JVC HA-A11T

Available in black, blue, beige and white and weighing 5.2 grams, the JVC HA-A11T in-ears are not exactly dainty and inconspicuous with their dimensions of 2×1.5 centimetres, but they manage to adapt well to the ear. This is ensured by the ear moulds which are supplied in various sizes and materials and fit over the narrow channel of the 5.8-millimetre drivers. Both earpieces have a tactile button and a status LED on the front. These in-ears are charged via two gold-plated contacts on the inner side, which connect to pins in the recesses of the charging case. Four LEDs on the front display the charging status of the case.

Package

In addition to the charging case, the manufacturer (to all our JVC reviews) provides the JVC HA-A11T with semi-open silicone ear tips in three sizes and ear moulds made of flexible memory foam in “S” and “M”. Also included are a USB charging cable and a leaflet providing a quick reference guide.

Wearing comfort

With the matching silicone or memory foam attachment, the JVC HA-A11T fit very securely and provide a shielding effect. Due to their size, they protrude slightly from the ear, but this does not cause annoying air turbulence when running or cycling at speed. In general, these headphones are recommended for sporting and outdoor activities. Thanks to their IPX5 certification, they can withstand sweat, rain and splashes of water.

Functionality

For wireless operation, the HA-A11T use Bluetooth 5.1, which gives them a range of up to ten metres. Pairing is very quick and easy. Press the button to activate pairing mode, and the in-ears appear in the list of Bluetooth devices. There is also the option to switch them on individually. The functions of these earphones support starting, pausing, skipping streamed music and volume control.

In Touch&Talk mode, the touch of a button dramatically lowers the level to feed ambient noise picked up via the microphone to the drivers. This is advantageous if, for example, you want to talk spontaneously or do not want to isolate yourself from the sound of your surroundings. However, this mode cannot be compared to the transparency mode of an active noise reduction, as in this mode, the music only plays very quietly and in the background. The earpieces can also be used for telephone calls, at least as far as accepting and making calls is concerned, and thanks to the built-in microphone, they have good voice quality. Activation and communication with voice assistants are also done via a button.

The buttons do not react to mere touch but require you to overcome noticeable resistance as feedback when you press them. This is felt in the ear canal, as is the clicking of the buttons.

The lithium-polymer batteries last eight hours, and the charging case stores another 20 hours. According to the manufacturer, it takes two hours to charge up the in-ears, but in my test, it took about 15 minutes less. The case needs three hours for its full battery. If the earphones run out of juice on the go, ten minutes in the charging case will give them another 60 minutes of playing time.

Sound

The JVC HA-A11T’s 5.8-millimetre neodymium drivers reproduce frequencies from 20 to 20,000 hertz, and they only support SBC and aptX as Bluetooth codecs. This sounds rather unspectacular on paper but is convincing to the ears.

Starting with the well-proportioned bass, which is clearly evident in sequencer basslines like in one of my favourite test tracks, “A New Error” by Moderat. And in organic grooves like on Queen’s “Another Bites The Dust”, the bass drum asserts itself cleanly without interfering with the bass guitar laid over it or kicking it out of the sound image. In addition, the bass provides warmth and volume. In order to present lead sounds and vocals in a fitting manner, the mids were tuned very homogeneously to the other frequency bands. In other words, melody-bearing elements do not steal the show from the bass track or the treble. In addition, I found the midrange very pleasant; it neither squealed in the ear nor was the sound masked by its transparency. Speaking of transparency: Even the brilliant highs like the triangle in Bob James’ “Westchester Lady” were shown to their best advantage. Even in the high frequencies, the drivers play naturally and without exaggeration.

With the volume control of my iPhone turned all the way up, the drivers did not yet reach the pain threshold of my very level-sensitive ears. With their very low 16 Ohm impedance, they provided a moderate signal output that was quite sufficient. Even when the drivers were fully loaded, transients were reproduced unaltered, distortion-free, and precisely delineated.