The newest version of Wi-Gear’s iMuffs, model MB210, include an adapter that connects to your iPod’s dock port and lets you listen to your tunes wirelessly. The iMuffs resemble street-style headphones, with a curved piece of plastic that goes around the back of your head. The plastic is flexible, but those with large heads may find that the headband twists when you stretch it to fit around your melon. If that happens, it’s hard to get the earphones to lie flush against your ears, leading to lots of sound leaking out and annoying your fellow commuters. The headphones are light and easy to wear, though, if they fit your head right. It would have been nice to be able to adjust the headband.
The sound is respectable, but may not seem full and crisp enough if you’re used to in-ear canalphones. These are more like the old-school headphones that are basically just small speakers held up against your ears. The right earphone sports buttons for Play/Pause, Forward, and Back, and a small switch for Volume. Even though you can’t see them, the controls are laid out well and generally easy to find and use. The iPod’s clickwheel can still control the playback, but not the volume - for that, you must use the switch on the iMuffs. We got great range with the Bluetooth adapter, up to 25 feet.
Paired with your Bluetooth phone, the iMuffs can work as a handsfree headset. The music from your iPod pauses when the phone rings and restarts when you hang up. You can even pair the iMuffs with your Mac and use them as a Skype headset. The integrated, nearly invisible mic uses Clear Voice Capture technology to cancel noise and echoes, and we were incredibly pleased with the results. You can also stream music from a Bluetooth cell phone if it supports Bluetooth 2.0 A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) for stereo sound. Mac OS 10.4 doesn’t have support for A2DP, so you can only stream mono sound from your Mac (as in, the music still comes in both earphones, but it's mono, so you hear the same sound in both ears), although Leopard should have A2DP. Intel Macs can already support A2DP with a hack found here.
The iMuffs’ lithium polymer battery can be charged via USB or an AC adapter. The headphone battery can get about 16 hours of playtime when fully charged, but the iPod adapter is powered by the iPod’s battery, so expect a hit in your ‘Pod’s life. Our 3-year-old 4G iPod lasted just 3.9 hours with the iMuffs before the ’Pod’s battery pooped out (it normally goes for 6.6), but our newer 2G iPod nano kept chugging for 8.7 hours (it normally gets nearly 16).
The bottom line. If there’s a way to try them before you buy them, do it. Because they work great, especially for hands-free calling and Skype, but if the nonadjustable headband has to twist to get around your noggin, you probably won’t be pleased with the resulting fit, or the leaky sound.
COMPANY: Wi-Gear
CONTACT: www.imuffs.com
PRICE: $179.99
REQUIREMENTS: iPod with dock connector and/or Bluetooth-capable cell phone and/or Bluetooth-equipped Mac with Skype
Pauses your music when your Bluetooth phone rings. Built-in microphone has echo and noise cancellation. Works with Skype.
Can’t adjust headband. Can’t use volume controls on the iPod. Adapter saps iPod battery life.
