At $19.99, the Mee Audio KidJamz are the least expensive kids' headphones we've tested to date.
They make some concessions to hit this price, primarily a lightweight plastic design that frankly looks a bit cheap.
But from an audio quality perspective, they sound surprisingly good for the price.
In fact, they sound good enough that we'd give them a higher rating if it weren't for the fact that the switch to turn off the volume limiter is far too easy to toggle, exposing your children to potentially unsafe volume levels.
Design
Available in black, pink, or purple, the KidJamz are circumaural (over-ear) lightweight headphones that form a solid-enough seal to block out a decent amount of a room's ambient sound passively.
The earpads are fairly comfortable, but the headband has absolutely no padding—it's just hard, cheap-looking plastic.
While the KidJamz aren't going to win any visual design awards, they do manage to resemble grown-up headphones to a degree—there are no kid-centric graphics or characters emblazoned on the exterior, for instance.
Part of the reason for the low price is the lack of extras—these aren't wireless headphones, and the cable is hardwired.
Beyond that, the cable also lacks an inline remote control and microphone.
This lack of extras makes the recessed volume limiter switch on the left earpiece all the more frustrating.
The one control available actually lets your child to raise the volume to quite loud, not-at-all limited levels that can put their hearing at risk.
It allows for the very thing kids' headphones are designed to prevent.
It's also worth keeping in mind that even when the volume limiter is on, the 85dB limit is more of a goal than a set level—the ultimate volume will depend on what sound source is used.
Some phones have louder internal amplifiers than others, and thus, the volume of the headphones will be louder as well.
This is why setting an additional hard volume limit within the settings of your music source is highly recommended.
Performance
In volume-limited mode, with an iPhone 6s set to maximum volume, the KidJamz still get somewhat loud.
They're not alarmingly loud—it's possible that the levels are beyond 85dB, but I wouldn't think by too much.
And the bass depth is surprisingly solid—on tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the headphones deliver some impressive thump.
The bass doesn't overwhelm the mix, but it is definitely more solid here than on many of the kids' headphones we've tested.
The bass depth even at lower levels still feels solid.
Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the general sound signature.
The drums on this track can sound overly thunderous on bass-boosted headphones, but through the KidJamz the drums get a modest boosting—there's some added body and depth, but nothing that makes the drums sound heavy.
Callahan's baritone vocals receive enough richness in the low-mids to sound full here, and there's a solid balance of higher frequency presence.
We prefer a slightly crisper high-mid presence here, but things never sound muffled.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop receives enough high-mid presence for its attack to retain its punchiness, though again, a little more high-mids might add some clarity.
The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with solid depth here—nothing too intense, but the bass doesn't sound weak, either.
The vocals on this track are delivered with solid clarity and no added sibilance.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, receive just the slightest hint of boosting in the lows, pushing the lower register information forward in the mix ever so slightly.
Generally speaking, this is a brighter-sounding recording, but the high-mids once again feel slightly dialed back here.
That said, classical (and sometimes jazz) recordings can sound quieter because they aren't as dynamically compressed and limited (which ultimately allows the perceived overall volume of the mix to be higher).
Thus, volume limitation concerns on tracks like this are not an issue in the slightest.
Conclusions
The Mee Audio KidJamz deliver solid audio performance, with richer bass depth than we've heard in most of the kids' headphones we tested.
But if your kid toggles that recessed volume switch, these become regular, loud headphones.
It's hard for me to get behind that decision, but if it doesn't bother you, add a star to the score you see at the top of the page.
Otherwise, our Editors' Choice headphones, the JBL JR300BT, also deliver strong audio quality with volume that can't be increased above 85dB.
They're more than twice the price at $50, but that's a small price to pay for the reassurance they provide.
The Bottom Line
The wired Mee Audio KidJamz headphones deliver solid audio for an inexpensive price, but have a design that can easily be toggled to raise volume to dangerous levels.
