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• Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

  

  Simply amazing!

  Written by MB

  17-Dec-2008

  I'm an audio engineer with 18 years experience, well trained hearing, and I know my way around an IEC 711 coupler. Among other t…Read morehings, I've had extensive experience with high-end in-ear headphone design. So, I feel like I can offer some objective comments about the Apple In-Ear Headphones.
  
  Tone quality is nearly neutral - music comes through basically as it was recorded. The reproduction is brutally honest, and you will find that low bit-rates and bad recordings sound like what they are. The bass is definitely rock solid, and goes far below 20 Hz - but it is extremely tight and controlled. Those of you who expect unnaturally heavy, boomy bass may be disappointed. Mids are clean, transparent and smooth. The highs are amazingly extended, open and effortless. Audible distortion is vanishingly low, and dynamic range is excellent.
  
  Price/performance is simply unbeatable. These phones are absolutely capable of outperforming competitive models 4x the cost. That Apple is able to provide true 2-way dual balanced-armature phones, with this level of audio performance, at this price point, boggles the mind.
  
  Since these are in-ear phones, they must be inserted correctly to work. ANY air leak will kill bass performance and shift tone quality harshly toward the midrange. You must use the right eartips, your ear canals have to be reasonably close to a round shape, and clean (ie no tufts of hair, dried skin or earwax, etc.... ewwww, sorry) for a good, air-tight seal. If they are inserted too deep, or not deep enough, response will change and sound quality will suffer.
  
  Also because they are in-ear phones, some sound can be conducted through the cable and may become audible. Conductive sounds your body makes will be louder as well - chewing, breathing, swallowing and so forth are sometimes audible. For most people this is not a serious issue. Hearing aids and earplugs do this too.
  
  Yes, they're not compatible with everything, and that is a valid issue for those who would like to use their 3G iPhone with them. This is a known issue, and Apple details what products are fully compatible with these headphones. It could be that a software update will solve this problem - and even if it doesn't, you knew about it..... Quit griping.
  
  A stunning achievement, Apple. I am very impressed.
  

  (2298 of 2474 people found this review useful)

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• Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

  

  Better than Sonys

  Written by JM from GREENVILLE

  23-Dec-2008

  I've been using a set of Sony MDR EX70LPs for about 5 years. Great product, once you get used to having a speaker jammed in your …Read moreear. I usually wound up fiddling with them a bit after 30 minutes of so, they seem to slightly irritate my ear.But the bass is so much better than conventional buds or phones (I've tried countless Sony, Yamaha, every brand under the sun). A few months ago, I wondered if Sony had improved the product any and bought a set of MDR-EX81LPs. Slightly better phones, but more awkward to wear.
  
  So when I heard I was getting an iPod touch for Christmas, I figured I would order a set of these and give them a shot. Got the phones two days before Christmas, decided to try them out on my 5g iPod. Plugged them in and turned on iTunes, awaiting sonic nirvana.
  
  But...no bass. None, zip, zilch, nada.
  OK, so, something isn't right. The medium rubber pieces seem a little loose, maybe I need to try the other ones. I open the capsule with the others...but they look smaller. Then I notice the label on the capsule, and pull open the other side, marked L, swap in the bigger rubber pieces, pop the phones back in, and...
  
  Oooooooooooh yeeeeeeaaaaaaah. That's what I was looking for. Some hip hop. Yep, plenty of bass. Norah Jones - perfect female vocals. Guns'n'Roses - guitar works.
  
  As is the case with all in-ears I've tried, they telegraph a lot of noise from wire movement, but that's controllable somewhat depending on how you wear them. And as another review pointed out, wearing them while eating will sound horrible.
  
  These are the best-sounding headphones I have ever owned. I haven't compared them to the Etymotic Research, but they are much more comfortable than either of the Sonys - I've had them in for an hour and haven't touched them.
  
  If you try these and can't stand in-ears, or if you have odd-sized or shaped ears, that's a shame. If you try them and think they don't have any bass, you need to try the larger pads - when they seal to your ear, these things go as low as any speaker I have ever heard, and I can't even begin to turn my iPod up all the way (though admittedly I don't have any hearing damage, as some other 35-year-olds do).

  (753 of 896 people found this review useful)

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• Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

  

  Sweet music to my ears...

  Written by SG from Lakewood

  12-Dec-2008

  These are best earphones I've ever had. I've had sonys, the stock iPod buds, the previous generation of apple in-ear buds, and so…Read moreme others and by far these are purely AWESOME.
  
  On the first listen, I thought they were just OK, but after a while I truly got to experience all the different sounds and how well these earphones produced them. Bass is amazing (although, it seemed to need just a bit more boom - but that might just be me :) Treble is great too. These do seriously sound like several-hundred-dollar earbuds. Also, these are the MOST COMFORTABLE earphones ever. I almost don't even notice them in my ears - they are that amazing - while they still provide a firm fit so movement doesn't dislodge them.
  
  Packaging is beautiful, the additional silicone tips are a huge plus, and the added mesh caps are a nice touch.
  
  My only issue is the lack of volume control for iPhone. Hopefully that'll come at some point?
  
  
  

  (658 of 798 people found this review useful)

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