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Topic: In-ear headphones with J cable, does it still exist? (Read 4131 times) previous topic - next topic
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In-ear headphones with J cable, does it still exist?

Sony used to have in-ear headphones with an asymmetrical cable, also known as J cable. The longer side of the asymetrical cable goes behind the neck and into the opposite ear. This mimics a single sided cable and reduces the amount of cable in front of the wearer during physical activity. Also, it is perfect when you are making phone calls and need to have 1 ear free. Most of the weight will be on your neck instead of your ear.

These days, it seems like all brands stopped producing J-cables and use conventional Y-cables instead.

The only two I found after searching for hours:
- Sennheiser CX 300-II but it lacks a mic. So you cannot use it with your phone to make calls.
- Sony XBA-1 (XBA-1AP for Android, XBA-1IP for iPhone) but it isn't being sold anywhere, not even Ebay.

In my opinion, J-cables are the best. I fail to understand why the market shifted fully to Y cables.
Does anyone have a tip on a brand selling in-ears with J cable (and a mic) ?

Re: In-ear headphones with J cable, does it still exist?

Reply #1
Nobody? :'( perhaps I should just give up and buy a conventional one.
I just don't understand why Y cable has become conventional.

Re: In-ear headphones with J cable, does it still exist?

Reply #2
J cable fan here!

I still have my old Sony MDR-EX70s (long may they run).

I recently bought a pair of Audio Technica ATH-CKP500 exercise in-ears that have a J cable. They sound good to me. They may have some others in their lineup?

Good luck in your search!

 

Re: In-ear headphones with J cable, does it still exist?

Reply #3
Thanks for your tip unfortunately that one is continued.
I looked at other products on their site, but none of them mention the cable type so there is no way to know.

I don't really need a workout solution, I have the JLab Epic2 (wireless) for that, which is the absolute best in its class. Perhaps only beaten by JLab Air (fully wireless).

Eventually I have decided to give up and focused on other things like weight, comfort, cable material, microphone, remote with buttons to take/end calls and skip tracks + volume and play/pause.

My search (spending hours and multiple days) lead me to:
1. BeyerDynamic Byron (€47) - for every day use and work (making phone calls) and short business trips. Heavy use means risk of loosing or damaging them. These ones are not that expensive so I can take risks with them.
2. 1More Triple Driver - more expensive (€88) but amazing built and sound quality. Still lightweight. I will use them to enjoy music or a movie. But I won't use them often, keeping it exclusive.

I do not regret my choices, the BeyerDynamic Byron has its mic/remote on the left side, exactly what I was used to with Y cable inears. The fit is perfect and sound quality very good. The 1More clearly a step up, you hear it immediately.