Anyone having been into the audiophile / Hi-Fi business knows loudspeakers and headphones should never be tested alone, without comparing their audio quality (and other parameters) to other, comparable headphones (speakers etc.). This is why strictly comparative tests are needed to fairly compare the sound quality of each set to one another. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the A2DP stereo Bluetooth headphones reviews doesn’t belong to this category and, therefore, shouldn’t really be taken seriously. By the way, A2DP stands for Advanced Audio Distribution Profile; note that I haven’t recommended the Wiki page because it’s full of mobility-related mistakes like stating A2DP was added to the BlackBerry OS with version 4.2 (not true: several 4.2-based models like the 8800 do NOT have A2DP; it’s only the Curve that is 4.2-based and has it – and, of course, the 4.3-based Pearl); it states A2DP only arrived to Symbian S60 with S60 FP1 (not true – some pre-FP1 models like the N73 with the latest upgrade also has it; and, of course, some earlier models like the Nokia 5300 dumbphone [based on S40 3rd ed FP2] too) it doesn’t explain the Windows Mobile situation (the major differences between the two stacks and, with Microsoft’s stack, the pre-WM6 and the WM6+ situation) etc.
Also, it’s pretty much important for a technical writer to know what he or she is writing about. Unfortunately, many of the currently available A2DP reviews have major factual errors (like not knowing how canalphones should be used or the major difference between them and traditional earbuds and, therefore, comparing apples to oranges or even mistaking A2DP dongles for remote controllers, showing the review was indeed rushed and the reviewer didn’t even bother testing all the facilities and/or reading the manual).
Almost none of the reviews contain real battery life / recharge tests. As, in most cases, the figures provided by headset manufacturers are, (in some cases, overly) optimistic (except for some rare cases), failing to measure this (and just reciting the official figures) don’t help much the prospective buyers in deciding which model to go for, should they want to base their selection on these parameters (too).
Finally, in addition to not comparing the audio quality of the headphones to each other and making sometimes major factual mistakes, the third biggest problem with the currently available headphones reviews are either not being multiplatform (some of the, particularly older, reviews are made using either dumb phones for plain headset and the enclosed A2DP dongle for music) or, if it at all uses Windows Mobile as a A2DP source, most of the cases it uses pre-Windows Mobile 6 Microsoft Bluetooth stack versions, which equals to very bad sound quality. Incidentally, none of the reviews I’ve read (and linked from the article) even mentioned the problems of the pre-Windows Mobile 6 Bluetooth stacks – not even ones that have been published long after my (among others, Pocket PC Thoughts-frontpaged) well-known article on the problems of the Microsoft A2DP implementation, showing the authors of these reviews haven’t really made their homework (checking out other, related articles for background information before publishing theirs). This is a major flaw with all these reviews, as far as usage under Windows Mobile is considered. (A2DP implementations on other platforms like Palm OS, BlackBerry and Symbian S60 don’t have such, version-dependent quality problems.) Some of the reviews, which, basically, "trash" the attainable A2DP sound quality, may have been got to their conclusion because of the bad A2DP quality in pre-Windows Mobile 6. This also shows the reviewers didn’t bother testing the headphones with alternate, non-Windows Mobile sources and/or reading others’ (most importantly, my) reports on the A2DP quality issues.
Therefore, you will really want to read this roundup so that you can easily pick a model and learn more about the current state of A2DP on all major mobile platforms.
First and foremost, (if you’re a Windows Mobile user and you use a non-Windows Mobile 6 device coming with the MS BT stack) in addition the above-linked article on the WM6 sound quality increase, you’ll definitely want to read my previous A2DP headphones roundup HERE. Please note that, in this roundup, I do not repeat the information already available in those articles. Let me know (in a public question) if you don’t understand something and need additional info and I’ll answer you. You will also want to thoroughly read the Headphones article in the Wiki; particularly the Types of Headphones section, which excellently explains the (major) difference between circumaural, supra-aural, earbud, and in-ear (canalphone) models. I will not repeat the information available there here either. Also note that I’ve devoted a separate article to the question of listening to music / non-phone audio on mono (non-A2DP) headsets and using the microphone of the A2DP headphones as, say, a wireless mike for your handset – again, when NOT in a phone call. You might want to check it out too for additional uses of Bluetooth for bidirectional audio transfer on Windows Mobile.
Note that, while the Wiki article, in the Types of Headphones section, explains the speaker part pretty well, there isn’t similar info on the main other distinction based on the head/neckband it uses (except for purely cable-based in-ear solutions like the Voyager 855): behind-the-neck (the vast majority of current headphones) like the HT820 and over-the-head ones like the Pulsar 590. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Personally, I prefer over-the-head headphones because they’re, in general, far easier to wear and put less pressure on the ears than many? most? behind-the-neck solutions. Also, they’re far easier to remove and put back in, which may be really advantageous when you often need to interrupt wearing it and expose your ear(s) to listen to, say, colleagues. (This is pretty common with me – I just put on the hedphones when I need to concentrate on work so that I don’t hear the phone and other distracting sound sources.) Many, however, prefer behind-the-neck ones; most importantly because, then, the headband can be much smaller as it doesn’t need to encompass the entire head, meaning, in general, a smaller size to carry. (Of course, careful over-the-head designs can still be folded into a smaller package; see the on-road size difference shots between the Moto HT820 and the Pulsar 590. While the former is a behind-the-neck model and the latter an over-the-head one, the Pulsar folds into a smaller size than the Motorola and it’s, therefore, easier to carry in even a large(r) shirt pocket.
For the roundup, I’ve purchased (fortunately, I’ve got some of them pretty cheap second-hand) / received five A2DP headphones. Probably most of you have already heard of the Motorola HT820, probably the most widely known headphones model. I, of course, include Plantronics too, who have pretty popular A2DP phones. From them, I included the Pulsar 590 (which is, despite its age, taking everything into account, is still pretty much the best supra-aural / over-the-head headphone) and their latest, pretty cool, hybrid model, the Voyager 855 (on which I’ve already quickly elaborated HERE). From UK-based Gear4, I’ve included their latest model, the BluPhones (also mentioned in the just-linked MWC Bluetooth article) and from Cellink, a well-known phone accessories company, the BTST-9000D.
Compared to my previous A2DP headphones roundup, I’ve added Windows Mobile 6 (which was still not available during the writing of the previous roundup), BlackBerry and Symbian S60 testing. I’ve also thoroughly elaborated on issues like comfort and pedestrian usage.
Finally, before starting to elaborate on the different headphones, I need to point out that, as with most of my articles, the vast majority of the information you’ll find the most important is presented in the comparison / feature / measurement chart belonging to the article. It’s available here and is a must. As has already been explained in many of my articles, it’s in a chart that one can compare different, alternative products the most easily and tersely.
Motorola HT820
(tested: a D-series model – that is, the fourth revision)
This is an old, widely known, comparatively cheap, supra-aural, behind-the-neck model with excellent sound quality, platform compatibility and battery life but really bad comfort, looks and weight and not very stellar maximal volume.
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(Shots from the front and the back so that you can see how much it protrudes, where the headband is when in use etc.)
