Headset for 3.5 mm audio/mic combo jack?

Does anyone have a headset, or know of one, that can use the combo audio/mic jack on new ThinkPads?

Most of these combo jack headsets are for cell phones and have a 2.5mm jack, and apparently no appropriate converters exist. I have a 3.5mm headset that came with my Nokia phone, but it's total garbage and useless.

The official accessory headphones 57Y4488 seem to have separate jacks for audio and mic, too.

 

you can use the Iphone earphone. Ultimate Ear also produces one.

 

More useful would be an adapter that would allow use of any headset with separate mike and sound plugs.
.

 

The combo jack was a bonehead move in my opinion. Forcing everyone to USB headsets isn't cool.

 

Nearly all of the sound card makers make a sound card on a USB stick with mic and audio output jacks. For instance, see http://siig.com/ViewProduct.aspx?pn=CE-S00022-S1

I also noticed Creative and other brands at Fry's.

 

Or if you're really cheap ( $3.13). I got My dad one of these for his old Latitude with a busted soundcard. Works well enough.

 

For me the combo jack is brilliant. It doesn't force everyone to USB headsets. I already carry a 3.5mm phone headset with me anyway. Thanks to the iPhone, Blackberry, etc there is plenty of choice at all price and quality levels.

 

I agree, isn't the typical business user more likely to have a smartphone with its single jack headset or own a headset that needs both. It's consumers that buy the gaming headsets that would need both jacks.

 

Hi everyone,
Continuing from a discussion I posted on a different thread ...
I've been looking for a headset adapter for converting the 4-pole 3.5mm combined headphone/mic jack to two 3.5mm stereo sockets for a standard stereo (audio in) headset. Yeah I want to use my existing headset! I don't want to use the internal mics for skype etc!
The only one I found was here but am hoping to find an alternative, maybe a little cheaper. (EDIT: I just remembered this one too, but it's even more expensive with shipping).

It is possible to make one yourself but would require soldering skills and patience, and would not look as good as a bought one. There is a guide here. The 3.5mm 4-pole plug and the two 3.5mm 3-pole sockets can all be bought from Maplin (UK) but again, the cost adds up ( here and here)
If only I could find one on ebay, I'm sure there would be one for £1 and free shipping (works for stuff like this!)... and there's not much that can go wrong with the headset adapter anyway.

The suggestion in this thread seems to be to use a USB stick sound card.
I don't like the idea of using a USB stick soundcard.... it just isn't an elegant solution IMHO.... why fill up a USB port simply to use headphones when a headphone socket exists for that purpose? An audio-only solution is more elegant and *should* work out cheaper (it's just the plug/sockets and some cables).
Thanks
LennyOvo

 

I have to agree. Thanks for posting the links to those two adapters. I have tried to do some google searching for something like that a couple of times and came up with nothing. I figured the product(s) existed, I just didn't know how to find them. I will eventually pick up an adapter like one of the two you linked.

 

Is it possible just to pick up a phone headset and have it work in the combo jack? How would you know which ones would work and which wouldn't? This seems a better (and probably more intended) use than USB sound cards/headsets or a headset adapter (not to mention perhaps the least bulky option).

 

I got a t410 a few weeks ago and have been searching for one of these adapters ever since. In addition to the Amazon one posted in this thread, I found one on Show Me Cables.

The problem with both of those options is that I live in Ontario and shipping to Canada from the retailer on Amazon.com, and from showmecables.com would cost more than the adapter itself.

Not having a standard name (like having the keyword TRRS in the title) makes it really difficult to find online, but I eventually found that SteelSeries also makes one. They call theirs a "Mobile Device Adapter". Stupidly it has no "Audio", "Microphone" or "TRRS" in the title.

Once I had the name "Mobile Device Adapter" I quickly found out that my neighbourhood computer shop had two of them left in stock. It sucks that this kinda thing costs 15$ but I'm just glad I could get it immediately.

I tested it out and it works exactly as expected. If you plug in headphones to the combo jack, the internal microphone is still used, but if you plug in this adapter then whatever microphone is in the adapter's jack is used. If the adapter is plugged in with no microphone attached to it, you are effectively disabling the internal microphone.

I was confused at first because it works find in Windows 7, but with Ubuntu 10.04, the internal microphone below the screen is still used even the adapter is plugged in. Turns out there is a bug in which the kernel doesn't switch devices when a microphone is plugged in. Fortunately it is fixed in the next version of ALSA and should be available in Ubuntu 10.04 backports sometime soon. Until then, this adapter is useless with Ubuntu 10.04 and using USB is the only way to get an external mic.