Shure MPA-3C Music Phone Adapter for iPhone
by Shure
|
List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
(Click here)
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Shure MPA-3C Music Phone Adapter for iPhone
Customer Review: First, best and only
Summary: 5 Stars
For me, this was the first device of its kind and I still have not seen anything better. I endured the original Apple iPhone earbuds for months and sunk ridiculous amounts of money into all-in-one products that claimed to do what the Shure does modularly, until this came along. If you are used to listening to your iPod pretty much all the time when you are mobile, this is for you. It will play, pause, and skip backwards and forwards when you're not on the phone. And when a call comes in, one click will answer it, hang it up, hold one while answering another, or switch between two calls. It could not be simpler, or more reliable.
The microphone is good enough quality to use outdoors on a city street, speaking at a normal level, without "cupping" it. Outdoor noise is screened out well, even on windy days. I've spent many an evening walking through Times Square on my way to the train home from work, calling my wife to tell her I'm on my way, only to have it turned into a normal casual conversation as if I were still sitting at my desk talking on the office phone! And the mic is good enough to use for iPhone apps that use a microphone, such as recording apps.
And the cable is durable! If there is one flaw, it is that the cable is so durable it will outlast the clip, if you even use it. My clip wore out after about 18 months of intense usage (at least 3 hours per day), but the adapter is still going strong. Like the Shure earbuds that it's designed to work with, it is very hard to tangle the cord since it's smooth and not grippy, and fairly thick, almost bendable. That makes it easy to pull the buds out of your pocket and pop them in your ears, no matter how hastily you shoved them in last time you put them away.
I can't say enough about this adaptor. It's still the best and only product of its kind, and works with any stereo earbuds, and all generations of the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Customer Review: Review includes this item !
Summary: 1 Stars
« And, if you want to add insult to injury, as I did: just try adding their « Shure MPA-3C Music Phone Adapter for iPhone » which for another $30 gives you a Pause / Answer Call / End Call button still with no volume or track controls and located so that you will have to be miked with a clip to try --unsuccessfully-- having a telephone conversation. It is simply unbelievable, at least perplexing, why Shure would inflict this ridiculous pain upon us. Save your money. Even if you don't need the iPhone adapter, buy another brand with integrated controls. If you have an iPhone or another mobile, do not even blink, click away from this mess immediately »
Although the sound quality is very good, and that should be what counts, I cannot recommend this product. Everything other than the earbuds is so carelessly designed and manufactured and outdated that in combination they trump the sound quality of the earbuds. It is like a Ferrari engine inside a Soviet-era automobile. The cords and connectors and lack of in-cord controls render this a sad memorial to 1980's bad design. Just like Sony insists in attaching power supply and connector monstrosities to otherwise well-designed Vaios and Cybershots, Shure has cement-shoed these quality earbuds. And, if you want to add insult to injury, as I did: just try adding their « Shure MPA-3C Music Phone Adapter for iPhone » which for another $30 gives you a Pause / Answer Call / End Call button still with no volume or track controls and located so that you will have to be miked with a clip to try --unsuccessfully-- having a telephone conversation. It is simply unbelievable, at least perplexing, why Shure would inflict this ridiculous pain upon us. Save your money. Even if you don't need the iPhone adapter, buy another brand with integrated controls. If you have an iPhone or another mobile, do not even blink, click away from this mess immediately.
Customer Review: Nearly Perfect
Summary: 5 Stars
I would say that this product is perfect save for one flaw. That flaw being the problem everyone else is talking about. I didn't actually get what they were talking about until I ran into the problem myself, so I'll attempt to explain it a little better for those who are like me and aren't quite grasping what they are saying.
The problem is in the length of the cord, which results in poor placement of the microphone. This is ONLY a problem if you are not using the split part of a Shure set of earphones. I'm not sure if this diagram will translate due to formatting, but if not, just use your imagination. ;)
(ignore the periods, I had to use them for placement, otherwise it all fell apart)
Shure ear phones extension with mic
--------
........>--
--------
traditional ear phones extension with mic
---------
---------
As you can see, in the second instance, the mic is MUCH further away from where your head would be than if you were using Shure ear phones. The Shure ear phones are only about 2' long because they come with another extension (which is replaced by this very product) that is another few feel long. So the mic is only a few feet down from your mouth using Shure head phones but is more like 4-6' down using normal head phones. So you would have to coil up the NORMAL head phone's cord and clamp it up higher on you, so that the mic will be somewhat close to your head when you attach it to the previously coiled-up cord.
Otherwise, the sound quality is supurb, it DOES fit into an iPhone without the need for an adapter and it's very high quality, just like the original cord that it is replacing.
I hope this helped!!
Customer Review: Solves the problem
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently got an Iphone and realized that my E3Cs didn't fit into the recessed jack of the iPhone. I was 100% happy that this adapter existed:
Pros:
a) it allowed me to use my great Shure E3Cs with the Iphone and,
b) it allowed me to take calls
c) it has a button which allows me to take calls in phone mode or pause the iPhone when in iPod mode.
d) when I'm in iPod mode and the phone rings the volume gently lowers and the phone rings -- I can click the button by the microphone to answer and when I'm done talking, I can press the button by the microphone again and I go back to my music - very convenient.
d) with both shure earplugs in you can take calls in extremely noisy environments and you will hear all of the conversation (your caller sounds like they're in a recording studio)
Cons:
a) like others have noted, the cord becomes very long and complex to manage. Lets just say I resorted to rubber bands which is not very trendy.
b) if you take a call in extremely noisy environment and both earplugs are in, you'll hear everything but parties will keep asking you if you can hear them bc they'll hear the noise through the microphone (I tell them not to worry and that I can hear them great with my Shure earplugs).
Why the 5 stars? Because it works very well and solved the core of my problem of using my E3Cs with my iPhone. Thanks for having this Shure!
I couldn't find this at stores but one quick search at Amazon found it and I had it in my hands the next day. Thanks Amazon!
Customer Review: Shure MPA-3C delivers what it promises
Summary: 5 Stars
When I got my iPhone and tried the included earbuds with microphone, I knew it wouldn't be the solution for me. Earbuds never stay in. I usually use set of behind-the-neck stereo headphones when walking or on the bus, but also have a Bose noise-cancelling headset as well.
I researched the alternatives and, based on what I read, decided to go with the Shure even though it was the most expensive of the 3 alternatives I looked at.
The Shure MPA-3C delivers great sound to the headphones. I have asked people I am on the phone with about the sound quality of the mic and all have said it is good. The switch on the microphone works as promised -- one click to pause or resume, two clicks to skip to the next song.
The plug is angled and does not stick out far from the iphone. I have had no problems carrying my iPhone in a pants pocket and have at no point had any worries as far as the plug goes. A couple of the alternative products had much longer plugs.
The microphone is a little heavy and droops when hooked on a shirt collar. To solve that, I got a second cord clip for the headphone cord. This allows me to secure the microphone in two places and hold it inside the collar where it is less obtrusive. (Shure, should add a second clip to the MPA-3C package.)
The excess headphone cord issue is easily solved with headphones, just wrap the extra cord around the headphones and secure with a twist-tie. You can't do that with earbuds.
Good job, Shure.