Review: Swirl earphones, with mic

On the surface, earphones may seem like a simple enough thing - usually you get a pair in the box with every phone or MP3 player - but if anything the Swirl earphones teach you just how important a good pair can be.

The Swirls are quite heavy-set and industrial-looking, it looks like it’d take a lot to break them. The bright fluorescent yellow spring-coiled cable and thick sturdy earplugs means you’ll probably never lose them.

The sizeable plugs do a great job of keeping out the background noise, allowing you to enjoy your music. Unfortunately, the downside is that you may need a nebulous expanse of space in your ear canal to accommodate them - my stretched lugs did hurt a bit after using them. My ears usually smart if I’ve had to endure loud co-workers sharing far too much of their personal lives each day, so a decent set of headphones is usually my first line of defence. But when the cure gives you as much pain as the cause, you’ve got to wonder why you bothered.

The Swirls feature an extra, however. They come with a built-in microphone which turn it into a hands-free kit - which may seem a little dated in this wireless world, but handy nonetheless.

The size of the clumpy plugs mean that as well as stretching your ears, they tend to work themselves free if you walk anything over 60 paces. There’s little you can fault with the actual sound though - the clarity and bass are exactly what you’d expect from a set of headphones in this price bracket.

* The Swirl In-Ear Sound Isolating Earphones with Mic cost £48.54 from Advanced MP3 Players