Far End Gear Short Buds 15" Cord Single in-Ear Stereo-to-Mono Earbud for Clip-on Music Players

I listen to podcast on my daily walk to and from work. I like to have one ear open for situational awareness -- especially traffic (Brooklyn drivers are nuts).I use a bluetooth unit clipped to my shirt pocket, and plug this Short Bud into it. I'mm 6'6", and the cord still leaves enough slack to turn my head left or right as far as I can (when crossing the street, for example), without tugging on my pocket or my ear. It's perfect.And the sound quality! I've always used cheap buds for podcasts (it's only voice, right?) but there's more clarity to the voices now, and when listening at 1.5x or 2.0x, as i tend to do, I find it a few percentage points easier to hear and understand what's being said than with the sub-$20 stereo earbuds I've burned through over the last six years.The only question now is if they'll last me a full year of use, or less (or more!?). (They're wound up and tossed in a bag or pocket several times a day.) Remind me to update this review sometime in 2014!So far tho, I am very glad I spent the less-than-$20 I did on this single bud instead of another pair of stereo buds. They both serve my specific usage needs better ~and~ sound better. Wish I'd tried them a few years ago!++++++EDIT, 9 months later:They're dead. The wire, where it meets the rubbery bendy bit that leads to the jack, tended to get contorted at nasty angles, even though it had enough length to reach from the bluetooth receiver clipped onto my chest pocket to my ear. Instead of shooting out straight from the rubbery jack bit, it would end up turned in the opposite direction, like a knee bent the wrong way, just through the result of normal walking-down-the-street-to-work-each-day body movement (head turns when crossing the street, shirt/coat movement, etc.)They began to cut out or transmit sound at lower volumes about two weeks before dying completely. I kept intending to wrap a tiny piece of electrical tape around the wire where it meets the rubbery jack bit, or add a dollop of liquid rubber, but never did. I'm pleased they made it through nine months of daily use, though a full year woulda been a nice even number to survive til... at any rate, I have two more pairs now (they're not always available, and hard to find, so if you like yours, stock up.)

These are quite unreliable. more so than the previous model.I like to listen to music while i ride my motorcycle, and having GPS directions in my ear is often handy, occasionally a necessity, however having both ear plugged up with headphones is obviously dangerous. So i sought out a stereo to mono single earbud.This was what i landed on because, oddly enough, there arent many options out there and this one looked like it would do the job.The first one, within 2 weeks of purchase, dropped the right channel completely, leaving several songs sounding strange or without vocals. tried my trusty bose headphones... no problem. contacted support and t hey very quickly sent me out another one.that was november 19th, it is now december 10th, and that replacement just stopped working altogether while going down the road.I have sent them another email. I will not be purchasing from this company again.UPDATE:After contacting the manufacturer several times for repeated warranty replacements, I have received the NEW update to this model, and so far so good.They requested, and provided a label, for me to return my several defective ones. they then contacted me to tell me why these kept failing and that they were working on a new model.They sent me another of t he previous model to get me by, and once the new model came out, they sent me a replacement from THAT design as well.So far, the new design is holding up well.

Got this for work because while I'm allowed to listen to music (in most areas) my boss wants me to only have it in one ear so I can hear if anyone (esp. her) is calling me or talking to me. Course then I'm missing out on parts of songs that like to only some things playing in one ear or the other, or go back and forth (To be honest I always found it obnoxious, even with being able to use both ears). Testing it right now and sound is pretty good. Not quite what I'm used to usually, but it doesn't make me grimace either like some headphones I've had in the past. Cord is indeed short. Would have liked a good single with a longer cord (that wasn't for phones and had an "answer" button with them, or whatever other extra parts to it), but going to try it out at work tonight to see if it'll get in the way with the mp3 clipped to my shirt rather than in my pocket (Which, in case anyone was wondering, I'd normally just have the cord running down my back, under my shirt so that it wouldn't get caught on anything while I worked. I tend to do the that normally anytime I may be active. Surprised more people don't)

I am a supervisor in a manufacturing environment, so not only do I need to keep one ear open for overhead cranes and forklifts, but I'm constantly bombarded by questions by employees. Up to this point, I always just used my iPhone earbuds and kept one out, but that was kind of a pain and the loosely hanging earbud would snag on stuff occasionally and pull the other one out. So I got this, and I love it.I can't speak to the sound quality, as I'm not really focused much on that. It sounds fine to me.Be wary of how short the "short cord" is. I didn't realize but it's only 15 inches long. It ended up working out perfectly for me, as it is just long enough to connect to my iPhone in my breast pocket and reach my left ear. I would definitely buy this item again.EDIT: The plug has shorted out and now cuts in and out. It's awful and unusable. I used it for 8-10 hrs a day, 3-5 days a week for 3 months and then this happened. I have to say, that doesn't give me the most confidence in the longevity of a product marketed for active individuals.

I bought this updated version to replace an older one that wore out.The updated cable feels stronger and the sound quality appears better.Update...... I use these a lot while cycling and have now found that the slightest but of sweat causes issues. If they are plugged into q Bluetooth unit the sound level drops to around 25% however, if they are plugged into a headphone jack on the phone, they start sending messages back to the phone as if they have built in smart capability.

I did not expect much since it will be in just one ear. How wrong I was.Great sound, almost like wearing 2 ear buds. You can listen to what is going around you when you want and it is easy to drown yourself in just the one ear bud and not notice what is going on around you.Mine has been in my bag, out of my bag, used, borrowed and I do not have to fear the wire breaking as it is covered with fabric and the length is perfect. it does not catch on anything.

This is just great - non tangle sensible length cord and comfy earbuds. Why had I not seen this before the dozen or so indifferent products I have bought over the years?

Good sound. Allows you to listen to what is going around you. Nice cord length.

Good product - would have been a 5 star but the plastic around the 3.5mm plug broke after a 8 months which dropped my rating down to 2 stars. But what brought it up again was the great service from the vendor who replaced the product! Can't commend them enough. Brilliant.