and they have the best sound I’ve ever heard from a set of headphones so far in my time reviewing products. The main difference though is that the Atrio M5s cost about $200.00, so one would expect superior sound from them.

As far as price is concerned, the Thinksound TS01 headphones have an MSRP of $74.99 but they can be had at Amazon for as low as $44.99, so that’s a pretty good price for a decent set of headphones.

Now I also own the Thinksound Rain headphones which I reviewed on my site last week, you can find the review HERE if you wish to read it.  There are two main differences between the Rain and TS01 headphones, the size obviously, but the TS01 headphones are made for those that like a lot of bass in their music, while the Rain headphones are more of a middle road with everything being more even and nothing really being enhanced.

Just to give you an idea, in the following picture the top set is the Rain and the bottom is the TS01:

Conclusion:

The Thinksound TS01 headphones are very well made and produce good quality sound. They are bass heavy, but they’re meant to be. For the price, the Thinksound TS01 headphones are well worth it especially if you prefer heavy bass in your music.

If you’re like me though and prefer a more balanced sound in your music then I can recommended you check out the Thinksound Rain headphones, they offer very good sound quality at a low price.

Pros:

• Comfortable
• Inexpensive
• Well made
• Comes with clip, carrying pouch and different sized ear buds
• Decent sound

Cons:

• Some distortion at high volume levels
• A bit too much on the high end