Shortly before Christmas I was contacted by Munitio to see if I was interested in doing a review on their [M] BLK Tactical 9mm earphones. Obviously I jumped at the chance to not only get something cool looking for free, but also to see how they compared to the Apple earphones included with my iPod nano that I have been using for the past few years.

Munitio was kind enough to 2nd day air the earphones to me so I would be able to have them before I left to go home for Christmas.  My nano was charged up with and waiting…

Unboxing:

The earphones came beautifully presented in a cylindrical matte black cardboard box.  A tug on the pull tab revealed a user manual, silk cleaning cloth, leather carrying case, and three sizes of extra silicone ear buds. The earphones themselves have a good weight to them, and appear to be the exact dimensions ( as expected ) of a slightly shortened pulled 9mm cartridge.  Nice…

Testing:

Although I am careful with my possessions, I’m not one to baby them. Even though these earphones are priced at $179, I decided in order to properly test their durability I would treat them the exact same way I treat my complimentary Apple earphones.  That means when they are not in use I carry them around in my pocket all day, with the cord plugged in and wrapped around my nano. During the period of one week, besides the physical test, the earphones were also going to have to pass my listening test spread across all genres of music from the rap to country.

Results:

• The TSA is either really smart, and knew that the earphones were not actual ammunition… or else extremely careless and overlooked the potential risk of live ammo on a plane.  Either way, I got through the x-ray of my pocket items without so much as an eyelash batted.  In hindsight it probably wasn’t worth the risk if there was a chance of getting them confiscated, but I actually realized I probably should have checked them after I already ditched my bags at the check-in desk.

• The earphones are very comfortable, even after several hours of continuous use they do not hurt my ears like my original iPod ones did.  The silicone ear buds do a nice job of blocking out the external noise too.  According to Munitio, the silicone buds are not proprietary, so if you damage or lose one you won’t have to worry about spending lots on a replacement.
• The finish on the earphones themselves is a very nice looking matte black, and look great when put in the ears. Pictures really don’t do them justice.  The finish also has proven to be very resistant to scratches after extensively sharing the same pocket as my nano and space pen.
• The kevlar cord of the earphones is absolutely awesome to have when it comes to cold weather. Minnesota winter temperatures turn my regular iPod earphone cord into a stiff wire that causes the buds to pop out with every head movement.  Not with the Munitio though… the cord stays perfectly flexible.
• The points where the cord connects to the earphones, mic control, and 3.5mm plug, are nicely reinforced. After being tightly wound around my nano, and spending a good part of the week in my pocket, there is no signs of any loosening.  I even have the (bad?) habit of hanging the nano down by the earphone cord to unwind it before every listen.
• In the product specs Munitio mentions a bass enhancing chamber, and acoustic sound flow system.  All I know is that my apple earphones must not have either of those.  The sound that comes out of these earphones is awesome… the bass is crisp and clear, and so are the mids and highs. Although I have no official testing equipment that would allow me to make a scientific comparison, I have literally been listening to the same albums over and over for 15 years so when they start sounding better it’s very noticeable.

Conclusion:

I fully recommend buying these earphones if you have the money. You are truly missing out on nuances in the music you listen to if you are using the regular Apple earphones.  I have no doubt that the build quality will allow them to be enjoyed years past the warranty period. One thing though, be prepared to occasionally remove one earphone from your ear to ask a person to repeat their question… it’s most likely going to be “where did you get those?”.

Available for purchase at Munitio – HERE
(Get 25% off by entering the launch promo code “precision”)