If you're in search of accurate bass response and perfect balance, you probably need to spend more than $20 on your earphones. But if you happen to like an added punch of bass in your mix, Coloud's No. 4 is a $19.95 in-ear pair that delivers serious thump without forgoing balance completely. If you want extra bells and whistles or accessories, you're looking in the wrong price range, but the No. 4 sounds far better than you'd expect for the price, and certainly won't disappoint fans of boosted lows who are shopping on a tight budget.

Design
The No. 4 ( at Amazon) uses an in-canal design and comes in black, blue/neon yellow, and gray/neon yellow. Other than the accent colors capping the earpieces and the connection points for the cable, the pair offers little in the way of design flourishes. A flat, linguini-style cable houses a microphone and a single-button remote control—the compartment is located along the left ear's cable. The remote controls playback, call management, and track navigation, depending on how many taps you give it—you'll need to use your mobile device to control volume, however.

One useful design decision: The cable terminates in a rubberized section with a hole in it that the 3.5mm connection can be tucked into, turning the end of the cable into a cable tie, more or less, and making it easy to avoid tangles.

The No. 4 ships with four sets of silicone eartips in various sizes, as well as a shirt clip for the cable. There's no carrying pouch or any other extra accessories to speak of, but for $20, that doesn't feel like a serious omission.

Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the No. 4 delivers an impressive low-end thump. At moderate volumes, the bass depth is noticeably strong, and at top, unwise listening levels, the pair doesn't distort—an impressive feat we don't often see at this price range.

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Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a more accurate sense of the No. 4's general sound signature. The drums on this track sound heavily boosted in the deepest lows, giving them a thunderous presence. This might be a bit too much if it weren't for the No. 4's solid high-mid and high frequency presence—Callahan's rich baritone vocals get some boosting in the lows that could make them muddy, but they also receive plenty of definition in the treble realm, keeping things crisp and clear. The guitar strumming on this track also benefits from the sculpted high-mid presence.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop receives slightly less high frequency presence than we are accustomed to—the result is that its attack feels less punchy and sharp than it can, and its sustain packs a little more low frequency thump. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the loop are very powerful here—this is definitely a bass-forward sound signature intended for low frequency fiends. Luckily, the No. 4 also balances the mix out with some sculpting and boosting in the high-mids and highs, keeping all three vocal performances here clear and distinct, without any added sibilance nor harshness.

Conclusions
If you're a fan of lots of low end, the Coloud No. 4 is a $20 earphone pair that won't disappoint. If you're looking for a more accurate mix, the No. 4 is not your best bet. In the budget realm, we're fans of the JLab Fit 2.0 ( at Amazon) , as well as the slightly more expensive (but still budget-friendly) RHA S500i ( at Amazon) and the Urbanears Active Reimers ($15.00 at Amazon) —all offer decent balance and bass depth for reasonable prices. And if you're really looking for the cheapest earphone pair that isn't junk, consider the JLab JBuds2 , but don't expect fireworks. For $20, however, there is little to gripe about here—the Coloud No. 4 is an in-ear bass factory that costs about as much as a few fancy coffees.

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