We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-18 · 8 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a two-way radio earpiece that works straight out of the box with a huge list of handheld radios, choose Retevis RT22; if you need a discreet broadcast earpiece for on-camera talent and IFB monitoring, choose Pdflie IFB Earpiece 3.5mm.
• Retevis RT22 — biggest strength: the K-head 2-pin connector and long cross-brand compatibility list make it a plug-in-and-go option for RT22, RT21, H777, BF-888S, Kenwood and Pxton radios.
• Retevis RT22 — biggest trade-off: it is a push-to-talk comms accessory with a mushroom in-ear earpiece and a boom mic, so it is visible and functional rather than hidden.
• Pdflie IFB Earpiece 3.5mm — biggest strength: the transparent acoustic tube and skin-color housing let it disappear on camera, and the long cable reaches a leg-mounted IFB receiver.
• Pdflie IFB Earpiece 3.5mm — biggest trade-off: it is a listen-only IFB kit with no microphone and no PTT, so it cannot be used to talk back over a radio.
• Pick the Retevis RT22 if you are a radio user — security, events, warehouse, hospitality — who needs to talk and listen hands-free.
• Pick the Pdflie IFB Earpiece 3.5mm if you are talent, a presenter or an A2 on a broadcast or stage setup who needs a discreet cue feed.
The Retevis RT22 is a walkie-talkie earpiece built around one job: letting you hear your radio privately and key up with one hand. It uses a K-head 2-pin connector with 3.5mm and 2.5mm pins, which is the classic Kenwood-style plug. That means it fits Retevis RT22, RT21, RT68, RT68H, H777, H777H, RT27, RT86, RT86A and RT86S radios, plus Pxton models, Baofeng BF-888S and BF-T26, and Kenwood two-way radios. If you already own radios from that family, this is a low-friction upgrade.
The design details matter more than they sound. The mushroom earplug rotates, so you can wear it in either ear and angle it to seal properly. The earhook holds it in place, and Retevis describes the fit as comfortable for long stretches without pressure — realistic for anyone wearing it through a full shift. The PTT button faces up so you can press it by feel rather than hunting for it, and the microphone is positioned to pick up speech clearly even when the room is loud. That is the whole point of a boom-mic earpiece: your voice goes into the mic, not into the room.
Who should buy it: anyone running a two-way radio who wants private audio and a mic they can operate one-handed — security staff, event crews, restaurant and hotel teams, warehouse and manufacturing floor staff, airport and casino operations, paintball and hunting groups. It also suits noisy environments, since the earplug seals and the mic sits close to your mouth.
Who should skip it: you want a discreet earpiece for camera work. This one has a visible boom mic, a coiled cable and a PTT module. It is a tool, not a costume piece. Also skip it if your radio uses a different connector — the K-head 2-pin is specific, and there is no adapter in the box.
Pdflie IFB Earpiece 3.5mm: Who It's For
The Pdflie IFB Earpiece 3.5mm is a different animal entirely. IFB stands for interruptible foldback — the one-way cue feed that anchors, presenters and reporters hear in their ear while they are on air or on stage. This kit is designed for exactly that. It terminates in a 3.5mm jack plus a 1/4-inch connector, and Pdflie lists compatibility with phones that have a 3.5mm jack, Android devices, Lectrosonics, Clear-Com, Telex, Comrex, Comtek, Phonak, Studio Technologies, JK Audio, SoundTap, Pro Intercom, Shure, Galaxy Audio and Glen Sound gear. That is broadcast and intercom territory, not consumer radio territory.
The cable is the headline spec: about 9.67 feet. If you have ever watched a presenter with a receiver clipped to their belt or thigh, you know why. The receiver lives on the body, the cable runs up the back and into the ear, and 9.67 feet gives you slack to route it under clothing without pulling. Short cables force you to clip the pack somewhere awkward and they snag when the talent turns their head.
The earpiece itself is the other half of the story. The housing is skin color and plastic, and the acoustic tube is transparent. Both choices exist to make the earpiece vanish against the ear and cheek — the tube stays put while staying out of sight. Pdflie calls it a hidden discreet monitor, and that is the correct framing: this is not a device you want people to notice.
