Ultimate Ears MetroFi 220 earphones review

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that all earphones are not created equal. Some look stunning but offer poor sound quality and ill-fitting buds or cans, while others don’t have the beauty but possess brains a plenty.

Thankfully, this set of in-ear headphones from Ultimate ears manages to get the balance just right. The design of the MetroFi 220 is not overly fussy, with just black cabling, some red colouring for the right ear, black for the left, a flash of silver on the outer buds and clearish plastic in-ear, interchangeable buds.

Some have suggested these buds are cheap looking and we sort of agree, but once they’re in your ear they do the job just fine and no-one can see them so we’re not sure their appearance is that problematic.

The earphones come with a range of bud sizes, three in fact, – so you should be able to find a pair that work for you – in addition to a compact carrying case that is quite snazzy. It also ensures the headphones don’t get damaged when you’re carrying them around, which will most likely add a bit of longevity to their lifespan.

One area of frustration is the cable, which does seem to tangle quite often. This can lead to sound traveling quite quickly – and audibly – up to your ears if something knocks against them, but it’s a niggle worth overcoming for the benefits on offer with these MetroFi 220 earphones.

The big sell with these earphones is the fact that they are noise isolating. And they do what they say on the tin in this respect, filtering out inter-office babble and letting you focus on the task at hand with the tunes of your choice being piped directly into your lug holes.

In addition to helping you zone out from unwanted noise, this also ensures you don’t have to turn your music up full pelt to block everything else out – something likely to damage both your hearing and your relationship with those sitting around you.

The MetroFi 220’s maker claims that they offer crisp sound. We’d have to agree and the sound quality is above average to excellent, with no distortion even when the volume is cranked up a bit.

Indeed, the bass is sufficient and deep if you’re listening to dance music but not too over powering if you’d in the mood for a spot of soothing opera. Similarly the treble comes across crisp and clear as and when required.