Westone 4 earbuds: Beatweek Best of Show 2011

We thought 2011 would be the year in which we no longer even bothered covering earbud or headphone products which don’t come with at least the option of iPad-iPhone-iPod controls built in, let alone allow them to be eligible for award. Then we heard the newly debuted Westone 4 earbuds and decided to make one last exception. The “4″ in the name is officially because these earbuds have four drivers built into them, creating a listening experience so stunning that you’d absolutely swear you were wearing full-size cup style headphones. Of course the “4″ in the name of the Westone 4 also hints that the product is set to cost north of four hundred dollars, debuting at $449.

But here are two reasons why the Westone 4 is worth considering, even if you generally rely on earbuds with built in mics and buttons. One is that they sound so impossibly brilliant that we suddenly no longer like their predecessor, the three-driver Westone 3, which had previously represented the best earbud audio experience we’d ever heard. The other is that if you can afford $449 earbuds at all, then you can probably afford to buy the Westone 4 for home music-listening use along with some other lesser earbuds with built-in mic and buttons for outside the home. To that end, Westone has also just introduced the T1, which is a mic-enabled version of its single-driver Westone 1 earbuds. So if you’ve got the dough to afford it all, enjoy. The Westone 4 really is something special, and as such, it’s one of our Beatweek Best of Show winners at CES 2011.

SOUL by Ludacris headphones + earbuds set for hopping debut: CES 2011

Ludacris is about to get his own signature headphones thanks to Signeo USA. Debuting at CES 2011 this week in Las Vegas, the SOUL lineup is set to include noise canceling headphones (model SL300), standard headphones (SL150 and SL100), and in-ear earbuds (SE99 and SE49). Chris “Ludacris” Bridges is a popular hip hop artist and actor. The debut of his signature headphones follows a trend in which other artists ranging from Dr. Dre to Diddy to Lady Gaga have recently gotten their own lines, although the Ludacris headphones are the first to come from Signeo. Beatweek staff are on-site at CES this week and will provide hands-on (and ears-on) coverage of these and other audio products.

review: Lift Audio Icon in-ear earbuds

by Bill Palmer

Even the most inexpensive of in-ear earbuds nearly always offer an improvement in audio quality over the earbuds which come bundled with the iPod, and the new Icon earbuds from Lift Audio attempt to prove that with a price tag of a mere $29. Icon is also intriguing due to the fact that the buds are tiny and so lightweight as to feel essentially weightless. Black with silver chrome trim, they’ve got a styling that’s understated yet fancier looking than I’ve come to expect at this price point.

Of course the real test of any earbuds, even (perhaps especially) with inexpensive ones, is how they sound. Someone who’s accustomed to using $100 in-ear earbuds would describe the Icon’s sound as being comparatively dry, lacking any real expansiveness in the audio experience. But someone who’s only ever known the iPod’s bundled earbuds, and who doesn’t have the budget to invest in $100 or even $50 earbuds, will be impressed with the the Icon, particularly in that they sound good in both the high and low ranges, whereas so many cheap in-ear earbuds offer either no bass or bad bass.

The catch here, and it’s a dealbreaker for plenty of iPod and probably all iPhone users, is that Lift Audio hasn’t included any on-board controls at all. No mic, no play-pause button, no volume buttons. You can’t take phone calls, and all music control has to be done directly on the device itself. And that’s a shame, because I’ve tested at even half this price which come with a simple built-in mic and button. But if you don’t care about on-board controls anyway and you’ve got $29 to invest in improving your iPod’s audio experience, the Lift Audio Icon is a nice way to go – made even nicer by the fact that you can currently get them for $25 on Amazon.

price: $29 • Amazon.com

review: Woodees Vintage earbuds for iPhone and iPod

by Bill Palmer

Wooden earbuds, once a rare novelty, are becoming more popular and with good reason: they have a noticeably more natural sound to them than standard earbuds housings do. The latest spin on wooden earbuds comes from the appropriately named Woodees Vintage which – surprise – comes with three buttons and a microphone, rare for its $69 price point.

