Sennheiser AMBEO Smart Headset (iOS) – in-Ear Headphones with Binaural Audio - Active Noise Cancellation, Transparent Hearing and 3D Sound Recording - Black

I am relatively savvy on technology, but not so savvy on apple products. I want to enhance my work phone (iPhone) experience, not only conference call clarity but also other perks iPhone offers.Provided earphone was okay, but not the best nor comfortable for long conference call. I was looking around for affordable yet comfortable headset for iPhone (any other features would be bonus). Thanks to Apple, there is not much choice unless you go wireless. Strangely, I still prefer the wired ones over wireless (it's just me). Then, I have noticed Sennheiser Ambeo Headset was at the lowest price ever (dropped from $200s to $79.99). This was not my first choice due to little bit over my budget on work related stuffs, but I couldn't say no to extra features which not many products are offering - wired headset with active noise cancellation, transparent hearing and 3d recording all together.First, comfortness is par with provided silicon ear pieces. It does its job, but other ear pieces would enhance its features - I used Comply Foam tips from my other earphones, and it sounds much better (better isolation and comfortness - very personal observation, no technical backup data to prove these).Second, noise cancellation is superb. I have other ANC headsets/earphones and Ambeo is providing superb noise cancellation with other ear tips installed. I could hear my drum stick work noise (Roland V Drums) while ANC is off, all I could hear was low thud noise while ANC is on).Third, transparent hearing is great. I am always worried while riding my bicycle with music on since I couldn't hear my surroundings. This feature is not perfect to hear all from surroundings(not catching tiny noise), but it is very helpful to notice something nearby (like approaching a car from behind, or wife yelling at me to turn down the drum noise).Fourth, 3d sound recording is very interesting. Fair warning: this 3d sound experience would be working while you are wearing headsets, not thru speaker (at least, this was my experience). Not like stereophonic sound from LP recordings, this 3d recording did not provide the same feeling thru speaker (very difficult to describe this in writing). While you are listening sound with headset, you could feel you are in the middle of all sounds (like you are in the concert hall if you recorded the sound via Ambeo). This feature can be applied to Adroid phone with usb c (you need a sound adapter for thunderbold-to-USB c specifically, there are so far only two products known to the world). I recorded the sound early in the morning capturing the quietness with bird chirping, and it was awesome!!! APOGEE apps are great (only available to iPhone). Android phone could utilize any recording apps or default record app for 3d recording.Lastly, but not least, mic clarity is superb!! Sennheiser mic is very good (one for phone call). I am not sure whether two other omnidirectional mics on the earpieces would pick up any sound during the phone call.Things to consider:First, controller functionality is little awkward, but not a deal breaker. In order to switch from transparent hearing (amplified level) to Noise Cancellation Off, you have to click the button up or down all the way - can't jump directly to desired feature. Transparent hearing (amplified) - Transparent hearing (natrual) - Noise cancellation On - Noise cancellation Off...Second, provided silicon ear tips are not so good and not complimenting its features. Please play with other types of tips which would fit you well since no one's ears are same. Mine worked well with foam-type ear tips.Third, battery consumption might be a concern to someone. Yes, this might drain your phone's battery while using. However, I didn't see dramatic battery consumption - while mowing my lawns, I listend music with Ambeo (ANC on) for an hour and my phone battery was down about 5-6% from 100%. It might be different if you listen music louder.Lastly, mic volume control is not available. This might be my biggest concern actually - unable to control mic volume, no mute button. I used very low volume level on my iPhone (one click up from zero). With that setting, I could hear others well, but others could not hear me well (tiny sound only). If I raise the sound volume at 30% level, mic level also increased and communication went well. I do not have much knowledge on iPhone function. I couldn't find any instructions nor information how to adjust mic volume in iPhone.Overall, $200 ANC headset with 3d recording feature at $80 would be a steal. Little sad to see Sennheiser just ended their development (not introducing USB c version) and there is no Andorid apps. However, this would be a very special headset with great features not many products could offer. If you are an Apple user, I would highly recommend this. If you are an Android user, I would still highly recommend this with one condition - if you are okay to use a little pricey apple-oriented device thru an adapter (extra) on your android food channel.Thanks for reading not-so-professional review. Cheers!!!

In a nutshell:I highly recommend these headphones/microphones if you want binaural audio recording capabilities (and use iOS devices).Though, you should probably look elsewhere if you just want a pair of noise-cancelling headphones.Elaboration:I love these headphones primarily because of the binaural audio recordings it can capture. The only problem is that they aren’t well built (more below).The following probably tells you everything you need to know about how I feel about this AMBEO headphone/microphone: I just purchased two more because:1. My first pair stopped working2. I’m afraid these will get discontinued3. Even with the poor build quality, I’m still willing to spend money on these things because of the binaural audio recording functionality.Additional notes on build quality:- It took 3 years for these things to stop working- DO NOT try to sanitize them with rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer. The thin rubbery coating will crack.)- No matter what you do, the module that’s attached to the headphones will likely start peeling a bit after the first few months of moderate use. It doesn’t affect the device’s functionality. The peeling rubbery coating will just make the device look worn/ugly.For what it’s worth, the binaural recording functionality works on devices with USB-C if you have a USB-C to Lightning adapter.

I bought the black ones and they came in the manufacturer's packaging. They were marketed (especially through Apple) in white, but black was also sold in many places so they are legit, not knockoffs. They work as advertised and sound good as headphones. They come with a little cloth sack to store them in and a set of various sized earpieces. I have played around with 3D sound and it works very well, particularly with closer sound sources. They are fun to use and as long as you recognize the limits you can create some cool tracks. Sounds much further away are not magically made louder so these are not some sort of magic ears :). The functions all work, although I was not as impressed with the noice cancelling because these don't really shut out external audio the way closed ear cups would. Also be aware that since these were discontinued by manufacturer, the native Apogee app support might die off eventually. I am using with iOS 14.1 and everything works fine, although you have restart the app sometimes if you use other audio recording apps and forget the sequence to plug in and launch or need to kill other apps in background. These do work with FilmicPro and various other video and sound apps. Not all functions on rocker unit might be controlled in other apps, so you'll need to set certain things up with native app first to store the settings. Basically test your config by starting with the AMBEOs, then switch on other apps you want, and select the AMBEOs same as you would any other recognized mic. Also I found the app not as intuitive as others. It follows a "take" framework and you need to get familiar with it so you save your takes. These headphones work just fine as an input to other recorders and video apps (assuming they recognize stereo mics plugged in) ADVANCED: If you use audio repair stuff like iZotope, you might need to adjust your workflow since the type of separation these create might not be accounted for in some of their machine learning algorithms, but I haven't had to remove a passing car or other moving sound yet so YMMV. Also consider that you, as the recording center, might be moving relative to some audio sources as well. Overall, I think these are a good deal, especially with current discounts and they are fun to record with. You'll probably learn a new appreciation for noise pollution in our modern world once you start recording things to listen to in 3D.