Asked to name some hotbeds of audio innovation, the casual headphone buyer probably will not mention the United Kingdom. But fans of serious high-end gear recognize the British Isles---home to the likes of Bowers & Wilkins, RHA, Rega, Spendor, Linn, and Naim Audio---as a veritable land o' plenty.
One British brand you may not be aware of, even if your UK allegiances run deep, is Rock Jaw Audio. The company started building excellent and inexpensive headphones, mostly in-ears, several years ago. I consider two of its recent releases, the $30 Clarito and the $52 Alfa Genus v2, excellent mid-priced earphones. The swappable filter system on the Alfa Genus is particularly appealing. Depending on the response you want, you can switch the tiny cylindrical filters behind the eartip to suit your tastes. The gold filters keeps thing neutral, while the silver filters bumps up the bass and the black ones enhances the treble.
You'll find the same feature in the company's latest in-ears, the Resonate. Rock Jaw tuned its most expensive earbud (still a respectable $155) to appeal to fans of higher-end headphones. Such people typically detest the sound coloring of Beats and other fashion-first brands, preferring an unaltered, acoustically pure audio experience. The Resonate does indeed keep things pretty neutral, so pickier audiophiles will be pleased. You can modify the Resonate's sound with those same swappable filters, but I found the changes less drastic than in the Alfa Genus buds. Oddly, the Resonate's filters use different color coding: The yellow filters provide a neutral sound, the blue ones amp up the highs, and the green ones bring back the lows.
Another high-end feature you'll find here is the detachable cables. That makes repairs easier if one channel conks out, and lets you use your own micro-miniature coax cabling if you're into that (yes, people actually do that). These in-ears feature a hybrid design with one balanced armature driver and one 8mm dynamic driver in each ear. You get gold connections, an in-line remote that works on iOS and Android, and a selection of tips in the box.
The Resonate is what's known as a "reference" earbud, meaning the audio is reproduced as accurately as possible---close to what you'd hear from the monitors in a recording studio. Such sound can feel a bit clinical and unexciting if you're not used to it. I used the buds with an EQ app and a couple of headphone amps (a junky Topping and a lovely RHA Dacamp L1 portable), and found you can push them to sound however you like without stressing them. Things stay pretty dry and quiet if you plug them straight into your phone, but of course some listeners prefer that.
If you don't have a headphone amp and you want something more accessible (and cheaper), give the Clarito a shot. It's a fantastic headset for under $50. Spend the leftover cash on some Boddingtons and raise a pint to the merry olde isles.
