Most earbuds these days are made by injecting melted plastic into a mold via an injection molding machine, or by extruding heated thermoplastic filament via an FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) printer to make the earbud shell.
The Brainwavz Koel earphones however, are made using a 3D resin printer which is the same type of printer used to print high quality Dungeons & Dragons (D & D) miniature and Role-Playing-Games (RPG) miniature figures.
Instead of letting the plastic to cool naturally like with injection molding and FDM printing, resin 3D printing use a bright UV light that hardens the cast layer by layer. This process works a bit like the Bondic UV light pen.
Compared to filament-based printing, 3D resin printing is definitely more versatile and it produces clear, detailed casts like can be seen with the Koel translucent shell housing. You can even see the balanced armature component inside the Koel earphones which is pretty neat.
Another neat feature that makes the Brainwavz Koel earphones stand out from most other earphones is the y-MMCX cable which can be removed. The Koel MMCX cable is detachable from the earphone shells and can be replaced should it wear out or break.
You can buy any third party earphone replacement cable with MMCX connectors, although Brainwavz sells their own earphone replacement cable with MMCX connectors.
Do keep in mind though that the Brainwavz Koel are unbalanced earphones with a 3.5mm jack. You can tell they are unbalanced because of the two black rings (TRS) on the plug (balanced earphones have three black rings). The plug connector itself is gold-plated which is nice.
A useful cinch slider is found along the Y-cable junction which turns the Koel earphone cable into a cinch cord that functions just like the hem cinch cord of a jacket. Moving the cinch slider up closes up the Y-cable for a snug fit around the neck which is nice for a more secure fit.
Speaking of fit, the Brainwavz Koel earphones are designed to be worn around the ears with the cable running along the back of the ears which actually happens to be the best way to wear earphones because running the cable behind the ear lobes (as opposed to straight down) eliminates cable noise (microphonics).
The actual rubber section of cable that goes around the ears has properties similar to memory foam so it softens with your body heat and regains its original shape quickly.
As far as sound, the Koel earphones have a neutral (flat) sound signature without the "sound effects" you get with dynamic drivers which make the highs and low frequencies more lively. With that said, balanced armature drivers have one major advantage and that is accurate sound reproduction.
The Koel earphones do a good job at clear instrument separation with a wide sound stage thanks to their larger than average size earbud shells, much larger than similar spec earbuds such as the S0 earphones, Delta IEMs or Blu-100 earbuds.
Accessories-wise, the Koel earphones come with a fabric zip up hard-shell case where you can store the earphones and the other included accessories like the shirt clip and silicone tips of different sizes to fit different size ear canals.
Talking about eartips, they are a very underrated part of earphones. Wearing the wrong size eartip can make a good sounding pair of earphones sound not as good so it's nice that Brainwavz also includes a pair of foam tips along with the silicone tips since foam eartips do a better job at isolating noise because they seal the ear canal completely, which means better bass response.
Brainwavz includes a pair of Comply foam T-100 tips which are some of the best foam tips you can buy but it's worth knowing that Comply foam tips come with different bore hole (core) sizes to fit  specific nozzles of earphones.
The T-100 tips for instance have a 3mm core size while the T-500 tips have a 4.5 mm core size. If in doubt, it's worth checking out the Comply Compatibility chart.

Extremely portable and surprisingly powerful, Bluetooth speakers offer a very convenient way of listening to music without having to be tethered to anything!
Whether running, cycling, fishing, sailing, kayaking or boating, Bluetooth speakers are a great, especially if they are as compact and superb sounding as the Anker Soundcore Icon
The Soundcore Icon is everything you could ever want from a wireless bluetooth speaker. It's easy to carry, sporty, comes with a long lasting rechargeable battery and even floats when dropped in water so it won't sink.
The Soundcore Icon, along with the Icon Mini, are Anker's lightest compact speakers even lighter than the Motion Q speaker which weighs 416 grams. The Soundcore Icon weighs 355 grams and measures 8cm long, 6cm thick and 5cm high when laid flat on its side, making it one of the smallest Bluetooth 5.0 portable speakers you can buy today.
With Bluetooth 5.0, the Soundcore Icon speaker uses the latest version of Bluetooth wireless technology so you get even better battery life and stronger (more stable) Bluetooth signal than with the previous Bluetooth 4.2 version.
