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I love Apple and they make some pretty remarkable products, but earphones are certainly not one of them . . .
I was at the airport on my way home from a trade show recently. IĠd enjoyed a week of exploring new developments in the computing world while being delighted by new and innovative gadgets. But, I was tired and looking forward to some peace and quiet from the fast pace of walking a showroom floor, meeting vendors and researching new products for my clients. Being part of the Consultant Network, it is challenging to stay ahead, or at lease aware of, new technology.
One of the products I'd acquired at the show, were a new set of high definition earphones from Future Sonics (FS). I say 'new' since I was already a very happy user of the original Future Sonics Ears EM3. In fact.. five years ago, I did a product testing review of earbud models for publication for Macintosh user groups. At that time, the FS(EM3) were truly 'state of the art' and obviously well ahead of their time in both sound quality and price point. The other contenders being Apple's stock ear buds and a similar product from Sony.
I love Apple and they make some pretty remarkable products, but earphones are certainly not one of them. However, in all fairness, if you feel obliged to include some listening device to accompany a stellar product like an iPod (any flavor), then it makes sense to put your R&D into the device, and not necessarily into the delivery system. But, by golly, you sure do see lots of identifiable white ear buds in a casual walk to any given location!
My flight was not filled with screaming babies or snoring neighbors.. but I did find myself in a particularly noisy seating area of the plane (far back section known for enough vibration to churn butter) for 6 hours. What better time to test out these new spiffy FS1 High Definition Earphones that I'd tucked in my bag along side my loyal, and remarkably still functioning EM3s- (they've been to Central America three times in the five years of constant use).
Some initial observations were a nice new hard-shell case that had replaced the old plastic pouch (which I never got around to using). A small thing, but I am a sucker for 'attention to detail'.
What immediately struck me were two things.. (1) dang.. I picked up the black set and not the white (but still better than the original brown) and (2) the sexy curves on the new FS1 jack and earpieces.
As I inspected them in my hand, I really had to admire the thoughtful design change from the earlier model.. but.. wait.. how is this curved jack going to work in reality with my iPod inside its protective carrying case? Puzzled.. I took out my ipod, plugged in the jack and found my first hurdle..
In order to fully plug the jack into the ipod, I had to take the ipod out of my carrying case. No matter what I did.. the curved jack would not seat into the plug hole while inside the case. Perhaps the fault lay with the case manufacturer and the size of the plug hole, or the thickness of the case itself. But, If I had a choice, it would be to have either an adapter for the plug (straight in) or revise it to be more like the Apple Jack (no pun intended). The original EM3 plug was slightly easier to seat.
I was also very happy to see the new FS1's came with soft, flexible silicone sleeves, which were a departure from the foam sleeves supplied with the earlier model. The older foams, which were mighty pleasing to the fit and sound quality. did get rather 'funky' after a few uses (yes mom.. I really do clean my ears every day!!) .. and seemed to loose their spongy fit after a few uses. However, the FS1s came with a variety of different types of sleeves for different personal preferences (I'm guessing here). But I gleefully thought the days of popping new foams on and off were a thing of the past.
Looking at the earphones.. it seems obvious to me that the curved earpieces were meant to follow the natural curve of my ear.. but.. the R and L printed on the earpieces said otherwise. Hmmm.. okay, so after some trial and error.. they did seem to fit right and 'feel' right as labeled. Who knew? Had I not noticed the tiny R and L stamped on each plug, I would not have fitted them correctly.
Oh, but what happened to the sound?? arghhh.. This can't be right?? The silicone sleeves kept falling out and when they did manage to stay in.. The sound leaked around them and outside noise was annoyingly apparent. I know I have small ear canals, which were problematic with the large foams.. but geesh.. give me back my old EM3s!!
Okay.. I've obviously done something wrong.. This can't be.. After five years, I'm expecting a very different experience. I tried the pine tree shaped silicone sleeves.. better fit.. but sound quality is definitely lacking.. no rich base.. and I hear background noise.. Nope..
Pulling out the set of foams.. I sigh... deja vu.. But... oh...
Oh.. okay.. HERE is what I was waiting for. Regardless of the 'nasty color' the foams naturally get (earwax happens!) after a few uses.. there is no comparison for the sound results. After inserting the foam sleeves, getting the earphones in the correct ears.. ohh what a treat!!
With the roar of the plane engines.. I click Mozart's Requiem Mass on the iPod. Now here is music hard to ignore, and harder to appreciate with anything less than complete concentration. Here was the soothing, quality sound that I never thought could possibly be better than my beloved EM3s. The sound was as rich and wonderful as I'd come to expect from Future Sonic. Those crisp, spine chilling subtle and slight changes of instrumentation, orchestration- all so very apparent, gives life to sound with a joy that is unsurpassed. Listening is a joy.. FS1's make it an experience. One of these days, I really do want to try the custom formed ($$) earpieces. Perhaps when I tire of replacing the foams and want something more permanent.
As a side note, the length of the FS1s is about 5 inches shorter than the predecessor with a solid lead wire from the jack. The shorter chord length is insignificant and made no difference regardless of where I placed my ipod in my pockets.
The wires seem to tangle less than the competition, but still a hassle I wish someone would invent a way around. I don't always put away my things in a neat and orderly way.. rather, stuff them in my pocket and worry about them later. Even with this constant abusive history.. I've never experienced a kinked, broken wire, or separation from the base plug with any Future Sonic product. That's much more than I can say for either Apple or competitors similar product.
Would I buy Future Sonic earphones for my shuffle, even though the cost of the delivery is more than the player? You betcha! What good is the finest player at the highest cost if you can't hear the difference? All MP3 players deliver music, regardless of manufacturer. But the quality of that music is only as good as the device you are using to hear it.
I have a subwoofer in my car that takes up half my trunk space.. if I didn't care about sound quality.. I'd have a trunk. If I didn't care about the sound coming from my ipod.. I'd use my Apple ear buds. Lucky for me.. I have FS1's I can hear- and feel the music.
Welcome to my world. I hope you can hear it!
Gail Murphy
www.wiredwomen.com
Apple Consultant Network Member (ACN)
Read Gail's 2002 review of Future Sonics earphones at: ipoding.com
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