Personally, I prefer them to be closer to the jack than the headset because I use them at a desk. Its decent, sounds way better than the average cheap portable stuff but its not cheap! When it stopped, I had to unplug the usb cable and plug it back in. I wanted to hide things under my deck. Will not be repurchasing or replacing with this exact item again. Im definitely ordering more colors! All and all, I like them. Have your Bandaids ready if you choose to purchase this shoe. The sleeker size makes it much more mobile. The flashing LED is pretty extreme; it would be great to be able to disable the LED.