Full Review

17 December 2007 - If you commute or simply work in a loud environment then it pay to invest in a pair of in-ear headphones as the silicone buds cut out the extraneous noise. Until now we've found such headphones quite expensive but at less than £10, this in-ear set from Genius is a cost-effective solution.

Designed for MP3 players, you'll find a standard 3.5mm jack, so they can equally be used with your notebook. The small size design is neat and they weigh 14g so aren't remotely heavy in the ear. What's more, the silicone buds fit well and as they have a lip on them, they won't easily slip off.

The cable measures 1.5 metres, which is longer than we were expecting and while it's not the thickest cable it's adequate. As you would expect from headphones at this price, there isn’t a great deal of extras.

Supplied with three sets of in-ear buds, you can choose which size suits you best. There is also a cloth pouch to carry them around in when not in use.

When it came to sound quality, they’re surprisingly average. We were expecting them to be tinny and poor and while you won’t want to use them all day, for the gym or commute they’re fine. We also found they managed to cut out a degree of exterior noise but they're didn't truly cut out all noise.

VERDICT
It seems you get what you pay for and while we're initially impressed with the Genius HP-02 Live headphones, once we started to use them we found how limited they were. Overall, great in an emergency but you wouldn't want to rely on them as your sole headphones.