11th
February
2012
Recently I found myself in need of some replacement in-ear headphones for my Apple iPhone 4, and after a bit of research I settled on the Bose® MIE2i mobile headset.
I couldn’t try the headset out prior to purchase, so I had to go on brand reputation and on-line customer feedback comments. However, it was reassuring to know that Bose offer a risk free trial period. If you feel the product just isn’t right for you, simply call them within 30 days of purchase to arrange a return. Bose will collect the product from your home address – at their expense – and you will receive a full refund.
There are three models of in-ear headphones in the Bose IE2 range. The IE2 are straightforward audio headphones, whilst the MIE2 and MIE2i are mobile headsets for music and calls, with the latter also having iPod/iPhone control.
With a Bose MIE2i mobile headset you can take calls on your iPhone with one-touch ease and then switch back to your music at the touch of a button. With an integrated inline remote located on the back of the microphone, you can adjust volume, play/pause tracks, skip tracks forward/backward, fast forward/rewind and change playlists — and you need never miss a call. The remote/mic is located on the wire that goes up to the right-hand earpiece and there’s the facility to clip the wire to your clothing so you don’t need to hold the mic during a call.
There are one set of small, medium and large proprietary StayHear® ear tips provided (replacements can be purchased on-line). Once I’d chosen and fitted the correct size of tips for my ears, the earpieces nestle inside the bowl of the ear quite naturally and securely. Don’t be tempted to try and push the tip deep into your ear canal as you might with conventional in-ear headphones.
It’s worth noting that this headset is not designed to be noise cancelling, so whilst wearing them you can still hear what’s going on around you to a certain degree. So far, I haven’t found this to be a problem. They are not water resistant either, so the controls may not stand up to repeated sweaty gym sessions.
The headset cable is terminated with an angled 3.5mm plug that fits directly into mobile phones with recessed jacks.
There’s an Owner’s Guide in the box and a rectangular zipped case included that can accommodate an iPhone and the headset. The headset cable tends to get a bit tangled up when I use the case, and as I already have an iPhone cover, I would have preferred Bose to have come up with a better solution for storing the headset when not in use.
I wanted lifelike sound quality that wasn’t too bass heavy, comfortable ear pieces that stayed put, good build quality and the ability to make and receive calls without having to unplug the headphones from the phone jack. I’m pleased to say I haven’t been disappointed with my Bose MIE2i mobile headset purhcase.
Compatibility:
The MIE2i headset is compatible with iPhone (3GS and later), iPod touch (2nd generation and later), iPod classic (120GB and 160GB), iPod nano (4th generation and later) and iPod shuffle (3rd generation and later). The headset is also compatible with iPad, MacBook (unibody) and MacBook Pro (excluding MacBook Air).
Dimensions:
Headphones (one side, with StayHear tip)
3.3 cm (H) x 2.59 cm (W) x 1.5 cm (D)
Cable length from ear bud to headphone plug
115 cm
Weight with cables (two sides, medium tips)
19 g
3rd
January
2011
This week I purchased a Sony HT-AS5 BRAVIA Surround Sound System. The launch price was around £400 but it can be found at various retailers for half that price at the moment.
The HT-AS5 is a full 5.1 speaker system, with all the amplifier stuff built into the subwoofer, which has a comprehensive suite of audio inputs. This system does not have an integrated DVD or Blu-ray player.
Total power output is 1000W (5 x 167W and 1 x 165W). I haven’t dared to put the volume level past 10 on the scale which goes up to 50 at its max. There is a Night Mode setting so that you can still enjoy surround effects and hear dialog clearly at low volume level.
The compact satellite speakers (4 x model SS-TSB101) are shiny black plastic with a black cloth front and connect to the subwoofer (model SA-WA5) which is matt black with a shiny black top surface. The sub has a ten segment display and the power/active standby indicator at the top of the front panel. Incorporated into the top panel are on/standby, input select and volume buttons. The supplied speaker cables are terminated with colour coded plugs at one end and are un-terminated at the other. The tinned ends of the cables simply push into spring connectors at the back of each speaker. Although there was sufficient cable supplied for my living room, the fact that the cables have bare ends does mean that you can easilly extend them should you need to.
Each speaker has a keyhole slot so you can wall mount them, they also have a screw thread which is the method I chose to use to mount the back speakers on wall mounting brackets so that they could be angled towards the listening position in the room rather than being flat to the wall. I placed the centre speaker on the Sony TV’s stand, and put the front speakers either side of the TV. I’ve placed the sub on a slab of granite to lift it off the carpet and hopefully it will isolate it to some extent from the wooden floor and the flat below.
There are three HDMI 1.4 inputs and one HDMI 1.4 output on the back of the sub. This means you can loop up to three HDMI sources through the system and on into your TV. Because the HDMI inputs and output are all v1.4 specification, the system can handle 3D sources with ease providing you purchase high speed HDMI cables. The HT-AS5 can decode Dolby Digital/DTS, Dolby Prologic & Dolby Prologic II and can deal with 2-channel, 5.1-channel and even 7.1-channel LPCM signals from Blu-ray players and the like.
Other input sockets on the sub include 2 x optical, 1 x digital coax, 2 x RCA and a Sony DMPORT jack for a Sony Digital Media Port adapter. By using a Media Port adapter (not supplied) you can connect a PC, VAIO laptop, MP3 player or Bluetooth enabled device to the system. The HT-AS5 has an in-built FM/AM radio and comes complete with both an FM wire and an AM loop aerial. A Sony S-AIR EZW-T100 slot provides a means of connecting an S-AIR wireless transmitter into the sub (not supplied) which transmits to an S-AIR transceiver (not supplied) so you can make wireless connection to surround speakers or enjoy the system’s sound in another room.
Setting up the surround sound system is very easy thanks to the DCAC (Digital Cinema Auto Calibration) technology. By plugging in the supplied microphone and placing it where your ears would normally be when you’re sitting listening to the TV, you can perform an auto calibration which checks each speaker is working; adjusts each speaker’s sound level; measures the distance of each speaker from your listening position, and measures the frequency characteristics. Although DCAC is designed to obtain proper sound balance in your room, you do also have manual control over speaker levels according to your preference. I increased the level of my rear speakers a touch after the auto calibration had done it’s thing.
There are thirteen different pre-programmed sound fields that can be selected from the remote control (model RM-AAU074) and each one is explained in the operating instructions booklet.
By using the amplifier menus you can make various adjustments to customize the system. Things like adjusting the bass and treble level of the front speakers; delaying the sound output between 10ms and 200ms if the TV image is slower than the sound; dim or switch off the display; set a sleep timer etc.
By connecting Sony components that are compatible with BRAVIA Sync using an HDMI cable, operation is simplified with such features as One-Touch Play, System Audio Control, System Power Off, Audio Return Channel and Theatre Mode.
When the internet site Stuff.tv (from the publishers of Stuff Magazine) reviewed the HT-AS5 they gave it four out of five stars and in summary said: “A stylish, affordable, 3D-friendly surround kit with immersive, if not audiophile quality, sound”.