Note that I do not elaborate more on this headphone models (neither do I elaborate on the others – again, I’ve listed the pros / cons of each and every reviewed model in the chart; make sure you VERY thoroughly read it). Most of the rest of the article is "only" presenting you real-world some shots of how it looks like, how much it has the "Princess Leia" effect and, of course, commenting on the other reviews, correcting their mistakes or arguing with their statements. Should you find the information in the chart insufficient or just would need some additional shots, feel free to check out these reviews, also paying attention to my corrections.
The a2dp.info review is pretty cool (albeit has no shots of its own). Its only factual mistake is stating that the LEDs can’t be disabled. (They can be – see the chart.)
The Legit Reviews folks stated the following: "With a behind-the-head design, this headset was feeling quite heavy after long-term use. My ears really started to cry after an especially long session of Battlefield 2 and needed a rest.", which I fully agree with. The Phone Arena review goes even further and states it only takes some 10-20 minutes for it to start to be really annoying. Interestingly, the pocketnow review stated it’s "Comfortable fit". Taking the date of the review (more than three years ago) into account, this can be understood as they may have nothing to compare it against (now, there’re a lot of, much more comfortable alternatives).
Should you want to use it with iPods and the like (that is, with mobile sources while on the move), you certainly will dislike the physical dimensions of the DC800 (130mm x 150mm x 70mm; 100g and not battery-operated; to see what this really means in reality, see the shots in the Unwired review.)
Another full reviews is that of Phone Arena. They have also measured excellent battery life (see page 3): "In our Battery Test, the Motorola headset worked for 990 minutes, which is 16 and a half hours - this is very good result and exceeds the battery time of most phones (in music mode) about twice." Note that they state "Poor sound quality when listening to music" (see Page 3; "We were disappointed by the sound of HT820 while listening to music – it is weak and is not clearly heard and even muffled in a noisy environment like in the street. The quality is poor: the bass is not stressed, it lacks any detail whatever and the lowest frequencies are not played but cause crackling in some cases. The middle frequencies are represented poorly; the vocals sound very unrealistically and without detail, and the high ones sound metallically, without fineness and speed. As a whole we don’t like how the earpieces work."). They must have tested an earlier firmware version (with [early] models A, B and C and the original – upgradeable! – firmware, it really skipped) – this is definitely not the case (at least now, with current firmware versions).
IGN’s review states "The audio quality was only average and didn't really exceed any expectations as it hits the higher sounds nicely, but has nearly non-existent bass." This is in no way true – the headphones do have plenty of bass.
Notebook Review ‘s review is HERE. Note that they state it’s "Lightweight/sleek", which I dare to disagree with.
TreoCentral’s review is HERE. Note that it states "The bass is dynamic, the mid-range is a bit muddy and the highs can get a bit clipped. I suspect the wireless feature muddies up the mids and MP3 encoding tends to clip the highs. I’d suggest encoding music at 160mbps (rather than the standard 128) with variable bit rate." This is not really true – current A2DP implementations are all of very high quality (unless it’s the Microsoft BT stack on pre-WM6 operating systems) and, at 128 kbps, it’s not the highs that will be clipped but compression artifacts can be introduced. Also, because of their not testing the recharge time ("the Motorola HT820 gets the nod over the Nokia BH-601 for two reasons. First off, it’s supposed to charge in just two hours (the Nokia is stated to take three).") they just recited the official (too optimal) specification (2:00 instead of the 3:10 I’ve measured).
The Unwired’s review also complains of the not-that-large maximal volume and it’s being really thick.
PocketNow’s review tested a very old firmware version; newer versions do store more than one paired devices; that is, the first section of "BUGS AND WISHES" is no longer topical.
WMExpert’s review is a bit too positive (it, for example, lists comfort, the biggest problems with this model, as 4/5 – I’d rate it far less); however, it’s still worth a read.
In my previous articles, I’ve already linked to MobileBurn’s roundup. It, unfortunately, is more geared towards testing A2DP / voice compatibility with mostly dumbphones than comparing audio quality or comfort.
Some of the user comments HERE state the headband is just too short. I don’t think this is the case - it's in no way shorter than the other, behind-the-neck models.
Gear4 BluPhones
This is, physically, a well-made and excellent model. Electronically / acoustically, however, it leaves a lot to be desired. There may still be cases when you want to go for it – just carefully check out the cons and the pros listed in the chart.
(package contents)
(cinch charger)
(buttons and the active LED)
([active] LED and DC in; the polarity / voltage is also shown to make it easier to find a third-party charger)
(also shows the LED blinking– as can be seen, it’s in no way annoying)
(the second shot shows the set can easily slide out from the ear – it’s in no way as bad as with the Cellink phones, though)
Reviews:
Trusted Reviews’ one is probably the best review available, Interestingly, they didn’t consider the model comfortable, which I (and most of the other reviews) strongly disagree with: the Gear4 BluPhones are far easier to wear than, say, the Moto HT820.
CNET’s review is pretty superficial; so is
Absolute Gadget’s.
The IET's review is too a bit superficial. I definitely agree with their following statement: "I found the comfort of the Bluphones to be the quality that put them head and shoulders above other wireless headsets. At 26 grams, it is very light and comfortable to wear, even after hours of continuous use. I have often found ear buds difficult to use, as this reviewer’s ears tend not to hold them securely, but the attached headband, which wraps around the back of the head, holds the earpieces firmly in place."
The Amazon user reviews are worth checking out, albeit some of them have plain false info; for example, the statement "However for the purposes of listening to music, I have been very disappointed with performance. No base. Literally no base to the sound, the pitch is bland" isn’t true – I’ve seen headphones behaving much worse, bass-wise (for example, some real earbud models – for example, the Nokia HS-12W).
Cellink BTST-9000D
This is without doubt the less recommended model of the bunch. I just don’t see the point in using it, mostly because its AVRCP support is really-really bad (in general, non-existent) and, physically, is also sub-par. It has a pretty bad battery life. Avoid it!
(certainly shows how asymmetrically they fit on the ear)
(it’s worth noticing the big gap between the right headphones and the ear)
Reviews:
unbeatable: I strongly disagree with this. For example, it states "They [the headphones] are extremely light so as not to hinder you whilst you exercise." – well, if you also take the bad battery life into account (and the fact that the Plantronics 590 and, particularly, the HT820 delivers far better battery life, while they weigh in at about 30 grams more only), they in no way are light. The statement "It comes with a remote control too." shows the writer doesn’t really know much about A2DP headphones. (She’s speaking of the wired transmitter, not any kind of a remote controller.)
Computer Active’s review (also available at vunet) , giving it a 2/5, is far better and more unbiased one. It states "However, we do have some gripes. First, the triangular ear pads don’t sit entirely flush on your head, which means some sound is lost around the sides. The headset is also cumbersome and looks fairly silly. It didn’t fare well in the gym either, constantly slipping off while we were on the treadmill." – that is, exactly my thoughts and opinions.
Plantronics Voyager 855
This in-ear monitor (not to be mistaken for traditional earbuds!) is pretty much recommended if you do like these kinds of in-ear phones. If you haven’t ever used them, then, you may have a hard time getting used to them. Therefore, before purhasing this one, make sure you won’t hate the feeling and can live with the strong filtering out of the external noise.