With that said, to get close to 12 hours playtime, the Soundcore Icon speaker has to be connected to a smartphone or device running Bluetooth 5.0 such as the iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Oneplus 5T, or iPhone 8.
Depending on which Bluetooth version your device is running, you can get anywhere from 9 to 12 hours of playtime on 70% volume. There is no disputing though the amazing battery life of the Soundcore Icon, considering that the bigger 16W Soundcore Sport XL speaker delivers 15 hours of battery life.
When the battery runs flat, it recharges within 3 hours via 5V/1A input. If you cannot recharge the battery, you can tether the Soundcore Icon speaker via its audio socket to the headphone jack of a smartphone via a 3.5mm male to 3.5mm male audio cable, which is not included (a micro USB charging cable is included though).
It's worth keeping in mind that many newer smartphones don't have a headphone jack; hence you won't be able to benefit from wired mode with the Soundcore Icon. The built-in microphone in the Soundcore Icon delivers clear amplified voice without distortions and minimal background noise, making it great for speakerphone calls.
The user control buttons have raised symbols so they are easy to identify although the buttons have to be hardly pressed-on to operate. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as it prevents the speaker from being powered-on by accident inside a bag or backpack. The Bluetooth button is the pair button, the plus button is the volume up button, the minus button is the volume down button and "d" button is the play/pause button, as well as the skip track button.
It's nice that the Soundcore Icon also features True-wireless-Stereo (TWS) so you can hook it up to another Soundcore Icon to double the output power. Saying this, it would be neat if the TWS feature worked across all TWS models (i.e. Flare, Motion Q, Icon Mini) so you could hook up, say, the Icon with the Icon Mini in True-wireless-Stereo mode.
The Soundcore Icon outputs 10 Watts RMS of total power (volume) which sounds a lot louder than you expect for such a small speaker and not far behind the 16W Motion Q speaker. Treble and bass frequencies are nicely complimented with clear, detailed sound.
The Soundcore Icon speaker has a cylindrical shape with a rubberized circumference and a rubber loop strap attachment that swivels 120 degrees. The Soundcore Icon speaker shell is strongly made and capable of withstanding rough handling and damage when dropped or knocked thanks to a 1.5 meter shockproof rating.
The actual grill of the Icon speaker is made of metal covered with the same type of fabric material seen on the Soundcore Flare speaker and Flare Plus speaker.
A thick rubber grommet protects the micro USB charging port and 3.5mm audio socket. The rubber grommet design of the Soundcore Icon speaker is seamless so it blends nicely with the contour of the speaker.
IPX7 water resistance technically means it can be submerged up to 1 meter in water for 30 minutes but this isn't always the case for all manufacturers. Take for instance, the Apple Watch Series 1 and Apple Watch (1st generation), both have an IPX7 rating but Apple doesn't recommend submerging them under water which makes you question the IPX7 water resistance rating of the Apple Watch Series 1 and Apple Watch (1st generation).
With the Soundcore Icon speaker though, you get proper IPX7 waterproofing (same as the Sport XL speaker and Motion B speaker) so the Soundcore Icon speaker can be properly submerged up to 1 meter in water for 30 minutes.
IPX7 rating is the same waterproofing rating most speaker showers have and thanks to the rubber loop strap you can hang the Soundcore Icon speaker from a shower tap or bike handlebar without worrying about water splashes and rain downpours.
It's worth pointing out though that immersion is not the same as submersion which means under water so, you wouldn't be able to take the Soundcore Icon swimming or scuba diving for instance. IPX7 protection also makes the Soundcore Icon speaker dustproof so you don't have to worry about sand or dust getting in the internal components of the speaker when on the beach or dirty environment.

Down of water-birds (waterfowls) is a fantastic natural fluffy insulator used in the making of the popular down feather jacket.
Compared to regular winter jackets, down filled jackets do a better job at keeping you cushty warm; however, the problem with down jackets is that birds get harmed in the process of getting their feathers, making down jackets a hard choice for those with a conscious.
Fortunately though, there are down alternative winter jackets such as the Outdoor Vitals LoftTek Adventure Jacket which is down free but performs very much like a high-fill power down jacket regaining its loftiness (fluffiness) even after being compressed inside a backpack.
The Outdoor Vitals LoftTek Adventure Jacket is made of 525+ fill power synthetic down made to mimic the water resistance of waterfowl down and feathers although no man-made synthetic really comes close to the mighty insulating powers of waterfowl down.