I don’t really like the headphones that come with the iPhone and iPod. The isolation level they provide is very low so unless you’re in a perfectly silent room you have to seriously pump up the volume in order to be able to hear anything. Not good for your ears. If you try to walk just a bit faster than your grandma they keep falling out of your ears.
So if you want to listen to music from your iPhone or iPod while anywhere but your silent living room, you’re in the market for a pair of earbuds. I already had a pair of Sennheiser earbuds which I used to connect to the iPod when running and walking. Excellent earbuds really, but there is no a mike, and for the iPhone you need one.
I did a little bit of research and I stumbled over the Ultimate Ears MetroFi 170vi. I was just about to discard them, seeing the low price tag, but then I decided to dig a little bit more. I did a couple of searches on google and found a bunch of good reviews. Seemed to be exactly what I was looking for: excellent sound, mike included, iPhone compatible, decent sound isolation. Plus, with a price tag of 24 EUR on amazon.fr, won’t have to worry about breaking or forgetting them on the train.
So I ordered them and guess what: not disappointed! The sound is comparable, if not equivalent to my old Sennheisers, which by the way, were more than twice more expensive. I used them on the train, in the subway and in the street with significant traffic around me. The level of isolation these headphones provide is really good and you can clearly hear the music even when setting the volume to low levels. The microphone works fine and there is a button I can use to answer calls or hang up. The only think missing is a couple of buttons to control the volume, so you’ll have to keep your iPhone handy in case you need to adjust it
