Sennheiser AMBEO Smart Headset (iOS) – in-Ear Headphones with Binaural Audio - Active Noise Cancellation, Transparent Hearing and 3D Sound Recording - Black

I am relatively savvy on technology, but not so savvy on apple products. I want to enhance my work phone (iPhone) experience, not only conference call clarity but also other perks iPhone offers. Provided earphone was okay, but not the best nor comfortable for long conference call. I was looking around for affordable yet comfortable headset for iPhone (any other features would be bonus). Thanks to Apple, there is not much choice unless you go wireless. Strangely, I still prefer the wired ones over wireless (it's just me). Then, I have noticed Sennheiser Ambeo Headset was at the lowest price ever (dropped from $200s to $79.99). This was not my first choice due to little bit over my budget on work related stuffs, but I couldn't say no to extra features which not many products are offering - wired headset with active noise cancellation, transparent hearing and 3d recording all together. First, comfortness is par with provided silicon ear pieces. It does its job, but other ear pieces would enhance its features - I used Comply Foam tips from my other earphones, and it sounds much better (better isolation and comfortness - very personal observation, no technical backup data to prove these). Second, noise cancellation is superb. I have other ANC headsets/earphones and Ambeo is providing superb noise cancellation with other ear tips installed. I could hear my drum stick work noise (Roland V Drums) while ANC is off, all I could hear was low thud noise while ANC is on). Third, transparent hearing is great. I am always worried while riding my bicycle with music on since I couldn't hear my surroundings. This feature is not perfect to hear all from surroundings(not catching tiny noise), but it is very helpful to notice something nearby (like approaching a car from behind, or wife yelling at me to turn down the drum noise). Fourth, 3d sound recording is very interesting. Fair warning: this 3d sound experience would be working while you are wearing headsets, not thru speaker (at least, this was my experience). Not like stereophonic sound from LP recordings, this 3d recording did not provide the same feeling thru speaker (very difficult to describe this in writing). While you are listening sound with headset, you could feel you are in the middle of all sounds (like you are in the concert hall if you recorded the sound via Ambeo). This feature can be applied to Adroid phone with usb c (you need a sound adapter for thunderbold-to-USB c specifically, there are so far only two products known to the world). I recorded the sound early in the morning capturing the quietness with bird chirping, and it was awesome!!! APOGEE apps are great (only available to iPhone). Android phone could utilize any recording apps or default record app for 3d recording. Lastly, but not least, mic clarity is superb!! Sennheiser mic is very good (one for phone call). I am not sure whether two other omnidirectional mics on the earpieces would pick up any sound during the phone call. Things to consider: First, controller functionality is little awkward, but not a deal breaker. In order to switch from transparent hearing (amplified level) to Noise Cancellation Off, you have to click the button up or down all the way - can't jump directly to desired feature. Transparent hearing (amplified) - Transparent hearing (natrual) - Noise cancellation On - Noise cancellation Off... Second, provided silicon ear tips are not so good and not complimenting its features. Please play with other types of tips which would fit you well since no one's ears are same. Mine worked well with foam-type ear tips. Third, battery consumption might be a concern to someone. Yes, this might drain your phone's battery while using. However, I didn't see dramatic battery consumption - while mowing my lawns, I listend music with Ambeo (ANC on) for an hour and my phone battery was down about 5-6% from 100%. It might be different if you listen music louder. Lastly, mic volume control is not available. This might be my biggest concern actually - unable to control mic volume, no mute button. I used very low volume level on my iPhone (one click up from zero). With that setting, I could hear others well, but others could not hear me well (tiny sound only). If I raise the sound volume at 30% level, mic level also increased and communication went well. I do not have much knowledge on iPhone function. I couldn't find any instructions nor information how to adjust mic volume in iPhone. Overall, $200 ANC headset with 3d recording feature at $80 would be a steal. Little sad to see Sennheiser just ended their development (not introducing USB c version) and there is no Andorid apps. However, this would be a very special headset with great features not many products could offer. If you are an Apple user, I would highly recommend this. If you are an Android user, I would still highly recommend this with one condition - if you are okay to use a little pricey apple-oriented device thru an adapter (extra) on your android food channel. Thanks for reading not-so-professional review. Cheers!!!

