Soundpeats M-10 in-ear headphones

Okay you have to admit; metal anything means instant rock and roll.  You don’t see murdering clowns chopping up people with plastic chainsaws, biker guys don’t have plastic chains attached to their wallets, and it’s certainly never a “full plastic jacket” in fun and fabulous colors…

So, it stands to reason, then that the Soundpeats metal in-ear headphones just scream “don’t mess with me” don’t you think?  Or, at least, “don’t mess with my lobes…they mean business.”

The business:  

SoundPEATS In-Ear Headphones Noise Cancelling Earphones Stereo Earbud Headphones with Mic and In-line Control (Metal Housing, Flat Cable, Crystal Clear Sound) - M10 Black

Packaging:  Pretty basic plastic box with a clear visual of the earbuds inside.  Nothing fancy here, but if you spend any time on my blog, you know I get really excited when I get a carrying case with my headphones.  It’s not about the box though; the box is going in the trash.  It’s about the phones, so let’s move on. 

Don't judge your book by the cover...as they say.

Extras:  You get small, medium and large ear tips.  You may have to play with these a little bit.  Usually, I am a medium tip, but this time, I needed small in order to get a good fit.  The tips are soft, but not as soft as I have gotten with other earbuds.  Comfortable though and fully closed not semi-closed or finned), making for a more isolated sound. 

I love me some extras, but when the headphones are nice, its not always about the stuff.  Okay, I love the cases.  When they come with cases, I get giddy like a little fat girl in a candy store. Just not gonna lie...

The cord is flat instead of round, and a nice feeling rubber with no wire noise when it rubs on your clothes.  I like how the flat cord fit into the earbuds themselves, it feels very sturdy and looks very clean.  Also, where it splits off at the Y in the cord, it is a small connection, but seems very sturdy at that point as well.  The cord feels good at the accessory button area; however, I also look for a sturdier connection here, since you fiddle with this spot a lot, more than at the Y-branch area I think, when answering your phone, skipping songs or (on some models) volume.  I feel like there needs to be a bit more reinforcement here, especially at the top of the accessory button, going to the right earbud.

Okay, they didn't actually come with all that dust.  I review in a house with pets...and men.  Ignore the dust part. 

I want to put in there that the accessory button is very simple.  There is only 1 small button here that will allow you to answer an incoming call.  If not on a call, you can pause and play with 1 click.  Two  quick clicks will allow you to skip a song. 

The buds themselves are heavy.  Hardcore heavy metal is…heavy.  This brings be back to the fact that I needed the smaller ear tips.  Being able to insert them a little deeper in the ear canal kept the heavier earbuds in place.  Another little trick is to have the wire pointing upwards, so you can wrap the wire around and behind the ear to take the pressure off a bit.  It sounds like they are 40 pounds when I mention this—not at all; however, you will notice a difference between the weight of these and lighter wood or plastic buds. 

Sound:  With the right sized buds, they are sound isolating and the sound is surprisingly clear and balanced for such inexpensive headphones.   Really pleasant to listen to, not too much bass, but not too little.  Really a nice, even, balanced sound.  No crackles, no skips, no wire noise.  They are a pleasant surprise for such an inexpensive pair of headphones. 

I would recommend these to someone looking for something cheap and decent.  They feel “richer” than a lot of headphones in the same price range.  A little heavy to wear, but with the metal buds, wearing the wire over your ears helps.  The sounds is good, they are durable, the connections are good, simple function—they do what they are made to do and they do it rather well for the money.  

RUIMI Titanium Step Drill Bit Spiral Metric Sizes - Amazon Review

So, there I was, just a girl needing a hole drilled....

Looking for a cheaper alternative to the step bits that are sold locally, I saw these and decided to give RUIMI Titanium Step Drill Bit Spiral Metric Sizes 3Pcs a try. I, unfortunately, did not read the description thoroughly and was intending to use them on a much thicker piece of wood than recommended. As a whip maker, my intent (wish/desire) was to be able to drill a tapered hole in a handle.  This, of course, is no fault of the manufactures, but it is the overall reason for buying them, since it was recommended to me, by more than a couple of people. For the record, I never did use them for the whip handle. I did some research online about these type of drill bits and they are simply not intended for thicker material, the rule of thumb being, no thicker than the width of each individual “step.”

However, I thought they might be useful for both myself and my husband for other projects, using them for their intended purpose, within the parameters given and I find them very functional for light, hobby-type occasional work. They were sharp enough to drill through the wood, though not as sharp as a better quality bit would be.   The biggest one, especially, had quite a bite to it and wanted to “bind up” while drilling.

I honestly think that the spiral cutting surface was really nice idea, especially when moving wood dust out of the way while you drilled.  They seemed to clear their own path rather well.

The titanium coating was quite thin, and after drilling about 20 holes, it was gone completely from the cutting blade edge. Though again, I was experiencing some binding with the biggest bit and it just wasn’t cutting as well as I thought it should. As you can see in the last 2 photos, the titanium coating is indeed gone completely. I am no woodworking expert and this would be my first experience with a step bit of any kind; however, I expected it to be different in this regard.

As you can see, there is some chipping off right away.

And again, here.

They feel heavy though, they feel very sturdy and the hex shaft is really nice for chucking up securely in the drill. No slipping there. The range of sizes was very nice. Like I said, that biggest one really gives you a good range by itself, while the smallest one is really quite versatile too.

So, the bottom line is this, heavy, solid construction. The hex shaft is excellent for chucking up in a keyless drill. Make sure not to use it on thick material.  The description clearly states, no thicker than 5 mm.  Came with a nylon drawstring bag (pictured).  A good choice as far as being an affordable alternative to the more expensive brands out there, will get the job done; however there are a couple of factors that demonstrate you get what you pay for here.