After my fiasco with the
Apple Radio Remote I decided to try other alternatives. Since I also just recently purchased a
Blackberry Pearl it only makes sense to look at Bluetooth headsets; so why not also get my iPod unwired?
Wi-Gear's iMuffs do exactly what they claim to do. After trying other options, they are really the only stereo headphones that work with my iPod and my phone without a lot of complicated configuration...at least compared to other Bluetooth stereo headsets. Here's why:
Easy setup
Okay, it's actually a little complicated, but compared to the other options available, it's one of the simplest setups I had found. First, it comes with a tiny little transmitter for the iPod, not some huge brick like the Motorola. There's not on/off switch on the transmitter, so you just plug it into the dock connector on the iPod. And unlike the Jabra adapter, this one stays plugged in. Turn on the headphones and within seconds, it's connected. To pair the headphones with your phone is also relatively pain-free. Just push in the volume control while you turn on the headphones and it goes into discovery mode. Turn on discovery on your phone and enter "0000" when it finds the headphones and it connects. You only need to do the discovery once; later connections will either automatically connect or you'll just select the iMuffs device to connect, depending on your phone.
Good sound quality
When paired with the iPod, iMuffs sound nearly as good as wired headphones. The bass response is tight and volume is more than adequate to drown out even the loudest background noise. A good thing since the headphones aren't noise-cancelling...but the microphone is! The microphone is in the right earpiece and does a fair job of filtering background noise when talking on the phone. But I often find that I need to cup my hands around my mouth and direct the sound up to the microphone to be heard. Otherwise, I end up annoying others by speaking too loudly.
Good integration with Bluetooth phones and iPod
When the iMuffs are paired to my phone, things work just as advertised. A call signal beeps in the headphones when there is an incoming call. Press the play/pause button and the call is answered. When the call is over, press and hold the play/pause button and the music resumes. Much more convenient than shuffling between headphones and cell phone. Plus the headphones allow you to wirelessly skip or replay a song and control the volume. And pressing in the volume toggle button activates your phone's voice calling.
Clean looking
The clean black color and good button placement is a nice feature. I especially like that there isn't a geeky blue blinking light that constantly flashes like the Motorola or Jabra headphones. I just wish the iMuffs lettering wasn't so big. I feel like a walking billboard for something with a goofy name.
But that's where my positive comments end. Some of the poor design choices are enough to make me return these and go back to wired headphones.
Poor headband design
The earpieces themselves are very comfortable but only if you can get them to stay on your ears. I find myself constantly adjusting the earpieces. The behind-the-head headband is much too flimsy and doesn't provide torsional support for the earpieces. When the headphones are stretched apart, as they are when you put them on your head, they tend to twist and cause to earpieces to lift off one ear. If you adjust that earpiece, the other one lifts. If the headband were just a little stiffer or wider, especially close to the earpieces, it might prevent this problem.
Poor reception
The Wi-Gear web site recommends that the transmitter be placed on the right side of your body since the receiver on the headphones is in the right earpiece. I thought this was a joke since the range is advertised as 30 feet. But sure enough, if you put the transmitter on the left side of your body, the sound cuts in and out, even though it's less than 3 feet apart. If you are sitting still, transmission quality is fine, but even walking around sometimes causes the sound to drop in and out which kind of defeats the purpose of having wireless headphones.
Poor iPod battery life
Since the transmitter is powered by the iPod, it drains the battery much quicker. With wired headphones, I can usually get 10-12 hours of play time on my Video iPod. When connected to the iMuffs transmitter, I only get 3-4 hours of play time. Wi-Gear recommends not turning off the headphones unless you unplug the transmitter as well. But regardless, this doesn't affect energy consumption while you are using the iMuffs; it only affects the standby power consumption. If you turn off your headphones, the transmitter will keep searching every 20 seconds or so to find the headphones and will actually drain the iPod battery faster than if you just left the headphones on.
Intermittent Bluetooth problems
The iMuffs rely on 4 Bluetooth profiles to operate. It uses the Hands-free, Headset, A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile), and AVRCP (Audio Video Remote Control Profile). The Bluetooth specifications say that a master device can connect with up to 7 slave devices within a piconet. However in the real world you can realistically only connect one profile to one device at a time, so if you are using the Hands-free and Headset profiles with your phone, you can't connect to your computer and use the iMuffs for Skype at the same time. You could, but you might get garbled results since BT transmits with each device in a round-robin fashion. But that's not where I have the problems. If I connect to my phone, I lose volume control of my iPod, at least until I use my phone once and it releases control. Then the volume works again. This wouldn't be a big issue except that sometimes, not only do I lose volume control, but just before that happens the volume goes to maximum. A little annoying. This is probably because the Headset profile also allows for volume control and it conflicts with the AVRCP which also controls volume. And then I also get intermittent problems and sound cutting in and out when I use my phone's DUN (DialUp Networking) profile. Almost like there's Bluetooth congestion going on.
Oh, did I mention the price? At $180, these must be the most expensive wireless solution I have bought. No matter where you buy it, that's the price. (Can you say, "Price fixing"?)