But before you even get to listening to them, the Woodees Vintage jumps out due to their obviously wooden styling, which includes a gold-orange-brown-black gradient on the buds and keeps the earth tone theme intact with its gold cabling and black trim throughout. They’re the kind of earbuds you hope will sound good, because otherwise the awesome styling would be a waste. But as it turns out, these are the clearest-sounding wooden earbuds I’ve ever tested. Of course their original $99 price tag would have made them the most expensive wooden earbuds I’ve ever tested, but their new $69 price makes them less expensive than the competing Thinksound TS02+ wooden earbuds, which I already very much like the sound of. Except the Woodees Vintage sounds better.

If you want wooden earbuds, the Woodees Vintage are the ones to go for. Audio quality, styling, price, and the fact that they have three-button controls for playback and volume for iPhone and iPod.

Just to be clear, there are $99 earbuds on the market (not wooden ones, mind you) which offer overall superior audio quality. But at $69, the Woodees Vintage is a steal, and the natural wooden kick in the audio is just a bonus.

rating: 4.5 stars out of five • price: $69 • Woodees.com

review: Thinksound TS02+mic Earbuds

These days, due to lack of interest from most iPhone and iPod users, we rarely bother reviewing earbuds that don’t come with some kind of on-board controls for playback, volume, and making calls. We made an exception back in 2009 for the Thinksound earbuds, and for one reason: they’re made of wood. This all too rare design choice gives your music a feeling of being less digital and more natural, and while that’s not for everyone, it’s nice to see the option on the market. The even better news is that Thinksound has gone back and added a mic and button to one of its earbud lines, with the result being a new generation called the TS02+.

Actually, the TS02+ has more over the previous TS01 than just the addition of on-board controls, as the already crisp audio sees improvement with the new generation. Among the various wood-based earbuds I’ve tested, the TS02+ now pretty clearly stands as the best option.

Are there drawbacks? Sure. There are competing earbuds in this price range (not made of wood) which offer better overall audio quality; in other words, you’re paying a premium here for the natural-sounding factor, which means you need to make sure it’s something you really want. And as we head into 2011, the single-button controls of the TS02+mic just barely cut it, as three-button are almost standard at this price point. But if you don’t care about the extra two buttons for volume control, and if you place a premium on the kind of natural-sounding audio from wooden earbuds, then the TS02+mic earbuds are worth consideration. As I said, they’re the best-sounding wooden earbuds I’ve tested to date.

review by Bill Palmer

rating: four stars out of five • Thinksound.com

review: Etymotic hf3 Earbuds

Not everyone is in a position to spend as much on earbuds as they did on their iPhone or iPod in the first place. But there’s a balance between price tag and audio quality, and the pinpoint of that equilibrium in 2010 is Etymotic’s hf3 earbuds. At $179 they’re clearly not in everyone’s price range (which is why our Best of 2010 awards also include value priced earbud categories). But after having tested dozens of earbud products over the years whose price tags have ranged from less than twenty dollars to more than five hundred dollars, the hf3 is our winner for 2010.

Here’s why it rates out on top: in a word, clarity. The crispness of the hf3’s sound makes it easily worth paying extra in comparison to the various $119-$129 earbud products out there, the best of which sound fantastic in their own right. But the hf3 has a clarity to its audio which not only makes the music feel complete, it also makes you believe you’re wearing full-on headphones instead of tiny earbuds.

We’ve made the decision to focus our earbud coverage only on those earbuds which offer button control (preferably three, but at least one), as iPhone and iPod users routinely tell us that’s what they’re looking for. And in that department, the hf3 delivers over its one-button hf2 predecessor by offering full three-button controls (plus a mic for phone calls and voice control) in a manner that’s both tiny and easily accessible.

rating: five stars out of five • Etymotic.com

review: Radius Atomic Bass 2+Mic Earbuds

The reason why our awards often go to brand names you’ve heard of is that those companies have generally earned their popularity for a good reason. But sometimes the best product in a category comes from an upstart vendor most users haven’t yet heard of, and that’s the case here with the Atomic Bass 2+Mic from Radius.

