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wtf? no high-end stereo headset/mic accessory??
- Thread starter macftw
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Those look great, but the mic ones aren't available in the UK yet.
With the 2-4 week wait on them, maybe they've made these specifically with the iPhone coming out, so we should expect to see them soon elsewhere?
I already bought and returned these. The apple ones that come with the phone are so much better for calling. The mic is too sensitive and causes way too much background noise to be picked up by the receiving end.
When you get a call on some NORMAL headphones (ie. no mic), is the audio routed through the headphones (so all you have to do is speak into the iPhone's mic)?
Has anyone tried the Ultimate Ears super.fi 5 pro earphones with the iPhone - do they fit without the need for an adaptor? These look the dogs!
Has anyone tried the Ultimate Ears super.fi 5 pro earphones with the iPhone - do they fit without the need for an adaptor? These look the dogs!
Well, ymmv, but I have a pair of Shure E3c headphones. I had my wife call me while I was listening to music on the phone. The audio was directed through the headphones and I just held the phone up close to my face to speak through the built in mic on the phone. While this isn't what I envision ultimately, it 'is' possible and this was the question asked.
Certainly not the wisest thing I've ever done, but I'm phone poor now so I can't go out and buy new headphones. Plus despite mixed reviews, I really like my Shure e2c's. Behold the first(?) Shure/Apple hybrid headphones!
Sounds great... Mic works, plus I get to keep the nifty button for skipping songs/hanging up on people.
Sounds great... Mic works, plus I get to keep the nifty button for skipping songs/hanging up on people.
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Has this affected the audio quality at all? How did you do it?
And, could you just do it because of the way the E2c's are designed, or would this also be possible with other earphones (ie. Future Sonics Atrio M5)?
e3c to iPhone conversion
Thanks, ya'll... It was actually pretty easy. The covers on the iPhone earphones "pop" off by putting a pocket knife just under the grey rubber that surrounds them. There's a tiny circuit board there with two solder points... I just unsoldered them (could have cut the wires too I guess) and untied the knot in the wire that keeps the connections from pulling loose. Did the same things to the e2c's (the clear plastic in the back is in two pieces and can be pried off with a knife right down the middle). There's not much space to work inside the e2c's but a quick touch of the soldering iron took the wires right off. The color combos of the wires on the iPhone cable didn't mean much to me - and the solder points on both sets of headphones weren't marked for polarity so I just made sure to solder in the left and right earbuds in the same way. Seems like with earphones the polarity is not critical as long as it's the same for both ears (to prevent phase problems?) I'm not an electronics expert so someone may know more about that than I do. I would imagine that the same procedure could be done with other earbuds as long as they would come apart without breaking. The iPhone earbuds come apart quite easy.
Mark, the sound quality is great - The e2c's originally had a heavier wire going to them but I don't notice any difference with the OEM earphone wire. The only annoying thing is that the iPhone doesn't appear to provide any talk-back (your own voice) into the earphones when you're on a call. Since the e2c's kill so much external noise with the way they fit in the ear canal, my own voice became very soft (only to me, not to the party on the other end) and that gives me a tendency to talk too loud. I'll get used to it tho. I superglued the e2c's shut so they're not coming apart anytime soon, but attached is a picture of the OEM earbuds.
Diode, I agree with you - Those e4c's are killer... and $300 bones last I checked. I don't think I could in good conscience try to crack those open.
Also, the phones still work in my Macbook - Looks like the 4th ring on the plug is no problem when connecting to a standard headphone jack. Bonus!
Thanks, ya'll... It was actually pretty easy. The covers on the iPhone earphones "pop" off by putting a pocket knife just under the grey rubber that surrounds them. There's a tiny circuit board there with two solder points... I just unsoldered them (could have cut the wires too I guess) and untied the knot in the wire that keeps the connections from pulling loose. Did the same things to the e2c's (the clear plastic in the back is in two pieces and can be pried off with a knife right down the middle). There's not much space to work inside the e2c's but a quick touch of the soldering iron took the wires right off. The color combos of the wires on the iPhone cable didn't mean much to me - and the solder points on both sets of headphones weren't marked for polarity so I just made sure to solder in the left and right earbuds in the same way. Seems like with earphones the polarity is not critical as long as it's the same for both ears (to prevent phase problems?) I'm not an electronics expert so someone may know more about that than I do. I would imagine that the same procedure could be done with other earbuds as long as they would come apart without breaking. The iPhone earbuds come apart quite easy.
Mark, the sound quality is great - The e2c's originally had a heavier wire going to them but I don't notice any difference with the OEM earphone wire. The only annoying thing is that the iPhone doesn't appear to provide any talk-back (your own voice) into the earphones when you're on a call. Since the e2c's kill so much external noise with the way they fit in the ear canal, my own voice became very soft (only to me, not to the party on the other end) and that gives me a tendency to talk too loud. I'll get used to it tho. I superglued the e2c's shut so they're not coming apart anytime soon, but attached is a picture of the OEM earbuds.
Diode, I agree with you - Those e4c's are killer... and $300 bones last I checked. I don't think I could in good conscience try to crack those open.
Also, the phones still work in my Macbook - Looks like the 4th ring on the plug is no problem when connecting to a standard headphone jack. Bonus!