Reviews:
There’s a comparatively common complaint in the user comment section of the CNET review: "It doesn't stay in my ear well even with dif size earpieces, it goes into ear canal at an off angle so it cant get a good seal and the ear piece material doesn't stick to your ear good enough either. I constantly have to push it into my canal even when I have the ear loop on. It has the small less than 1cm round earbud style that you can push deep into your ear." They also have a very short video "review", which is more of an advertisement not lacking superlatives - "fantastic audio quality" and the like. While I do consider the 855’s audio quality good, it still can’t beat decent supra-aural headphones like the Pulsar 590 or the (of course, pretty uncomfortable) Moto HT820. That is, the video should have stated "decent audio quality for a canalphones model and/or much better quality than any earbuds" instead.
Laptop Mag’s battery life / recharge benchmarks are a bit different from those of mine; they state "we got seven hours of music playback while taking intermittent calls. But we were peeved that we had to wait two hours to fully charge the headset before using it". The truth, as far as continuous music playback is concerned, battery life is considerably worse (around 5:30...6 hours) and the recharge time a bit longer (around 2:20).
PCMag’s review is plain bad as the reviewer doesn’t really seem to know the limitations (and qualities) of A2DP. She states "Stereo music played through the Voyager 855 sounded middling to poor. I heard some bass, though it distorted easily and was more boom than actual punch. The midrange and high end exhibited hazy stereo panning, tinny treble, and not enough "air" around the instruments. Oddly, lead vocals were hard to hear as well. Sometimes electric guitars on tracks by the band Muse would get louder and then recede a few moments later, presumably due to quirks in the Bluetooth connection. This is certainly no headset for audiophiles." and "Audio enthusiasts will probably prefer wired buds, due to the sonic limitations of the current A2DP Bluetooth protocol." Actually, it’s the mechanical parts that are the bottleneck, not A2DP. A2DP is capable of delivering much better audio quality than a small-sized, non-isolated earbud will ever deliver. Second, she complains about the lack of basses. I’m not at all sure she has pushed the phones into her ear sufficiently strongly enough. Without making them fit, you’ll indeed encounter poor basses. Again, these are in-ear monitors, NOT earbuds. The latter only need to be placed directly outside of the ear canal, while in-ear monitors need to be firmly push into the canal itself. On the other hand, if you do push them into your ear canal (which can clearly be noticed immediately because the isolation starts working and the external sounds will sound much quieter), the basses appear – at a much higher level than most? all? true (external) earbuds like the (factory) iPod, Zune, Nokia N95 or most HTC stereo headsets.
Indeed, speaking of external earbuds, the reviewer doesn’t seem to know the vast audio quality difference between canalphones (in-ear monitors) and traditional earbuds - assuming you’re used to the awkwardness of the former. Incidentally, the same review has been published at Smart Device Central, where, in the first comment, the Plantronics acoustic designer responsible for the 855 explains (some of) the inherent flaws of the article. Let me cite it in its entirety (it’s really worth reading):
"I am the Plantronics acoustic designer responsible for this product and have a few comments on how to get good audio quality from this and similar headsets.
With this fit style (frequently called a canal-phone); if the user thinks that the headset sounds "tinny" it is 95% certain that the seal between the eartip and the ear-canal has been compromised. If the bass appears to be present but not "vibrant" it is possible that one ear has good fit and the other does not.
In order to provide both background-noise isolation and good audio performance from a very small loudspeaker (required in such a small product) it is necessary to seal the output of the speaker to the ear-canal. I won't go into details as to why, but the requirement is actually pretty rigorous, a gap the diameter of a human hair will degrade the bass response at very low frequencies and it doesn't take too much larger a leak to produce the impression stated by the reviewer.
If a slight tug on the headset or earbud does not produce a slight feeling of "suction", there is too much leakage to get optimum performance. When perfectly coupled to the ear this product has an acoustic response that is flat to below 10 Hz. (two octaves below the lowest note on the bass guitar) but a significant leak can make it hard to hear the bass at all.
I do not consider the requirement for seal to be a virtue, but if adequate attention is paid to fit, the results are superior to other approaches. The alternative is a much larger headset to achieve similar performance (although not bass down to 10 Hz.) so it worth it to try different (supplied) eartips and manipulate the headset to get the right fit. The size and shape of individual ears varies greatly and it is difficult to engineer a single eartip that fits everyone. Normally a bit of care will produce a good fit and once you have heard the improvement it will be easier to achieve and maintain."
PC World: an average review with an average score. It seems to, to some degree, trash A2DP and recommend wired headsets over any A2DP phones. Again, I disagree: with quality A2DP implementations (again, all current smartphone stacks except for the Microsoft one in WM5), A2DP does deliver excellent quality.
ZDNet’s review doesn’t really elaborate on the A2DP mode; most of its remarks concern the standard (mono) headset mode.
MobileBurn’s recently-published review seems to be much fairer; its pros/cons lists are pretty much the same as mine.
Treonauts’ review is pretty short and certainly lacks sound quality evaluation. It, however, has some pics.
The Amazon user reviews (there are 25 of them) are also worth checking out.
WMExperts have also published a mini-review and video without much elaboration on the sound quality. They state it’s average; I am not sure whether they have indeed pushed the phones in the ear canal sufficiently well (as is, again, also emphasized by Plantronics’ acoustic designer).
PhoneArea’s article is more of an ad. Good Gear Guide’s article isn’t much better either.
symbian-guru’s short and mostly Symbian-related (reports on tests with the N95-3) article is HERE.
There’s some decent posts at pinstack.com.
Plantronics Pulsar 590
Not taking into the Voyager 855 into account (again, if and only if you can live with in-ear monitors and/or definitely need a set of A2DP headphones that look professionally without making few people aware of you’re listening to music, unlike with supra-aural headphones), this is probably the most recommended model.
I, generally, agree with the a2dp.info review, particularly with the closing statement "As it seemed to me, among positive comments the 590 A ranks first. In spite of still facing some problems, users consider this headset to be nearly the best choice.". I, however, don’t think the statement "though they will be TOO tight for persons with bigger heads" is right – I have a pretty big head and have absolutely no problems with the 590, not even after 6-8 hours of wearing it. On the other hand, I have major problems with the Moto HT820 on my large head – even after some 30 minutes of listening. Also note that while I have a big head and have been using the 590A very frequently for a little less than two years (!), it hasn’t broken on me, unlike, for example, the TH-55, which broke after about two days (!) of use. That is, if you’re lucky enough, I don’t think it’ll break on you either. I think it was till mid-2006 that the fragile 590's were manufactured; the two 590's I've been using have been manufactured later and, again, haven't broken on me.
ShinyShiny TV’s review is pretty short and not very informative; so is MobileWhack’s and Laptop Mag’s.
MobileTechReview’s review is far longer. I agree with it, particularly with the conclusion ("We’ve reviewed several Bluetooth stereo headsets over the years and the Pulsar 590 is the best we’ve seen and heard so far."), except for statements like "The sound quality is very good when working with both the iPod and the Zune. The Pulsar 590 adds more bass compared to the iPod OEM wired headset, but is otherwise comparable to the wired headsets bundled with these devices." Actually, the Zune is a plain (albeit indeed very good quality – it’s even better, bass-wise, than the earbuds coming with the Nokia N95) earbud model and definitely has worse (less) bass than the 590.
