What’s In The Box

Like other Maximo headset products, you get more for your money than just a wired headset. Inside the package are the high-fidelity isolation headphones, three pairs of rubber ear tips (Small, Medium, and Large), a two-foot extension cable, and a small silver carrying pouch for your earphones.

The first thing you will notice when removing the headphones is that the earphones have a little weight to them. They are, indeed, metal — no cheap plastic to be found here — and they are heavier than a more cheaply-made plastic earphone housing. The materials used and build quality of the earphones inspire confidence and, in my case, I was expecting a superior sound to the headphones I’ve used in the past.

Design and Performance

The Maximo iMetal Isolation headset has a lightweight aluminum alloy body for the headphone housings. As previously mentioned, the earphones themselves are high-fidelity isolation earphones with 9mm neodymium drivers and a maximum SPL output of <120dB — quite a bit of sound even for the most robust listenenr. The headset cable is four feet in length and includes an additional 2 feet of extension cable, if needed. The connection is via a 3.5mm connector with stereo audio and mono high-definition condenser mic.

What all that means is that these headphones can crank out the sound and the whole idea behind “isolation” is the rubber ear tips are supposed to fit snugly in each ear, both eliminating outside noise while giving you, the listener, the best sound experience possible for your music, podcasts, or movies. In addition to a rich audio experience, these headphones are equipped with the aforementioned condenser mic for phone calls. Where each earphone cable meets, there is a soft-touch button for call answer/end and song pause/skip. The soft-touch button also supports the triple-tap for moving to the previous song on your list. Very handy indeed.

The carrying bag is a nice extra. When you are done listening and want to stow away your headphones, just coil them up and put them in the pouch, pull the drawstring to close, and worry less about the cable getting tangled up. With the extra 2-foot extension cord, you can wear your iPhone or iPod just about anywhere on your person and still have enough headphone cord length for comfort.

A few years ago, I switched to isolation-type headphones when I bought a pair of Sony headphones with the rubber ear tips. Once making that upgrade, I’ll never go back to standard earbud earphones. The quality of sound and the isolation of outside noise is simply too good to pass up. Given that my previous experience has been my Sony product, that is what I have to compare with these iMetal Isolation headphones.

Before you can enjoy these headphones fully, you need to spend a little time to find the ear tips that work best for you. With small, medium, and large tips to choose from, you want to find the ear tip that fits snuggly and comfortably. You might even find that one ear canal is bigger than the other and you could end up with a medium tip on one ear and a large tip on the other — that’s just fine. It’s nice to have the option.

Once you have the right fit, start to enjoy some very rich sound. The basses are punchy, the mid-range is solid and the highs are clear. For the price, I was quite impressed with the quality of sound I got to experience with the Maximo iMetal Isolation headset. The volume is impressive – I never got close to turning things all the way up because it gets plenty loud. Even when I turned it up, the headset remained clear and the audio did not distort in any noticeable way.

Taking phone calls is a cinch with this headset. When a phone call is coming through, the music will pause automatically and you can choose to accept the call. The call audio will come through your headphones in stereo, then just talk freely and the tiny condenser mic on the headset cord will pick up your voice just fine. I had no complaints from people I spoke to on the phone while wearing this headset.

My only concern with the headset is the fit of the rubber ear tips. In order to provide the most comfort possible and to ensure a snug fit so you can be reasonably active while wearing this headset, the rubber used in the tips is very soft and flexible. You need to insert them in your ear with care so as to not form TOO tight a fit – when fitting them too tightly, I found that the ear tips can create an uncomfortable “suction” in the ear. This can be remedied by removing the ear tips and replacing them more carefully in your ears, and also verifying that you are using the correct size for your ear. If they are too small, the suction effect is more likely.

Conclusion

The Maximo iMetal Isolation headset is a good quality headset that provides rich sound for the money. I like the aluminum alloy material for the headphones, the selection of three different sizes of ear tips, the soft-touch call button, and the extension cable and carrying pouch. This headset offers a lot of nice features and a great isolation-experience sound for a reasonable price. They are just a little more expensive than the Sony headphones I bought a few years ago, but in my opinion, offer a superior sound experience. I do feel it is necessary to deduct some points for the too-soft rubber used in the ear tips that can sometimes create an uncomfortable suction in the ear. Otherwise, this headset is a quality product that you should be satisfied with.

