JVC Gumy Connect HAFR9UCB

The JVC Gumy Connect HAFR9UCB scores 95th percentile for comfort but 8th percentile for sound quality. At $22 USD, you're getting a comfortable, water-resistant pair of wired USB-C earbuds with a built-in DAC and a handy mute switch. Just don't expect them to make your music sound good, because the 21/100 music score says otherwise.

Let's talk about that 8th percentile sound score, because it's the elephant in the room. The 9.2mm neodymium drivers are fine on paper, but in practice they produce a sound that's thin and lacking in detail. The built-in DAC does clean up some of the digital noise you'd normally get from a cheap USB-C connection, which helps with voice calls and video playback. But for music, you're getting a flat, unremarkable presentation that falls behind nearly everything else in our database.

The comfort story is completely different. At the 95th percentile, these are some of the most comfortable earbuds we've tracked. The 14g weight and the classic Gumy design mean they sit in your ears without pressure points. The mic performance is mediocre at the 39th percentile, which is fine for casual calls but not great for anything serious. And the connectivity at the 40th percentile is solid for a wired connection, though the USB-C connector means you're out of luck if your device still has a headphone jack.

Against the Nothing Buds 2, the JVC Gumy Connect wins on comfort but loses everywhere else. The Nothing Buds 2 are wireless, sound dramatically better, and offer actual features like ANC. The Soundcore P31i and JLab Jbuds Pods are both wireless options in a similar price range that deliver better sound quality, though they sacrifice the wired reliability and zero-latency advantage. The Anker Space A40 is in a completely different league with its ANC and sound quality, but it costs significantly more. The EarFun Air Pro TW230B is another wireless competitor that beats the JVC on sound but can't match the comfort score. If you specifically need wired USB-C earbuds with a mute switch for gaming or calls, the JVC makes sense. Otherwise, the wireless competition is just better at the things that matter most.

At $22 USD, these are priced like an impulse buy, and that's probably the right framing. You're getting 95th percentile comfort, a built-in DAC, and IPX4 water resistance for less than the cost of a pizza delivery. The CAD 29 price at Best Buy Canada is similarly reasonable. But the EUR 38 price in Europe feels steep for what you're getting, especially when the sound quality is this weak. If you're in the US or Canada, the value proposition holds up for a pair of gym or travel earbuds. If you're paying European prices, you should probably look elsewhere.

The JVC Gumy Connect HAFR9UCB is a wired USB-C earbud that sits in a weird spot. It's got a 95th percentile comfort score, which is genuinely impressive for a $22 pair of earbuds. But the sound quality lands at the 8th percentile, which is rough even for budget audio. So you've got a pair of earbuds that feel great in your ears and sound like they cost about what they do. The built-in DAC is the headline feature here, and it does help with noise reduction on calls, but it can't rescue the 9.2mm neodymium drivers from their own limitations.

For the price, you're getting a lot of practical stuff. IPX4 water resistance means gym sessions and light rain won't kill them. The 3-button remote and dedicated mic mute switch are genuinely useful for calls and gaming. And at 14g, you'll forget they're in your ears. But the music score of 21/100 tells the real story. These are utility earbuds, not audiophile gear.

If you care about music quality at all, skip these. The 8th percentile sound score and 21/100 music rating mean your favorite songs will sound flat and lifeless. Audiophiles, music lovers, and anyone who uses earbuds primarily for listening to music should look elsewhere. Also skip if you need a good microphone for calls or streaming, since the 39th percentile mic performance won't do you any favors. And if your device doesn't have USB-C, you're out of luck entirely.

The JVC Gumy Connect HAFR9UCB is a niche product that nails comfort but fumbles the fundamentals. The 95th percentile comfort score is genuinely impressive, and the built-in DAC plus IPX4 rating make these practical for everyday use. But the 8th percentile sound quality is hard to ignore, especially when the music score is 21/100. If you need wired USB-C earbuds for gaming or video calls where latency matters and you don't care about music quality, these are a solid buy at $22 USD. For everyone else, the wireless competition offers better sound for not much more money.