By Graham K. Rogers

One of the side-shows of the Apple event last week was the announcement of new EarPods: a radically changed design that (frankly) looks odd. A video that was released at the same time, sort of confirmed this, but the reason is easy to understand: ears are odd; and there is no one-size-fits-all.

However good the old Ear Buds were, they did not fit properly -- with some reporting mild pain after a while -- and I found that on some of the major passages of music that I listen to, I would have to press the buds further into my ears and turn them slightly so that the full sound was heading for the eardrum, rather than swirling around somewhere in the ear canal.

Apple looked at this and it is interesting to see how, in that video, the ears of thouands of users were scanned to find some commonality of shape. I am no audio expert, but my initial impressions are favourable, veering towards, "Oh wow."

As the EarBuds were available for immediate sale in the online Apple Store for Thailand, I ordered two pairs late on the same day as the Apple Event (12 September) and I tracked their arrival. There was a slight holdup on Monday as I guess the truck coming out to the Western suburbs of Bangkok had already left, but an apologetic email from Apple covered that. The package was delivered at lunchtime on Tuesday.

Apple packaging is secure. It took me ages to tear open the outer box and find the two smaller packets inside. The one I selected for my own use was tightly sealed and was also not easy to open. Once I was in, the EarPods and cable were wrapped round a central plastic form with a clear lid.

At one end is the 4-part connector: identical to the one for my current earbuds. The off-white cable is also the same, as is the Y-connector where the cable splits to go to left and right EarPods. The control buttons on the cable are changed considerably.

On the back is a small microphone icon (instead of a dot) and while made of the same plastic, the control is both thicker and longer. This is certain to make it easier to manage the controls when in the pocket or in the dark. These worked well (up, down, stop and advance). There was a good tactile feel to this control. I also found that Siri was able to recognise me when that feature was activated with the control as well.

It is when the cable is followed to the EarPods themselves that the dfferences are most obvious. The cable enters the bottom of each earpiece via a small rubberised protector. The arm of the EarPod is longer than before and accomodates two tiny air intakes near where the cable enters at the bottom. There is another at the head of each EarPod.

The top of the EarPod rests just inside the ear with the speaker outlet pointing towards the canal. The speakers are marked L and R, but this is unnecessary as these really cannot be confused. If the left speaker is inserted into the right ear it does not fit and the speaker is facing the wrong way. It is (sort of) possible to put the left speaker -- upside down -- into to the wrong ear but it is impractical and falls out too easily.

When used properly, the sound that comes from the speakers is fine. I am no audio buff, but I like what I like, with a wide range of tastes from punk to opera. There was an immediate and noticeable difference, particularly to the fuller nature of the sounds reaching me. I also found that the volume needed some adjusting downwards: the input seemed louder than I was used to (or wanted).

While trying the EarPods out, I did not hear a student enter my room and he gave me a real shock when he tried to get my attention. That had never happened with EarBuds.

Just to give an idea of what I tried fairly quickly, I listened to

• The final few minutes of Act 5 of Meyerbeer's, Les Huguenots;

• "Libera Me Domine" from Verdi's Requiem (where there is a similar "high C");

• Andreas Vollenweider. "Down to the Moon";

• Edith Piaf, "La Vie en Rose";

• Hesta Prynn. "Can We Go Wrong?"

• And a selection of podcasts.

The WoW factor was at high levels with all. In an unscientific fashion, this purely subjective view was confirmed by the friend to whom I gave the other set with, "Ooooh!"

The individual voices and instruments could be recognised fairly well with a good tone range and balance. Bass sounds were not overwhelming, for example, and blended properly into the overall experience.

I also tried these with the iMac in my office and my MacBook Pro. The in-cable volume controls are not available with these devices (that is clearly stated on the box): this is iOS only.

The other part of the experience -- wearing the things -- was also pleasant. They were hardly noticeable at all and there was none of the throbbing ache that begins to appear after a while with the EarBuds.

The price is reasonable at 1,090 baht ($29) and the delivery time is just a couple of days. The name is unique; the shape is unique. One wonders how soon it will be before second-rate copies appear on some shelves.

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.