Hands on with Polk Audio UltraFit sports headphones -- and a trampoline

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With their new UltraFit line of sports headphones for iPhone, iPad, iPod and other devices, Polk Audio is really putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to their SecureFit, "stays in place" promise. Rather, they're putting Olympic-calibur athletes on a trampoline smack-dab in the middle of Macworld 2012. There are several different sport-optimized headsets in Polk Audio's UltraFit line. All of them share iPhone, iPad, and iPod compatible 3.5mm connectors, tangle-free, planar audio cables, and Strainguard moisture shields, along with 41-inch cables for those who want to keep their device on a belt, in a pocket or otherwise further away, and 14-inch cables for those who want them on an armband, or clipped or stowed closer to the collar. Here's the breakdown:

  • UltraFit 500 are in-ear, lower end headsets in black/red, black/gold, white/gray, and white/orange with 3 pairs of StayFit tips. They go for $49.95.
  • UltraFit 1000 are in-ear, mid range headsets in black/red and white/gray, with the iPod-style remote control and three pair of StayFit silicone tips. They go for $69.95
  • UltraFit 2000 are on-ear, mid range headsets in black/red or white/orange, with the iPod-style remote control, two pairs of foam ear pads, and one pair of cold-weather pads. They also go for $69.95.
  • Ultrafit 3000 are in-ear, high range headsets black/red, white/gray and white/orange, with iPod-style remote control and 2 pairs of StayFit, 3-flange silicone tips, and three pairs of memory foam tips. They go for $99.95.

If the trampoline demos at Macworld were any indication, where the athletes jumped, flipped, spun, and otherwise shot themselves across the sky -- with and without snowboards -- are any indication, when Polk Audio says these new UltraFit headsets stay in place, they mean just exactly that.

As someone whose ears have been mangled by years of grappling, and whose standard headsets continuously fail to stay in place, I'll definitely be checking them out.

[caption id="attachment_94345" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="Polk Audio's new UltraFit athletic headsets will make you jump"]

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Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.