As the product name implies, the Atomic Bass line of earbuds has a significantly higher than usual bass-to-treble ratio, which won’t appeal to all users. But the Atomic Bass 2 stands out as our winner in this price range because you simply never encounter forty dollar earbuds with this kind of fidelity. We’re not sure if Radius knows something other vendors don’t, or if the Atomic Bass products are simply priced too cheaply for their own good. But either way, if you can’t spend the $100-$200 required to bring true high fidelity to your iPhone or iPod experience, this $39 product is a heck of a consolation prize – assuming, of course, you consider the extra bass kick to be a positive.

One lament: as is too often the case with earbuds in this price range in 2010, the Atomic Bass 2+Mic comes with a mere one button (for playback control) and mic, as opposed to the three buttons (for volume control) found on more expensive options.

rating: 4.5 stars out of five • RadiusEarphones.com

Moshi Vortex earbuds for iPhone and iPod: review

There are already plenty of strong options on the market when it comes to in-ear earbuds, but each has its own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to audio, design, styling, and added features, so my view has always been the more the merrier. I was excited, then, to test out the first earbuds from Moshi, a company whose products have generally been more the lines of iPhone cases. After testing out the Moshi Vortex, the good news is that there’s more good news than bad news.

Eighty to a hundred bucks has always been a tricky middle ground for earbuds, as there are plenty of fifty dollar options that sound great for their price, while on the other side, the hundred and twenty dollar mark means you won’t have to compromise on anything; eighty dollars means you’re still going to compromise a bit, but the product is going to have to stand out from the best fifty dollar options to warrant paying a relative premium. So the good news is that the Vortex sounds noticeably better than any $50 earbuds I’ve tested. But they do sound a little drier than the competing $89 Ultimate Ears MetroFi 220vi, so based purely on sound quality, that makes the Vortex above-average its price point, but not the best. Then again, it’s a relatively weak crop of options at the price point to begin with.

The triangular shape of the Vortex earbud posts is unique and looks interesting, so that’s a potential plus. Unfortunately the comfort isn’t quite there, owing to the fact that the backing is too thick right next to the earbud, which is not good news for users with smaller ear canals (users with bigger ear canals likely won’t notice the difference). The inclusion of foam tips in addition to rubber is rare at this price point and good news, but the one set of foam tips is very large and not easily squishable, making them among the less comfortable foam tips I’ve used. These details suggest the Vortex may not have been tested on users with small ear canals.

My advice is still to save up any extra $40 and look at one of the $120 options out there. But at the same time, the $80 Moshi Vortex does provide additional value over the best competing $50 earbud products out there. Three button controls instead of one button would be nice, but again, three buttons is rare for under $100.

rating: 3.5 out of five stars • Moshimonde.com

Monster’s Diddybeats earbuds: hands on review

Once Monster and Beats by Dr. Dre successfully launched the era of headphones being designed to the audible and stylistic tastes of a certain musician, you knew there was no going back. Lady GaGa has her Heartbeats, and now Diddy with Diddybeats. At $179, the Diddybeats are priced the same as Monster’s Beats by Dr. Dre Tour, so it’s no surprise that in my hands-on tests I found the two to offer largely similar audio quality. When listening to some music genres the Diddybeats felt like they offered fuller, thumpier bass while the Beats Tour offered clearer treble. But the differences were on the slight side, and with some less-rangy genres, I felt like I was listening to the same set of earbuds twice. And that’s not a bad thing, because the Beats Tour are one of the better $179 earbud options on the market to begin with.

The bigger differentiation comes in the physical styling. While both employ flat earbud cables which resemble a big rubber band, the Diddybeats eschew Dre’s bright red cabling and highlights in favor of a nearly all-black styling, with just bits of silver highlights here and there, creating a much more understated theme (also available in white and powder pink models, not tested).

But the functional difference is with the bud design. The truncated cone shape of the Diddybeats runs too close up against the rubber buds, making them less comfortable than the Beats Tour, at least for those users with smaller ears. This surprising flaw makes the Diddybeats a little less recommendable than the Beats Tour, hence Diddy only earns four stars out of five instead of the 4.5 that Dre’s earbuds earned. But if your ears are on the larger side then you have nothing to worry about, as the Diddybeats sound excellent and easily earn their price tag. The model I tested includes a built in mic and three buttons, which Monster refers to as ControlTalk, which allows for interaction with the latest iPhone, iPad, and iPod models, along with various other devices.

