The Mic Extender Cable by Newer Technology is an ingenious little device that combines a short cable and a microphone to allow you to use your favorite stereo headphones as your iPhone headset. Of course you can use your favorite stereo headphones with your iPhone without this device, but you will probably need a $5 or $10 adapter to allow the plug to fit into the iPhone's recessed headset port. And, of course, if you use your favorite stereo headphones with your iPhone without this device, you can use them to listen to music or video, but you'll have to unplug them to talk on the phone.

The concept is brilliant. The cable is a little over two feet and includes the microphone, an on/off switch (shown below) and a shirt clamp (on the back of the mic; not visible below). Just plug in your favorite earphones and you can enjoy great sounding music, video, and phone calls. That's the good news.

The bad news is that the execution isn't nearly as stellar as the concept. Unfortunately, the microphone just isn't very good. Of the five headsets I tested recently, this product almost certainly had the worst sounding microphone. On the other hand, it didn't totally suck and only one person commented that I didn't sound as good as usual during my testing.

P.S. To test microphone quality I created a set of short audio recordings using five different headsets (and the iPhone alone without a headset). If you'd like to hear them, you'll find them here.

The Bottom Line

If you're an audiophile or just wish the Apple iPhone Stereo Headset (the white one that comes with each iPhone) didn't suck so much, the Mic Extender Cable is just the ticket. If you can live with its mediocre microphone it's a bargain at $15.