When I got an iPhone I was dismayed to find that its mysteriously recessed audio jack didn't accomodate the plugs on most earphones. The included Apple earbuds (with inline microphone) and my trusty Etymotic er-6is were just about the only phones I could find that fit iPhone without some modification. That was fine - the Ety 6is might just be the best value in prosumer earphones on the market right now. Readily available for under $80, the 6is are worlds better than anything Apple's ever included with an iPod/iPhone, and are equally at home on long airplane flights and sweaty cardio rooms. The only thing they lacked when used with an iPhone was the microphone/remote control pod found on Apple's headset. A company called Ultimate Buds actually started offering a mail-in service to remedy that problem - they'll sell you a Frankenstein melding of Ety's earbuds with Apple's microphone/control pod. That's how good - and popular - the Etys are.

As such I was thrilled to learn this past January that Etymotic Research had unveiled a brand new, made-for-iPhone stereo headset. After almost two months with a review unit hooked up to my iPhone, iPod, MacBook, and a few other cell phones, I'm also thrilled to report that the hf2s are as good as I'd hoped they'd be. They're by far the best iPhone-compatible stereo headset I've tried, and they actually might now represent the best value in the Etymotic lineup (at least based on MSRP list prices). If you own a BlackBerry Curve or other cell phone with a 3.5mm headphone jack, the hf2s will likely work for you, too.

The hf2s are based on the audio drivers used in Etymotic's er-4 canalphones, which are considered by many an audio enthusiast to be amongst the best consumer-grade in-ear 'phones available. But while the er-4s list for $299, the hf-2s were launched with an MSRP of only $179 (the er-6is list for $149). So what gives? While the hf2s use the same drivers as the er-4s, they're not subject to the same accuracy standards as their more expensive counterparts - basically any two pairs of er-4 phones will sound almost exactly the same while two pairs of hf-2s might sound a little different from one another. "Different" is relative here, though, as it's the kind of minute difference that's going to be lost on most consumers, or most anyone without a very sensitive and/or trained ear. And it's not like Eytmotic is going to ship a bad pair of 'phones, anyway - it's just that the er-4s are reference grade while the hf2s are consumer grade. So in theory the consumer who wants stellar sound can get it from the hf2s for a hundred bucks or so less than the er-4s would cost.

The theory holds up in practice, too. To be fair, I've never owned a pair of er-4s - I've only demoed them on a handful of occasions. But the hf2s sound excellent. They reproduce musical accurately and with detail, with a balanced response across all frequencies. If you love thumpin' bass that drowns out the rest of the spectrum these might not be for you. There's plenty of bass here, don't get me wrong, but it's natural balanced bass and not the somewhat skewed, bass-heavy sound put out by earphones like the V-Moda Vibe or Vibe Duo (which some people love but I personally find too imbalanced). The hf2s come with two sizes of triple flange eartips to better fit folks with smaller ear canals, and also come with foam tips that provide even better sound quality and amazing noise isolation but are a little less durable and not made for workouts or other moisture-prone usage. I've used the hf2s with both types of tips and generally stick with the triple flanges, as they're more durable and versatile but still yield awesome sound (provided you use them properly).

While the inline mic/control pod on the hf2s is larger than the one found on Apple's pack-in iPhone headset, I haven't yet found it substantially more intrusive than any other headset mic I've ever tried - though I have read some complaints around the Web about its size. Ety's mic also noticably outperformed Apple's mic - while it's not a life-changing difference, people did tell me that I came through a little louder and clearer when using the Etys with my iPhone as opposed to the Apple headset. I also like the hf2's removable shirt clip and matte black color.

In terms of sound quality only, I found the hf2s to be a bit more detailed and clear-sounding than the er-6is I've been using for a few years now. They also seemed to have a flatter response curve - the er6is boost the low and mid-range where the hf2s don't, at least to my untrained ears. The difference between the two is noticable to me, but it's not like I'm complaining about the er-6is. Both sets of earphones are great for listening to music, and the er-6is work just fine with my iPhone so long as I hold the phone up to my face during calls so I can speak directly into the mic on the handset. But I think the hf2s are just a bit truer and more detailed sounding, and as a made-for-iPhone solution they're utterly fantastic. They provide very good, immersive sound, incredible noise reduction, great comfort, and a very good microphone for voice calls.

At $179, the hf2s aren't cheap, but compared to the $299 that the very similar er-4 'phones list for, they're a relative bargain. Why Apple had to go and give their breakthrough cell phone a ridiculously crippled headphone jack I still don't know, but at least one good thing came out of it: Etymotic Research's hf2 Headset + Earphones. If you're in the market for the best way to use your iPhone for voice calls and listening to music, there's no competition (at least not yet). The hf2s are the best iPhone phones available on the market today.

The Etymotic Research hf2 Headset + Earphones list for $179. More information is available on the Etymotic.com website.