Apple in-ear headphones

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ipodearbuds.jpg Since I've got my iPod back in March, I've been using Apple's in-ear headphones with it and I really enjoyed them a lot. The sound/price ratio is, IMHO, one of the best in that price range. (There are better earphones but they're in the 3-digits range.) The only tricky thing at the beginning was to find how to place them properly in my ears, this being absolutely key for a good result, otherwise the basses are inaudible. The small piece of paper that accompanies them, pompously named user's manual, is of no help about that and I found these instructions on Shure's web site much more helpful to achieve the best result.

But recently the sound on one of the headphones suddenly dropped to a very low level. At first I feared I had damaged the cable, which is the biggest risk on those things. Then I found out -- thanks to the mighty internet -- that this is the main symptom of an ear wax pollution. Contrary to some other earphones, Apple's in-ear headphones are sealed and you cannot clean the speakers easily. What I did was to put some ear-cleaning spray solution on a kleenex and gently tap the metallic mesh to dissolve and remove the ear wax. And here I am, problem fixed, my earphones sound like new again. Me happy.