The user reviews at pricegrabber may also be worth reading. I certainly don’t agree with the fourth reviewer’s statement, "Not the best audio quality", though. The reviewer with the post "Warning, not compatable" only refers to the (old and certainly non-A2DP-capable) LG8100, NOT real A2DP sources.
Gadget Review’s very short mini-review is certainly flawed. They state "Don’t expect long playback time, but should suffice for those who use at home." This is in no way true – as long as they can name a stereo Bluetooth headset that has at least twice the battery life (I don’t think they can – most of the small(er) headsets don’t even come close to HALF of the battery life of the 590).
Legit Reviews’ review is pretty long. It, however, having been published more than two years ago, doesn’t elaborate on the A2DP quality when using mobile sources. I certainly disagree with the statement "The volume on the headset was very good and the stereo sound was far superior to that of the Moto HT820" – it’s not really true. The two models have approximately the same sound quality and, with strong equalization in the highs on the 590, frequency response.
CNet’s mini-review is pretty nice. The only statement requiring some additional info is as follows: "We played audio through the Pulsar 590A continuously over a period of about 11 hours without having to recharge. This is not bad, but a word of warning: It's a pain to recharge a device such as headphones when you're not used to doing so." I don’t really get this. First, the 590 has great battery life. Second, you just put it on a charger before going to bed every (second / third, depending on the use) night and, when you wake up, it’s recharged – there isn’t anything different in this than in, say, recharging handsets.
jkOnTheRun’s review is very short (some sentences only); it’s mostly the comments that are worth checking out. So is the case with LiGo’s page.
PC Authority’s review is OK, except for their opinion on the sound quality: "Unfortunately, the sound quality isn’t on par with what we have heard from other offerings, but they’re still worth considering. … The sound quality is, unfortunately, very muddy. Undefined bass tends to drown out the rest of the signal, and a lot of the treble’s definition is lost in transmission. If your source has any EQ settings, you can tweak them to get better results, but using the Pulsar 590A as a pair of wired headphones, instead of as a wireless pair, will give you an increase in fidelity." I think they have messed up something – for example, used the MS BT stack as the source (the article is two years old; that is, before WM6 with it hugely enhanced audio quality, which is now on par with the other mobile alternatives: BlackBerry, Symbian S40/S60 and Widcomm for Windows Mobile).
Some other, comparative shots I’ve made
Pulsar 590 vs. HT820 thickness difference (as can clearly be seen, the HT820 is definitely thicker)
Pulsar 590 vs. Cellink thickness difference
Pulsar 590 vs. Gear4 size difference
(Folded) size (note that the Gear4 BluPhones have a very flexible headband and, therefore, can be made even smaller to fit even the smallest shirt pockets)
Gear4 vs. Voyager (here, the left earbud)
Gear4 vs. Voyager (the entire headphones)
Voyager vs. 590 , both with extended microphone
Without extending them
From left to right: the charger of the 590, the Voyager and the Gear4. As can be seen, none of them are standard.
Wow! Stellar review.
I liked the pictures as well. It really helps to see what they look like on a person's head.
I personally own the HT820 headphones and I enjoy them a lot. I honestly don't see them as heavy and uncomfortable but hey then again I have a large head so that may be it right there.
kinda clunky ...yet still very cool! great reviews!
im still partial to my jabra bt 8010's
they work great and def get the job done, and i.m.o. still very stylish!
heres a great review on them.. blog.treonauts.com/2007/01/a2dp_stereo_blu.html
I use to have the Plantronics 590, and now I use the Plantronics 855. All of the reviews I've read do not mention the black dense foam tips for the 855 that were included in my package. In my experience, they provide a much better seal and deeper base than the silicone tips. They effectively close up your ear canal like cork in a bottle. They are bigger and harder than the silicone, so they may not be comfortable for everyone.
I use them with my Dell x51v with cooked wm6.1 rom. Sound quality on MS stack was decent, but I could not stand the drop outs. Much better quality with Widcomm stack. However, I have found the 855 very susceptible to outside interference. I get constant drop outs with either stack along New York City streets when exiting the subway. Everywhere else is usually fine. (I did not notice this previously with the 590).
I've been getting great use out of my Jabra BT3030. The best feature is the fact that I can plug in and use any 3.5mm headset that I want. The stock units are far from terrible, however. Second best is that I can charge it with any mini USB cable. Third best is the mic is built into the unit, not on an earpiece, so regular heaphones work fine.
I use the provided earbuds, as they fit well in my ears (your mileage may vary), and effectively block outside noise...an important factor when listening on a motorcycle! The rubber caps from my Griffin EarJams (I used these with my Wizard's stock headphones before buying the Jabra) fit on this device's headphones, so a better fit is within reach, even using stock headset.
One bone of contention: the "necklace" is a cheap P.O.S. dog-tag chain that rips at my hair. I removed the entire necklace and the loop, and use the included tension clip, and clip to collar or shirt pocket instead.
My only complaint is that they are not very loud. Fully maxed, I can easily hear over them when paired with my hacked AT&T Wizard (not originally provided with A2DP), and I get a LOT of skips when listening, unless I kill EVERYTHING else running on the phone while music is playing. Again, I contribute this to the phone's shortcomings more than the Jabra.
I've been using the Plantronics 855 with my Ipaq 6945 for a few months now. I have my music stored on my miniSD card, and found some of your previous articles on hacking line speed, etc very useful. It was necessary to improve the connection consistency with my particular phone and setup.
I find the frequency response good, with plenty of base. In agreement with your article, I did not find outside noise much of an issue due to the nature of the design.
I wear them during my trips to the gym, and one of my disappointments is that they tend to wiggle loose during exercise. I'm not sure any of this design would fare much better under those circumstances, however.
Also, I switched to the very smallest cushions (they come with three sizes) and my ear canals are still slightly smaller - so there is a bit of discomfort wearing them. I looked online for additional sizes, and cannot find any.
Your article was great, and it was nice to see the chart. This will be great for those interested in taking the plunge.
I have recently set my headset up with the bluetooth on my laptop too, and can now go completely cordless when I travel - a nice thing for those long plane rides.
nonpaq said:
I use to have the Plantronics 590, and now I use the Plantronics 855. All of the reviews I've read do not mention the black dense foam tips for the 855 that were included in my package. In my experience, they provide a much better seal and deeper base than the silicone tips. They effectively close up your ear canal like cork in a bottle. They are bigger and harder than the silicone, so they may not be comfortable for everyone.
I use them with my Dell x51v with cooked wm6.1 rom. Sound quality on MS stack was decent, but I could not stand the drop outs. Much better quality with Widcomm stack. However, I have found the 855 very susceptible to outside interference. I get constant drop outs with either stack along New York City streets when exiting the subway. Everywhere else is usually fine. (I did not notice this previously with the 590).
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Thanks for the feedback. I didn't find the 855 very sensitive to interference - the gear4 phones are MUCh worse in this respect. Will definitely give it a more through try. (just trying to discover my new tablet,sorry for not writing more - using the writing recognizer app. Not the FASTEST way to ENTER text).
jeepers007 said:
I wear them during my trips to the gym, and one of my disappointments is that they tend to wiggle loose during exercise. I'm not sure any of this design would fare much better under those circumstances, however.
