yurbuds Ironman Inspire Duro Review

yurbuds claim that the Ironman Inspire Duro earphones have been developed by athletes for athletes. Aimed primarily at the keen runner and competitively priced – lets find out how they perform in our yurbuds Ironman Inspire Duro review.

yurbuds only design and make earphones dedicated to sports use. This means that they focus heavily on a secure fit and the ability to hear your surroundings when using them.

There are several different models of Inspire earphones within the range that slightly differing features. Here we’re looking at the Ironman Duro version which is in the upper end of the range & are ideally suited to any one wanting to listen to music while running or exercising at the gym.

Ladies if you have small ears, you should also note that there is a smaller size available just for you which can be found here: yurbuds Inspire Pro for Women

High Quality Tough Construction

The first thing that you’ll notice when looking at a set of  earphones from the Inspire range is the earpiece fitting. This unusually shaped flexible silicone housing fits snuggly onto the earpiece itself. The earpiece contains a large 15.4mm driver which is much larger than you’ll find in a regular set of earphones. On the back of the earpieces you’ll see a series of small holes – these perform two of functions.
1 – Most importantly, the holes allow external sounds in to your ear – so you can hear traffic etc while running
2 – The large audio driver can move faster with less resistance – this helps make them sound very natural and dynamic

The ‘Duro’ part of the product name tells you that they have a different, stronger cable when compared to the rest of the Inspire range. Instead of the typical silicone type of cable, these have a woven cable that is very tough, lightweight and tangle free. The section where the cable splits into left and right, is reinforced with a small metal housing – this looks very tough and should help provide strain relief for the cable should it get tugged during use.

The jack plug is an angled type – but has a nicely flexible cable exit which will again help them survive rugged use.

Also included is a sports style storage pouch which will keep them out of harms way when stashed in your sports bag. You also get 2 different sized sets of the twistlock flexible silicone ear adaptors.

Made For Runners

The twistlock technology of the yurbuds Inspire Duro earphones gives you a very secure fit. Put simply, the earphones are inserted into your ear at an angle, then twisted into place. Once locked in, they won’t move until you want to take them out again. They have also been developed to be sweat and water resistant, so you won’t have any issues on a hot sweaty summer day or when you get caught in an April shower. At first they do feel a little unusual as they insert further into your ear than most earphones do. But once in, you get used to them very quickly to the point where you aren’t even aware of them.

We have tested the yurbuds Duro earphones at the gym and while out running. At the gym, we found they stayed in place no matter what exercises we did or what equipment we used.

Where the Inspire Duro earphones really come to life is out running on the open road. The secure fit really is exceptional – so far these have been tested on a runs of up to 30 minutes, during this time they stayed firmly in place, didn’t need adjusting & were very comfortable throughout. The cable feels light and there are no microphonic bumps or sounds from it bouncing around while running. The overall experience is fantastic, even with music playing at a good volume you still feel fully connected to your environment. Approaching cars can be heard with plenty of warning as can beeps from your heart rate monitor. While running they are so comfortable and light that its easy to forget that you’re actually wearing them.

Motivational Music

As the yurbuds Inspire Duro earphones are intended for intense sports use, it is a little unfair to judge the audio under normal circumstances. The sound is very open and natural sounding, with a fairly flat frequency response (rather than hi-fi). Listening with a flat EQ setting, there is some bass – but it is not what i’d call big or deep. The treble is perhaps not quite as light as i’d like, but certainly isn’t lacking. The mid range is a lot wider than many earphones and sounds very nice and natural. The stereo image is quite large and the placement quite sharp and accurate. The detail is pretty good – but as you’d expect, not quite as good as a normal set of earphones.

If you tweak the EQ settings (using presets or custom settings) you can easily improve the sound. The earphones are capable of delivering a good amount of bass, they just need a little extra EQ to help them on their way. With this extra boost at the bottom end, the bass still sounds very natural & not over emphasised. Couple this with a little more treble as well and they come to life bringing out plenty of detail and space in the music.

During our running tests, we used an iPod with the EQ set to ‘Classical’ (which boosts bass & treble). While running they sounded great with plenty of clarity, depth and detail. I personally would be very happy to use these time and time again.

A standout point worth noting is how clearly you can hear external noises while music is playing. Even with added EQ & listening at a good volume you can still clearly here what’s going on around you. There is no feeling of separation or isolation from your environment – the balance that yurbuds have achieved here is really quite special.

A minor note: if you are using these while running around traffic, you should check to see how any added EQ effects your ability to hear your surroundings.

yurbuds Ironman Inspire Duro Review Conclusion

We love the way that the yurbuds Ironman Inspire Duro earphones fit and stay put even during the toughest exercise. While they do benefit from added EQ, the sound is plenty good enough and will drive you on with your favorite power song when energy levels are dropping. For the money, these are unbeatable and compete with sports earphones that cost more than twice the price. These really do feel like they have been developed by athletes for athletes and are a fantastic choice for anyone wanting to listen to music while running.

You may also want to check out some of the other earphones from yurbuds which you can find here:
yurbuds Earphones Range.