Learn more at diddybeats.com

New iPhone and iPod earbuds debut from Scosche

Let all the Apple related news this week stay focused on the company’s other mobile product line, Scosche has released four new sets of earbuds designed for use with the iPhone and iPod (and yes, they work with the shiny new iPad as well). The new earbuds from Scosche are no secret, as some of the new models made their public debut at CES 2010 back in January and again at Macworld 2010 in February. The $99 IDR655m earbuds, which feature thee buttons and a mic for volume, playback, and voice control over the latest iPhone and iPod models, were one of Beatweek Magazine’s “Best in Show” finalists.

The $54 IDR355m and IDR355md earbuds represent more economical versions of the company’s earbud line. While they both offer the same three buttons and a mic, they also each come with six different sets of interchangeable earbud caps in various colors; the difference between the two 355 models lies in the color choices. Also surfacing are the IDR305m, which will be available exclusively through Apple for $39.

iPod users have wicked choice of earbuds

Empire Brands has unveiled the new Wicked Audio line consisting of four new styles of earbuds with superior sound and aesthetic appeal. All Empire Brands earbuds include quality noise-canceling earpieces and 1.2 meters of cord for a satisfying listening experience. The first is the Wicked empire earbuds which have a unique look with skull, eight ball, ace of spades, or star and knight for $34.99. Next up is Wicked Little Buds which have a lightweight feeling and four sharp color options for $29.99. The Jaw Breakers buds have four candy theme color choices for $17.99. Last but not least are the Metallics, which are metallic-colored and affordable at $12.99. Whichever earbuds fit your style, you can find them at empirebrandsinc.com, Fry’s Electronics, and other retailers.

ChicBuds debuts DJ Sport headphones

ChicBuds has rolled out a new line of DJ Sport Headphones in pink and multicolor options. Dubbed as “headphones only the chic will love,” the collapsible headphones sell for $29.99 and are available now and are compatible with a wide variety of audio products including iPhones, iPods, and computers.

The company’s colorful literature suggests that users “dare to be breathtaking and take the plunge into color with either their hot pink or multicolor headphones. Don’t be afraid to turn up the heat; the hot pink dazzles eyes and is perfect for the edgy music lover. Their neon green, yellow, and orange colored headphones make a statement about the fun and funky tastes of their wearers.”

Learn more at ChicBuds.com.

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Tagged: ChicBuds, DJ, earbuds, headphones, iPhone, iPod

review: Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Tour

March 12, 2010 by Bill Palmer · Leave a Comment 

The popularity of the Dr. Dre-designed Monster Beats headphones made it inevitable that Dre’s product line would extend to in-ear earbuds. As such we have the Monster Beats Tour, some of the most uniquely styled earbuds I’ve ever tested. The cabling looks and feels like a big red rubber band (although thankfully without the stretchiness), the headphone jack runs flatly parallel to the top or bottom of your iPhone or iPod with no more than a quarter inch gap in between, and each earbud post is a flat round number that sits apart from the bud itself and bears the by now ubiquitous lower case “b” logo. Three button “ControlTalk” controls are on the right earbud cable.

Based just on the above description and the photo at the top, you’ve probably already decided whether you love or hate these earbuds from a design standpoint – I’ll leave that up to each of you. I will say that in my tests, the design choices didn’t interfere with usability in any way; the flat cables didn’t get tangled at all, and the flat headphone jack didn’t interfere with my ability to use my iPhone in any of the popular cases I tried it with.

But if you’re going to spend this much on an audio product, one would hope that sound quality would be your primary focus, and the Beats Tour does well here. In terms of crispness and expansiveness, the Tour offers a significantly better listening experience than even the best of competing earbuds in the $119 range. However, the Tour doesn’t quite measure up the best in its own $179 price range, as I still find the Etymotic hf2/hf3 line to be sonically superior overall, but not by much. So if you’re a fan of the Beats Tour styling, or you’re motivated by the fact that it’s currently available from Amazon for $169, or you want the three-button controls offered by the Beats Tour and you can’t wait until Etymotic’s line moves to the three-button format later this year, the Beats Tour turns out to be a really strong (if not best in class) option.