.
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For this kind of usage, I recommend the 590 the MOst -I've done hours of Nordic Walking using the 590; they stayed on all the times. (Hmm, Starting to get a bit more speedy with entering text using writing recognition. tablets are indeed very cool!)
I tried many A2DP headsets and stick w/ Sony's HBH DS-220 (or DS-200 in silver) now.
Pro:
1. Good sound quality and good looking
2. Very small and portable
3. 3.5mm jack for any any headphone you want to change
4. **** Can charge battery while using it ***** (I found many A2DP would stop working while charing it, which is bad for car use)
Con:
1. a bit pricey. ~$70-80 in Amazon (common to all $ony's product)
2. no LCD backlight.
3. LCD only provide battery info (unlike DS980 which provide caller id and mp3 tag)
4. No dedicated button for adjusting the volume and it's very hard to adjust it (what is Sony thinking???)
Great review as always. I have asked this before but still not sure if it is possible...
Is anyone able to use A2DP headphones and watch videos at the same time with no lag? When I watch videos I don't even care about the sound quality I just want it to be wireless. I mean if there is a way to to decrease the sound quality maybe it will take up less processing power and therefore the video won't lag, is this possible?
Any settings or apps I can install to make this happen?
Hagow said:
Great review as always. I have asked this before but still not sure if it is possible...
Is anyone able to use A2DP headphones and watch videos at the same time with no lag? When I watch videos I don't even care about the sound quality I just want it to be wireless. I mean if there is a way to to decrease the sound quality maybe it will take up less processing power and therefore the video won't lag, is this possible?
Any settings or apps I can install to make this happen?
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You can manually configure the A/V offset in both TCPMP and CorePlayer to fix the problem. In the latter, it's in Tools / Preferences / Advanced / Manual A/V Offset +/- (at the bottom).
Menneisyys said:
You can manually configure the A/V offset in both TCPMP and CorePlayer to fix the problem. In the latter, it's in Tools / Preferences / Advanced / Manual A/V Offset +/- (at the bottom).
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Click to collapse
When I say lag I mean that the videos virtually stops playing when I have audio going through BT A2Dp. It just doesn't play and stutters.
Related
There are a lot of topics in the forum about people having trouble finding compatible headphones to work for music and "remote" control the phone playback.
the Bluetooth A2DP works perfectly fine in SGS for both Car Receivers and Stereo headset, and it switch transparently between music to phone calls and back without a glitch.
(i can't say the same for WM phones, another reason why i left WM platform, PalmOS was good, but is no longer produced)
There are lots of excellent Stereo BT headphones in the market now, both Studio like or simple 1 ear type, whatever ticks your fancy, the studio type offers the best audio quality even over BT.
yes it might consume more battery, but battery replacements are very inexpensive. (see accessories section)
I've not looked back to use a wired headphones since BT Stereo was invented, i used to have wired headphones for breakfast, it was a mass murder of headphones every time you get in the bus or subway, i've saved a lot of money since i moved to BT, so it's very surprising to still see people trying to work out the wiring problems with the headsets
I've been there before, every time i switched to a new phone, i needed to find another adapter to convert this to that, so that i can do something as simple as answer the phone on the headset, it was a major PITA.
so it'll be interesting to hear your side of the story to prefer wire over BT (other than "saving" battery and "better sound quality")
I find the bluetooth headsets to be kind of douchie personally. I also don't like the idea of keeping a radio transmitter attached to my head for extended periods (same goes for stereo bluetooth). Whilst I don't particularly believe in the freaks who claim they are radio sensitive, we don't really have any way of knowing how safe they are.
Extra convenience perhaps? Not for general usage. I work unpacking boxes all night and I use hardwired headphones, and it has never gotten in the way (so why bother coughing up a lot of extra money for a technology with potentially worse sound quality and negligible benefits).
IT also chews through battery as you mentioned, but i'm also learning to fly. You never know when you regret sucking up the battery earlier in the day for a technology whose only benefit is no cord.
There are benefits for Bluetooth, such as integrating with a car stereo, some flight headsets have bt built in, transferring files and connecting to special adapters which normally would need USB (such as NMEA GPS or OBD2 devices). But realistically, replacing hardwired headphones with bluetooth seems to be a case of doing so because some people think it gives them an identity. There are very few I believe who actually benefit. But that's only an opinion....
More battery consumption on both the phone and the headset. Which means more cost and more responsibility (buying or keeping batteries charged). Worse sound quality is present with bt than what you'll get in high end headphones, I am always using either high end buds or noise cancelling headsets.
I find the bt thing a bit like nutrasweet, it might sound like a good idea, I just don't want to touch the stuff.
I'd have to buy a stereo Bluetooth headset, as I don't own one, and then I'd have to remember to keep it charged and carry it with me.
I'm sure it would work okay, but I don't have a problem with a wired headset, so a Bluetooth one would only really cost money and make me liable to forget to charge it.
Interesting post AllGamer. Care to point me with some recommendations on good stereo bluetooth headphones?
i replied back to some other topic with that info in the accessories section, i'll need to dig it out
here is the topic i was posting on the reviews
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=7611857&postcount=4
+1 vote for Motorola HT820, it is simply the VERY BEST! of them all; in funtionality, ease of use, sound purity, and comfy level.
other ones i've and still using but don't like are:
Jabra BT8010 (good but always breaks the earloop)
Sony HBH-DS980 (too much wire, it defeats the purpose of bluetooth)
Sony DRBT21G (pales in comparison to Moto HT820, but it's passable, not comfy though)
BlueTake BT420Rx (Gen1 bluetooth, no A2DP, limited features, very comfy, good sound, but it looks like princess leia specially if you have the white version)
Plantronics Voyager 855 (pure garbage, no A2DP)
Motorola S9 (dies easily with sweat dripped into the device, bad design, it's a total failure compare to its big brother HT820)
my top 2 choices for sound are:
HT820
BT420Rx
my top choice for formar work/fun mix
BT8010
unfortunately the BT8010 is very prone at breaking the earloop even with careful use, i went through 3 sets of it already.
luckily enough when you buy these they come in pairs with the stereo side, so i always use the stereo side of the earloop to replace the main headset, as i seldomly use the stereo side of the headset, i mostly just use the single side of it.
for real stereo i'll much prefer to use the HT820
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and some related one for car
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=726403&highlight=bluetooth
I have a Jabra BT8010 and it's an amazing piece of hardware. Excellent battery life, rich bass, equalizer, comfortable and great sound quality.
In my opinion, BT headsets are a convenience, and I sincerely disagree with being related with "douchebaggery" or "looking for an identity".
Sent from my toilet.
Hi,
Used the Sony Ericsson HBH-IS800's before when I had a SE phone and they work a treat on the Galaxy S too. There are no controls, but I like to use the phone as the "remote" which is fine.
I find them convenient for listening to music on the tube when packed in and shouldering a bag. Sounds good enough to me, though I am not an audiophile.
BTW: I noticed on the 2.2 test frimware JP3 that the eq effects worked across BT unlike current version that says you need to plug in headphones.
In terms of battery I manage approx 3 hours a day which does my commute to and from work. They also work quite good with Galaxy S when watching videos too.
