{"id":58328,"date":"2023-12-05T05:00:31","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T09:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=58328"},"modified":"2023-12-03T09:53:27","modified_gmt":"2023-12-03T13:53:27","slug":"checking-out-ccranes-solo-earbud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/12\/checking-out-ccranes-solo-earbud\/","title":{"rendered":"Checking out CCrane\u2019s Solo Earbud"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM<\/strong><\/p>\n

The marketing email from CCrane intrigued me. \u201cThe cable is Kevlar\u2122 reinforced for maximum durability\u201d it said. The product in question was the \u201cCC Buds Solo In-Ear Single Earbud for Radio, Audio Books and Podcasts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sadly, many of the headphones and earbuds that I have owned and liked had to be tossed out because of a breakage somewhere along the cable. As a result, a more durable cable sounded like a great idea.<\/p>\n

After checking out the Solo Earbud on CCrane\u2019s website<\/a> I decided to buy one. I was in the very act of pulling the trigger on the purchase when I noticed the deal: buy two, get one free. Well, heck, I thought, why not?<\/p>\n

I revised my order, clicked the button, and a few days later three solo earbuds arrive.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll get to how well the solo earbud works in just a moment, but I can almost guess what you\u2019re thinking right now: \u201cListen with one<\/em> ear? Why?\u201d<\/p>\n

There are a bunch of times when listening with just one ear is the best strategy. For example, when you are out and about or engaged in some sports activity and want to be situationally aware of what is going on around you. Or when you are listening at home and you want to be able to hear things going on in the household (for example, dinner is ready . . . don\u2019t want to miss that! . . . or someone in the house needs something). Well, you get the idea.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Solo Earbud is small and well-made. It has a four-foot cable with a clothing clip that terminates in a stereo to mono 3.5 mm plug. According the C.Crane, the audio is tuned for \u201csuperior voice quality.\u201d I liked the sound it delivered from my shortwave radios, scanners, and even audio books and I found it helped me to pick out faint signals. In addition, I found that using a Solo Earbud was less entangling with smoother operation than using just one earbud from a stereo pair of wired earbuds . . . that unused dangling earbud seems to always get in the way or get caught on things.<\/p>\n

The Solo Earbud comes with three silicone and three compressible foam covers – sized small, medium and large. After a little experimentation, I found one that fit my ear very comfortably. The Earbud even comes with a small drawstring bag for storing the Earbud when not in use.<\/p>\n

I have saved perhaps the coolest use for last. Frequently I rise well before dawn to monitor the airwaves. With a pair of Solo Earbuds, I can plug one into a scanner and another Earbud into a shortwave radio. With one Earbud in each ear \u2013 voila! \u2013 I can cruise the HF bands and monitor a scanner without interrupting the peace of the early morning household.<\/p>\n

Bottom line:<\/strong> I found the CCrane Solo Earbud to be a useful and worthy piece of gear for general listening or DXing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM The marketing email from CCrane intrigued me. \u201cThe cable is Kevlar\u2122 reinforced for maximum durability\u201d it said. The product in question was the \u201cCC Buds Solo In-Ear Single Earbud for Radio, Audio Books and Podcasts.\u201d Sadly, many of the headphones and earbuds that I have owned and liked had to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4199,3,129],"tags":[318,7912,9323],"class_list":["post-58328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-accessories","category-news","category-reviews","tag-c-crane","tag-c-crane-cc-buds-solo","tag-jock-elliott-kb2gom"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-faM","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":64507,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/11\/cc-buds-solo-two-years-into-the-mission\/","url_meta":{"origin":58328,"position":0},"title":"CC Buds Solo: Two years into the mission . . .","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"November 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Okay, okay, I can almost predict what you will be thinking: it\u2019s not the most expensive piece of gear in your listening kit. But for me, headphones or earbuds that pipe the audio from my SW receiver or scanner directly into my ears is one of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Accessories"","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/hdp_audio_cc_budsolo__11642-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/hdp_audio_cc_budsolo__11642-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/hdp_audio_cc_budsolo__11642-1024x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":60044,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/the-joys-of-traveling-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":58328,"position":1},"title":"The Joys of Traveling Light","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"June 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM I had intended to travel light; I really did . . . but I betrayed my best intentions. Instead of a \u201cminimal\u201d radio go-bag, I had stuffed a small cross-body bag with: a ham radio handi-talkie (a Yaesu VX-6R) with high-performance antenna, extra batteries for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Traveling-Light-radio-gear-003-002-Medium.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":38635,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/review-of-the-c-crane-cc-buds-solo-in-ear-single-earbud-and-a-chance-to-win-one\/","url_meta":{"origin":58328,"position":2},"title":"Review of the C.Crane CC Buds Solo In-Ear Single Earbud (and a chance to win one!)","author":"Thomas","date":"July 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A few weeks ago, C. Crane sent me one of their newest radio accessories: the CC Buds Solo Single Earbud. Here's the description from the C.Crane product page: Single Earbud Optimized For Voice The CC Buds\u2122 Solo single earpiece provides a unique advantage over traditional earbuds because it allows you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Accessories"","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/CC-Buds-Solo-Contents.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/CC-Buds-Solo-Contents.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/CC-Buds-Solo-Contents.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/CC-Buds-Solo-Contents.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54841,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/11\/checking-out-the-new-c-crane-cc-skywave-ssb-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":58328,"position":3},"title":"Checking out the new C.Crane CC Skywave SSB 2","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"November 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Folks who are regular readers of my posts here have already figured out that I am a big fan of the CCrane Skywave SSB. It is easily the most versatile radio I own, receiving AM (medium wave), FM, shortwave, HF single sideband, NOAA weather stations with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/CCrane-Skywave-SSB-2-001-1-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/CCrane-Skywave-SSB-2-001-1-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/CCrane-Skywave-SSB-2-001-1-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57812,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/09\/ccranes-new-c-crane-cc-skywave-2-and-the-ooda-loop\/","url_meta":{"origin":58328,"position":4},"title":"CCrane\u2019s new C. Crane CC Skywave 2 . . . and the OODA loop","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"September 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM A software glitch at a power station, a tree branch rubbing against a transformer, a geophysical incident, a weather event, even a civil society misadventure . . . It doesn\u2019t take much for things to rapidly go to blazes. 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Clearly it was a language, but not one that I knew. So I logged it: 2\/18\/24, 1101Z, 1660 kHz, unknown language, orchestral music. 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