Sipping a Chai Latte and glancing at the other patrons talking to themselves I just had to laugh. All these new fangled phone head sets make people look like a crazy babbler or an alien with wires protruding out of their heads and my friend Ronnie's no exception. Seeing him saunter into the coffee shop I expected to hear dialogue about some new real estate deal booming from his mouth instead I heard the phrase, "You can hear me. I mean you can really hear me?" The surprise radiating from his face was reassuring considering the countless commercials I've seen with people in deserted fields in the middle of nowhere shouting into a cell phone, "Can you hear me, can you hear me" the invariable yes occurs on the commercial, but in reality the call is dropped and no one is heard. The hands free headsets only complicate the perceived loss of hearing if you ask me. Of course when they do their job right headsets are a blessing freeing one's hands to do other needed tasks.

Finishing the last of my Chai Latte I watched Ronnie talk to his caller and continue to express the joy of being heard. I mean it's what we all want in life, right? Someone who hears us; I mean really listens. Maybe Ronnie has found a little part of the secret to life.

I ordered another Chai Latte and a Chitico (Rich Hot Chocolate) for Ronnie. Cleaning up the stack of newspapers at my table by the fireplace I motioned for him to join me, which he did with this Cheshire grin on his face as he wrapped things up with the caller.

Ronnie relayed the woes of using various head sets. He mentioned how one headset, which came with his old cell phone didn't work at all, how another one did, but developed a strange whistle sound, which he never heard, but his callers did. They found it so annoying some took to calling him Whistling Ronnie, which he wasn't too happy about. The admission of this incident sent me laughing hysterically and spewing coffee on the table.

When I cleaned up the spilled Chai Latte I heard all about the headset Ronnie referred to as the "Heavy Breather". Using that one callers heard his breathing or what sounded like breathing, which could just as likely have been caused by static from a poor connection. Ronnie also shared a tail about a headset he nicknamed the "Ear Vice", which he likened to some medieval torchure chamber. I laughed and laughed and said, "If you hate head sets so much why do you bother using them?"

"Safety. They free my hands to do other things like drive, work, eat, drink, enjoy life. You know just the small things, Rene."

Looking at Ronnie's Treo 600 Smart phone sitting on the table I said, "So how's their head set?"

" Rene, nothing worth mentioning."

"It's that bad?"

"Yes. With all my other cell phone head set disasters and the Treo's disappointment I've turned to the professionals."

Taking off his earpiece and showing it to me, he said, "This is a cell phone headset called OuietSpot by Shure. These folks have been producing sound equipment for over seventy eight years for the music industry.

This head set is my Mercedes and Porsche it's that good Rene. The sound quality is incredible. When I'm having a conversation I'm on my own island. I don't hear the background noice just the person I'm talking to. It's the way a conversation is supposed to be. The sound is so precise."

"Ronnie, how can they assure such sound quality?"

"Their microphone uses what they call background noise canceling technology, which is based on their renown professional stage microphones. With this technology conversations come in clear all the time no matter where you are."

"Ronnie, I take it since this is your Mercedes and Porsche, we're talking serious cash."

"Not all. Shure's QuietSpot headset is only $49.95. Visit the www.shure.com and replace your Treo headset, please. Our last conversation on the way over here I caught every third word you said."

"Oh, it was that bad?"

"Yes, Rene."

"Is the QuietSpot comfortable for long conversations?"

"Yes. It's made my business life more efficient and it's been a boost to my social life too."

"Ronnie, what can I do for sound with my IPOD?"

My friend got the Cheshire grin on his face again and said, "So you're into music now. What is it Rock and Roll or classics?"

"Just help me out here, please. The sound protruding from my son's head set is atrocious. When I tried to listen to Opera I heard background interference."

"You and your son both need to stop using the Apple white duds, I mean earbuds. I used their for a while with my own IPOD and they are as bad as the cheap freebie cell phone head sets. I'm using Shure's E3C for my IPOD and I'm real happy with it. The E3C resides inside the ear canals. This design blocks 20 decibels- plus ff of environmental noise. Listening to music with it I feel like I'm on my own concert island. If you close your eyes it can be. Isn't that the way good music is supposed to be taking you to a place where only song and sound exist?"

"Ronnie, you're waxing a bit philosophical today."

"So will you Rene, when you try it out, you'll see this in-ear model is incredible and it's white earpiece matches the IPOD."

"That figures, Mr. Stylish. But is it comfortable, Ronnie?"

"Yes and it's only $179."

"Thanks Ronnie. I hope you can clarify something. My sister's been raving about Shure's E5C saying it has some sort of a high low frequency, which is perfect for my son's taste in music. But my son told me it's not good if I want to listen to jazz."

"They are both right. Shure's E5C model is $499 and is designed for musicians to wear as on­stage monitors. What your sister is describing is the drivers worn in each ear. In principle it's kind of like stick shifting. One frequency is reserved for low and another one is for high frequencies. There's also crossover channeling for all frequencies. With the E5C you'll experience spectacular sound. Listening to music with this high-low frequency in your eardrums instead of a concert island you'll have your own musical world. It's that precise. With orchestrated and fine tuned sound like this you'll find the volume on your IPOD going down compared to other headphones. Mine's been averaging at one-third and before it was two-thirds the volume."

"Are there other earphones well suited for different kinds of music?"

"Yes. The E5C is great for pop music songs with powerful bass and background vocals. But I like my E3C for jazz, classical, folk songs, and other recordings where acoustics play a central role.

The Etymotic E4P model is also great for acoustics. It's $330.00. One of the guys I work has been real happy with his E4P and says it's fabulous for listening to acoustic music. He likes a lot of meditational type music. I borrowed his E4P one day when we took a business trip up North and I forgot to pack my E3C. In the quiet of the hotel the high end clarity of Etymotic's model was impressive. Listening to calming songs I emerged in a bit of a trance. But, when I took my IPOD outside on the patio still wearing the Entymotic E4P the sound precision went down hill. I heard a little bit of the background noice."

"What about looks?"

"I like Shure's approach with the little white earpieces matching the IPOD. Etymotic's is a bit too showy for my taste with the black cables and bright blue and red color coded strain reliefs on the shafts."

"What about earphones that aren't in your ears?"

"You might want to consider Sony's MDR-G82. It's a traditional neck­band style with a full-cup headphone cradling your ear. It offers great sound for bass-heavy Rock and Roll. The G82 full-ear cups are very comfortable and sleek looking in sil­ver and black. It also folds down to the size of a tangerine."

Ronnie stared at the ends of my pants and got this Cheshire grin on his face and said, "Now about those Dockers you're wearing..."

"They're not Dockers. They're designer pants. I got on sale."

"Oh, really, Rene." Same old Ronnie.

Source: Pen Computing