If you listen to music on your phone’s MP3 player, you have to make a choice. Either choose headphones that sound good, or headphones with a microphone on them.
Sure, you could spend big bucks on ultra premium phone headset or get an adapter that adds a microphone to your favorite headphones, but now you may not have to.
Altec Lansing’s Muzx Ultra MZX606 have great sound and a mic for $100.
The in-ear headset has very small buds making it lightweight and easy to wear. The wires from the buds hang in a loop that makes it tempting to use as a handle when putting them in or taking them out, but it worries me that doing so will eventually cause them to break.
The sound is first rate. Clear with powerful, but not exaggerated, bass. Altec even guarantees the sound, allowing you to return the headphones within 30 days if you find another set that sounds better at the same price.
The mic was adequate, getting the standard report from the people I called: “It sounds clear but I can still tell you are on a cell phone.”
Altec says achieves the sound through its “balanced armature,” although I have been unable to ascertain what that means, exactly.
I also note that the Web site and box refer to the sound as “high definition.” At this point I wonder if there anything that hasn’t had “high definition” slapped on it? I half expect to get high-definition slippers this holiday.
One sour note is the in-line control on the cord, which has three contacts to perform different functions if you click them once, twice, or three times. It’s a lot of control, but trying conquer they system of taps is like memorizing Morse code.
Still, music lovers are likely to put up with some inconvenience for up clean sound at a reasonable price.