Rating:

Pros:

• Aluminum alloy metal housing for headphones
• Includes extras (two-foot extension cord, carrying pouch, and 3 sizes of ear tips
• Sound isolation experience
• Standard 3.5mm connector for iPhone

Cons:

• Ear tip rubber is very soft and can form a suction in the ear which can be uncomfortable

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Review: Maximo iMetal Isolation Headset

Not a fan of the stock headphones bundled with your iPhone?  Me neither.  Sadly, the quality of the headphones packaged with the iPhone and most other devices emitting sound are a fair representation of the profit-by-any-means-possible culture.  I think Apple figured they had such a hot product with the iPhone that they could bundle it with two cups connected by a string and it would still sell (and I suspect they’re right!).

Fortunately, other enterprising companies have stepped up to the plate and given unto us some worthy replacements for the stock headphones: enter Maximo, the makers of the iP-HS1 iMetal Stereo Headset for the iPhone, available at our Phone different store for $69.99.  Continue after the break for a full review!

Out Of The Box

The Maximo iP-HS1 iMetal Stereo Headset for iPhone includes some extras out of the box.  In addition to the earbud headphones, you also get a pair of earphone foam covers, a 2-ft extension cable, and a carrying pouch.  It’s nice to get a little more bang for the buck!

Form And Function

Having converted to the isolation ear-tip style of headphones many moons ago, I thought it would be a huge step backward in sound quality to use earbud headphones again.  The Maximo iMetal earbuds are surprisingly good, however.

The first thing I noticed is the build quality.  The earbud and driver housings are made of aluminum alloy, not plastic; thus, the name “iMetal”.  A high-definition condenser mic is located partway down one of the earbud cables, in just the right position to answer a phone call.  The overall length of the earphone cable is 4 ft.  If that’s not enough, a 2-ft extension cable is included.

Speaking of phone calls — if you are in the middle of a YouTube video, podcast, or jamming to some tunes on your iPod, everything pauses when a phone call comes in and resumes when the call is completed.  This is a normal feature for the iPhone, but there’s more.  Further down the headphone cable is a rubber button that can pause/skip the audio and answer/end a call.

To prevent annoying tangles and protect your headphones, a silver carrying pouch is included.  Just put the headphones inside and pull the drawstrings.

Sound Quality

With the foam covers on, the earphones are a fairly snug fit, which enhances the overall sound experience.  One advantage of the earbud style is that, unlike the isolator earphones, you can hear outside sound much better.  This is handy if someone is trying to get your attention, a city bus is bearing down on you, etc.  Of course, the disadvantage is you can hear outside sound much better — if you want to be completely immersed in your music with as little distraction as possible, then you will want to look at the isolator iMetal headphones instead (to be reviewed at a later date).

More about the actual sound — good high, mid, and low-range sound with a sufficient amount of bass.  With some headphones, particularly the earbud style, I have been disappointed in the upper-end volume level.  The Maximo iMetal earbuds have an impressive volume range.  If you like your music loud and clear, you won’t be disappointed.

When on a call with my iPhone, this headset performs well.  My callers could be heard with good clarity and volume, much like the quality of a land-line, and they could hear me just fine when using the iMetal’s high-definition condenser mic.

Conclusion

It’s nice to have a high-quality choice between the earbud style of headphones and the isolator rubber-tipped variety.  Maximo has a nice, quality product here with the iP-HS1 iMetal Stereo Headset.  Many people like the fit and comfort of the foam-covered earbud, and Maximo delivers without compromising sound volume and quality.

The features and extras in the box, at $69.99, is a pretty good value:  overall 4-ft length, 2-ft extension cable, carrying pouch, foam covers for the earbuds, microphone, and soft-touch button for call answer/end and song pause/skip.  These headphones are a great upgrade to the iPhone’s stock earbuds and it would have been nice if they were included in the first place.  Maybe Apple can strike a deal with Maximo.  Until that time, it’s nice to know that companies like Maximo make a nice product available at a reasonable price with lots of extras.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Review: Maximo iP-HS1 iMetal Headset