JAYS of Sweden adds Scandinavian flavor to your headphones, we go ears-on

JAYS of Sweden brings a rare, but welcome Scandinavian approach to personal audio products. The Stockholm-based company offers headphones which along with being well-made, sport an affordable price.

Quite frankly, my only experience with Scandianavian-flavored headphones has been trying out Bang & Olufsen headphones in a store. The goodies from the Danish company are well known for their quality and design, but also come with hefty price tag. In the case of JAYS of Sweden, I got a chance to try out the a-JAYS One+ and the a-JAYS Four. Both headsets are priced slightly above the $50 range, which was enough to get me curious.

The a-JAYS Four earbuds are specifically designed to work with Apple products. Naturally, they do sport a three-button remote control and a built-in microphone for making phone calls.

The a-JAYS Four headphones offer one of the cleanest designs I have encountered. The headset is utilitarian all the way with no unnecessary distractions. A couple of contrasting JAYS signs grace the headset, which comes available in black or white.

a-JAYS Four live photos

Build quality is great. The headphones feature a 5mm wide tangle-free cable and an L-shaped connector, both of which are well made and ready to take plenty of abuse.

There are no complaints on the ergonomics’ side either. At 14 grams, the a-JAYS Four headphones are among the lightest I have used. The retail package includes five different sizes for the ear sleeves, so finding the right fit was not a problem.

And now the most important part – the sound. The a-JAYS Four feature 8.6mm speakers with frequency response ranging between 20 Hz and 21 000 Hz. Sensitivity and impedance are 96dB and 16 Ohms at 1kHz. The headphones produced fine sound with a well-balanced high and mid-range. Bass was good and punchy as well, but we’ve come to expect such a thing from much cheaper headphones.

The a-JAYS One+ on the other hand is an entry-level headset, compatible with any smartphone, sporting a 3.5mm jack. The headphones feature a single-button configuration to go with the built-in microphone.

Design and build quality of the a-JAYS One+ headphones are virtually identical to those of their a-JAYS Four siblings, save for the button configuration. The same goes for the ergonomics and weight – the a-JAYS One+ weigh 14 grams, too.

a-JAYS One+ live shots

In order to make up for the one-button configuration, the a-JAYS One+ headphones come with an optional application for Android smartphones. It allows you to apply custom controls to the music player through the headphones’ only button.

The dedicated Android app

Sound-wise, the a-JAYS One+ is slightly less capable than its Apple-loving sibling. The headphones pack practically the same size speaker, sensitivity and impedance. The frequency response range of 20 Hz – 18 000 Hz however is slightly more limited. The resulting sound is more bass oriented, compared to the one produced by the a-JAYS Four headset.

The a-JAYS One+ and a-JAYS Four are priced at $59.99 and $79.99 respectively. You can however, find both models heavily discounted at Amazon. Offering a blend of clean design and decent sound, both Swedish offerings are an interesting alternative to the mainstream brands, worth a hard look.