Rock Jaw Alfa Genus V2 -- quality earphones at an affordable price [Review]

When you buy earphones you usually have to choose between audio quality and how much you want to spend. British company Rock Jaw Audio, however, is on a mission to provide a strong listening experience at an affordable price.

There's a definite grey theme here, supplied in an attractive grey box, the earpieces themselves are aluminium with a smart grey finish, they come with a selection of rubber ear tips so you can get a good fit. There's also a clip for the cable and a soft carrying pouch. They have an in-line microphone for making phone calls and the earpieces have 8mm dynamic drivers. The jack plug is gold-plated, it's a 90 degree design though so may be awkward connecting to some devices. They have a 1.2 metre long cord, which is fine for listening to a smartphone in your pocket but a bit limiting for other situations.

It also comes with three pairs of interchangeable tuning filters that screw into the earphones so you can set bass, neutral or treble response according to preference. This is a clever idea and does have an appreciable effect on the sound quality, it effectively gives you three sets of headphones in one. However, it's a bit fiddly and means you have to decide on your preferred setting in advance of a listening session.

The Alfas are supplied with a choice of small, medium and large silicone ear tips, plus large and medium memory foam and small double flange versions, so you should be able to find a good fit.

The important bit of course is the listening experience and that's where those interchangeable filters come into their own. The silver-coloured bass filters deliver a solid sound that's impressive given the small size of the earpieces. In the quest for bass though they do lose something in the mid range. The black treble filters on the other hand deliver a good top end response but leave you with a rather weedy bass. For day to day use then, and to avoid the hassle of swapping filters, the gold-coloured natural filters are the best option. They deliver clear vocals and the bass is good without being overpowering. It's handy to have the choice though for when you want to listen to particular types of music.

The Alfa Genius V2s are light, unobtrusively stylish and deliver a decent listening experience. The ability to fine tune their output using filters may seem gimmicky but it is effective. You could easily pay $100+ for earphones offering similar sound quality so at $66.45 (£44.95 in the UK) these look like a smart choice.

You can find more information and order direct from the Rock Jaw Audio site.