Cheers,
well for the galaxy s its simple ... the 5.1 audio enhancement says enough for u to use wired.
I got 3 sony stereo bt headsets and the only reason why i use it is for the convenience during commute. I dont want my phone getting tangled up somewhere in the metro and end up falling out being damaged or lost because of my headphone cord.
I feel much safer knowing its deep in my pocket without fear of it accidentally slipping out.
But when I am at work by my desk i use wired ... saves battery as well.
Arkymedes said:
In my opinion, BT headsets are a convenience
.
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Explain convenient.. What exactly is so convenient for them over normal headphones, which deliver better quality sound for cheaper? There are some people who do get benefits by using them (at work), where they need to free their hands and cant really have cables swinging around, such as computer technicians, but most people seem to use them whilst they are simply walking around..
quality wired headphones cost as much, if not more than a stereo bluetooth headset.
for example Sennheiser HD 448 (average $100)
those $30 ones just doesn't cut it, you need the base, the sub.
but if you go up the next level Audio-Technica ATH-M50 (average $150)
and if you go higher Sennheiser HD 800
but it's too big for my head, and wallet too (almost $1500)
in the past i broke a lot of those $100 entry level headphones
another down side of using headphones, you can't talk/answer the phone with them, you have to unplug, remove the headphones then talk.
with bluetooth it is just a simple click of a button in the ear
Using a sony DR-BT21G. Loving it so far. Only downside is the massive charger. Kinda wish it can run on usb charger instead. It only needs 3V after all.
AllGamer said:
another down side of using headphones, you can't talk/answer the phone with them, you have to unplug, remove the headphones then talk.
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Expect mic adapters to be released with a 3.5mm jack. That's how sony ericsson did it..
You can get quality for cheap, if you know where to look...
andrewluecke said:
Explain convenient.. What exactly is so convenient for them over normal headphones, which deliver better quality sound for cheaper? There are some people who do get benefits by using them (at work), where they need to free their hands and cant really have cables swinging around, such as computer technicians, but most people seem to use them whilst they are simply walking around..
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Click to collapse
You answered your own question. In MY case, is convenient and a personal thing. I absolute HATE cables of all sorts. I have a wireless headset in my PC, wireless KB and mouse and use a wireless printer. I also use a wireless home theater at home (ok, not 100% wireless but it's 2 cables less...)
Everything that I can do to have wireless I do because it's convenient. It's more organized and as I said before, a personal choice.
I agree that wired headphones AT THE MOMENT offer better sound quality for the price, but since I'm not an audiophile, I'm more then happy with what I have now.
The convenience is the easy to setup, the easy access and safety. As some people pointed before, it's very common for the wires to entangle somewhere in your clothes or other things and you risk damaging both your hedphones breaking the cable or even pulling away your phone and losing/breaking it.
Arkymedes said:
You answered your own question. In MY case, is convenient and a personal thing. I absolute HATE cables of all sorts. I have a wireless headset in my PC, wireless KB and mouse and use a wireless printer. I also use a wireless home theater at home (ok, not 100% wireless but it's 2 cables less...)
I agree that wired headphones AT THE MOMENT offer better sound quality for the price, but since I'm not an audiophile, I'm more then happy with what I have now.
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Click to collapse
the only cable i have in my Wireless Home theater is the long arse 1080p HDMI cable going from the PC Receiver to the projector
if and when they come out with a good wireless 1080p HDMI i'll definitely have everything wireless.
for audiophile or not, i'll recommend the Sony DRBT50
as an extension of what i already listed before, for sports fan the Samsung SBH500 is better suited for the task
those 2 are excellent alternative if you can't find the Motorola HT820
the Sony DRBT50 has better bass/base than the moto ht820
there is one that is 100% audiophile but it lacks the handsfree profile for phone calls
it's the Sennheiser PX210BT, that one is guaranteed to sound like the regular wired Sennheiser headphones
I wish I could use my BT headphones. So far I've tried S9-HD, HBH-IS800 and Nokia BH-504 and all of them have horrible sound quality with SGS.
seriouser said:
I wish I could use my BT headphones. So far I've tried S9-HD, HBH-IS800 and Nokia BH-504 and all of them have horrible sound quality with SGS.
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I have the hbh ds 205 and it sounds awesome.
I decided to get a new version of it and purchased the sony mw600 and it sounds awesome. Especially now that froyo was released we could use the 5.1 sound enhancement with our bluetooth devices.
One reason why I don't use my bluey headset is the damn thing blinks a blue led all the time . Its like a signal for everyone to look at me. I've taken a marker and coloured it black a few times. Another reason is I tend to forget to recharge the thing as it only has about 12hours play time.
I have a DS980 an MW600 both from Sony Ericsson. I seldom use them now.
I'm not that satisfied with the sound quality of the DS980 & the earphone cannot be replaced.
For the MW600 the short earphone that came with the device also does not sound great, so when I use my personal earphone the sound is great buy the cable will be very long...
I just have been through myself a headphone buying hassle, and had to send back 2 BT sets to refund due poor music quality. The first was Jabra Halo for around £60. It looks cool, and the most comfortable headset I've ever used, but the sound quality is just not there. It's clear, okay, but it's also quiet, and has absulutely no noticable bass.
Ordered a Nokia BH 504, which is a £10 cheaper, but sound quality is almost the same. Still quiet(not usable in traffic), still no bass, maybe a bit more clarity compare to Jabra. Sent back for refund as well.
Next one was the previously mentioned Motorola HT820(got the geniune one), it cost way less then it's friends(£25), and has much better sound! Maybe it's not as clear as the rest, but definetely has better bass, and louder as well. Through Pc it's somehow still not the best! The range is fine(just like others), the battery life is incredible(got it for 2 weeks, use it every day, but haven't charged yet). The mic is also good via phone, tho i had problems via pc skype, and msn call. It's not as comfortable as the previously mentioned ones, you can't really lay down with this thing on your head, and also after 30 min use, it cuts the top of my ears(big ears maybe?). Still not the best quality I've ever had, but definetely worth £25!
In reality nothing this small should produce this type of sound. I have been buying hi-fi for around 45 years. Heard most of it and owned rather a lot of it. In hearing the Bose I had to take a step back and take a double look. I am well aware modern production methods have made massive leaps forward in technology however there is only so much one can do with a speaker.
In the case of this Bose it appears it almost defies the physics of sound reproduction. All things taken into account this speaker is without a doubt one of those that is ground breaking.
One MUST be realistic this is not a 25,000€ home speaker stereo pair of speakers driven by a source and amplified by audio costing tens of thousands. This is a tiny PORTABLE oblong made from Aluminium yet is produces an amazing sound.
I was extremely sceptical about testing this speaker. I write 'testing' as prior to any such expensive purchase I have to use my ears before my wallet opens. I am astounded to write that again given its parameters and what it is designed to do this speaker performs above its cost and size.
Home use is the area for this unit not a studio or hall. One has to keep a sense of reality with such a purchase. This speaker will NOT fill the Albert hall and neither should it! What it will do is fill an average home living room, kitchen, work study etc with a rich full sound that excels in base also mids and treble. Sure if we desire to sit and compare with speakers twice the size costing three times the money we can debate BUT taking this as a package at this cost I have failed to find a speaker that brings 'that smile' to my face when I hear a selection of my favourite music played.
