Customer Ratings & Reviews

I wanted to get a pair of simple to use wired headphones for when I need to take a quick call, listen to music, or watch videos without having to fuss with connecting to Bluetooth, etc… This JVC HAS33UCB seemed to be what I wanted, and for the most part, it is. There’s quite a bit to like: • Decent sound - nothing earth shattering but good enough. • Remote control on the wire that lets you adjust volume and play/pause, skip ahead/skip back, and activate Siri. • The remote control also has a mic for calls and meetings. A really pleasant surprise is the mic has a mute switch so you can mumble under your breath without others on the call hearing you. • The cord is just under 4 feet in length, a useful amount without feeling like you’re skipping rope. The cord however does not detach from the headphones. So you won’t misplace the cord, but you need to be careful not to rip it out as well in case it gets caught on something. • The ear-cups swivel so you can pack them easier. • Lightweight since they don’t have batteries for wireless use or additional circuitry for fancy features like noise cancelling. My main gripe is they feel very plastic-y because the headband has zero padding. Even the pads on the ear-cups are a bit thin. And since they are on-ear and not over-the-ear, they can be uncomfortable to wear for more than an hour or so, in case you have a long meeting, for example. Also, if you wear glasses, you’ll want to adjust your eyeglass arms so they don’t get pressed by the ear-cups. Given the excellent value of the price, I give them 3.5 starts and still recommend them for anyone looking for a no-frills pair of wired headphones.

I have always seen people with headphones so I wanted a set. Being a kid of the 70’s I wanted to try new ones (the ones back then were horrible). Reasonably priced, wired ( I am not a fan of wireless), not noise canceling, and pretty slick looking…I got them! I use them with my phone and they are definitely not noise canceling because the outside noise was very loud. While I could hear who I was talking to, the background sounds were amplified. Seeing people wear noise canceling headphones scares me- it’s dangerous-cars pay no attention. With this in mind, they would be good for wearing out in public. While using them with my phone, the person I was talking to said they sounded like my regular wired earbuds, so no loss is sound quality for the person on the other end. While the background noise was loud, it also flattened my hair. I believe that is an important part to consider. Anyway, the pros and cons of my review are there. Not sure if I’ll keep these- might be good for watching things on my iPad.

These JVC headphones are about as basic as one can get these days, and that’s fine. They’re wired, they’re on-ear, they’re very comfortable, they sound great, and they’re simple to use. There is no setup. Just plug into a USB-C port, and you’re ready to go. I tried them on my phone as well as on several computers, and, on a couple of the computers, I had to go into the sound settings section and select the headphones as the audio output device. Otherwise, the computer would continue to play sound through the external speakers I already had hooked up. There is no volume control, so you would need to use the control on your computer or phone for this. There is a call-answer feature on the cord so you can answer or decline calls while listening on your phone. There is a built-in microphone for phone use, but it not one of those swivel-down-in-front-of-your-mouth microphones. Rather, it is just built into the headphones. These headphones are rather compact in size, making them perfect to keep in your laptop bag for use on airplanes or other public spaces where you don’t want to disturb the people around you. The included instructions are as minimal as the headphones themselves, but none are really needed. Just a couple of pictographs showing what pressing the call-answer button in various ways accomplishes. These headphones are low-cost and would make an excellent addition to your collection of laptop computer accessories.

In evaluating the headphones, I considered the following criteria, ease of use, comfort and sound reproduction. Ease of use: With USB-C becoming the defacto standard, the wired USB-C connection ensured that it would fit the widest range of equipment. The old mini plug connector has been discontinued on most recent models of phones and many tablets and ultrathin laptops. The headphones are literally plug and play, you plug it into a USB-C port and listen. Comfort: All though the earcups were soft rubber, the unpadded headband made the headphones uncomfortable after a short while. I could not see wearing them for an extended period of time. Sound: I tried a variety of sound sourrces, classical and vocal music as well as spoken word video. The headphones did well with the spoken word, it would be fine for listening to your videos and shows. It was with music that the shortcomings began to show. The music didn't seem to have much depth. Curious, I ran an audio sweep and discovered that the headphones dropped off the cliff at 7,000 hz. The lack of the higher frequencies was reflected in somewhat tin sound. In summary, audiophiles would not be happy with these headphones, however if you wanted to watch your streaming video in privacy, the headphones should be adequate.

I have the JVC HA-S33UC headphones. They consist of a headband that’s adjustable. The ear cups are able to rotate at the bottom of the band a full 90 degrees, for compact storage. There are hinges in the middle of the ear cup so that the angle to the head can be adjusted. The ear cups themselves are about 2.5 inches tall and have a half inch foam ring that contures to your ears for noise reduction and a comfortable fit. There is a four foot cable connected to the left ear cup. 12 inches down that cable there is a control that allows you to adjust the volume, pause, play, skip, reverse, answer calls, disconnect calls, reject calls, and other functions. The sound is great. The highs are high, the lows are low, and everything in between is crystal clear. I had these headphones connected to my phone for several hours and love the sound. Phone calls are easy to understand. And I’ve been told that the sound on the other end is very good. All these things being said, they should be great headphones. But they have one thing that I don’t like. That is the cord. At 4 foot long, it’s just too short. It’s fine if I’m using them with my phone. But if I want to connect them to my computer sitting on the floor it’s just not long enough to reach the USB-C ports on the back. If you’re going to use them with your phone, the cable is fine. If you're going to use them with a computer, make sure that your computer is on your desk and has an easily accessible USB-C port.

In a world where wired headsets are becoming more rare to find, it's good to have something that just “plugs in” like these JVC headphones. I had a couple instances already during my testing period where my usual bluetooth earbuds or wireless gaming headset ran out of battery and I could just easily grab these and plug them in. For comfort these are nice and lightweight and the cable doesn’t really get in the way much - it’s easy to route around. The earcups are rather small but do adjust up/down depending on your head size. Unfortunately the sound quality itself isn’t that great, it’s muddy with weak volume and bass. Perfectly passable if you just need to listen to something really quick but beyond that I didn’t really want to keep using these. Even for the price there’s probably better options. On the cable itself you will also find the usual volume/mute and there’s also a mic. Overall while these seem like decent durable wired headphones I can’t really recommend them with the sound quality lacking as much as it does.