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Remote headphones hack

digitalpencil

digitalpencil

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 2, 2007
343
0
Manchester, UK
I wasn't sure whether to place this in accessories or hacks so i dropped it in the root. don't flame me.

Ok. The iPhone headphones suck. I've gone through three pairs already and each of them has failed x months down the line with lo-end channel distortion (although admittedly i did run a pair through the washer and drier and they still worked! *kinda*).

They suck as soon as you get them out of the box though tbh, the sound quality's abysmal compared to decent cans but i could barely put up with that if it weren't for the atrocious failure rate. I'd put it down to faulty batch but three sets later, i'm not buying any more.

So, i'm after some new headphones. A bit more hardwearing and generally just far superior sound to the supplied cans. The thing is, i need a remote. I love the iPhone remote, i love that i can skip, rewind, play/pause, answer my phone, initiate calls, tweak my volume and i refuse to live without it so this limits my options.

I went into the Apple store, aware that they make a better line with an inline remote but after asking the clerk if there was any i could listen to, he said they were all sealed and he couldn't open them.. fair enough, a little annoying as who would honestly buy a pair of headphones without hearing them first (it's like buying a tv without switching it on?!) so i asked him if bought them and they sucked, could i bring them back (obviously provided they were in the same condition etc). and i was again informed no which just seems retarded to me but i digress.

I've looked at reviews for the decent iPhone headphones and apparently they suck too. I'm aware that Etytomic HF2 have inline remotes and are reasonable and the Klipsch s4i's (haven't seen anything on these yet) but again, i've alread got a set of grados, i don't want to throw £150 at a pair of in-ears that aren't awesome so to my question..

Does anyone know how the inline remote signals are parsed by the iPhone and it's mini-jack connector? i.e. if i stripped down a set of shures and chained the remote from my current headphones inbetween them would this work? I've seen an adapter from belkin but it's about an inch long which is next to useless. I'd like the remote to sit in the regular position. I don't care how it looks particularly, i just want a pair of headphones that actually sound good, still have remote functionality and don't cost a ridiculous amount just because they're semi-good and have a remote.

Any other ideas or recommendations are more than welcome!
Apologies for the long post, i'm sick to death of these ****** white ear-buds and figured someone else must have come to the same conclusion.

Thanks,

digiPencil
 
I don't think anyone would ever argue that the included headphones aren't complete garbage. :rolleyes:

Sorry can't really help you with hacking. However, I'm on the same boat as you: I *need* a remote/mic. So I bought the Apple In-Ear Headphones. Sound quality is good (not great) but they get the job done for me.
 
Cheers for the recommendations guys!

Hadn't come across the v-moda ones before. Not overly struck on the vibe duo's design or the lack of volume control however the Remix look great and have pretty decent reviews http://www.v-moda.com/headphones/remix.aspx

I'll see if i can test some of these anywhere and try out the Etytomics as well and see how they compare.

Again, thanks for the recommendations. if anyone else has any ideas, feel free to share with the group ;)

I might strip down a set of iPhone headphones (given i now have three) and frankenstein the remote onto a 3rd party brand to see if i can get them working together anyway. Will report back with any findings!
 
I can wholeheartedly recommend the Klipsch S4i's or if you can afford them the X10i's. Unbelievable sound and I've used everything from Shure to Bose. Good luck!!
 
CrAkD said:
I think im the only person that love my iphone headphones.
Click to expand...

You're not.

IN THEIR PRICE RANGE, I think they're fantastic. Yes, there are better ones out there, but you will $pend to get them.

I don't know what the OP is doing to destroy his so quickly. The original set that came with my 3GS still work fine. I like them so much at this price point that I bought another set to leave at work and still another to keep in my lunch tote, so that I (nearly) always have a set with me.

I don't exercise with them on, as they are well-known for not dealing with heavy sweat. I use a set of Kensington bluetooth behind-the-head headphones that I got on sale for that, and they've held up to multiple hours of pedaling away on an indoor trainer and/or an exercise bike (the latter with no fan in front of me, OY).

The stock earbuds and a playlist heavily seeded with Cowboy Junkies and Steely Dan have eased me through many a migraine while I wait for the meds to get to work. It helps a lot that the stock earbuds fit flush enough that I can lay my head on a pillow.
 
CrAkD said:
I think im the only person that love my iphone headphones.
Click to expand...

You've stumbled into an audiophiles discussion. These people are very particular about the sound that comes from their headphones. They are not normal, average users. iPhone headphones work for the majority of the population, but to this small yet vocal minority, they are complete crap and are immediately burned upon purchase of any iPod featured product. To them, using iPod or iPhone headphones are like using a TN panel to do graphic design work or using non-L glass (or similar) to shoot professional photography. Or wearing Walmart shoes instead of Nike's when running a marathon or using a PC instead of a Mac for computer related tasks. It all comes down to how you need your equipment to perform. It just so happens they have more refined ears or perhaps some level of musical training. I have some friends like this that can drive me crazy from time to time, but I can sort of see their perspective. I got my first Bose computer speakers from my wife for Christmas, and they are very nice. But then some people will probably flame me saying that they are crap compared to whatever brand X. And that's how this game works.
 
macduke said:
You've stumbled into an audiophiles discussion. These people are very particular about the sound that comes from their headphones. They are not normal, average users. iPhone headphones work for the majority of the population, but to this small yet vocal minority, they are complete crap and are immediately burned upon purchase of any iPod featured product. To them, using iPod or iPhone headphones are like using a TN panel to do graphic design work or using non-L glass (or similar) to shoot professional photography. Or wearing Walmart shoes instead of Nike's when running a marathon or using a PC instead of a Mac for computer related tasks. It all comes down to how you need your equipment to perform. It just so happens they have more refined ears or perhaps some level of musical training. I have some friends like this that can drive me crazy from time to time, but I can sort of see their perspective. I got my first Bose computer speakers from my wife for Christmas, and they are very nice. But then some people will probably flame me saying that they are crap compared to whatever brand X. And that's how this game works.
Click to expand...

lol, yeah i guess.. tbh, i wouldn't consider myself an audiophile. i'm not ridiculously OCD about speaker cabling or anything like that it just annoys the bejezus out of me when you're listening to a track and there are actual elements missing from it because the frequency response isn't sufficient to render the little details.

it makes less difference if you're into bass-heavy stuff like dub or electro-trance as everything's drowned in sound anyway but if you like listening at low-amps and to folksy or classical type stuff where there are little nuancical details that just make a track what it is, it's annoying as **** when your cans just strip out the quieter bits like they don't matter.. it's like mp3 with the, we'll just encode the loud bits to keep the file-size down, **** all that piddly quiet ****.

alright maybe i am a bit of an audio snob but i'm not as bad as some! :rolleyes:
thanks again for all the recommendations. always rely on you guys for some balanced reviews.

Cheers Rajani, i've just checked out those skullcandys and they actually seem alright for the price, at first i thought they'd be **** like those fashion friendly over-ears in neon colours for scene kids but they're meant to be ok. again pretty bass-heavy apparently (seems to be a trend lately) which doesn't really suit me personally but if i can get a set for £35 then i can't even begin to moan. I'm going to demo the Klipsch, Etymotics, and these Skullcandys.

thanks again to all for the contributions! rock on my mac-loving audio aficionados.
 
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