Attachments
Solution for headphone jack
If you are frustrated that your sweet High End headphones don't work in the iPhone's jack, go out to Radio Shack and get a 12 inch long 3.5mm (1/8th inch) stereo jack cable that has the in line volume control - I bought mine a while ago but they can't be more than 5-10 bucks. Shave off just enough of the black plastic at the male end (that goes into your headphone jack) to make it fit, and voila - you have an adapter that sounds great, has a built in volume adjustment so you can leave your iPhone in your pocket, it's cheap, and you don't have to cut up your actual headphones, possibly voiding their warranty.
If you are frustrated that your sweet High End headphones don't work in the iPhone's jack, go out to Radio Shack and get a 12 inch long 3.5mm (1/8th inch) stereo jack cable that has the in line volume control - I bought mine a while ago but they can't be more than 5-10 bucks. Shave off just enough of the black plastic at the male end (that goes into your headphone jack) to make it fit, and voila - you have an adapter that sounds great, has a built in volume adjustment so you can leave your iPhone in your pocket, it's cheap, and you don't have to cut up your actual headphones, possibly voiding their warranty.
Good thought, but you missed something...
You may have missed the best part of the shure/apple combo job... Not only does he now have great sounding earbuds, but he can use the mic funtions as well. The in-line adapter you mentioned wouldn't add microphone functionality, and that's the big thing missing from the e2c's.
GREAT JOB ON THE MOD!~
You may have missed the best part of the shure/apple combo job... Not only does he now have great sounding earbuds, but he can use the mic funtions as well. The in-line adapter you mentioned wouldn't add microphone functionality, and that's the big thing missing from the e2c's.
GREAT JOB ON THE MOD!~
OK, I think i am ready to try this, i bought a pair of ec2's off craigslist, with a damaged cord, where the cord meets the plug, and a spare set of iphone headset is $30, I am now looking for some thin white shrink wrap tubing, to use as a strain relief, thanks for the motovation
OK, I think i am ready to try this, i bought a pair of ec2's off craigslist, with a damaged cord, where the cord meets the plug, and a spare set of iphone headset is $30, I am now looking for some thin white shrink wrap tubing, to use as a strain relief, thanks for the motovation
The ultimate ears superfi 3 I have has a plug right at the earbuds. I'm trying to get a replacement cable then I can mod it and just plug it in. I want to get the replacement first before I go cutting cables =).
If I can't I'll probably just keep trying to find a good deal on E2Cs. Great job and can't wait to try it!
If I can't I'll probably just keep trying to find a good deal on E2Cs. Great job and can't wait to try it!
i use a BOSE with my ipod and will use on iphone on airplanes etc..
but the apple headsets have a great design to fit the ear and great quality..
the ones that came with iphone is great ( of course is the same ) but the mic works great ! and btw the apple one have the button on the mic to answer call, the V- MODA dont have that.. so the apple is "free" , stick with it.. they works very fine. 
but the apple headsets have a great design to fit the ear and great quality..
the ones that came with iphone is great ( of course is the same
) but the mic works great ! and btw the apple one have the button on the mic to answer call, the V- MODA dont have that.. so the apple is "free" , stick with it.. they works very fine. Rather than use my nice ultimate ears set, I used the sony one that came with an old phone. MUCH more comfortable and much better sound. These are the same earbuds as the Sony MDR-EX51LP:
It was too complicated to tie the cord so I just used a lot of glue to fill in the whole long end there.
It was too complicated to tie the cord so I just used a lot of glue to fill in the whole long end there.
Rather than use my nice ultimate ears set, I used the sony one that came with an old phone. MUCH more comfortable and much better sound. These are the same earbuds as the Sony MDR-EX51LP:
It was too complicated to tie the cord so I just used a lot of glue to fill in the whole long end there.
my god too much work for a small differece.. i like all white better.. and the ipod headset are good.. no problem with them.. if i want to watch a movie i have my BOSE quietconfort 2, nothing can beat this baby on sound quality and noise canceling.
The same earbuds in white exist for about $25 on ebay brand new, but I didn't think it was worth it since I already had these here free.
For some reason the apple earbuds really hurt my ear when I leave them in for about 5 minutes. Also, the only way for my ears to hear any bass from them is to hold them tightly to my ear which of course would look very weird walking or jogging around.
The sony ones are cheap and are extremely comfy for my ears. They also have good bass.
Another option would be to get something like this
damado
Nice work, Damado! Good pics too, something I neglected to take when I was in the middle of my Frankenstein transformation of the e2c's. I think the OEM Apple earbuds are fine for some... They seem to have decent quality, a bit lacking in the low end for my personal tastes. My biggest problem with them is that they won't stay in my ears. I think my ears must be shaped funny or something, because they just rest precariously there and fall out at the slightest tug of the cord (jogging or yard work is impossible).
Nice work, Damado! Good pics too, something I neglected to take when I was in the middle of my Frankenstein transformation of the e2c's. I think the OEM Apple earbuds are fine for some... They seem to have decent quality, a bit lacking in the low end for my personal tastes. My biggest problem with them is that they won't stay in my ears. I think my ears must be shaped funny or something, because they just rest precariously there and fall out at the slightest tug of the cord (jogging or yard work is impossible).