Learn more about the Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Tour at MonsterCable.com

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Filed Under: iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iTunes, Reviews
Tagged: Beats by Dr. Dre, Beats Tour, Dre, earbuds, earphones, in-ear, Monster, tour

review: Deos

March 9, 2010 by Bill Palmer · Leave a Comment 

While there are any number of vastly better-sounding third party options available, the reality is that most iPhone and iPod users stick with the earbuds that came with their device. And while carrying those (or any) earbuds in your pocket without using any form of protective case or pouch will eventually lead to their certain demise, most people do it anyway. So for those users of Apple’s earbuds who can’t bother keeping them inside something protective, Deos offers a solution that might at least slow the rate at which they get the crap beaten out of them in your pocket – and even if they don’t achieve that, they’ll at least make your earbuds look a little more stylish.

These pair of thin soft silicone rubber pieces slides onto the left and right buds of your Apple earbuds and covers the entire outer shell and stem while slightly recessing the speaker grilles. The good news is that I found them easy to slide on and to remove, and more importantly, they didn’t make wearing the Apple earbuds any less comfortable or block the grilles in a way that would affect the audio. The flipside is that my experience in testing thin silicone products is that they’re more adept at protecting against cosmetic scratches than impact-related damage, meaning that this product is realistically more about styling than it is about protection. This might be best evidenced by the fact that while the simple silicone Deos that I’ve tested here sells for a mere ten dollars, the company also offers sparking and diamond-studded versions of the product at higher prices.

My advice on iPhone and iPod earbuds remains the same: spend a few bucks and get a pouch to carry them in. Or better yet, spend twenty bucks on in-ear earbuds, and then carry them in a pouch. But if you’re more interested in making your existing earbuds look more stylish, while adding a layer of possible protection, I can report that the Deos does indeed work as advertised.

Learn more about Deos at DeosLive.com

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Filed Under: iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iTunes, Reviews
Tagged: Deos, earbuds, iPhone, iPod, protection, rubber, silicone

review: Phiaton PS 210

March 5, 2010 by Bill Palmer · 1 Comment 

Most users who’ve spent time with both in-ear earbuds (the kind that go inside your ear canal) and on-ear earbuds (like the kind that come with your iPod) will agree that in-ear runs circles around on-ear when it comes to audio quality, for the simple reason that placing the audio inside your ear canal makes for a more intimate and less degraded listening experience. So Phiaton’s description of its new PS 210 earbuds as being “half in-ear” initially sounded like a curious experiment, but one I wanted to hear. After all, it’s not every day you get to listen to an entirely new kind of earbuds.

The best way to describe the PS 210 is to imagine your iPod or iPhone’s bundled earbuds as they are, but with a rubber piece jutting out of each bud into your ear canals. While I’ve never had a comfort problem with in-ear earbuds, putting on the PS 210 immediately made me realize their best feature: for those who have never been comfortable wearing in-ear earbuds that basically rely on nothing more than suction to stay in your ears, the PS 210 does offer something a little less daunting, as the outer piece stays firmly wedged in the outer area of your ear, holding the in-ear piece in place. And as a side note, Phiaton’s bizarre decision to include almost no bass on its earlier PS 200 earbuds has been alleviated here, as the PS 210 has a nice treble-bass balance. And having some of the audio coming out of the outer bud, instead of all of it coming from the in-ear piece, makes for a nice expansive sound.

The trouble comes when you compare the $119 PS 210 to the top-rated traditional in-ear earbuds at various price points. Shure’s $119 SE115 sounds noticeably crisper and more expansive overall, and even Scosche’s $79 IDR600 sounds little better. So while Phiaton’s PS 210 is a novel idea that wears comfortably and sounds good, it’s difficult to recommend them over regular in-ear earbuds unless you’ve never liked the physical feel of wearing the latter.

Learn more about Phiaton PS 210 at Phiaton.com

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Filed Under: iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iTunes, Reviews
Tagged: earbuds, in-ear, iPod, Phiaton, PS 210, PS210

review: ZAGGsmartbuds

March 1, 2010 by Bill Palmer · 4 Comments 

You’ve got to give credit to Zagg for taking chances with its iPhone earbud designs and for continuing to refine the vision. The first Z.buds iteration was over the top ambitious “throw in the kitchen sink” effort which included so many features (volume control, a multiple of cable sliders, even a shirt button attachment) but that the result was too bulky, but it was worthy effort nonetheless. The second round of Z.buds refined those features to where they were more practical. Now, with the ZAGGsmartbuds, the concept is refined again, although this time it’s not necessarily for the better.

