Why does my cellphohone earpiece make things worse?

Question

I have the cheapest cellphone, I think, that Motorola makes, the C139. At least it is the one they sometimes give you for free when you start a prepaid account.

When I plug in an earpiece, it doesn't work well. The sound is not as loud and maybe not as clear. I thoought the sound would be both louder and better with an earphone. What gives?

I'm going to test earpiece with friends' phones, and my phone with friends' earpieces, if tney don't think my ears are too dirty. But I could use guidance on what to look for.

Right now on my phone, I've used a one piece plastic thing that sticks in one's ear, and I also bought a 15 dollar model at Radio Schack. Isn't $15 enough?

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The one that hooks over the ear and has a rubber piece that goes into the ear canal a bit. It's black rubber and grey plastic, and folds for storage an inch from the end, at the mouthpiece.

"Discreet and comfortable. The Body Glove Flex Headset allows you to enjoy extreme comfort in extreme style. The discreet, lightweight design offers exceptional sound quality, and the flexible ear hook hugs the right or left ear for all day comfort. The unit folds up for quick storage and portable ease, and operation is made simple with all the controls on one simple pod." I object to the word "all". It only has one control, a button that doesn't do anything with my phone.

Thanks.

William Sommerwerck · Accepted Answer

Ask again after you've done your homework.

Franc Zabkar · Answer

On Thu, 01 Jan 2009 19:30:32 -0500, mm put finger to keyboard and composed:

These reviews also complain about low volume:

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What is the impedance of your headset? How does it compare to the original Motorola headset?

- Franc Zabkar

mm · Answer

Wow. I didn't even think to look at them. And Reviews were a tab on the very page I gave you.

Maybe I should get in the habit of reading reviews. In this case, I think this was the only earpiece they had at a price I would pay, although I guess I'll pay more if I have to. (I rarely use the phone, especially while driving, or this would be a bigger issue.)

The cheap earbud for MP3 players work well and it didn't occur to me that there would be a problem with a telephone earpiece.

Instead, I have never successfully used it. I have to unplug to hear what is said. (I was told that they can hear me.)

It's been 9 months and I don't have the receipt, but maybe in light of these reviews, they'll do something for me.

I don't know the answer to either of those questions. Sounds important. I don't think the packaging or url for the headset said anything, and I don't think the 60 page manual for the phone said anything. Let me go check.... 36 hours go by.... No, 14 uses of headset, but no specs. it doesn't say.

I don't think it came with a motorola headset. I suppose I could go to a store and find one by Motorola. Would measuring with an ohmmeter work?

Franc Zabkar · Answer

On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:00:27 -0500, mm put finger to keyboard and composed:

A common impedance for moving coil headphones is 32 ohms. You should be able to measure this with a multimeter.

- Franc Zabkar

Why does my cellphohone earpiece make things worse?

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