We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-17 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a replacement cable that brings back the inline remote and mic on your Beats headphones, choose EARLA TEC Replacement Audio Cable; if you need a complete set of wired in-ear earbuds for a laptop, Chromebook or phone, choose ASKUBSKU 3.5mm.
These two look similar at a glance because both are wired 3.5mm audio products with an inline mic. They are not the same purchase at all. One is a spare cord for headphones you already own. The other is the headphones themselves. Figuring out which side of that line you're on settles it in about ten seconds.
• EARLA TEC's biggest strength: it restores a lost or damaged cord on Beats by Dr. Dre headphones with an inline mic and remote, in a 1.4m tangle-free TPU build with one straight and one L-shaped plug.
• EARLA TEC's biggest trade-off: the remote buttons only work on Apple devices. On Samsung and other non-Apple phones the mic and controls won't do their job.
• ASKUBSKU's biggest strength: it's a full pair of wired in-ear earbuds with three sizes of silicone tips, a semi in-ear fit, a metal housing, and a mic with a mute function.
• ASKUBSKU's biggest trade-off: it's an earbud, not a cable, so it can't replace anything on your existing headphones — and the fit depends entirely on you picking the right tip size.
• Pick EARLA TEC if you own Beats Solo, Studio, Pro, Mixr, Executive or Pill headphones and just need the cord back.
• Pick ASKUBSKU if you need a cheap, simple pair of wired earbuds for a laptop, Chromebook, Kindle Fire or a phone with a headphone jack.
This is a repair part, and it's honest about that. The EARLA TEC cable is a 1.4m replacement cord with two male 3.5mm plugs — one straight, one L-shaped — which is exactly the arrangement Beats headphones use: the angled end goes into the earcup, the straight end into your phone or laptop. The L-shaped plug matters more than people expect. It's the end that lives against your chest or pocket, and a right-angle connector there is far less likely to snag and stress the jack.
The jacket is TPU, which is the rubbery, slightly soft plastic used on cables that are meant to survive being coiled into a pocket. It's described as soft, tangle-free and durable, and that combination is the whole point of a cord like this. The failure mode on stock headphone cables is almost never the wire itself — it's the strain relief at the plug. A soft, flexible jacket spreads that bending force instead of concentrating it.
The inline module carries both a microphone and a remote. On Apple gear that means answer and hang up calls, adjust volume, skip tracks, and trigger Siri or voice command. It's a genuine one-cable solution for iPhone, iPad and iPod users. The compatibility list also names a long run of Samsung Galaxy models and older iPhones, plus tablets and Amazon Fire devices, so the cable will physically connect to a wide range of hardware.
ASKUBSKU 3.5mm: Who It's For
The ASKUBSKU 3.5mm is a different product category entirely. It's a pair of wired in-ear earbuds in purple, with a metal housing, a dynamic driver rated across a 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz frequency range, and a 3.5mm jack. The stated range covers the full span of normal human hearing, which is the standard figure for competent consumer earbuds — it tells you nothing is obviously missing at the low or high end.
The design detail I like most is the tip situation. You get three sizes of soft silicone eartips — large, medium and small — and the buds use a semi in-ear shape angled at 45 degrees into the ear canal. Angled nozzles seal better than straight ones for most people, and the semi in-ear style sits shallower than a deep-canal IEM, so there's less of that pressurized, plugged-up feeling. ASKUBSKU specifically calls out no ear pressure and no pain after long wear, and that's the right goal for a bud you'd wear through a workday or a commute. The trade-off is real, though: fit is everything with this shape. If you don't experiment with the three tip sizes, you'll get weak bass and a loose seat.
The inline control handles pause and play, call answer and hang up, and waking your voice assistant without touching the phone. There's also a mute function, which is the standout feature here — you can switch the microphone off at will, and that's genuinely useful on calls where you need to cough, sneeze, or talk to someone in the room. The mic itself is described as high-sensitivity and multi-directional with enhanced voice pickup. Practical, not audiophile.
Sound isolation is the noise control method, which means the seal does the work rather than active electronics. That's fine for an office, a library, a bus or a plane cabin. It won't silence a lawnmower, and there's no noise cancellation claim here, so don't expect any.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for reviving Beats headphones → EARLA TEC. That's literally what it's built for: Solo, Studio, Pro, Detox, Mixr, Executive and Pill.
• Best for a complete listening setup → ASKUBSKU. It's an actual pair of earbuds, so there's nothing else to buy.
• Best for Apple users who want working buttons → EARLA TEC. Volume, track skip and Siri all work over the inline remote on iPhone, iPad and iPod.
• Best for Android and PC users who want working controls → ASKUBSKU. Its inline control and mute aren't tied to one brand's standard.
• Best for long-wear comfort → ASKUBSKU. Three tip sizes plus a 45-degree semi in-ear shape designed to avoid pressure and soreness.
• Best for cable durability and reach → EARLA TEC. A 1.4m TPU jacket with a right-angle plug at the device end resists the pocket-bend failure that kills most cords.
• Best for calls where you need privacy → ASKUBSKU. The mute function is the deciding feature if you're on back-to-back calls.
• Best for blocking background noise → ASKUBSKU. Isolation comes from the in-ear seal; the EARLA TEC cable adds no isolation of its own.
If I had to pick one, I'd buy the EARLA TEC Replacement Audio Cable — but only because of who it's for. It solves a specific, annoying problem: your Beats headphones are fine, the cord is dead, and a replacement restores the mic and remote you lost. For an iPhone or iPad owner, that's real value for very little outlay, and it keeps a headphone you already like out of a drawer.
If you don't own Beats, or you're on Android, that logic collapses and the ASKUBSKU 3.5mm is the smarter buy — a complete, comfortable, mute-equipped set of earbuds that works with almost anything that has a headphone jack.
Both produce audio on Android. But the EARLA TEC inline remote and mic only function on Apple devices, so the buttons won't work on Samsung or other non-Apple phones. The ASKUBSKU controls are not restricted that way.
It's designed for Beats by Dr. Dre models including Solo, Solo 2, Studio, Studio 2, Pro, Mixr, Executive, Detox and Pill. It uses the two-plug setup those headphones need — one straight, one L-shaped.
They rely on sound isolation from the in-ear seal, not active noise cancellation. With the right tip size they'll take the edge off office chatter, traffic and cabin noise, but they won't erase loud machinery.
That depends on which problem you're solving — a dead cable versus no earbuds at all. I can't quote figures here; check the current price on Amazon using the button on this page before deciding.
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