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Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

Very annoyed - don't buy these!

Written by LT from London

11-Sep-2009

What an awful product. I bought these to replace my first ever Apple 'in ear' set as I wanted the remote funtionality. It doesn't work however! The volume control doesn't work at all, the two click, three click function is terrible. The sound is ok, but just ok. Nothing special. These also aren't compatible with most of my other apple devices - old ipods and iphone 3G (no s!).

I'm horrified at Apply turning out such rubbish!!!

45 of 76 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

If you know sound quality think carefully

Written by GF from Chatham

09-Sep-2009

Apple have always balanced iPods with mediocre ear phones - in the beginning all was new, hardly no competitors, no way to make ear phone comparisons. I've been around the audio world and iPods for years (iPod No.6) and, unless you really need lazy buttons swinging around, there are many quality sets out there at far cheaper cost. A new iPod bought and I leave Apple's in the packaging; I currently have a well know name, replaced free after 8 months due to minor glitch, better fit, wider frequency response, bass ported so I can keep music as it's recorded and not forced by fake equaliser settings. White buds say Apple, I have 4 pairs for eBay.

21 of 40 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

Abysmally woeful headphones - DO NOT BUY!!!

Written by UO from Santry

08-Sep-2009

I bought these because I figured 4 1/2 stars from 173 reviews has to be good. Seriously, I can't overstate just how wrong I was.

I've used them with my 3GS, and in the first 10 seconds I realised what a huge mistake I made.

The sound is like a buzzing gnat almost, no matter what your EQ settings are and no matter what genre of song you're playing. There is no bass whatsoever, unless you try burying them deep into your inner ear canal. The buds (I've tried all three sizes) can't block any external sound above a pin dropping.

I don't want to demean the 5 star reviews, but they were either some seriously fortunate reviewers or they've just made some bad choices about headsets in the past.

There is no way I want to even grant one star for these. Unfortunately I have to else it won't post my review.

My advice is to avoid at all costs. Apple's basic headphones are infinitely better. These are just a rip off.

37 of 45 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

Good looks dont make up for good sound quality

Written by DM from London

07-Sep-2009

One Word - Rubbish
No base so a all music from, Dance, Rock and indie all sound like the treble has been over loaded.
I've tried them on my iPhone, iPod & Mac Book Pro and using different EQ settings but it just sounds dire.
For £60 price i would expect near perfect sound quality.
You would not get sound this bad from a pair costing half the price.
Apple... If you want people to use your headphones because of the mic and controls that are built in, then please take a page out of Sony's book and make a pair of headphones that work well while listening to any kind of music.

21 of 21 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

very good sounding headphones

Written by DC from Settle

30-Aug-2009

The headphones had very crisp, amazing sound and it blocks all sound around making the sound even more intense.

11 of 19 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

Horrible tinny sound on 3G Shuffle

Written by JD from Runcorn

30-Aug-2009

Bought these thinking that they would be good as they are genuine. After wearing for gym (the reason anyone would buy them right?) got ear-ache from the 'tinny' overloaded treble on them. Phoned Apple, no help: "sorry that is how they are" attitude as the Shuffle doesnt have a way of setting EQ - so stuck with poor bass definition and too high treble from this overpriced nonsense. My advice? Keep the ones that came with them and buy some non-OEM attachments (use Google) to make them stay in your ears. Hope this helps!

10 of 21 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

Better than expected

Written by LS from Downend

26-Aug-2009

I bought these after my Sennheiser buds snapped and I wanted some buds that didn't have an asymmetrical cable.

The guy in the apple store told me that the smallest silicon heads work the best, but upon testing I found that the smaller ones didn't quite 'grip' properly and thus didn't reproduce the bass - hence why some reviewers here have noted that you can only hear bass by ramming the phones deep into your ear. If you swop for larger heads the phones will grip properly and bass will sound brilliant.

Remote works brilliantly and these are the only headphones I've used where the mic is light enough to not pull down on the buds. With my 3Gs the voice control is good and people can hear me more clearly than they could with the Sennheisers.

I tested out the other problem that some reviewers have found that 'flicking' the cable causes resonation in the ear. It will. So don't flick it! I have my cables tucked into my tshirt and as such nothing will hit them. If you insist on wearing them on the outside of clothing then these may not work best for you.

On a sports side, these phones do not even wriggle out of my ears. You often find that with some in-ear buds you can hear your jaw and pulse etc when the music is quiet. I found these buds didn't do this at all, only once but I had the bud in at an odd angle.

Really good sound, I listen to a range of music and metal sounds just as good as hip-hop. Dance music sounds good with tinny hi-hats and basslines reproducing brilliantly.

Recommended upgrade if you find the iPhone's supplied buds fall out of your ears.

22 of 29 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

1 day and bust

Written by NS from haywards heath

25-Aug-2009

Used them for one commute. Sound is ok not as good as the Shure EC2s they replaced, very flat sound with little bass, tried all the EQ settings on my phone. Ear bud fit is harsh too.Day 2 and the right headphone has lost volume, not a loose wire either - it's audible but only just. Bad news - not the quality you would expect from apple. I'd rate 5* them if they cost £20 and worked but they don't and didn't.

14 of 20 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

On my 2nd pair - same problems - steer clear

Written by LF from Sunbury-on-Thames

22-Aug-2009

So whilst the sound quality is pretty good, you really should note the following and heed my advice before wasting £60...

