JVC Sport Headphones

If you’ve read my site or social media for any amount of time, you’ve probably picked up that I take issue with runners blocking out the world as they run. And if you haven’t picked up on that… I HATE when people have headphones on and cannot hear the world around them. I have run past people and had them get startled as I passed them because they never heard me coming. I have had runners I coached not even hear me come up behind them, run next to them and start talking to them because they were looking straight down and had on headphones to drown out the world. That’s dangerous… don’t do that!

So when I was given the opportunity to check out a new pair of sport headphones from JVC that have features that help runners listen to their tunes but still be aware of the world, I had to jump on that.

JVC HA-ETR40 features:

A soft, rotating rubber hook that holds them securely in place and
can be adjusted to get the perfect fit;
Waterproof and washable;
Two sets of earpieces — conventional that seal out ambient noise (in three sizes) and “open type” (also in three sizes) that allow ambient sounds to be heard so runners can hear the sound of approaching vehicles, etc.;
Two-piece cord — Use the short cord if you wear your phone/music player on your arm, and so avoid the hassle of excess cord; use the extension if you carry your phone in your hand or pocket;
One-button microphone and remote control

Waterproof and washable are super cool. A remote/microphone is a fantastic feature. Two piece cord so you can have a shorter line when wearing your device on your arm is swell. But I want to focus on the different earpieces…

I was curious how well the different earpieces would actually work. So I took all the little parts and pieces into my backyard. There is a fairly big road construction project happening just over the wall from my house (will be sooooooo nice when that is done!) and my backyard is fairly noisy right now. It scares my dog.

I put the conventional buds in place, popped them in my ear and turned on music. Sure enough, I didn’t hear much construction noise. So… they’re great at blocking out ambient noise. Then I switched to the open buds, they have little divots around them. And I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I could hear the offending construction noise.

Hanging out in the backyard = don’t want to hear that construction ambiance

Going on a run = necessary to hear the worldly traffic ambiance

Honestly, I was pretty impressed and I’m glad to have these JVC sport headphones as another headphone option in my arsenal of recommendations. Great sound and safety options!