It is always totally unrealistic to go into hi-fi measurements in terms of base and treble response, separation etc. This is a small oblong that simply produces undistorted music as best such a device this size should do. That's enough. There are cheaper, slightly smaller, slightly bigger, water resistant speakers, different shapes and colours and most (not all) have their strengths also weaknesses. The 'odd' thing about the Bose is it ticks ALL the boxes in a superbly balanced way.
If you expect serious stereo separation look for a seriously larger format size. Their is zero distortion with the Bose even at full volume. Its been engineered to a very high standard and sounds (punches) well above its weight. Enough.
Link this via bluetooth to your mobile and listen to an amazing sound.
I can strongly recommend the Bose.
DISCLAIMER: Music reproduction (sound) is highly subjective. Use YOUR ears to make a purchase. Do not buy based on what's written in my mini review.
Bought s8+ on the 6th, no problems till I played music while playing a game. No game in particular, they all do it. I'm a spotify user, enter an app and my volume decreases not by volume by button but physically, I have to maximize my volume to get back the sound I had before entering the application. Otherwise it's far too quiet. Not sure if a bug but there's no option to turn this off. Irritating. Anyone else know how to turn off?
I use spotify and other music apps but my sound it low with any headphones have volume full to max aswell
Sent from my SM-G955F using XDA-Developers Legacy app
rowbaggie22 said:
I use spotify and other music apps but my sound it low with any headphones have volume full to max aswell
Sent from my SM-G955F using XDA-Developers Legacy app
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I have the same problem. Don't think there's anything to be done about it, the DAC inside the phone is just not that good. Pretty disappointing to be honest.
ynrozturk said:
I have the same problem. Don't think there's anything to be done about it, the DAC inside the phone is just not that good. Pretty disappointing to be honest.
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Sound stage is highly subjective. No two individuals will enjoy the same music genre nor the way its reproduced. Some listeners prefer heavy 'boom boom' base while others enjoy a 'bright higher pitched' overall tone, then there's the billions in between those extremes.
One has to be realistic with a mobile phone that performs so many tasks. We read an awful lot about the camera, got to the point where many look at the camera before they even consider signal strength etc? No mobile can, nor should, match a DSLR. Same with the sound reproduction. One cannot compare the quality of sound against a dedicated high res player like the Astel&Kern costing 3k or similar stand alone mobile players. It has to be a question of compromise.
I never use the camera. I do listen to music an awful lot that is why I have spent many thousands of € buying various dedicated high res players. Problem is obvious. Summer day in shorts who wants to carry an DSLR, Dedicated Digital audio player and a mobile phone?
The S8+ sounds fine when paired with decent head phones either on ear or over ear plus ear buds. Many are enjoying the AKG developed ear buds that came with the mobile. I DON'T like the AKG ear buds, that is personal taste though.
Non the less considering the S8+ does so many things so well I cannot fault its sound reproduction considering its a mobile phone
If you desire a true hifidelity portable sound then you are going to have to dig very deep into your pockets. Putting that proposition to one side the S8+ can produce a very acceptable sound for the masses including myself who is a hifi junkie.
Suggestion. Try a number of different head gear ranging from ear buds to on ear head phones. OBVIOUSLY when using the on ear or around ear head phones volume will be affected as the S8+ is not designed to power such head sets even though it does a bloomin good job! When using ear buds you can achieve a high volume. Bluetooth are another option though sound quality does degrade accordingly.
So, all in all its compromise but Samsung has balanced the equation rather well. Again personal taste will always be a major factor eg, I don't enjoy the sound stage LG mobiles produce even though many people do. If you are looking for an exceptional sound stage from a mobile phone try out the Sony range, they should be good being the masters of portable hifi from the off. I enjoy both the Sony and Samsung sound reproduction but give the edge to Sony on most occasions.
Ryland:good:
ynrozturk said:
I have the same problem. Don't think there's anything to be done about it, the DAC inside the phone is just not that good. Pretty disappointing to be honest.
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Click to collapse
Are you on the Exynos version as well? Maybe it's an Exynos problem, my Snapdragon S8+ has no problem running my Sennheiser HD700's, plenty loud at half volume. (Sounds pretty good too I might add)
Cautions said:
Bought s8+ on the 6th, no problems till I played music while playing a game. No game in particular, they all do it. I'm a spotify user, enter an app and my volume decreases not by volume by button but physically, I have to maximize my volume to get back the sound I had before entering the application. Otherwise it's far too quiet. Not sure if a bug but there's no option to turn this off. Irritating. Anyone else know how to turn off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same problem on my Oneplus 3T so I do not think it is hardware related. (I was playing pokemon GO while listening to music)
PoLoMoTo said:
Are you on the Exynos version as well? Maybe it's an Exynos problem, my Snapdragon S8+ has no problem running my Sennheiser HD700's, plenty loud at half volume. (Sounds pretty good too I might add)
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Yep, Exynos version.
---------- Post added at 09:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:26 AM ----------
Ryland Johnson said:
Sound stage is highly subjective. No two individuals will enjoy the same music genre nor the way its reproduced. Some listeners prefer heavy 'boom boom' base while others enjoy a 'bright higher pitched' overall tone, then there's the billions in between those extremes.
One has to be realistic with a mobile phone that performs so many tasks. We read an awful lot about the camera, got to the point where many look at the camera before they even consider signal strength etc? No mobile can, nor should, match a DSLR. Same with the sound reproduction. One cannot compare the quality of sound against a dedicated high res player like the Astel&Kern costing 3k or similar stand alone mobile players. It has to be a question of compromise.
I never use the camera. I do listen to music an awful lot that is why I have spent many thousands of € buying various dedicated high res players. Problem is obvious. Summer day in shorts who wants to carry an DSLR, Dedicated Digital audio player and a mobile phone?
The S8+ sounds fine when paired with decent head phones either on ear or over ear plus ear buds. Many are enjoying the AKG developed ear buds that came with the mobile. I DON'T like the AKG ear buds, that is personal taste though.
Non the less considering the S8+ does so many things so well I cannot fault its sound reproduction considering its a mobile phone
If you desire a true hifidelity portable sound then you are going to have to dig very deep into your pockets. Putting that proposition to one side the S8+ can produce a very acceptable sound for the masses including myself who is a hifi junkie.
Suggestion. Try a number of different head gear ranging from ear buds to on ear head phones. OBVIOUSLY when using the on ear or around ear head phones volume will be affected as the S8+ is not designed to power such head sets even though it does a bloomin good job! When using ear buds you can achieve a high volume. Bluetooth are another option though sound quality does degrade accordingly.
So, all in all its compromise but Samsung has balanced the equation rather well. Again personal taste will always be a major factor eg, I don't enjoy the sound stage LG mobiles produce even though many people do. If you are looking for an exceptional sound stage from a mobile phone try out the Sony range, they should be good being the masters of portable hifi from the off. I enjoy both the Sony and Samsung sound reproduction but give the edge to Sony on most occasions.
