Customer Reviews

Rivet Stereo Earphones / Headset (iPhone Compatible)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

I am one of the many folks who find the iPhone earbuds unwearable, so I went to my local Apple Store (hi, Oscar at The Domain!) and purchased the V-Moda Vibe Duo Earbuds (iPhone Compatible) in-ear headset. Fantastic sound quality, but there's no button. I didn't think I'd miss it that much--I don't get a lot of phone calls--but it turns out that I use the "pause" and "skip" function a lot more than I thought I did. Waking up the phone and unlocking it was getting inconvenient so, with regret, I returned the Vibe Duos.

Then I saw folks in an iPhone forum saying that the first third-party earbuds with a button were out. The Rivet earbuds (which, I notice, have lost their ten-buck discount since last Thursday and are now selling at full pop--too bad!) are indeed fully compatible with the iPhone.

I like the lanyard arrangement--they've done a neat job with that. Here's how it works: the bottom of the Y junction that you see in the photo is a fixed connector point. Above the mic button, there's another connector, but this one slides. To start, you slide it all the way to the top (up to the earbuds). Put this (large) loop over your neck. Now pull the earbuds back through it (slide the slider back down), making the loop smaller, until the cords are a comfortable length to reach your ears. The moveable slider sits at the back of your neck, so that even if you take out both buds, you still have the cord (between the two sliders) around your neck like a necklace. The clever part is that that moveable slider is actually split into two pieces. When you take the set off, you can slide the top half of it all the way back up to the buds, making them less tangle-prone, while leaving the bottom half at the proper setting, making it easy to maintain the correct loop-length adjustment. Cute!

Unfortunately, it seems to me that the quality of the speakers themselves is not that good. I've tried all three sets of inserts, so it's not that. The sound is no better than the Apple buds, and significantly poorer than the V-Modas. Also, the button/mic casing is huge (1.5" long) compared to the Apple or V-Moda, and the clicker is a little more difficult to manage... it's a small button recessed into the large casing. Sometimes I try to click it and, in trying to grasp it, wind up double-clicking instead. Lastly, there's no case or pouch to store your buds when you're not using them.

Long story short, for twenty bux they're okay--I'll continue to use them, if only because the Apple buds are downright painful to me--but as soon as V-Moda or Ultimate Ear come out with a set with the button, I'm switching over.

Edited to add: Wow, they've gone up ANOTHER five bux since I wrote this (six hours ago). At twenty they were just about right; at thirty-five, ehhh... I'd wait another few weeks for the V-Modas with button, which are due out in August.

I've had Shure e3c's, lusted after the 4c and 5c models. This isn't a Shure sound. It is however every bit as good as the original ipod ear buds. For me, they are better as they are canal style which means I can block out outside noises. Also the original ipod ear buds do not fit my ears at all.

What I truely love about these, and what makes them different is the cable. The cable is a lanyard style, which means it goes over your head and the buds go up to your ears from behind. This means that even if a bud falls out, they will stay around your head. Also, if you need to pull them out to talk to somone, you can just let them dangle around your neck till you put them back in. Awesome.

Also, the cable is the thickest I've seen of any earbud, and has a braided material around it that serves two purposes. First, they rarely tangle. Second, it is a much better insulator for sound being carried via brushing against the cable.

If you want the best sound out there, there are better choices. If you want very good sound, and a very reasonable cost (I lose earbuds in my travels all the time). Then I highly recommend these.

I bought these headphones about a month ago and it's already broken. The left earbud sound has been cut already. Also, when you're walking or making slight movements, you can hear the cord hitting against you and it messes with the sound of what you're listening to.

Do not buy these.
The first set I bought broke after about 30 days. I gave Rivet the benefit of the doubt, and sent it to them for a replacement. I bought another pair to use in the meantime because the price is so low.

I received a replacement, but it was the wrong model (they sent me one for a motorola).

The new set I bought just broke, this time in under 30 days.

Simply put, do not buy them.

Sure these have a few troubling items, like, not being 10 times as high quality as the original headset, or having a slightly larger button/mic.

But they are lanyard style, which rules. It's so nice to be able to wander about downtown with my phones in, and when I need to communicate, just click the pause button, and drop the earbuds out of my ears, without any worries that they need to go in my pocket or whatever, they just hang around my neck, no problems.

The audio quality is superior to the original included headset. That's not saying much, since the original set is pretty poor quality, for Apple standards at least. The sound is equivalent to what you get when you press the originals into your ears and cover up your ears with your palms, but a bit better balanced. Not much, but, definitely better.

