Rock Jaw's back with a new pair of headphones: the Clarito. Priced at roughly Rs. 2,400, they are exactly the same as Rock Jaw's flagship headphones, the Alfa Genus V2, with one key difference — these are tuned to the highs at high volumes and offer natural sound at lower volume levels.
Look and feel
Much like the Alfa Genus V2, Rock Jaw has gone all metal with the Clarito. Finished in a gunmetal grey, the headphones are light and feature Rock Jaw's excellent tangle-free cables. Out of the box, the earphones pack four pairs of silicone ear tips, a pouch to store them in and a clip to secure the headphones to one's clothing. Unlike the Alfa Genus V2s, the Clarito doesn't come with a mic.
Sound
When we tried out the Alfa Genus V2s, we said the sound cut like a knife and the Clarito is no exception to that. While Rock Jaw says the Clarito is tuned to offer a flat, neutral sound, we found it to really lack detail in the lows when the volume is cranked up. We even tried it with different pairs of eartips just to rule out sound leakage and to us, the Clarito offers exceptional sound tuned to the highs.
Compared to the Alfa Genus V2 with treble filters on, we found the sound to be almost identical. We listened to several rounds of "It's a wonderful life" by Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution and not only did we find the Clarito tuned perfectly for music like this, after a point, we weren't sure whether we were listening on the Clarito or the Alfa Genus V2.
Read more: Rock Jaw Alfa Genus V2 IBT Review
The highs were crisp, the mids were clear, but the lows on the Clarito lack any real character. In fact, listening to Iron Maiden's "If eternity should fail" on the Clarito was rather underwhelming. Not being able to listen to Steve Harris' really takes away from the Iron Maiden experience.
However, turning the volume down just a little bit changes things; suddenly Steve Harris makes a bold, albeit quieter appearance, which begs the question: Are the Clarito two pairs of headphones in one? With the volume turned down, the highs and mids remain just a separated and the bass is given more prominence.
Read More: Evidson X55: The best budget ear buds we've tested so far
Verdict
There's very little to complain about the Claritos, they live up to the name and offer clear sound across volume levels. It's very interesting to observe the change in audio signature as the volume varies and in a way, by making the Clarito sound better at lower volumes, Rock Jaw seems to be saving users' hearing.
