JBuds J4M Rugged Metal Earphones w/ Mic

UPDATE: One year later these headphones are still going strong. This is the longest I have ever had earbuds work for me. Usually in a few months I have one of the ears go out or physically break them. I do not treat these things well at all. I chuck them in my bookbag in a tangle. I've had them go through the wash a couple times. I've stepped on them and crushed them underneath my dorm room chair. These things will not quit, and they still sound just a good as when I bought theme (after burn-in). Highs are still decent. Bass has a good punch for in-ears, but still muddy. Mids can still be drowned out by bass. But really these are all a lot more minor than I make them out to be. Great, sturdy, inexpensive headphones. Audio Quality: I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile, but I do know good headphones when I use them. To give you an idea of how perceptive my ears are, mp3 recordings below 256kbps are noticeable almost instantly. I can (barely)tell a slight difference between 256kbps and 320kbps (if at all). 320kbps and FLAC are indistinguishable. Now, on to the J4Ms. The sound quality immediately after opening the package was rather sub-par (currently i would say they are above-average for the price, very happy with the sound now). At the time, they were probably a little worse than the Bose in-ear headphones I had previously (They were a gift - not worth the money IMO)(before they fell apart). The highs were relatively clean. Cymbals sounded pretty crisp without giving me a headache. A big plus in my book. The bass was alright, it was there (much better then most crappy ipod-like buds), but lacked a certain "punch" or physicality. I know you can't expect the kind of punch from good over-the-ear heaphones, but even so I was very disappointed. The major issue was the mids. They were very muddy and were overpowered by the low and high ends. ***HOWEVER, I then took them out and burned them in using the JLabs Jbuds burn in tool. After about 48 hours of this at a volume slightly above my normal listening level, the headphones sounded MUCH better. I played the same songs as before, and while sometimes there wasn't much of a change, overall they improved quite a bit. The highs were about the same, but the bass now has a noticeable "punch" to it, which makes me VERY happy. Unfortunately it still isn't very clear, but I can deal with that. The mids were more in line with the rest of the sound. Unfortunately, they are still kind of and drowned out by the muddy bass. The mids would be my only real complaint at the time. The "M" part: The microphone works as far as i can tell. I haven't had anybody notice or complain when I was using it to talk. I haven't experienced the sound from the other end of the call yet. The button where the microphone is works perfectly with my phone. I have an HTC Incredible which for those that don't know runs the Android OS. I used the J4Ms with both SenseUI and Cyanogenmod7, so it looks like the J4Ms should work with any Android phone. The button worked to pause music, double click to skip to the next song, and to answer calls. Pretty much everything I could want to use it for. Durability and Build: The cable is reasonably thick as expected. I was very impressed with L/R split area of the cable. It seems extremely durable to wear and tear, without giving the impression of being thick and ugly (which it kind of actually is if you really look at it). The buds themselves seem pretty sturdy. Time will tell on how long the inner components of the buds will last, but I don't think physical damage will be what kills them. Shipping and Packaging: As a college student, I have "Amazon Student" so the buds arrived in about 36 hours. The Headphones were stored inside included carrying case, which provided sufficient protection as is. This was then placed in a easy-to-open cardboard box that was (almost) completely snug to the aforementioned carrying case. The packaging was small enough that it arrived at my dorm's mail room, preventing me from having to walk all the way to the school's shipping center. This packaging is a welcome relief from how headphones are usually packaged - in a large, difficult to open, plastic casing. To summarize, I'm pretty satisfied with my purchase. I would recommend them. They don't blow me away for 5 stars, but earn a respectable 4 stars in my opinion.