If you’re after a stealth recording , this set is just what you need. The mics quality is surprisingly fine with quite low self noise. Don’t compare it with some DIY binaural sets made of DPA mics or bigger ORTF ones but it does the job and its in my bag all the time.

I bought the black ones and they came in the manufacturer's packaging. They were marketed (especially through Apple) in white, but black was also sold in many places so they are legit, not knockoffs. They work as advertised and sound good as headphones. They come with a little cloth sack to store them in and a set of various sized earpieces. I have played around with 3D sound and it works very well, particularly with closer sound sources. They are fun to use and as long as you recognize the limits you can create some cool tracks. Sounds much further away are not magically made louder so these are not some sort of magic ears :). The functions all work, although I was not as impressed with the noice cancelling because these don't really shut out external audio the way closed ear cups would. Also be aware that since these were discontinued by manufacturer, the native Apogee app support might die off eventually. I am using with iOS 14.1 and everything works fine, although you have restart the app sometimes if you use other audio recording apps and forget the sequence to plug in and launch or need to kill other apps in background. These do work with FilmicPro and various other video and sound apps. Not all functions on rocker unit might be controlled in other apps, so you'll need to set certain things up with native app first to store the settings. Basically test your config by starting with the AMBEOs, then switch on other apps you want, and select the AMBEOs same as you would any other recognized mic. Also I found the app not as intuitive as others. It follows a "take" framework and you need to get familiar with it so you save your takes. These headphones work just fine as an input to other recorders and video apps (assuming they recognize stereo mics plugged in) ADVANCED: If you use audio repair stuff like iZotope, you might need to adjust your workflow since the type of separation these create might not be accounted for in some of their machine learning algorithms, but I haven't had to remove a passing car or other moving sound yet so YMMV. Also consider that you, as the recording center, might be moving relative to some audio sources as well. Overall, I think these are a good deal, especially with current discounts and they are fun to record with. You'll probably learn a new appreciation for noise pollution in our modern world once you start recording things to listen to in 3D.

The concept of 360 degree audio capture and monitoring intrigued me, and Amazon had a deal on these guys (no way I'd purchase at the $300 MSRP!). I only had a chance to use these as headphones, and the sound quality is very good. For the money however, there are better, less cumbersome headphones/earbuds available. My issue is the build quality. Somehow the lightning connector broke off right at the base of where the cable jacket meets the connector. In all the years I've owned an iPhone I've never had this happen. Now I either need to re-solder the connector, splice in a new lightning cable, or toss these. What a shame.

I’ve been buying Sennheiser’s for decades. These fit a little niche with the 3d sound recording during video and audio. They have been dis-continued but I like them enough to have bought a 2nd setup. I sleep with them and they are very comfortable to wear. First set were$199. Git the 2nd set on Amazon fof$99 bucks. Love them and use them daily.

Very comfortable…that said I had to turn the sound to the max and it still sounded terrible. This is not noise cancelling at all. From someone who buys only noise canceling products, this would be the worst. I really want to have a good alternate pair because I do not want to use my AirPods Pro everywhere, and risk loading them. I have not found anything this far.

Damaged. Crackling and popping sound.

I have been looking for these for a very long time. Finally, I found it on amazon.ca for 99 CAD. These are the best. Noise cancellation is good for its class. Sound quality is good too. Comfort level is just OK. But you will get used to it. The best part is that it is binaural recording mic. Which means you can record your audio in 3D. Which can be reproduced by any type of headphones or stereo device. The only unfortunate part is that it is made only for iPhone. Which means when the mighty Apple decides to remove all ports, these headphones will be useless for then devices. These headphones have their own app using which you can fine tune and control how it behaves. You can also set what function you want to execute when you use the slider button. It also has a third mic for voice calls and they are good too. Over all I would really recommend this product. Just that as soon as I bought this product, the seller increased the price by 30%. That is from CAD 99 to CAD 130+.

I highly recommend these to anyone who is looking for a way to do stereo recordings on the go. Their spatial representation in recordings is amazing. If you want to also use them as a pair of headphones, their audio quality is superb and way better than I expected. Their noise cancelation is quite adequate, but not up there with the best of them.

Awesome

I'm a beginner just getting into field recordings. Bought this for its binaural mic which has worked well so far - nice, clear 3D sound. Controls takes some getting used to, but overall am happy.