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Product: Headphones

Developer: Altec Lansing

Minimum Requirements: 1/8" stereo mini jack output (standard on iPod, iPod mini and Apple computer systems)

Retail Price: $49.95

Availability: Out now

The iPod continues to complicate my life in ways I hadn't expected. Indeed, in ways the iPod hadn't expected. It's all about portability, you see, and that includes portable headphones. Those tiny ear bud headphones Apple includes with the iPod? They sure are portable, but I hate them. Aside from the fact that they don't get good sound, I can't keep them in place in my ears. Or, maybe they do get good sound and I just can't hear it because I can't keep them in place in my ears. See what I mean about complications? Before the iPod, I never had to worry about any of this. Curse you, Apple, and your innovative, daily routine altering products!

Anyway, the ear bud headphones included with the iPod have become for me like the mouse Apple includes with their desktop computers; immediately replaced. Trouble is, what to replace them with? Standard Walkman style headphones are fine, but there goes the portability. Other ear bud style headphones are available, but, even if they get better sound, there's still the placement problem. What iPod users need is a small set of headphones that will stay put when the user is out for a jog but will fold away nicely when they're being transported.

And they need to sound good.

As usual, one of the big names to offer up a big solution is Altec Lansing. Their OYOYO YO302WHT headphones are designed to not only look good when working with the iPod, but also to be as portable as the iPod itself. The portability comes from the fact that they're foldable, collapsing into a package less than four inches long, two inches high and 1-1/4 inches thick. The headphones are slipped into the included football-shaped case, which is about 4-3/4 inches long, 2-3/4 inches high and 1-1/4 inches thick. A groove runs around the center of the egg, allowing the owner to easily wrap the headphone cord into place. The headphone plug can be gently squeezed into this groove as well to make sure the cord doesn't unravel.

When worn, the supporting structure of the headphones loops above the speakers to rest behind your ears. This keeps them in place much more effectively than ear bud headphones or even traditional over-the-head headphones when you're dancing...you know, like the silhouettes in the commercials. The supporting structure of the YO302WHT then wraps behind the neck. Although I don't have a lot of hair, I do have a fairly thick neck, and the YO302WHT barely made it around. The result of this is that it actually fit quite nicely, but I can't imagine professional wrestlers or defensive linemen will have a lot of luck here as the headphones aren't expandable. Likewise, those with long hair will face the extra effort of getting the headphones behind their mane. On the other hand, because the supporting structure doesn't rest on top of your head, there are no worries about them ruining your fancy haircut.

A bit more about the supporting structure. First, it's molded in a curved, soft plastic that's fairly comfortable behind your ears. It's still perhaps a bit too thick to feel as comfortable as a good pair of glasses, but it's better than most other "behind the ear" models I've tried. Also, the structure is bendable, allowing for easy placement and continued comfort throughout long listening periods. When you're done using the headphones, they eventually settle back into their original shape. The result of the lightweight bending capabilities is that the headphones feel flimsy. That's not to say they are flimsy, and my set hasn't exhibited any signs of wear or even hinted that they might break, but I find myself being extra careful with them, regardless. Perhaps that's a good thing.

One element I don't like are the included pads for the speakers. The tough rubber used is slightly uncomfortable and doesn't protect enough of the speaker. Perhaps there's an acoustic purpose for this, and perhaps they can be replaced. As they ship, though, Altec Lansing could have done a bit better with this.

Of course, what really matters here is sound. When I first connected the YO302WHTs to my iPod, my first thought was, "What happened to the bass?" After listening for a bit, though, I started to wonder if perhaps it wasn't just that the sound was clearer. I put my old headphones back in, and, sure enough, the bass was back...along with a whole lot of mud. The audio now sounded almost muffled with those old headphones. I would like a little more bass response out of the YO302WHT headphones, but it's a fair tradeoff at this price because you hear more of the subtleties of the music.

The speakers themselves feature the same neodymium drivers as Altec Lansing's inMotion speaker system for the iPod. From these, you'll get a frequency range of 20Hz to 20KHz and impedance of 32 ohms, for those who care about such things. The numbers don't mean a lot to me, personally, I just know what sounds good. As with the inMotion, the YO302WHT headphones sound sharp and clear when playing symphonic music or listening to audio books, but they do lose some punch when playing the lower frequencies of bass/drum-heavy music or when hooked up to your computer for games and movies. They're better than what Apple gives you, though, and they're also one of the few sets of headphones I could stand to wear for an entire movie or prolonged gaming session.

Altec Lansing has proven their ability to deliver decent sound from a set of portable speakers. With the YO302WHT headphones, they also had to throw comfort into the mix, and again proved themselves up to the challenge. I'll conclude with the same thought I included in my review of the inMotion speaker system: Although most iPod users are going to be pleased all around with the YO302WHT headphones, there is room for audio purists to complain. However, if you're an audio purist, what are you doing with an iPod?