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Product: Wireless headphones for your iPod and Bluetooth phone
Developer: Wi-Gear, Inc.
Minimum Requirements: iPod with dock connector
Retail Price: $129.99
Availability: Out now

By and large, I don’t mind wires. I’d rather deal with wires than batteries, I suppose. Wires are free. And better for the environment. And more useful should I find myself in a MacGyveresque predicament…which has never happened, and which I wouldn’t recognize if it did because I’ve never actually seen an episode of the show, but the reference seemed appropriate.

My mouse and keyboard sit on my desk. They barely move, so why would they need to be wireless? Headphones, however, move around with me. An important area of activity often separates them from the device into which they’re plugged, so I thought I’d give the iMuffs MB210 Wireless Headphones a try to see if they made it easier to listen to some Thomas Dolby while I’m getting things done.

The Golden Age of Wireless

You might think you don’t need much separation between your headphones and your iPod, and you’re probably right. No one needs it, but it’s good to have. I listen to my iPod at my desk throughout the day, and it took only one trip to the coffee machine to appreciate the convenience of a wireless headphone set up; I didn’t have to carry my iPod with me or take off the headphones to leave my desk. HIdden benefit; because you have headphones on, people don’t expect you to join their conversation about Grey’s Anatomy or something like of the sort. That’s worth $130.00 right there.

Of course, going wireless helps in ways far beyond your desk. You’re free to work out without getting caught in wires. You can work in the yard without accidentally yanking off your headphones. You can jog without having wires smack against yourself the whole time. And with the iMuffs, depending upon environmental factors such as obstructions and radio interference, you’ll be able to pull the signal from your iPod at distances of 9 to 30 feet.

The wireless connectivity is very easy to set up, too. Simply plug the iMuffs Bluetooth 2.0 adapter into the dock connector on your iPod, turn on your headphones, and you’re set. The adapter is fairly compact, but juts out about 1-1/4 inches from the iPod. The length is enough to make me nervous about storing the iPod in my pocket or a bag where pressure against the adapter could put damaging stress against the internals of the dock port.

Wi-Gear makes it even better by including controls directly on the headphones, so you don’t need to return to your iPod to pause/play/skip songs or adjust the volume. The three buttons are large and easy to figure out considering you can’t see them when using them. The volume knob bears some discussion, though. You don’t spin it to turn the volume up and down, you push it. Push it up once and the volume increases a set amount. Down, and the volume decreases. This control method is appreciated considering you’re reaching back to your ear to adjust the volume. But the adjustment increments are too broad, I found, and I sometimes wasn’t able to get the exact volume I wanted.

The headphones contain a rechargeable lithium polymer battery, and the set comes with a USB cable/adapter combo for recharging via computer or electrical outlet. Wi-Gear says the battery will get you up to 16 hours of continuous operation depending upon usage, distance from adapter and battery age. Of course, my iPod classic battery life is much shorter, so I wasn’t able to effectively test this estimate.

Airwaves

Now, you can add all the flash and functionality you want to a set of headphones, but it’s still the sound that’s going to make or break a unit. The audio reproduction of the iMuffs MB210 does neither, really. It’s good. There’s clear separation between the right and left channels, but the bulk of the audio seems clumped in the mid range; no clean highs and powerful lows (the dynamic range is 20Hz to 20KHz). The end result is okay sound, but it’s not very lively. This isn’t a terrible thing, though, considering how most will use the iMuffs. Wireless headphones are about freedom of movement, and if you’re moving around, you’re opening yourself up to external sounds that’ll interfere with your listening experience anyway. So, although you can get comparable sounding headphones for half the price, you’re paying the premium for the wireless features, not for fantastic audio.

Weightless

The final thing to consider with headphones is comfort. The iMuffs are fairly lightweight, considering the controls and the battery in the right earmuff (the weight is balanced in the left, too). The band wraps over and behind your ear, to reach behind your neck. I generally like this approach (no hair dent at the end of the day), but the band was too thick to sit comfortably behind my ears for prolonged periods. Plus, they curve around the neck a bit too soon for me, thereby pressing lightly into the sides of my neck. This didn’t cause any discomfort, but it was noticeable.

Radio Silence

The iMuffs MB210 Wireless Headphones do a great job with the wireless portion of their functionality. Not having to deal with wires is great if you tend to move a lot while listening to your iPod. They’re comfortable enough for exercise sessions and such, but you won’t want to keep them on for more than an hour or so. The audio itself isn’t as great as you’d expect from $100 + headphones, but that’s the price you pay for wireless (and it’s good enough for the intended purpose of the headphones). You can spend more to get a better system, and you can spend less to get less. With the iMuffs, you get a fairly priced system that doesn’t inspire, but does the job.

[Note: The iMuffs MB210 headphones offer support for Bluetooth phones, including a noise canceling microphone for holding phone calls, but I didn’t test these features with my iPod. For those seeking true iPhone compatibility, Wi-Gear recommends the iMuffs MB220 Wireless Headphones.]