Cheap iPhone headphones - what about the Mics?

iPhone envy said:

I must admidt, I'm not down with paying high prices for headphones. I have some older sony earbuds which I'm more than happy with - sans for the fact that they don't have a mic. Nevertheless, I've been looking at replacements or adapters (Monster cable has a long mic adapter that looked interesting for $20).

Can anyone tell me, have they found an inexpensive - say under $40 - set of headphones that have an iPhone button & mic, with the caveat being that the mic works well!

If the mic is crap on the headphones, I don't need to upgrade.

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Good question! I've been looking for the same thing. I hope someone posts a "usable" reply here

I haven't used the version with the mic and button, but...

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/tunebudsmobile

Griffin sells a version of their TuneBuds for the iPhone with a button and mic for $40 list. Their products are frequently available for a lot less through eBay, Amazon Marketplace, etc. A quick search found them for $20+shipping:

http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop...&dpno=7386727&store=macmall&source=mwbfroogle

I've used the non-microphone standard version of their in-ears (they've gone through various names including EarThumps and TuneBuds, but they're the same product with minor revisions). I really like them. They're not super heavy duty, but given that they can be had for $8-13 shipped, I can use them for running get them sweaty and so on, and then replace them much more often than more expensive earbuds. Because of running, for me, being able to replace them after a while is a big plus. The sound quality is average -- better than $20 earbuds you can get at the store, but not the best in the <$50 range by any means. They come with three sets of ear grommets in small/medium/large, too.

At the price, though, I think they're worth a try, since you can always replace them in half a year or whatever.

mkrishnan said:

I haven't used the version with the mic and button, but...

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/tunebudsmobile

Griffin sells a version of their TuneBuds for the iPhone with a button and mic for $40 list. Their products are frequently available for a lot less through eBay, Amazon Marketplace, etc. A quick search found them for $20+shipping:

http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop...&dpno=7386727&store=macmall&source=mwbfroogle

I've used the non-microphone standard version of their in-ears (they've gone through various names including EarThumps and TuneBuds, but they're the same product with minor revisions). I really like them. They're not super heavy duty, but given that they can be had for $8-13 shipped, I can use them for running get them sweaty and so on, and then replace them much more often than more expensive earbuds. Because of running, for me, being able to replace them after a while is a big plus. The sound quality is average -- better than $20 earbuds you can get at the store, but not the best in the <$50 range by any means. They come with three sets of ear grommets in small/medium/large, too.

At the price, though, I think they're worth a try, since you can always replace them in half a year or whatever.

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Sounds nice . . . anyone try out the mic?

User Reviews

For what it's worth here are 2 reviews I found out iLounge. The mic is addressed. I'm leaning towards giving these a try.

"griffin tunebuds mobile earbuds = awesome
I got my pair the other day after waiting for a few weeks for them to be released. The tunebuds are essentially a full replacement to apple's own factory earbuds for the iPhone. The differences are that they are black (thank god) and feature a heavy duty nylon cord. Also, they are in ear rather than almost in ear like apple's. Lastly, the tunebuds sound great, albeit slightly loud in the treble, and are super comfortable. Oh yeah, they have an in line mic too of course, which has outstanding call clarity. For $39.99, these are by far the best accessory I have bought for my iPhone yet."

"Got these Tunebuds Mobile for iPhone a week ago - was hard pressed to find a decent review on the net for these, so here's my attempt at a decent review of it.

First of all, they are a huge improvement over iPhone's standard issue (obviously) and especially if you like the in-ear style - they have 3 sizes included which fit great to all sizes IMHO (even for my especially skinny ears)

How's the sound? Well, my first impression is that they still lack the big boom of the larger style headphones ie. bec they are in-ear, the output area is smaller and therefore it sounds as if the sound is coming from a small place rather than booming from huge speakers - so my first move after using them was to adjust the EQ on iPod settings under iPhone to vocal booster which seemed to do the job - i like a deeper thicker sound rather than a weak one - so that seemed to do the job.

The sound blocking ability is excellent, the first time i put them on i was amazed how suddenly i couldnt hear people around me, like as i read on another review, it blocks out pretty much 80% of all noises with the standard size and 90% on the larger size included. Therefore this is an excellent feature as it amplifies the music that you can hear rather than having to rely on pumping up the volume to fight with external noises. The downside of this is that some ppl may not like the blocked out sound feeling (u cant hear traffic) and also when you talk and breathe, you can kinda hear yourself, which is a bit annoying when you're talking on the phone handsfree - but it's bearable.

Otherwise, the string style cord is great as it doesnt tangle as easily and the build is great, very solid especially around the earbuds and the plug area - it also comes with a small case so u can protect it and carry in your pocket when not in use.

Overall I would highly recommend this if you use the iphone and want to keep the sleek headphones with inbuilt mic and button setup - that was one of my top priorities - it is has a very clean look and maintains ur existing iphone headphones but upgraded - shame it doesnt come in Apple white ...

8.5 stars outta 10

(i considered the low-end Shure and Bose headphones but they didnt have in-built mic and button, so that's why I went for Tunebuds Mobile)

Hope you'll like them too - this is a true honest review by a user who was hard-pressed to find a user review - hope you find this review useful in making your decision =D"

I too am looking for a some earbud replacements. My original buds have seen better days.

On a related subject, I found this product called Budcase on the web. It is a neat little product that is a keychain earbud holder. Great for keeping up with your earbuds! I'll post a review soon.

iphonewiz said:

I too am looking for a some earbud replacements. My original buds have seen better days.

On a related subject, I found this product called Budcase on the web. It is a neat little product that is a keychain earbud holder. Great for keeping up with your earbuds! I'll post a review soon.

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Nice idea! I had a small change pocket which attaches to a key ring. Now, I put my ear phones in those and it works great