(all images link to higher resolution)
Figure
1: Here’s how the headset fits in your ear. It seems
to stick out a lot.
LISTENING
The QuietSpot Inline has a thin plastic tunnel that
digs deep into your ear canal. The rubber isolator
on the end can be replaced for more comfort, but
it’s really not comfortable at all (for me at least). The
rubber seal designed to keep noise out, also keeps
the air pressure in your ear at the same level,
which can be disorienting and uncomfortable
especially when changing altitude levels.
Figure 2:
The earpiece part is supposed to go deep in the ear
canal, it also has a soft rubber ear loop that you have
to thread your pinnae through.
Figure 3:
The headset comes with a variety of different sized
rubber ends for the earpiece to ensure a tight fit in
the ear canal.
SPEAKING
Figure
4:
The "VoicePort" microphone is an open-air type, but
it is acoustically tuned to pick up voice rather
than just any kind of air-transmitted audio.
The VoicePort microphone works pretty well, however it’s
not flawless since it still uses air-conduction. Listen
to the wave files below for comparison.
Shure
QuietSpot Inline No Noise (109Kb)
Shure
QuietSpot Inline Background Music (119Kb)
Invisio Mobile Background Music (92kb WAV)
While the noise reduction works a lot better than I
expected for an air-conduction microphone, it doesn’t
work quite as well as the Invisio Mobile with it’s
bone-conduction microphone.
PURCHASING
You can purchase the Shure QuietSpot Inline headset from
any number of online retailers. A quick Froogle
search will bring up plenty of results. The
price ranges between $30 and $40.
PROS
Decent noise reduction
Sound isolation
Crisp audio quality
Adjustable sizes
CONS
No answer button
No volume control
Very Uncomfortable to use
OVERALL
IMPRESSION
Considering that the Shure QuietSpot Inline costs
about 10 times less than the
Invisio Mobile, you do get some very good noise
reduction.
However, $40 is still expensive for a wired
headset. I also disliked how the Shure headset had
to go so deep into my ear canal in order to be used.
This was uncomfortable compared to the way the
Nextlink headsets sit just outside the ear canal and
how others don’t even come close to the ear canal (I’m a Nextlink fanatic if you haven’t picked that up yet).
If you don’t mind air pressure changes on one side
of your head, and need some significant noise
reduction for your phone calls, the Shure QuietSpot
Inline could be a good choice.
Originally published on Pocketnow on December 14, 2005. More Reviews articles from the Pocketnow archive.