Yamaha's EPH-M200 earphones offer a simple, stylish look, a secure fit, and a powerful audio performance. At $149.95, they deliver a sound signature with some serious bass depth that will appeal far more to big bass lovers than to purists looking for accuracy. Still, Yamaha keeps things more or less balanced; while the EPH-M200s could offer more high-mid presence at times, the highest frequencies remain bright and clear to prevent tracks from sounding muddy. There are plenty of stellar earphone options in this price range, like the Editors' Choice Bowers & Wilkins C5 Series 2, but if powerful bass is your thing, this might just be the pair for you.

Design

Available in black, red, or white models, the EPH-M200s are simply designed. Glossy plastic houses both the Yamaha-overlaid tuning fork logo caps on each earpiece and the in-line compartment housing the remote control and microphone. For the red and white models, the cable matches the earpiece coloring, while the black model features a gray cable.

Located just below chin-height along the left ear's cable, the microphone and remote control compartment houses three buttons: dedicated Volume Up/Down buttons and a multi-use center button that controls Play/Pause, Track Forward/Backward, and Call Answer/End functions depending on how many times you tap it.

The in-canal fit is exceptionally secure and comfortable, thanks to a circular section that rests gently against the ear. The EPH-M200s ship with five pairs of eartips in various sizes, along with a ¼-inch headphone jack adapter and a zip-up, semi-hard protective case.

Performance

On tracks with intense sub-bass, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the EPH-M200s deliver some serious deep bass response without distorting even at top, unsafe listening levels. There's enough high-mid and high frequency presence here for things to remain balanced despite the big bass sound.

Bill Callahan's "Drover" gives us a sense of what the EPH-M200s do with tracks that don't have much deep bass in them at all. The drums on this track, which can sound unnaturally heavy through earphones that boost the bass wildly, instead get a pleasantly boosted presence: It's nothing too intense, but there's definitely a bit more thump to the percussion. Callahan's baritone vocals need no help in the bass department and get only an ideal bit of boosting in the low-mids, but they lack the high-mid presence that would make them sound particularly crisp. The guitar strumming, however, gets plenty of sharp treble edge. It seems there's some pretty fine-tuned sculpting through the high-mids and mids that manages to avoid giving the vocals the extra edge from which they'd benefit, but allows the guitar to shine brightly.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop's attack gets just enough high-mid presence to maintain a fairly sharp presence and push through the front of the dense mix. But it's the sub-bass synth hits that really command attention here, booming with enough thunder to please the deep bass lovers. The balance stays intact despite a definite focus on the deep lows, mainly because the high-mids aren't ignored and the high frequencies maintain a clear, bright presence that helps the vocals keep the spotlight. It even brings the underlying vinyl crackle a bit forward in the mix.

Classical tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, get an obvious added bass presence that brings the lower register instrumentation higher up in the mix. It manages to not sound unbalanced, mainly because most classical tracks like this tend to have a healthy high-mid and high frequency presence that leaves enough room for some added low-end. The bright highs benefit the higher register strings, brass, and vocal parts here, and while there's definitely an added bass presence, the balance doesn't veer into wildly unnatural territory.

Purists seeking flat response-style earphones will find the EPH-M200 too boosted in the lows, but bass lovers and those of us somewhere between the two poles will likely enjoy the EPH-M200's mix of deep lows and bright highs. If you're looking for a crisper, brighter sound, the Sennheiser Momentum In-Ears are some of the brighter earphones we've tested in recent memory. If you're just looking for balance without the booming bass, the B&W C5 Series 2 and Bose FreeStyle both offer quality sound signatures. And if all of these are beyond your budget, consider the Audio-Technica ATH-CKX7iS, which brings some robust bass and crisp highs for far less money. At $150, the Yamaha EPH-M200s face some stiff competition. For deep bass lovers who still want a sense of balance, though, it's a solid option even with less-than-ideal crispness in the high-mids.