Another headphone-jack adapter option

We’ve reviewed two headphone-jack adapters, one from Belkin and one from RadTech, that let you use third-party headphones with the iPhone’s recessed headphone jack. But as reader Chuck recently pointed out in a comment, if you’ve got an original iPod shuffle and happened to purchase Apple’s iPod shuffle Sport Case for it, you’ve already got just such an adapter.

You see, the Sport Case protected the original iPod shuffle in a clear-plastic, water-resistant shell; the downside to this all-over protection was that once the Sport Case was on the shuffle, the shuffle’s headphone jack was recessed into the case. (See our original review.) Although the shuffle’s stock earbuds would work with this recessed jack, most third-party headphones would not; the opening was too narrow.

To get around this limitation, Apple included with the Sport Case a 4.5-inch cable adapter (shown in the image above); you plugged the adapter into the shuffle and then plugged your headphones into the adapter. As it turns out, this adapter works perfectly with the iPhone, as well.

Now, given that Apple currently sells the Sport Case for $29, and most third-party headphone-jack adapters for the iPhone sell for $7 to $15, I don’t recommend rushing out and buying the Sport Case just to get the adapter. But some judicious eBay or CraigsList shopping may find you a used Sports Case, or even just the adapter, for a few bucks. And if you’ve already got a Sport Case from back in the first-generation-shuffle day, you’re already set.