First things first: the audio quality of the new ZAGGsmartbuds is on par with the earlier Z.buds, which is to say that it’s near (but not at) the top of the pack when it comes to iPhone earbuds at the $79 price point – hence why the first Z.buds received four stars out of five and the second, better-designed version received four and a half.

So what of the new ZAGGsmartbuds design? It’s not “bulky” in the sense of being too large or too heavy. The rubber cables are fairly thin, after all. But where it falls down a bit is that the Y-connecter is about two-thirds of the way down the cabling, much lower than is typical with earbuds, leaving the cables split into two for the majority of their length. Sliders allow you to keep the split cables coupled together, but in this case the sliders feel like more of an attempt at compensation for an unfortunate design, as the split cables ended up repeatedly getting tangled during use (this is not a problem that I’ve generally had when testing almost any other earbuds). And while the volume slider is appreciated, I found it to be a step back from previous versions; you slide it down to a certain point with no noticeable reduction in volume at all, and then suddenly the volume drops off a cliff.

Those two design deficiencies aside, these are not a bad pair of earbuds (particularly considering that the majority of its similarly priced competitors don’t offer volume control at all, although this will have largely changed by the end of the year). In fact some of the other features are for the positive. The earbud mechanisms are angled so as to fit more comfortably in your ear, an easy trick that not enough earbud manufacturers take advantage of – straight-in buds have never bothered me, but some of our readers have reported specifically hunting down the few angled-bud products on the market because they find them to be more comfortable.

In the end, I’ve got the ZAGGsmartbuds audio quality pegged at four and a half stars: well worth the price, near the top of the food chain at the price point, and only missing the top by a fraction. In terms of design, while I appreciate the continued ambition on the part of the designers, I can’t go any higher than three and a half stars: cables getting tangled while you’re wearing them is not a common problem and seems an odd problem so suddenly creep into the third iteration of a product that didn’t have any trace of the problem the first two times around. But it wasn’t a continual problem, just a repeated one. So we average the two and come up with an overall four star rating.

As far as the volume controls, a little advice for all earbud manufacturers: it’s 2010, and earbuds made for iPhone and iPod should all come with the three-button volume and playback controls that Apple’s own bundled earbuds now come with. It was the prevailing trend among new earbuds previewed at Macworld 2010 and CES 2010, and vendors should be aware that if they don’t offer said controls, they’ll be in the minority before too long; a one-button control for iPhone users won’t cut it for much longer. Readers may also want to consider this when deciding whether to buy a new set of earbuds now or wait for what’s coming down the pike.

Learn more about ZAGGsmartbuds for iPhone at Zagg.com

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Filed Under: iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iTunes, Reviews
Tagged: earbuds, earphones, Invisible Shield, iPhone, Zagg

review: iLocket

February 22, 2010 by Bill Palmer · Leave a Comment 

If you’re tall from the waist up, you’ve probably never gotten your earbud cables tangled while wearing them. But if your ears are closer to your waist than the average earbud cable length assumes, the excess cable has nowhere to go. So the idea behind the iLocket is that you wrap up the excess cable at the Y-junction in the middle and hide it away inside a little white plastic capsule that’s about the size of a wristwatch without the band and weighs next to nothing.

Does the iLocket work? Yes. It is easy? Yes. Is it stylish looking? Eh, that’s up to each of you to decide (most passersby will probably assume that it’s some kind of advanced new earbud enhancing product, not a four dollar piece of plastic, so you may be in the clear here after all). I found that the iLocket worked equally well with the stock earbuds that come with the iPhone and iPod and my favorite set of in-ear earbuds, although I will caution you to be careful when snapping the iLocket shut, as the most expensive earbuds often come with the thinnest and most fragile of wires. And the product won’t necessarily work for you if your earbuds have their iPhone mic/button controls right the center of the Y-junction (most earbuds have it higher up on the cabling anyway, so this’ll only affect a few of you).

