headphones

I like to listen to music. I fell out of the habit for a while, but then I got an iPod, which got me interested again. Now I probably buy more CDs every three months than I did throughout the 1990s.

I'm addicted to New Music Tuesdays on the iTunes Music Store, mostly because of the "Free on iTunes" section. There's a lot of good music out there! And a lot of bad stuff, too, but when it's free, that's not so much of a problem.

Oddly, I can't seem to get interested … Read more

Far be it from Shure to stand idly by while others profit from the iPhone's recessed headphone jack. Early last week, the successful earphone manufacturer announced a new product called the Music Phone Adapter (MPA). As the name suggests, this headphone add-on is designed to work with music-playing cell phones. It offers a built-in microphone (and shirt clip) for calls while allowing a connection with stereo earphones for tunes. Of course, the MPA's slender headphone plug casing belies its true companion--the iPhone.

I got my hands on a prototype of the MPA and can attest that it fits … Read more

A couple of small--but I think somewhat serious--issues regarding the audio output of the iPhone have been percolating on the Web for the last week or so. The issues involve the iPhone's headphone/headset jack and the phone's ability to output stereo sound via Bluetooth.

Let's start with the headphone jack. In Walt Mossberg and Katherine Boehret's iPhone review for the Wall Street Journal, they state, "The headphone jack, which supports both stereo music and phone calls, is deeply recessed, so you may need an adapter for existing headphones." Why the port would be … Read more

One of the little-mentioned aspects of the iPhone is its recessed headphone plug, liable to render some earphones incompatible. If you've invested in a sweet pair of high-end headphones or earphones for your iPod, and you're feeling a little iffy about the iPhone sending you back to the stock Apple "mug me" earbuds, then Shure's new Music Phone Adapter might be just the thing. It's a cable adapter with a built-in microphone and a control button, allowing your existing set of earphones to be adapted for the iPhone. The product, to retail for $39.… Read more

It's rare to get the opportunity to review custom-molded earphones. Custom ear products are usually just too expensive to be relevant to most people, and the ear-impression process can be an inconvenience. But when John Diles from LiveWires offered to come by CNET and take the ear impressions onsite, it was a tough proposition to pass up. (Click here to view a slide show of my custom earphone fitting, but be warned! These photos are not for the squeamish.)

I've had the earphones for over a week now, and they sound fantastic. At $249, they're less than … Read more

If keyboards and USB drives can be built to survive everything from Mack Trucks to nuclear blasts, why can't earphones get a little reinforcement too? After all, unlike a lot of these other devices, it's actually understandable if they're dropped or otherwise put in harm's way by accident.

Denmark-based Kilo Design understands this well and has come up with a pair of $75 buds designed to withstand a good measure of abuse, with a thick coiled cord that looks like it should be attached to a phone, not your head. Our favorite thing about them, however, … Read more

When CNET reviewed Turtle Beach's Ear Force HPA headphones in 2005, we found that they produced a very convincing surround sound effect, thanks to the presence of four drivers in each ear cup--effectively mimicking the front, rear, center, and subwoofer channels of a 5.1 surround system. But there was a big catch: the PC-only headphones required a tangle of wires--including an AC power adapter--in order to connect to the necessary outputs on a computer's soundcard.

Now, Turtle Beach has gone back to the drawing board and delivered a more streamlined version of the headphones. The Ear Force … Read more

As some of you may have noticed, I have somewhat of a history with ridiculous wearable gadgets. Who am I to let that legacy die? Enter the TubeSurround Sound Headphones, which are, to say the least, interesting-looking. You wear them halo-style around your head, then adjust the two tube-style earbuds into your ears. There is a point to this not-so-low-profile design: it serves to position six minispeakers in different spots around your head, thus creating a true surround-sound experience. The TubeSurround then uses a combination of bone conduction and traditional audio to create an immersive experience.

Naturally, I got to … Read more

The idea of solar-powered headphones is certainly a worthy one, but we're not sure how well products like this will fare in hotter climes. The "Soltronix Headphone Radio" looks a little bulky for summertime wear and, as we've noted many times in this space, we're morally opposed to anything that might draw perspiration.

And as Ubergizmo notes, plastic tends to warp and crack if left in the sun too long. But if they do hold up, this $50 headset can get 19 hours of playback time on a four-hour charge.

Just remember, unless you've … Read more