Bluetooth Headset Earmuffs hack.
I bought a Nokia BH-501 bluetooth headset from Newegg some months ago. One of the earpieces broke off of the behind-the-neck band about a week later, and I never got around to investigating the warranty, etc.
Instead, I decided I'd remove the earpieces from their flimsy plastic structure and find some better way to attach them to my head. Weeks passed...
Today while buying a new jacket, scarf, etc. I found some earmuffs called 'eargrips'.
So I bought them and brought them home. After half an hour spent judiciously removing the earpieces from their plastic without cutting the connecting wire, and then another ten minutes spent stuffing the earpieces into the eargrips, I was done.
Pros: keeps my ears warm while I listen to stereo bluetooth music, saved me from throwing away a $65 toy
Cons: is now a bit too tight around the ears
On a related topic, my Motorola Q9H phone plays 256k mp3s over my BH-501 headset as if my ears are full of mud. It sounds terrible. 128k mp3s make it difficult to identify which song is playing. I wish A2DP supported FLAC. I wonder if the earmuffs themselves could be affecting the sound? I'll have to try some high quality mp3s next, that might help.
Instead, I decided I'd remove the earpieces from their flimsy plastic structure and find some better way to attach them to my head. Weeks passed...
Today while buying a new jacket, scarf, etc. I found some earmuffs called 'eargrips'.
So I bought them and brought them home. After half an hour spent judiciously removing the earpieces from their plastic without cutting the connecting wire, and then another ten minutes spent stuffing the earpieces into the eargrips, I was done.
Pros: keeps my ears warm while I listen to stereo bluetooth music, saved me from throwing away a $65 toy
Cons: is now a bit too tight around the ears
On a related topic, my Motorola Q9H phone plays 256k mp3s over my BH-501 headset as if my ears are full of mud. It sounds terrible. 128k mp3s make it difficult to identify which song is playing. I wish A2DP supported FLAC. I wonder if the earmuffs themselves could be affecting the sound? I'll have to try some high quality mp3s next, that might help.