I got this set for $20, if you can find them for that price point, I would not hesitate to replace the poor OEM headset with these. Also, currently there is no alternative third party in-ear set that has "the button" so it's really pointless to consider them unless you seriously love digging around for your phone every time you want to pause for 30 seconds to interact with a barista.

The shure series garners high marks for audio quality, but if you're enjoying your music on your current headset but dislike the comfort issues, then you'll fall in love with these, certainly.

In-ear headphones take a little getting used to, it's odd how much more of the sound you hear, and because of that, it will sound "wrong" at first. Don't sweat it though, your mind adjusts fairly quickly, and the increased comfort level will have you addicted to this headset style for a long, long time.

I just received these in the mail. I bought them to go with my new iphone. They came really quickly. I haven't had them long so I'll give my first impression.

1. These seem to be pretty high quality, especially for the money. The fabric surrounding the cable makes me feel like these will be more sturdy than the headphones that came with my iphone. The headphones themselves fit inside the ear canal and block out a lot of background noise. I mainly listen to podcasts so the sound quality is more than for my needs.

2. The lanyard style is a little weird. The mic(with answer button) is located pretty far down the cord. This is because the headphones are designed to be worn around you neck. Worn this way, the mic is in close enough prominity to you mouth to work well although I haven't tried the mic yet. Upon contemplating I think I will like the lanyard style b/c my headphones won't be jerked out of my ears when the cable gets caught on something.

Wait about 30 days. You'll loose sound out of one ear, or the mic and mic button will stop working.
I'm on my second set and amazon won't take another replacement.
They're great earbuds in theory. Good Sound, blocks out noise. I like the over the head. But the Quality of the wires make this a poor buy.
I do like them, when it works. but it breaks too easily
Unfortunately they're the only IPhone earbuds under $20 I've seen at Amazon.
I may buy these again, but with the replacement warranty.

I was searching for an iPhone headset since I can't use the horrible ones that come with iPod's and the one that came with the iPhone is the same. And, since you can't use ANY other headset with the iPhone, I was forced to use those horrid things. I bought the Belkin adapter to use with my own headphones which is RIDICULOUS. (Don't buy that thing.) These headphones aren't bad at all. The sound is as good as my Sony's and once I read the directions on how to wear them correctly, I really like how they work. Until they come out with more choices, this is a great one. Don't be fooled by the long cord at first. READ THE DIRECTIONS. It's actually quite nice how it works.

I'm an Apple fanboy, but I dislike their earbud design because they will not stay in my ears. That's the only reason I began to look for a replacement set. When I heard this headset positively reviewed on the "Today in iPhone" podcast, I thought I'd give them a shot. The lanyard style of the Rivet, though annoying to "put on," is a far superior design to Apple's iPhone headset. Rivet's silicone earbud covers are comfortable and, most importantly, stay in my ears. The microphone/clicker works just like Apple's but is a bit heavier, though you cannot feel this difference because the lanyard style distributes the product's weight around your neck rather than on your inner ear (like Apple's). The Rivet headset is not expensive compared to many others. For that reason you will not get a pleasing bass response. However, I found that setting the iPhone's iPod EQ to "small speakers" reduces the blown subwoofer sound effect of these inexpensive yet innovative earbuds. The poor base response (not too important to me) is the reason I gave 4 out of 5 stars.

I ordered these to replace my lost iPhone earbuds about 5 months ago. I realized then how crummy the standard issue headset is out of the box from Apple. I cannot recommend this set enough. I'm really surprised at the one and two star reviews, as I had an obviously radically different experience.

I use these while riding my bike and the material coated cord is very sturdy and the sound quality is absolutely perfect. I did not have the same experience the other reviewer(s) had of the cord material causing any interference when being rubbed against. The microphone and its button worked and sounded adequately even with the wind from fast bike riding.

It took a minute to get used to the lanyard concept, but its a terrific idea that keeps your earbuds anchored close to you in case the fall out of your ears.

I'm writing this review now because I'm about to order my second set of Rivet headphones after misplacing my first. I see the price has dropped from when I originally purchased them, from $19.95 to now $14.95 and all in all these are just about the best iPhone earphones available. If you have $100 to spend on V-Moda go right ahead, but I think its a waste of money unless you have been cursed with superhuman auditory powers that can discern those subtle differences only an oscilloscope can detect. Otherwise, Rivet is your brand.