Ryland:good:
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Thanks for your input. I know where you're coming from because I think the same. I'm a musician so audio is kind of a big part of my life. I don't buy a phone expecting it to have the power of my DAC's or amps at home - but I want it to be decent at least. The S8's isn't decent - far from it. I've thrown a number of headphones and IEM's at it and it still performs poorly - because the DAC inside is poor. It really is that quite simple. I don't expect it to run my Beyerdynamic T1's or anything, lol. But I do expect it to run my IEM Shure or Sennheisers at least decently, which it doesn't.
I also agree about the camera part. While I do appreciate a good camera in my phone, when I go out to take pictures I would much rather have my Sony A7RII with me, along with some Zeiss glass.
Ironic that once it was the Exynos versions (Note 3) that had premium audio (Wolfson DAC) while the Snapdragon phones languished. Now it seems it's the exact opposite, lots of complaints from the Exynos crowd and nothing but praise from the Snapdragon set. I personally have the US ATT version (SD835 + Aqstic DAC) and the sound quality is superb, both with full custom Shure SE-535Vs and Sennheiser HD-700s (directly driven from the phone). Definitely a step up from my S7E.
For reference I'm also a musician with a pretty good idea of what real instruments sound like (9ft Concert Grand in my living room).
Mixcder MS301 and HD601 Wireless Headset Review
Mixcder sent me two sets of bluetooth headphones to review, the MS301 and HD601. I’ve been using them both for the past two weeks and I came away very impressed with both. I used an LG V20 to drive these, with a mix of flac, mp3, and streamed audio.
Build: The MS301s are clearly the more premium build. Basically, the entire frame and cans are metal, and the earmuffs are a high quality artificial leather. These look really nice and give the impression that they could take a good amount of abuse. I’ve been taking them to and from work in my bag without particular care, and they’ve held up wonderfully. Additionally, they fold up right above the earmuffs. They aren’t as compact as other over the ear headphones (I also have a set of Marshal Monitors that fold up to an extremely small footprint), but it does make them somewhat more portable. As a consequence of the premium build, they are somewhat heavy. They moved a bit when wearing them, as well, which was somewhat annoying.
The HD601s are primarily plastic. They have red highlights around the earmuffs, and are otherwise a matte black plastic. The dimensions between both are roughly the same, which provides a comfortable fit on the head. I have large ears, and they were able to fit without any issues. The artificial leather here is of a lower quality, but is still acceptable. Without comparing the two headphones directly, I don’t think I would notice the difference. The key benefit for this set is that the lower weight leads to a very comfortable fit. It truly felt like they weren’t there, basically no matter how long I wore them. Both sets charge with micro-USB, have a power button and two volume/track buttons, two microphones, and an LED. For whatever reason, on the MS301, the buttons are labeled with the forward/back symbols while the HD601 have vol up/down. The functionality was the same: a quick press adjusted the volume, while a long press skipped songs. The microphones did a very good job picking up my voice in a variety of environments.
The MS301 claim a 20 hour battery life, while the HD601 claim a 40 hour life. In two weeks of pretty intensive testing (lots of streaming audio and the entirety of Stranger Things), both are still going strong on the original charge.
Sound: I evaluated both sets of headphones against 10 tracks that tested the range and response. (from https://www.whathifi.com/features/10-best-tracks-to-test-your-headphones). Both headsets performed admirably, both using Bluetooth and the wired connection. These provide very good detail over the entire range, with a pretty flat response. The separation was very good, as was the space. The audio performance on both headphones was basically identical, which is a huge plus. They blew the Monitors away basically in every regard. These also go incredibly loud. I could literally max the volume with them on the counter and use them as speakers. I never experienced any distortion at the max volume, either. The HD601 advertise an “extra base mode” but the effect was fairly minimal. Base performance was quite good regardless, so this wasn’t a big deal. Both use AptX LL as the Bluetooth protocol, which my V20 was able to take advantage of. Additionally, when plugged in, they triggered the “HiFi” mode as expected, as they list a 29Ω impedance. One of the few negatives was the included 3.5mm cable. It was fairly low quality and provided notably worse sound quality than the Monitor cable. Seeing that Mixcder also provides a nicer looking cable for $4 on Amazon, I question the decision to provide something that detracts from the overall package. However, most people probably will never use these, so again it’s not a huge deal.
Bluetooth: The range for these really varied depending on the use conditions. At work, these passed the “printer run” test by getting ~70 feet (10 m) away before noticing any degradation. At home, they really struggled to maintain connection between floors. In both cases, it was obvious when you were approaching the range. There was no cut out or dropped sounds until it basically disconnected. Generally speaking, moving back into range allowed for a quick reconnection, often without pausing the music.
Initial pairing was pretty painless on both. The MS301 had the usual setup by powering the headphones on and going into bluetooth settings to complete the pair. The HD601 used NFC to pair, and it was seamless. Anyone familiar with using Apple or Android Pay would be able to pair these in seconds. While this is a one time thing, seeing them pair was a great first impression and one of those “technology is magic” moments.
Conclusions: Both headphones are awesome and well worth the asking price. The MS301 are priced higher as the more “premium” option ($85 at the time of this review) while the HD601 come in at $60. I really liked the look of the 301’s, but the much lighter build and extra features tipped the balance to the 601s even before the price is considered unless appearance is a deciding factor (my wife said she’d prefer the 601s even if the prices were reversed). Given that the audio performance was excellent on both, I don’t think you can make a wrong choice here.
Mixcder gave me promo codes for both, valid through October
HD601:
20% off promo price: $47.99
Promo code: 6UWB2NT9
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B074...=8-10&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=mixcder
MS301:
34%OFF promo price: $59.39
Promo code: DWMYZ7O8
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B071...cder+ms301&dpPl=1&dpID=41xrGlMNnHL&ref=plSrch
Hello,
I was wondering if you would be kind enough to help me by sharing some of your Bluetooth headphone knowledge. I’ve been doing lots of reading on soundguys / android central as I’m trying to work out how I can guarantee I can get rock solid reliable bluetooth headphone connection. I currently have a Oneplus 3T phone which supports Bluetooth 4.2. I bought apple earpods to use with them whilst skiing in the alps. Whilst they are fine in the gym in most areas they are unusable in the mountains. They glitch/distort/drop out constantly to the point where you’re hearing more glitching than actual music. I don’t know if it’s the altitude, the cold, the fact I’m wearing a helmet, moving fast or wearing layered clothing.
I’ve been reading about the different codecs and am trying to work out if / how they will influence the connection. I was wondering if i’d be better buying an iPhone to try and get them to work but then that’s a massive expense. Perhaps I need to update my phone to a Bluetooth 5.0 model? Then I wondered if i’d be better getting some Bluetooth earphones that are way more compatible with android. Perhaps the wired kind of wireless headphones perform better? I’ve no idea.
My earpods use SBC with android which I understand is very basic – perhaps this is why it performs badly? However in soundguys reviews of the Jaybird vista – despite lacking high quality bluetooth codec support do have a reliable connection so perhaps the codec does not matter in terms of reliability but the chipset and how well it happens to work with your model of phone (pot luck)? I notice you they rate Sennheiser momentum best for connectivity but perhaps so could this be my best option – or perhaps that rating more in terms of the options you have in terms of codecs than connection stability/reliability?
Hope you can offer some insight,
Thanks,
Pete