If you aren’t happy with Apple’s Lightning Earpods, don’t want to use their clumsy adapter, don’t want to go wireless, but also don’t want to spend a fortune on new earphones, you will want to check out the Scosche IDR300L Increased Dynamic Range Earbuds with Lightning Connector. At just $79.99 they are affordable, comfortable, and sound surprisingly good.
The Scosche IDR300L Increased Dynamic Range Earbuds with Lightning Connector are a simple affair with an extra-special something for those who want earbuds that also make a bit of a fashion statement. Scosche describes the sub-$80 earphones this way:
Lose yourself in a vibrant acoustic experience of smooth highs, sweet mid-tones and rich, powerful bass. These are quality Lightning headphones with high-efficiency dynamic drivers that deliver a balanced and immersive sound.
The IDR300L Increased Dynamic Range Earbuds are pretty much what you expect from a pair of Lightning connector earphones.
They have a Lighting connector at one end and the necessary electronics for taking advantage of this connector sitting a few inches above the connector itself.
The electronics “bulge” makes the earphones a bit weighted at the lower end of the cable but is a necessary evil when using the current Apple connection for audio.
The single cable coming from the Lighting connector divides into two smaller cables that make their way from the Y-junction to the earphones themselves.
A few inches below the right earphone sits the controller. As one might expect it has a button to increase the volume and a second button to decrease it. Sitting between the two volume buttons is the third button. This controls the music. The MFB (MultiFunction Button) offers a surprising amount of audio control. Pressing it once starts the music. Pressing it again pauses the music. Double-tapping it skips a track forward while triple tapping it skips a track back. But there’s more. If you double tap then hold the MFB, it will fast forward the audio. If you triple tap, then hold the MFB will remind the audio.
But wait… there’s even more. If you press and hold the MFB, it will activate Siri. (Obviously, this is for use with Siri only since the earphones are specific to Apple devices.) When a call comes in you can answer it by tapping the MFB. Tapping it again will end the call. If, however, a call comes in and you want to ignore it you can tap and hold the MFB for 2 seconds.
And there’s even more… If you are on a call and a second call comes in you can press the MFB to put the current call on hold and answer the incoming one. (It is a bit rude to do so but that’s not the point of my describing all the functions.) Pressing the MFB again will let you return the first call that you, so rudely, put on hold. If you are looking to be even ruder and want to dump the current call and answer the new one, you can press and hold the MFB for two seconds. Or, if you want to swap between calls you can press the MFB once.
In other words, this single button can do a lot, but you will want to spend some time memorizing all of the various functions.
The MFB is not, however, the “extra-special something” I previously mentioned. No, this extra-special something comes from the fact that included with the earphones are not only the expected travel pouch and various sizes of single flanged silicone inserts but also two additional sets of “caps.”
The Scosche IDR300L Increased Dynamic Range Earbuds with Lightning Connector ship with black caps already in place but also ship with gold and silver colored caps.
To change the appearance of the earphones, you simply pull off the current caps and snap the preferred color into place.
This lets the earphones also be a bit of a fashion statement. Anyone who knows me, however, will not be surprised that I’m using them with the simple black caps in place. It lets the earphones be unassuming and simply do their job.
Speaking of “their job,” the Scosche IDR300L Increased Dynamic Range Earbuds with Lightning Connector are comfortable and sound surprisingly good. They sit rather far into your ear canal and stay in place quite well. The does, however, mean anyone who isn’t a fan of in-ear earphones is not going to like these. I do, and they fit nicely. In the process, they physically block out a good amount of ambient sound. I’m enjoying listening to music using these earphones and find them to be a superb upgrade from the Lighting EarPods. You can check them out here.
Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample
What I Like: Big improvement over Apple’s offering; Controller offers a lot of functionality; Comfortable if you like in-ear earphones; Come with three sets of caps so you can change up the appearance; Under $80
What Needs Improvement: It may take a while to memorize the various functions offered by the MFB