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If you want a wrap-around earpiece with push-to-talk and voice-activated options for Midland radios, choose Midland AVPH3; if you need a rotatable mushroom-style in-ear headset that fits a wide range of two-way radios, choose Retevis RT22.
• Midland AVPH3 — biggest strength: wrap-around earpiece with PTT and VOX control, so you can talk hands-free when the situation calls for it.
• Midland AVPH3 — biggest trade-off: it's a 3.5 mm wired headset with no noise control, and the wrap-around design is a specific fit that not everyone loves.
• Retevis RT22 — biggest strength: the rotatable mushroom earplug swivels to fit either ear, and the coil cable and movable clip keep things tidy on the move.
• Retevis RT22 — biggest trade-off: it's locked to the K head 2-pin connector, so it only works with radios that use that plug — not a generic 3.5 mm jack.
• Pick Midland AVPH3 if you run Midland radios and want a single-ear security-style headset with both manual and voice-activated transmit.
• Pick Retevis RT22 if you're on a Baofeng, Kenwood or Retevis two-way radio and want a flexible, comfortable in-ear headset with a mic.
The Midland AVPH3 is built around a wrap-around earpiece rather than a straight in-ear plug. That matters more than it sounds. A wrap-around rests over the ear and hooks behind it, which keeps the earpiece anchored without jamming a bud into your canal. For long shifts where you're moving your head constantly — door staff, event crew, warehouse floor — that style tends to stay put. The design also puts the earpiece in the "in ear" category, so it still delivers sound directly rather than broadcasting it to the room.
What sets it apart from a basic earpiece is the control layout. The AVPH3 gives you PTT and VOX on a wired 3.5 mm connection. VOX means voice-activated transmit: speak and the radio keys up without you pressing anything. That's genuinely useful when your hands are full, and it's the feature most cheap earpieces simply don't have. The media control is right on the headset, so you're not fishing for the radio every time you answer. It's listed for adult use, comes as a pair in the package (two items), and Midland backs it with a 90-day warranty.
Who should buy it? Anyone already running a Midland radio who wants a discreet single-ear headset with hands-free transmit. The "Security" theme in the product listing tells you the intended audience: people who need to stay reachable while looking like they're not wearing anything obvious. The impedance is low at 8 ohm, which pairs well with the modest output of handheld radios.
Retevis RT22: Who It's For
The Retevis RT22 (model EEK007) is a different animal. It's a mushroom-style in-ear earpiece on a K head 2-pin connector, and its headline feature is the rotatable earplug. You can spin the bud to sit in your left or right ear, which is a real convenience if you switch sides depending on which hand is free or which ear you prefer to keep open. The earhook keeps it from falling out, and the soft in-ear tip is designed for long wear without pressure building up.
Compatibility is where the RT22 earns its place. The K head 2-pin plug covers a huge spread of radios: Retevis's own RT22, RT21, RT68, RT68H, H777, RT27, RT86 and more, plus Pxton, Baofeng BF-888S, BF-T26, Kenwood two-way radios and others. If you've got a drawer full of budget handhelds, this headset is likely to fit at least one of them. The listing even names the use cases: hunting, paintball, nightclubs, bars, security, restaurants, hotels, airports, casinos, plants, conventions, concerts and warehouses. That's a broad spread of "loud, busy, hands-busy" environments.
Two practical touches stand out. First, the PTT sits face-up, so a thumb press is a one-touch operation rather than a hunt. Second, the movable fixing clip is firm and doubles as a cable tidy — it adjusts position, and you can coil the cable around it to stop the multi-layer cord from tangling. The sensitive mic is pitched at clear audio in noisy surroundings, and the 300 Hz–3400 Hz frequency range is the classic voice band, which is exactly what you want for speech intelligibility rather than music.
The trade-offs are real. It's a K head 2-pin only — no 3.5 mm option, so a Midland radio with a plain jack won't take it. There's no noise control (no active noise cancellation), so the "clear in noisy environments" claim rests on the mic design, not on blocking sound for you. And while the listing mentions a 10-hour average battery life figure, this is a passive wired earpiece — that number describes the radio or audio chain it plugs into, not a battery inside the headset itself. Retevis backs it with a 1-year accessory warranty and a 30-day no-reason return window.
• Best for hands-free transmit → Midland AVPH3. It's the only one of the two with VOX, so you can talk without pressing a button.
• Best for radio compatibility → Retevis RT22. The K head 2-pin covers Retevis, Baofeng, Kenwood, Pxton and more; the AVPH3's 3.5 mm plug is Midland-oriented.
• Best for left/right ear flexibility → Retevis RT22. The rotatable mushroom bud swivels either way; the AVPH3's wrap-around shape isn't adjustable like that.
• Best for discreet, security-style wear → Midland AVPH3. The wrap-around single-ear format is made to look low-key while staying anchored.
• Best for cable management → Retevis RT22. The movable fixing clip and multi-layer coil are designed to fight tangling.
• Best for long-wear comfort → Retevis RT22. Soft in-ear tip plus earhook is built to avoid ear pressure over a long shift.
• Best for simple, secure fit on a Midland setup → Midland AVPH3. If you're already on Midland radios, this is the matched pick.
• Best for multi-radio households or teams → Retevis RT22. One headset that fits many different radios is a real advantage.
If I had to pick one for most people reading this, I'd take the Retevis RT22. In my opinion, the rotatable in-ear bud, the wide K head 2-pin compatibility and the cable-tidy clip give it the most flexibility for the money, and it fits the radios most people actually own. The one exception: if you're on Midland radios and you specifically want VOX hands-free transmit, the Midland AVPH3 is the better match for you. Either way, check the current price on Amazon before you commit — and match the connector to your radio first.
An in-ear headset places the speaker directly at the opening of your ear canal rather than over the whole ear. Both products here fall into that category: the Retevis RT22 uses a soft mushroom-style in-ear bud, while the Midland AVPH3 uses a wrap-around earpiece that still sits in the ear.
An over-ear headset has cups that sit around or on top of the ear, usually with a headband. Neither the Midland AVPH3 nor the Retevis RT22 is over-ear — they're both single-ear in-ear designs meant for radio communication, not music listening.
Hook the earpiece over your ear, then seat the bud at your ear canal opening. The Retevis RT22's bud rotates so you can point it into either ear; the Midland AVPH3's wrap-around design rests over the ear and behind it, holding the earpiece in place during movement.
There's no "opening" step for either headset — there's nothing to unfold. You simply place the bud at your ear and clip the PTT where your thumb reaches it. On the Retevis RT22, remember the fixing clip both holds the headset and coils the cable to stop tangling.
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