If earphones don’t sound good, I’m not interested. If earphones sound good but aren’t comfortable, I’m not interested. And if earphones sound good and are comfortable but don’t offer any style, I’m not interested either. Yes, my time here at Gear Diary has turned me into a bit of an earphone and headphone snob. I want it all and, thanks to the exploding headphone market, I can have it.
When Judie and I passed by the Munitio table during CES their current and upcoming earphone and headphone offerings caught our eye. The Munitio Nines look like 9mm shells. They really catch your attention, especially when the shells are sticking out of someone’s ears. (Travis will be reviewing them shortly.) The upcoming PRO40 High Performance Headphones look fantastic and we are hoping to have a pair for review when they are released this spring.
In the meantime, sometime in the next few weeks Munitio will be shipping their new SV Mobile Performance Earphones. The SV Mobile Performance Earphones “represent an entirely new aesthetic for MUNITIO, but the look is driven entirely by a design focused on durability and sonic benefits.”
The company was kind enough to provide a pre-release pair of the SV Mobiles, and I have been using them since CES. Let’s take a look.
Munitio’s Nines look really cool, but I could never see using them. Bullet-shaped earphones just aren’t my thing. These, however, are. They look cool, fit great and don’t stick out of the ear much. That means I can have them in and, for example, rest my head on a pillow without uncomfortably pushing the earphone further into my head.
In keeping with their “Munitio” name and the Nine’s 9mm design the company calls the ear cups “Silicon Hollow Points”. They include two additional sizes in order to help you find the best, most comfortable fit. I’m impressed by the design. Not only are they comfortable, but they do as good a job of sealing inside my ear and shutting out outside noise as any earphone I have ever used.
I also like the fact that the headphones have a “right-angle 24k gold-plated 3.5mm stereo plug for exceptional audio signal transfer”. I always appreciate the right-angle plugs as they help keep the cord from sticking out too much and potentially getting bumped or stressing the connection point. In this case, the point at which the cable meets the 3.5mm plug is extra thick and reinforced. It is that attention to detail that stands out. That’s important in headphones that cost north of $125.
Speaking of the cable, the cable on the Munitio SV’s is a “wide ribbon cable” that stays tangle-free even when you throw the headphones in a bag and it gets wrapped around itself. It is thick, flat and substantial. The look and feel of the cable is first-class. Again, that makes sense considering these are premium earphones.
A “slim 3-button [M]ic Control™ with full music and call functionality on supporting Apple® devices, and music functionality on Android® devices” sits on one of the earphone cables just a few inches down. The position is perfect in that it allows the [M]ic Control to sit close to your mouth. That’s great when you want to use the earphones for a call and it is perfect when you need to reach up and control the music. The controller also provides a god degree of tactile feel so you can control your music- raise or lower the volume, pause, start or skip tracks- by feel and feel alone. In-line controllers are often the weak point on a headphone. In this case the controller feels substantial; I’m impressed.
The point at which the two earphone cables meet to create the single cable that runs down to the 3.5mm plug is strengthened by a plastic and metal reinforcement point. It is thick, sturdy and has the company name embossed into it. Once again the word that occurs to me is “substantial”.
The company describes the earphones by noting,
As its name implies the SV Mobile Performance Earphones deliver a number of design touches engineered for premium audio, mobility, comfort and hands-free communication…
They do just that. They are well-constructed, fit tightly into my ears, and are easy to use simply by touch. They also sound great. The sound they pump out is full, rich and has a good bit of bass. I compared them to the Phiaton Moderna MS200 Earphones we reviewed recently. Both sound good, but the Munitio’s definitely had a fuller, all-encompassing sound. If you don’t like bass or don’t want the experience of being completely submerged in your music, then these won’t be the earphones for you.
In all, I really like and am impressed with the Munitio SV Mobile Performance Earphones. I did find that, after long periods of use, the point at which the cable meets the earphone rubbed my ear a bit, but it isn’t enough to make me not want to use them regularly. I expect Munitio to have a hit on their hands when these are released next month.
The MUNITIO SV Mobile Performance Earphones will be available in three anodized metallic finishes—grey, black and bronze and cost $129.99. They include the earphones, a tactical carrying case and MUNITIO’s interchangeable small, medium and large Silicone Hollow Points.
MSRP: $129.99
What I Like: Well-constructed; Flat, tangle-free cable; In-line controller for complete music control; Right-angled, gold-plated 3.5mm jack for convenience and best-quality sound; three sizes of ear cups; Comfortable; Sound grey with deep bass
What Needs Improvement: May be too much bass for some; Cables can rub on the ear after long periods of time
Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample