There are plenty of headphones available, some good, some bad. But when was the last time you saw a pair aimed at younger children? That's the plan with the Griffin MyPhones, a set of headphones that are aimed at the little angels in your life. But do they work? We plugged in our 3 year-old daughter to find out.

The MyPhones main claim is that they feature an always-on volume limiter so your child can't turn the volume up too loud and blow their ear-drums out. Set to a maximum 85dB all the time, they can still get loud, but not loud enough to do any damage.

To put 85dB into context, you and I talk normally at around 60dB while an MP3 player such as the iPod (without the volume limiter turned on) is around 120dB - the same, indecently, as an ambulance screaming past you in the street.

In practice and the headphones look like your average grown-up headphones. They have big comfortable cans on either side and an adjustable head strap to fit different sized heads, but things are kept small for children.?The cans are well padded and replicate what you would expect on an adult "professional" model, leather or faux leather we can't determine, but either way they are good enough to block any noise (not that it gets that loud anyway).

There is a long cable (127cm) with a 3.5mm jack so the MP3 player can be tucked neatly away in a back pack (kids pockets are usually full of stones or tissues), which is an unexpected but pleasant surprise and should see you right on planes and in the back of the car.

Where the Griffin MyPhones headphones aim to appeal to children is with the interchangeable cover inserts. You get two designs in the box - blue or pink - and before you start to think this is just another marketing idea to sell you more, you also get a further two sets of blank templates so you can colour in your own. The templates are easy enough to copy (it's just a circle after all) and that means your kids can colour their hearts out and put their own stamp on them.

So what about performance? After asking the 3-year-old and getting nowhere without a "they sound great daddy", we tested them out (in the interest of reviewing you understand). The sound isn't anything spectacular, however it's not awful either. There is a good balance of treble and bass with the bass, as you would expect, on the light side. Noise cancellation was good and although we weren't able to test them on an aeroplane they did manage to isolate the noise of our washing machine when standing next to it.?

I listened to everything from The Beatles to Berlioz and would be happy enough with the performance to know that my daughter and son won't be complaining any time soon.

Everything is kept in a large strong plastic carry case, and the marketing bumpf can be removed and the accompanying "These myPhones belong to..." panel inserted instead.

Grumbles? There aren't any.

?

Verdict:

As a parent you always want to protect your children, but not go over the top and wrap them in cotton wool. Although some MP3 players (iPod included) do offer a volume limiting system, it's sometimes hard to find the setting and fiddly fingers will always turn it off.?

The volume limiting here is done via the hardware and is always on - there is no off switch – so all you have to worry about is plugging them in. Couple that with the ability to customise, and our 3-year-old was excited about not only colouring them in but then wearing them afterwards.

If you're a parent and need a set of headphones for your little one, these are the ones to get.

Related links:

• Learn more - MyPhonesKids.com

Tags: Audio Headphones Griffin Dad Griffin MyPhones

Griffin MyPhones headphones for children originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

It's easy to think of on-ear phones when choosing a computer headset, but the Sennheiser PC 300 G4ME solution proves that in-ear isn't only for your MP3 player. The first major advantage is that the canal-tight buds make for an excellent noise isolation, which not all headphones can produce. Closed cup headsets are usually pretty good at this but even they don't always provide that complete seal between you and the outside world.

For people with their games consoles and PCs tucked in away in a quiet corner of the house, that might not be a problem but. if you have to share the room with other people - perhaps watching TV or using the phone or just clanking about in the kitchen - then the PC 300s are something seriously worth considering.

As with headphones of all levels, they do the job, so it's really a case of measuring up just how well they do it compared to the money you're asked to spend. If you look hard, you can find them at around the ?60-?70 mark and the short answer is that they are indeed well worth the outlay.

They're made of a standard, light-weight, black cable material of 1m in length running from the green and purple colour coded 3.5mm plugs at one end through a volume control, then a microphone and finally to the ear buds set at different lengths with the shorter going to your left ear and the longer heading round the back of your neck and into you right. And, at 7g of weight, there are simply no comfort issues at all.

If that's not long enough for you, the PC 300s come with a 2m extension lead which should span the distance between most console and sofa setups. The build is light but strong, the volume control is smooth and easy to use and the choice of three sets of simple, rubber, black ear sleeves will fit any lug holes they meet. The buds themselves are a sturdy, good looking and not too heavy or cold mix of black plastic and metal with a well-chosen protective gauze over the drivers.

One of the best parts of the design, though, is the unassuming looking professional standard microphone that hangs comfortably away from your face. It has a frequency response of 18-15,000Hz which in real terms means that it effortlessly picks up the full details of whatever instructions you maybe muttering to your Call of Duty teammates and just how you feel about their style of play.

The audio coming in the other direction is no disappointment either. The noise isolation means you get don't get any distortion of the sound from over-amplification and the sound scape is very complete. Although a balance, it doesn't sit right in the middle with all the sections equally represented. It's not supposed to. The majority of gaming noises are at the mid-range and at the bass and, accordingly, it's those that are by far the best represented in the PC 300s. The top end may be a little quiet and without personality but the middle is dead on the money and the bottom end is huge, dramatic, if slightly on the spongy side, but are guaranteed to make you jump out your seat when the in-game action hots up.

You aren't just restricted to computers and consoles either. The phones work perfectly well with an MP3-player by using just the one 3.5mm plug. You'll get better sound quality than a pair that came free with your iPod, but the less interesting top notes mean that a dedicated set of buds of equal value would probably offer a better experience on the move.

To top it all off the Sennheiser PC 300s come with a nifty rubber travel case with a magnetic clasp that you can't help but open and close over and over, so satisfying is the action. Lovely touch, just a shame it's not big enough to comfortably fit the full 3m extension.

Verdict:

They're not the world's cheapest gaming headphones and there's something a little weird about going in-ear at home but the experience is a very, very, good one well worth the ?60-?70 outlay. Lots of positives here with not a bad word to say about them at all.

The PC 300s are perfectly acceptable for just listening to your audio tracks too but, if that's a main point for you, then you'd best buy a pair better suited for pure music audio rather than in-game sound scapes. You'll get more bang for your buck on something specialised for that purpose.

The only real question mark above this in-ear headset is whether or not people really want a wired set of phones for gaming and Skype. Regardless of how many metres long the cables are, you're still tethered to a console or PC and ultimately it just means more tangling and more chance of tripping people up. On the plus side, you'll never have forgotten to charge them or run out of batteries during gameplay. So, if you want to go in-ear and you're happy to deal with the cables, then these Sennheisers are most heartily recommended.

Tags: Audio Headphones Headsets Sennheiser Gaming Sennheiser PC 300 G4ME Sennheiser PC 300 G4ME

Sennheiser PC 300 G4ME headset originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0100