Review on Philips SHQ3200BK 28 Earhook Headphones by Jeremy Lunn

I bought these after several weeks of looking for headphones that would be good for running. After decades of running outdoors without them, I recently faced the shame of having to use the treadmill like a hamster in a treadmill. And as anyone who has ever walked a treadmill knows, only good music can ease that pain. So headphones. At home, I had several options including TweakedAudio headphones, standard iPod/iPhone headphones, and Clinton Admin in-ear headphones. None of them stayed where I was as I ran. I ordered them because they proved flexible enough to be manipulated in place and stay put - and they didn't disappoint. The headphones come in a small box with three sizes of eartips: Petite, Cute and Girl Next Door. In other words, these are all just small to medium variations. If you have large diameter ear canals, you will need a set of third-party ear tips. Putting the headphones on is easy: the hook fits over the top of your ear and pivots in. Rotation is key, you know it's set correctly when the angle creates a very slight pressure in the ear canal. This gentle squeeze keeps the earbuds in place while you bounce like crazy. The hooks are flexible but not weak. You can bend them a little to fit your ear or press them tighter if you feel the need. Even Yoda could make these things work for his ears. Having driven almost thirty miles, I have never once taken these headphones off my ears. On several occasions I had to change the position of the hook which somehow slipped. That's because I'm ten times the sweatiest guy in the gym and a little lube can go a long way with those things. (All right, ladies, take a deep breath.) Unless you're leaving Lake Superior for a treadmill run, you won't have much of a problem. I also had to occasionally insert the earbuds a little deeper into the ear canal when sweat shifted them slightly from their ideal position. This was only an issue after about 4 miles and I only had to adjust it once per run. However, this is more an issue with the lack of headphones big enough to stay in place than the design of the headphones themselves. So why not five stars? sound quality. I fully understand that few of us will be able to focus too much on any part of the musical spectrum while practicing and trying to impress the young lady on the corner staircase; However, if you're one of those few people, you might find fault with the audio range of these headphones. The upper frequencies sound a bit tinny, and the low frequencies can sound confusing at times. The mids are decent and the bass is just enough to change your heartbeat a bit, if that's what you're into. These headphones don't have a built-in microphone, and there's no independent volume control either. The cord itself is relatively short and has a small alligator clip that attaches to clothing. These design elements help keep the cable out of the way as you pursue your Olympic dreams. Longevity hasn't been a problem so far. I've dropped them once and bathed them in sweat many times and haven't noticed any problems at all. If this becomes an issue in the future I will update this review. But so far they are working fine. These headphones are durable, easy to adjust and stay where I put them. For the price you can't do better in my opinion.