1) Fragile and flimsy build quality
The rubber caps over the wire in to the headphone will come loose easily, increasing the likelihood that the internal wiring comes loose and then the headphone will die. The same applies to the jack - even general use will make the cable tangle up internally and eventually the wire will frail.
2) Rubber ear fittings will work their way loose over time
In itself, this is forgivable, but within 3 months and where do I buy spares?
3) Remote control will stop working if you use them for sport
Running a 20K you'll generate a fair amount of sweat - as the mic/control isn't sealed very well, you guessed it, it will fail to work.
4) Bass quality
Whilst it's good - unless you have the headphone shoved right in your ear canal almost next to your eardrum, you won't be able to appreciate it.
5) Noise from the cable and ambient noise generally
Tis true what other reviewers have said - the cable amplifies noise massively. Flick it and you'll almost feel your eardrum perforate, tug it hard and you may lose your hearing completely. The only real way to use these without listening to 20dBA of noise generated from the headphones and cable is to fix the cable through something like your bag strap or your Heart Rate Monitor.
6) Unfortunately there's no goldilocks fitting supplied
Or at least for my ear canal size. Maybe I'm simply a freakish size. Small are tiny, large are for behemoth men with radars for ears and medium is slightly too loose.

So why did I buy two pairs you ask? Well for the price, you get a dual-driver headphone that compares in sound quality to better, more expensive units. But at the same time, they won't last you much longer than a few months - hardly value for money.

If you intend to use these with your Shuffle for sport, don't go near them. In fact just don't buy them and look elsewhere, that's precisely what I'm doing now.

23 of 26 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

Good sound but volume adjustment does not work.

Written by MC from Bath

21-Aug-2009

I just bought this headset and I noticed that the volume control does not work. I am disappointed and feel like it is overpriced because not all features work.

10 of 11 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

Don't buy these headphones.

Written by WL

20-Aug-2009

I was very disappointed - feel like I've wasted my money. The headphone leads act as a conduit for vibrations - and when combined with the noise cancelling ear plug fitting makes it impossible to use when walking around. And of course, I was too useless to take them back in time to get my money back...

21 of 26 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

ERMMM....

Written by KE from hainult

17-Aug-2009

Love the headphones only prob is tht after a week the grey rubber on the earphones will come off...apart from tht they are perfect as noice cancelling headphones can really enjoy my music in loud places without having the volume to the max and sound is really clear....could do with more bass though.

9 of 11 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

In-ear Headphones

Written by DH from East Grinstead

07-Aug-2009

Not at all impressed with the sound. Can only hear bass when I hold the earbuds in with my fingers...Pointless

Back to my sony earphones :-(

15 of 28 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

Need a major revamp

Written by SC from Croydon

04-Aug-2009

Normally Apple has good products to offer, but somehow letting us down on earphones, you would expect the company brings us iPod would focus more on earphones specially at the price they are charging.

Recently bought a Touch and frustrated with how difficult it is for me to forward and backward compare to the 2nd gen shuffle I was using, against my previous experience with Apple earphones, I bought the a pairs of Apple in-ear headphones.
The sound quality is no where near the V-Moda I bought couple of years ago, and like other people who wrote the reviews before me, I have issue with the earbuds falling off as well, and they do hurt my inner ears when I put them into my ears.

If any Apple engineer is reading my post, please please please spend more time on the earphone, or make a small remote control for the iPod and iPhone.

13 of 26 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

Perfect

Written by YL from london

30-Jul-2009

As soon as I put these on I closed my eyes, laid back, and rediscovered my iphone's music. Highly recommended!

22 of 32 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

Good while they last!

Written by LM from Birmingham

30-Jul-2009

The sound quality is above-average, with defined treble and good bass response...

... but this doesn't last, as the silicone earbuds simply fall off! Unlike the Sony, Sennheiser and Shure equivalents which have a ridge for the bud to hook over and stay secure, these don't - and the result is that they fall off, especially when lubricated with earwax (and that's unavoidable).

Replacement silicone buds from Shure's e2c headphones do fit (and better than Apple's!), but even these fall off easily due to this design defect.

Add that to the fact that the left earbud on my pair has started buzzing horribly with mid-range at volumes above whisper and I can't put these anywhere above one star.

Rubbish, just like the old ones. Avoid - your £59 is better spent elsewhere.

17 of 20 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

Not that special

Written by SL from BRADFORD

29-Jul-2009

The sound quality is excellent but only when these earphones are positioned correctly in the ear. I find i have to keep adjusting these as they tend to slide out and are rubbish for any kind of sport. Think they are over priced and uncomfortable!!!

16 of 17 people found this useful

Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

Mostly Okay

Written by OW from London

28-Jul-2009

I use this headphone with my iPhone 3G. The sound quality is very good, especially after I changed from the default medium earbuds to the large earbuds.

I could have chosen any other product, but because of my affinity for the 'white look' of Apple's headphones, I chose this over other products. My only problem with it is that I'm struggling to understand why it costs £59. I've seen nicer looking and more solidly built headphones for less, so why Apple would charge £59 for this is beyond me. Those alternative headphones also produce sound that's equal to, if not better than this product.

Other than my issue with the price, I think it's a great piece of equipment.

3 of 3 people found this useful