strogg
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2003
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I figured I'll put this review here not because the earphone is really hi-fi (it's the antithesis, actually), but because it might amuse you guys. So here goes:
Company: Otto Communications
Name: Earphone Kit (Surveillance Accessory)
Website: http://www.ottoeng.com/comm/surveill...arphonekit.htm
Price: $46 +Shipping
It started when my scanner radio was my source of portable entertainment. After some months of use, I wanted a set of low profile headphones, so low profile that I won't even know it's there. The earbuds i was using at the time sucked, in fact the cords would always get tugged on and would annoy the heck out of me when i turn my head. So I figured that I need to look for a better set of earphones. After some searching, I found the perfect choice: the secret service type earbuds. Not only are they low profile, they look cool!
Here's the physical description: the set comes in several parts (all assembled on delivery). First is a breakaway audio signal cord so you can replace the cord if you break it, or if you need a longer or one of those springy cords. The second part is the earphone driver itself. It's attached to the third part, the clip, which then attaches to your shirt on the back of your neck. The fourth part is the most important part: the clear kevlar acoustic tube that goes from the driver to your ear. The clear tube lets the sound waves travel through the tube to your ear, where there's a nice cushiony thing (last part) that can either be open air, plug up your ear, or really plug up your ear (like those polyurethane ear plugs). The one I got is the default one, the plug up the ear but not like the polyurethane.
Comfort level: It took a while to get used to it. My ear would itch a little at first since I'm not used to having plastic stuck in my ear canal. But the biggest plus side is that it will never come out, and after a while of wearing it, you'll forget there even anything in your ear. there's no tug whatsoever when you turn your head, and there's no annoying cord to worry about.
Build: it's rock solid. the first revision is prone to being broken, but the second revision is much better and is secured all around. I don't think i'll ever break the second revision (I actually broke the first)
Acoustic quality: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! you know the $.99 earphone thing that radio shack sells? yeah, it sounds like that. There's absolutely no depth in the sound at all, and the driver will always max out at very high volumes (although you'd never go that high unless you have music playing from your mp3 player). If you ignore the muddiness, the driver is relatively bright and has a nice deep thumpy bass for its size.
Acoustic quality continued: Well, let's give the earbud another shot. The original purpose of the earbud is to let radio users (like me) to be able to hear human voices over a transmission and understand them w/o problems. That explains for the funny frequency responses and the tonality of the earbuds. But does it actually do well? I compared it to the quality coming from my SR80 that's also plugged into the radio (Icom ICR2) using a Y connector. The audio that's coming from the SR80 is clear and concise, but so is the static and noise coming from the radio. Using the earbuds, the noise isn't as apparent and I can hear the people easier. But on a very staticy channel, I was able to comprehend the people just fine with my SR80, although all I heard from the earbuds are static and mumbling. So maybe they're really that bad, although what would you expect from an acoustical tube like that?
The looks: I sure got many heads turned when I walk around with those things on at school. Many people just don't notice me wearing them (or just ignore me), but if they do, it makes the top conversational piece. I think it looks really cool and sleek, while others out there don't really comment on the looks, but rather on the utility.
other notes: unlike the sr80, the earbuds won't ever give me any listening fatigue whatsoever.
Summary:
Good: the looks and the comfort can't be beat. It's an ingenious design
Bad: the audio quality sucks for the price
Ugly: the first revision is very fragile, although it's been fixed
Overall: if you're willing to pay $50 for the looks and low profile, go for it. otherwise, leave the phones to the secret service.
Company: Otto Communications
Name: Earphone Kit (Surveillance Accessory)
Website: http://www.ottoeng.com/comm/surveill...arphonekit.htm
Price: $46 +Shipping
It started when my scanner radio was my source of portable entertainment. After some months of use, I wanted a set of low profile headphones, so low profile that I won't even know it's there. The earbuds i was using at the time sucked, in fact the cords would always get tugged on and would annoy the heck out of me when i turn my head. So I figured that I need to look for a better set of earphones. After some searching, I found the perfect choice: the secret service type earbuds. Not only are they low profile, they look cool!
Here's the physical description: the set comes in several parts (all assembled on delivery). First is a breakaway audio signal cord so you can replace the cord if you break it, or if you need a longer or one of those springy cords. The second part is the earphone driver itself. It's attached to the third part, the clip, which then attaches to your shirt on the back of your neck. The fourth part is the most important part: the clear kevlar acoustic tube that goes from the driver to your ear. The clear tube lets the sound waves travel through the tube to your ear, where there's a nice cushiony thing (last part) that can either be open air, plug up your ear, or really plug up your ear (like those polyurethane ear plugs). The one I got is the default one, the plug up the ear but not like the polyurethane.
Comfort level: It took a while to get used to it. My ear would itch a little at first since I'm not used to having plastic stuck in my ear canal. But the biggest plus side is that it will never come out, and after a while of wearing it, you'll forget there even anything in your ear. there's no tug whatsoever when you turn your head, and there's no annoying cord to worry about.
Build: it's rock solid. the first revision is prone to being broken, but the second revision is much better and is secured all around. I don't think i'll ever break the second revision (I actually broke the first)
Acoustic quality: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! you know the $.99 earphone thing that radio shack sells? yeah, it sounds like that. There's absolutely no depth in the sound at all, and the driver will always max out at very high volumes (although you'd never go that high unless you have music playing from your mp3 player). If you ignore the muddiness, the driver is relatively bright and has a nice deep thumpy bass for its size.
Acoustic quality continued: Well, let's give the earbud another shot. The original purpose of the earbud is to let radio users (like me) to be able to hear human voices over a transmission and understand them w/o problems. That explains for the funny frequency responses and the tonality of the earbuds. But does it actually do well? I compared it to the quality coming from my SR80 that's also plugged into the radio (Icom ICR2) using a Y connector. The audio that's coming from the SR80 is clear and concise, but so is the static and noise coming from the radio. Using the earbuds, the noise isn't as apparent and I can hear the people easier. But on a very staticy channel, I was able to comprehend the people just fine with my SR80, although all I heard from the earbuds are static and mumbling. So maybe they're really that bad, although what would you expect from an acoustical tube like that?
The looks: I sure got many heads turned when I walk around with those things on at school. Many people just don't notice me wearing them (or just ignore me), but if they do, it makes the top conversational piece. I think it looks really cool and sleek, while others out there don't really comment on the looks, but rather on the utility.
other notes: unlike the sr80, the earbuds won't ever give me any listening fatigue whatsoever.
Summary:
Good: the looks and the comfort can't be beat. It's an ingenious design
Bad: the audio quality sucks for the price
Ugly: the first revision is very fragile, although it's been fixed
Overall: if you're willing to pay $50 for the looks and low profile, go for it. otherwise, leave the phones to the secret service.