Some of you will view the iLocket as a solution in search of a problem, but others of you will find it useful – and it’s priced right.

Learn more about the iLocket at iLocket.net

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Tagged: cables, earbud cable management system, earbuds, earphones, iLocket, tangled

Best of Macworld: Shure SE535 SE425

February 11, 2010 by Bill Palmer · Leave a Comment 

Editor’s note: Six members of Beatweek’s editorial staff were at Macworld 2010 to report on the newly introduced products for iPhone and iPod users. Here’s one of the twelve best we found. For a full rundown of all the top new products at Macworld 2010, check out Beatweek Magazine’s February 16th issue

There are high-end earbuds and then there are “most people would have to skip a car payment or two in order to afford them” earbuds, and Shure’s new SE535 ($499) and SE425 ($299) certainly fall into the latter category. However, after spending time with both sets of earbuds in an isolated room, we’re left to conclude that both are worth their respective price tags. But what makes them winners is the fact that the cables can be removed entirely from the earbud apparatus. It’s not something you’d have reason to be doing regularly, but earbud cables often tend to wear out before the audio drivers do, and this nifty innovation allows users to replace the cables (which are cheap) while not having to re-purchase the earbuds themselves.

In our hands-on testing, the cables stayed sufficiently firmly attached to the buds that there appears to be no concern about them coming detached by accident. While the feature won’t have any impact on your usage of the product until something finally wears out down the road, it’s like a free insurance policy that at this price point could end up paying off handsomely. Our only real regret with these two products is that neither is available with iPhone or iPod specific controls like volume or a mic, as some of Shure’s less expensive earbuds have.

Read about all of Beatweek’s “Best of Show at Macworld 2010″ winners and finalists in the February 16th issue of Beatweek Magazine, which will feature a cover story interview with American Idol winner Taylor Hicks and more.

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Tagged: Beatweek, Best of Show, earbuds, earphones, Macworld 2010, Shure

review: Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10vi

February 1, 2010 by Bill Palmer · Leave a Comment 

iPhone users who are willing and able to spend whatever it takes in order to get the most pristine audio quality out of their music have long found themselves in a compromised position. While there are a number of earbuds that fall into the “so amazing sounding you’ll swear you were wearing full cup-style headphones” category, using them with your iPhone isn’t an option even if you can come up with four hundred bucks or so to pay for them. As it turns out, no earbuds above the $200 mark come with a built-in mic and button for use with an iPhone – with one exception, in the form of the $419 Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10vi.

If you’ve never heard music through $400 earbuds, there’s no real reference point; the best way I can paint the picture is to say that none of the usual superlatives like “incredible” or “pristine” have any hope of being sufficiently accurate. You’ll hear new intricacies in your favorite music that you’ve never previously noticed, and the overall audio experience is so expansive it’ll leave you so spoiled that any subsequent attempt to listen to less expensive earbuds will leave the music suddenly sounding oddly two-dimensional.

In that sense the 10vi fully lives up to its billing. And while the inclusion of what probably amounts to a few cents worth of iPhone-specific functionality may not sound like a deal-maker (even some $20 earbuds come with those same built-in controls), my tests with the 10vi were the first time in my 2.5 years as an iPhone user where I could actually take a phone call while listening to my music with earbuds this good (without having to frantically unplug everything so I could hold up the iPhone to my ear or put it on speakerphone). So this product changes the entire equation for iPhone users who value the built-in controls as much as I do, as from our standpoint there simply is no usable competition at this price point (in fairness there are third party mic/button adapters available for use with any earbuds, but they place the mic too far away from your mouth, make the cables too long, and typically make the whole thing too heavy – I’ve used such adapters and I don’t recommend them as anything other than a last resort).

That having been said, from an audio standpoint, the 10vi needs to be compared to other earbuds at its price point whether the competition is iPhone compatible or not. At $419, that means we’re looking at Westone’s competing 3, which sells for a similar $399 and is presently our highest-rated earbud product at that price point. After having spent time with both products, if I were choosing based solely on audio quality, it would be a close call – but I’d have to go with the Westone 3. When the audio sounds this amazing, you can only make comparisons in terms of degrees of magic, and the 3 audio experience is just a tad even more magical than the 10vi audio experience. But if I were to arbitrarily assign a percentage based on my perception of the audio quality, I’d end up pegging the Westone 3 as being five to ten percent better-sounding than the 10vi. In other words, unless it psychologically eats at you that there’s a similarly priced competing product out there that sounds slightly better than the one you’re using, there’s no harm in choosing the 10vi due to the fact that it has iPhone controls and the 3 doesn’t.

