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Recommend me an iPhone headset, please

post #1 of 16
6/12/09 at 10:39am
Thread Starter 
Hi Guys,

My office lately has been very noisy and have started using ear plugs to help me focus. I would like to get myself a Headset (mic included) for my iPhone. Here are the requirements:

iPhone compatible headset (not just a headphone, also has a mic)

Budget is between 100-150 but I can stretch to 200 if I must.

Decent amount of isolation, higher the better, but there is a caveat - years ago I owned an Etymotic ER4P and I found the triflanges were uncomfortable and the sound was not so great as to put up with it. Further I am a manager and have people frequently in my office so I should be able to take it out and put it back with ease, Etys big ritual of moistening the flanges before inserting them is not going to work.

Sound quality needs to be good of course, because at home I own a HD-650 driven by a Twisted Pear Buffalo source and PPA amp, so you know, I am descerning.

Please help me find the right product.

Thanks,
Dinesh
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post #2 of 16
6/12/09 at 10:46am
Honestly, the best solution is probably the apple IEMs made for the iPhone. The dual driver ones.

Apple - iPod - In-Ear Headphones
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post #3 of 16
6/12/09 at 10:48am
Apple makes an IEM with a mic.
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post #4 of 16
6/12/09 at 10:50am
The best I can think of in that price range would be the Phonak Audeo PFE with the Mic version. The only drawbacks on them would be that they do not isolate overly well at all; but that can be alleviated somewhat by using Shure Olive foams. It's part of my work rig as well for times I need average isolation (for office they should provide more than enough isolation; they just don't do well in high noise surroundings like a bus or a train). Highly recommended.

Or you could get a lower end Shures and get their Mic Adaptor. Plus for Shures would be that they isolate a whole lot better, but their sound will be inferior to the Phonaks.

Some other suggestions (with mic) are:

-Apple Dual Driver In-Ear Monitors
-UE Metro-fi Series
-Nuforce NE-7M

Good luck!
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post #5 of 16
6/12/09 at 11:40am
Thread Starter 
fjrabon, 3602,
Thanks for recommending Apple IEM. You guys have probably tried it, how is the isolation? I could not find any mention on Apple site about their ability to isolate.

Considering that the product is from Apple who believe in charging premiums and that it is priced at $79, makes me wonder a bit.
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post #6 of 16
6/12/09 at 11:43am
Thread Starter 
K_19,

Thanks for your recommendation, how much does the Shure Olive foams cost. Does it fit comfortably?. Phonak is around $160? I have seen a few very favourable threads on this here. It is on my shortlist.
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post #7 of 16
6/12/09 at 11:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dviswa View Post
K_19,

Thanks for your recommendation, how much does the Shure Olive foams cost. Does it fit comfortably?. Phonak is around $160? I have seen a few very favourable threads on this here. It is on my shortlist.
No probs.

The Olives here in Canada cost around $20 for a pack of 10 (so 5 sets), but that's at MSRP so I'm sure you can find something for much cheaper than that. They are known as one of the most comfortable and well isolating foam tips out there, so you need not worry there. The only thing is that the nozzle on the Phonaks are slightly wider than the hole on the Olive foams, but with some stretching it fits without a problem.
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post #8 of 16
6/12/09 at 1:49pm
Thread Starter 
BTW, UE claims isolation of 16db for UE Metro-Fi 220vi.

That level of isolation is on the low side, I think.
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post #9 of 16
6/12/09 at 2:05pm
It's isolation was decent to good, about the same as any of the non-foam single rubber tip type IEMs.

I bought some SHURE IEMs for my iPhone a while back (don't remember the model right off the top of my head) and I thought they were appreciably better than those, and the SHUREs cost 30 bucks more and didn't have the functioning buttons (it was just a microphone with no click button).

To be fair, I only tried these (the new dual driver apple IEMs) out with my friend's iTouch, as I no longer have my iPhone.
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post #10 of 16
6/12/09 at 2:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dviswa View Post
BTW, UE claims isolation of 16db for UE Metro-Fi 220vi.

That level of isolation is on the low side, I think.
That's probably with the stock silicons, which usually don't isolate as well as the foam tips. For UE IEM's you can get foam tips that match their canal to increase their isolation levels (Shure e2c foams should do the job nicely).
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post #11 of 16
6/12/09 at 2:50pm
I've been using V-Moda Vibe Duo's since I got my 1st gen iPhone as there weren't many other options, I liked them, but recently made a trip over to the IEM section here on head-fi and of course, spent money lol.

I got my NuForce NE-7M's a few days later and just *love* them. The button is a bit weird compared to the V-Moda's and the button is on the left ear-piece instead of the right, so that'll take some getting used to, but a few test calls revealed that the mic is a bit clearer so that's a plus, and I feel that the isolation of the provided foam tips is *much* greater than that of the V-Moda's, and these have just so much more control of the music it seems, it's not muddy anymore, it's nice and clear in comparison, and the bass is *much* better.

So that's my take, hope it helps. I'm very happy with the NE-7M's :P
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post #12 of 16
6/12/09 at 3:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fjrabon View Post
Honestly, the best solution is probably the apple IEMs made for the iPhone. The dual driver ones.

Apple - iPod - In-Ear Headphones
"The remote and mic are supported only by iPod nano (4th generation), iPod classic (120GB), and iPod touch (2nd generation). The remote is supported by iPod shuffle (3rd generation). Audio is supported by all iPod models."
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post #13 of 16
6/12/09 at 4:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirsier View Post
"The remote and mic are supported only by iPod nano (4th generation), iPod classic (120GB), and iPod touch (2nd generation). The remote is supported by iPod shuffle (3rd generation). Audio is supported by all iPod models."
Ooo, I did not realize that this is not compatible with iPhone. Thanks Squirsier, that nixes this as an option. After reading your note, I went over to apple site and found Ultimate Ears super.fi 4vi for iPhone street priced at about 120-130 and offers 25db isolation. Any thoughts on its sound quality?
Mic quality etc.?
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post #14 of 16
6/12/09 at 4:11pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks Optional for a second vote on NuForce NE-7M. Nice to see $50 stuff is holding its own. We on Head-fi spend far too much on audio
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post #15 of 16
6/12/09 at 4:14pm
There's the Super-.fi 5vi also above that model, and in the IEM/portable forum here on Head-fi people said that the NuForce NE-7M was better, at 1/3 the price even.

I was researching this a few days ago is all so those were my findings, and I really do like the NE-7M's, of course I got Grado SR-80i's the day afterward, so that's what I've been listening to heh.
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