Audio-wise, the specs are wider than a radio earpiece. Impedance is 7 ohms and the frequency range runs 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, which is full-range rather than voice-band. That means it handles program audio, music beds, mix-minus feeds and spoken cues without sounding thin. Pdflie describes clear, easy-to-listen sound, and the full-range driver spec supports that. Weight is about 0.06 kg, so it is light enough to forget about. The package is one full IFB kit.
Who should buy it: news anchors, presenters, reporters, hosts and on-camera talent who need a discreet cue feed. Also audio engineers and A2s building IFB for a broadcast, house of worship, corporate AV gig or stage production, especially when the receiver is body-mounted. If your gear list includes Clear-Com, Comtek, Lectrosonics, Telex or Studio Technologies, this is aimed at you.
Who should skip it: you need to talk back. There is no microphone and no PTT on this earpiece. It is a listen-only foldback device. If you need two-way comms, it is the wrong product. Also skip it if your source only has a 2-pin radio connector — the 3.5mm and 1/4-inch terminations are for audio and IFB hardware, not handheld radios.
• Best for hands-free two-way talking → Retevis RT22. Boom mic plus face-up PTT means you can transmit without pulling the radio off your belt.
• Best for discreet on-camera monitoring → Pdflie IFB Earpiece 3.5mm. Skin-color housing and a transparent acoustic tube are built to disappear.
• Best for radio compatibility → Retevis RT22. K-head 2-pin covers Retevis RT22/RT21/H777/RT68/RT27/RT86, Baofeng BF-888S/BF-T26, Pxton and Kenwood.
• Best for broadcast and intercom hardware → Pdflie IFB Earpiece 3.5mm. 3.5mm plus 1/4-inch connectors, and a compatibility list full of Clear-Com, Telex, Comtek, Lectrosonics and Shure gear.
• Best for long cable runs → Pdflie IFB Earpiece 3.5mm. Roughly 9.67 feet reaches a leg- or belt-mounted IFB receiver.
• Best for full-range audio → Pdflie IFB Earpiece 3.5mm. 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz and 7 ohms versus the Retevis voice-band 300 Hz to 3400 Hz at 16 ohms.
• Best for noisy working environments → Retevis RT22. Sealed mushroom earplug plus a close-talk mic is the right shape for loud rooms.
• Best for left/right ear flexibility → Retevis RT22. The earplug rotates to either ear; the Pdflie is a fixed-wear IFB design.
In my opinion, most people searching these two names together are radio users, and for them I would buy the Retevis RT22. It is the more useful accessory day to day: it fits a long list of handhelds, it lets you both talk and listen, and the rotatable earplug, face-up PTT and movable clip are the details that make it livable over a shift. I would only go the other way if the job is on-camera cueing. If you are talent or running IFB for a broadcast, stage or AV production, the Pdflie IFB Earpiece 3.5mm is the correct tool — the skin-color housing, hidden tube and 9.67-foot cable exist for that exact scenario, and no radio earpiece replaces it. Check the current price on Amazon before you commit, since the two serve genuinely different jobs and the wrong one is dead weight.
Yes. The K-head 2-pin connector fits Baofeng BF-888S and BF-T26, along with Pxton, Kenwood two-way radios and a long list of Retevis models including RT22, RT21, RT68, H777 and RT27.
Only listen. It has no microphone and no push-to-talk button. It is a one-way IFB foldback earpiece for cue feeds, so if you need two-way radio traffic, choose the Retevis RT22 instead.
They are tuned for different jobs. The Retevis RT22 uses a 16-ohm driver with a 300 Hz to 3400 Hz voice band, which favors speech clarity. The Pdflie runs 7 ohms across 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, which is better suited to full-range program and cue audio.
The Retevis RT22. Its mushroom earplug seals in the ear and its boom microphone sits close to your mouth, so you can hear cues and be heard without shouting. The Pdflie is designed for quiet, controlled production environments where discretion matters more than isolation.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
When you buy through links on this page, we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon or its affiliates. This site is an independent third-party review and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Amazon or the product brands mentioned.