Strangely enough, where the 10vi falls down a little is in its physical design. As you can see in the photos, the earbud casings are larger than than what you’d find on less expensive (lesser-sounding) earbuds, and that’s to be expected. But I’ve used various Ultimate Ears earbuds priced anywhere from $60 to $250, and they’ve all managed to be plenty comfortable – yet the 10vi is actually a bit less comfortable than other Ultimate Ears earbuds. The problem appears to be that the rubber/foam buds end up right next to the casings, with no space, so those of us with smaller ears have no breathing room even when we do use the smallest included rubber buds.

In the included accessories category, the 10vi delivers the kitchen sink as you’d expect. In the box you’ll find four different sized rubber earbud tips, plus two sets of foam earbuds tips (which I’ve found consistently improve the audio experience of almost any set of in-ear earbuds), a splitter, a quarter-inch stereo plug adapter, a low-profile port adapter that turns ninety degrees, a cleaning brush, and a hard metal case. The idea of protecting a product this expensive inside of a steel compartment sounds like a good idea, and it is, although the included metal case is about thirty percent larger than the hard plastic carrying case that comes with less expensive Ultimate Ears earbuds and thus doesn’t fit into your pocket as easily.

The TripleFi 10vi isn’t perfect, which is a shame because at this price you have a right to expect it to be. But based on the fact that it’s the only product that can give me this kind of audio quality with built-in iPhone controls, I’ll take it. Even though it’s not even the best earbud product at its price point, nor is it as comfortable as most other earbuds the 10vi is still my new favorite set of iPhone earbuds. Just don’t ask me to give it any more than four stars out of five.

It’s worth pointing out that with Apple’s move toward three-button volume and voice controls for newer iPhone and iPod models, it’s probably just a matter of time before most major earbud manufacturers offer three-button versions of your favorite earbuds (we saw quite a bit of this at CES this month, although nothing in this price range). But as of today, these are the best-sounding iPhone-enabled earbuds at any price – and by a million miles.

As a side note, although I wasn’t able to separately test them, Ultimate Ears also offers this product in a non-iPhone “TripleFi 10” version for $399, which appears to be physically identical to the 10vi but without any iPhone controls.

Learn more about Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10vi at Ultimate Ears

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Filed Under: iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iTunes, Reviews
Tagged: $400 earbuds, 10vi, earbuds, earphones, high end, in-ear, iPhone earbuds, Logitech, microphone, noise isolating, review, TripleFi, Ultimate Ears

Best of Show CES: Etymotic hf3

January 9, 2010 by Bill Palmer · 1 Comment 

Editor’s note: iProng Magazine has been on-site at CES 2010 in Las Vegas all week reporting on newly introduced products for iPhone and iPod. This is just one of our “Best of Show” winners…

“The best just got better” sounds like a marketing pitch, but in this instance it’s an accurate description. Our top-rated iPhone-enabled earbuds at any price for 2009, the $179 Etymotic hf2, have given way in 2010 to the company’s new hf3. The big difference here is that the single button and mic on the hf2 have been replaced by a tiny triple-button controller and mic which provide not only playback and voice functionality but also volume control which works with the newest iPhone and iPod models.

The hf3 continues to sport a sharp-looking future-tinged styling along with included triple-flanged earbud tips. We’ve said enough about the hf2 in the past, and it still applies to the hf3, so suffice it to say that you really can’t go wrong with the hf3 – unless you can’t afford them.

Read about all of iProng’s “Best of Show at CES 2010″ winners and finalists in the January 14th issue of iProng Magazine, which will feature a cover story interview with The Flaming Lips and more.

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Filed Under: ces2010, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iTunes, Reviews
Tagged: award, Best of Show, CES 2010, earbuds, earphones, Etymotic, hf2, hf3, hf5, iPhone, iPod, volume control, winner

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