Improve the performance of soundAMP on iPhone by using the built-in microphone and a pair of earbuds.

This mic is directional and produces higher quality sound. The mic also does not rub on your clothes like the headset mic, improving sound quality.

Point the built-in mic toward the sound source. The mic is directional, so when it’s pointed toward the person you’re speaking with, the volume will increase. And the volume of unwanted sounds will be reduced.

Place iPhone on the table, sound will reflect off the table into the mic and increase the volume.

The built-in mic is farther away from the earbuds, so at higher volumes, high-pitched feedback is less likely than with the standard headset with mic.

A soundAMP R with iPod touch customer writes – the sound quality of soundAMP is better than his hearing aids; the Zoom feature works well in reducing background sound levels; own voice is too loud.

iPod touch users can reduce own voice volume by purchasing a wired mic that attaches to your shirt, away from your voice, to balance the volume. Several are available at the Apple Store.

Click on the Mics & Headsets link to the right to learn more.

11/18/09
We did some preliminary testing on the the Bose mobile in-ear headset today.

These produce a very nice sound for both soundAMP live listening and for music, higher quality than Apple’s earbuds. The fit is the best I have tried for an in-ear headset. There is a variety of ear tips in small, medium and large, and these are easy to peel off and slide on. The shape of the ear tips does not occlude the ear canal, and rests comfortably in your ear, and the earbuds do not fall out as the Apple earbuds sometimes do. The mic piece answers and ends phone calls and advances songs. Volume up & down is not supported on this headset.

This is a very nice choice for a high quality in-ear headset. Price in the US is $130.

Added note — after further use comparing the output levels of this Bose headset with the Apple earbuds, I notice the loudest volume level for the Bose is noticeably lower than for Apple earbuds.

8/15/09
I have found the Griffin SmartTalk Headphone Adapter, the in-line mic for iPhone, is a great addition when using soundAMP.

This mic has a 30″ cord and plugs into iPhone. It has a receptacle on the other end (where the mic is), into which you plug your favorite headset. This has several benefits when using soundAMP:

You can place the mic lower on your shirt and this provides a balanced volume between your own voice and the speakers voice.

The mic is well shielded so touching it does not produce harsh sounds in your earbuds.

When clipped to your clothes, it does not rub against your clothes as often as the standard iPhone headset mic can.

Since the mic is farther away from the earbuds, it produces less feedback in your earbuds.

And the mic has a control button on it, which helps in answering phone calls, and playing music.

All good things to consider when using soundAMP to improve your hearing.

Here is a photo of Griffin SmartTalk mic.

8/01/09
Have you noticed — when you insert your iPhone or iPod earbuds, they tend to move around, sometimes even fall out of your ear. That’s true for me, especially when I go on walks.

The fix that works really well for me is to cover the earbuds with a thin foam pad. This creates just enough friction to keep the earbuds in place. And I do not have to keep fidgeting with them.

I have had success with Belkin “TuneBuds for iPod”. These are available at the Apple Store or online. Touch the name and go directly to the page on Apple’s site.

Also, here is a good article about various types of headphones, including over ear, on ear, earbuds and in-ear. The article is on Apple’s website.

A big advantage of iPhone is the huge ecosystem of third party products that are compatible. You get lots of choices of headphones and headsets, and are sure to get the fit and sound just right for you.

Etymotic hf2 Custom Fit buds bundle ACS’ customized ear-mould service
by Thomas Ricker, posted Apr 24th 2009 at 9:29AM, from Engagdet

Eytmotic’s $180 hf2 earbuds with in-line controller for iPods and iPhones have been around for awhile. In that time, they’ve racked up plenty of gold statues and plaques to backup their claim of delivering “the most accurate, unaltered sound of any earphone or headset today.” Now Etymotic has teamed up with ACS (Advanced Communication Solutions) to deliver silicon sleeves custom-moulded for your inner-ear to ensure a perfect, comfy fit while further isolating you from the ambient noise around you; a trick that allows you to pickup audio detail at lower volumes and thus spare your hearing. Of course, ACS’ 15 minute customization service is available for other buds as well, but offering it within the hf2 Custom Fit bundle as a £90 (about $130) voucher redeemable at any of 300 approved ear impression outlets in the UK is a pretty shrewd move.

April 2, 2009
We began looking for compatible directional microphones for testing… the idea is to capture the sound in a specific direction, to point the mic toward the person speaking.

We found a few, but they use the 30-pin connector on the bottom of iPod touch. These might be fine for recording, but I believe they block the earbud jack, which makes them less fine for hearing.

I expect we’ll see a greater selection when OS 3.0 arrives this Summer.

March 31, 2009
On a walk today, the Shure Music Phone Adapter, the in-line mic mentioned earlier, provided very good sound quality during App use. I clipped the mic to my shirt, near my belt. At this location, the volume of both nearby sounds and my own voice was well-balanced. This mic location also worked for a phone call I made during the walk. The other person could hear me very well.

I also tried the Sennheiser neckband headphones during the walk. Again, the sound quality is fine, but the wrap-around neckband puts too much pressure on my ears. This is uncomfortable after about 20 minutes. I have not figured out how to “widen” the neckband for a looser fit. But I did get a slightly looser fit when I placed them outside my ears, as opposed to wrapping around and into my ear.

March 30, 2009
Hearing is very personal. What sounds good to you, may not to another person. The ecosystem for iPhone & iPod touch provide many choices to you, to personalize your hearing experience. You’re in control!

The iPod ecosystem provides you over 100 choices of headphones, to suit your taste in style, fit and in hearing. And all are available via Apple online or retail.

I just did further testing of our App with the separate mics (mentioned earlier) from Shure and Monster. While using the App with regular iPod earbuds, I called my iPhone, and the buttons on the mics work. If a call comes in while using it, just press the button on the mic and answer the call. It works as you’d expect.

I’ll do more testing of other iPod headphones, but I expect they’ll work.

A trip to the Apple store has yielded 3 headphones, of over 30 on display. These are earbuds, no mics. I used the separate mic extenders to pick up my voice and when connected to these headphones all provided very good sound quality for our App. (All worked as expected for taking calls and listening to music.) Here’s my quick rundown:

Nike Skylon headphones – $50 – These are an over-the-ear design that provides a secure fit. These are very easy to “hang” on the ear. Sound quality was very good. And these are the most comfortable. Of the 3, these are my favorite.

Sennheiser PMX70 Sport – $50 – these are neckband headphones, providing secure fit. Other than the slight squeeze on the ear, these provided good sound quality.

Shure SE110 – $80 – these are sound isolating headphones. They come with foam sleeves and soft flex sleeves that work great, as they “expand” in your ear canal, to reduce ambient sounds. Very comfortable, reasonable sound quality. And you can wrap the wire around your ear for a more secure fit.

March 28, 2009
On a walk, testing our pre-alpha App and 2 headsets – the standard iPhone headset with mic, and the Altec Lansing Back Beat bluetooth headset.

iPhone headset – the pros include realtime sound, no lag between sounds and hearing, and it requires no extra purchases. One con – I hear a slight distortion. This may be due to my walking and the wind overloading the mic. When I tried it indoors, distortion was minimal. More on this later.

Bluetooth headset – the pros include very good sound quality, especially if you can isolate the built-in mic so it’s not rubbing against clothing or fingers. I solved this by placing the iPhone in my shirt pocket, upside-down with mic pointing up so it did not rub on anything. The only con was break up of sound when I placed iPhone in my back pocket (due to loss of bluetooth connection). Apparently, this will get fixed with a new version of Bluetooth.