MWC: (Quick) review: Altec (Plantronics) 903 / 906 A2DP Bluetooth headphones – wowz!
Altec Lansing, a branch of Plantronics, revealed their brand new A2DP Bluetooth headphones, the Backbeat 903 (without a Bluetooth transmitter dongle) and the 906 (with a dongle) in early January (see THIS for the report). The new model has just hit the shelves for $100 and $130, respectively. That is, they aren't particularly cheap - but, it seems, they are worth every penny.
Just like the Gear4 BluPhones reviewed in my last, very thorough roundup (A REAL, MULTIPLATFORM Bluetooth stereo (A2DP) headphones roundup: FIVE headphones), this is an earbud model with a flexible, thin neck-band.
At MWC (more specifically, MobileFocus, which is an invitation-only [meant only for the best tech writers and the like, not for the Average Joes] party on, traditionally, the first day of MWC), I've been given such a set.
(Altec Lansing's / Plantronics' booth. The shots also show how the headphones look when worn.)
Frankly, given the low maximum volume and not the best frequency response of the Gear4 BluPhones (or, in general, anything earbud), I didn’t have high hopes of the new model before starting to test it. I was absolutely sure that, simply because of the design, it just won’t be able to match the audio quality of the alternatives (including Plantronics’ earlier models: I expected both the supra-aural Pulsar 590 and the canalphone (in-ear monitor) Voyager 855 deliver a much better audio quality simply because, physically, the technique they utilize is far superior to anything “simple” earbuds are able to deliver.)
How wrong I was! I simply couldn’t believe my eyes when listening to this set of headphones. It delivers very good bass – and the maximal volume is pretty nice too! Also, the headphones are really easy to wear. If you are into A2DP, you will want to give these headphones a try - they are, as it seems (don't forget I haven't run the very time-consuming battery life and call compatibility tests as yet) certainly worth it.
In the following, I provide a list of the pros and cons. Please consult my earlier A2DP-related articles (start with THIS) for more info on the testing methologies and the compatibility and other problems earlier Plantronics models had. I, for example, won’t explain here what for example the Symbian compatibility problems have been.
Nope that I surely post a more detailed follow-up to this article as soon as I make some real battery life and recharging time, handsfree mode compatibility and quality, in-street signal stability (something for example the Gear4 Bluphones severely fail at) etc. tests (the current article “only” discusses A2DP quality and compatibility, not that of “simple” calls).
Pros
- Unbelievably good sound quality; most importantly, great basses – and all this in a “plain” earbud model!
- Much higher maximal volume than with some? all? of the earbud alternatives (tested against the Gear4 Bluphones)
- Built-in, easily (de)activeable megabass – you don’t need to fish out your phone to change the equalizer settings
- Easy to wear, unlike, say, the HT820
- People who hate canalphones (in-ear monitors) like the Plantronics Voyager 855, will be delighted to see this pair of headphones is an earbud; that is, no problems associated with earbud will be present
- As it’s not a supra-aural (like the Pulsar 590) pair of headphones either, problems (in cases, too thick – see the “Leila Morgana” HT820 –; “teenager-like”, easy to spot, “non-professional looking”; ears getting too hot on warm days; in cases, hard to wear) associated with them aren’t present either
- At last, fully compatible with Symbian phones (this has been problematic with Plantronics’ all three earlier A2DP headphones). Of course, it’s 100% compatible with the BlackBerry 4.2+ and the two (Microsoft and Widcomm) Windows Mobile BT stacks – as has always been the case with all the previous Plantronics headphones.
- Seems to be more weatherproof than the Pulsar 590; the latter had the recharger shot at the top. A single drop of water was sufficient to render the entire pair of headphones useless. The new phone seems to be more weatherproof.
- Standard microUSB charger (as opposed to the 590 sporting a proprietary one)
- It doesn’t weigh much (34g; I’ve measured this myself too)
- No annoying LED blinking on either the headphones or the dongle; it is only lit when you press (some of) the button(s). In this respect, it’s way better than the Pulsar 590 and the Pulsar 260.
- Considerably lower processing lag (delay) when used together with the dongle compared to the previous models – now, you will be able to watch movies with the dongle without having to use a player that can introduce some kind of a lag between the video and audio tracks to countermeasure the processing lag introduced by the dongle + headphones combo
- The dongle is much smaller than that of the 590 (and doesn’t blink unnecessarily - unlike with the previous model)
Cons
- Some people (like me: I prefer over-the-head ones because the headband doesn’t stop me from fully tiling my neck when necessary) may dislike the behind-the-neck design.
- Because of the design, as with all similar headphones, it takes a bit of time to put on / remove the headphones, unlike with over-the-head ones
By the way, speaking of MWC, the Sennheiser folks have showcased their new A2DP designs (slated for release later this year). While there was no sign of the MM200 (see my last year's HERE), the new models (shot below) sounded pretty nice and the (passive) noise canceling worked pretty good (these headphones, unlike the MM200 last year, could be tested).
UPDATE (22/02/2009 9:34AM CET): I’ve also very thoroughly tested the headphones under the current (build 7000) of Windows 7, using the default Bluetooth support (all this done on an IBM Thinkpad T42p with the factory Bluetooth module and automatically installed BT driver).
I’ve encountered no problems with AVRCP-capable programs (the built-in WMP and, after enabling AVRCP by checking in the Options / Preferences / Global Hotkeys / Enable default multimedia key support checkbox – note that, as of the current version of Videolan VLC doesn’t support AVRCP): everything worked. This is a great step from the Pulsar 590, which has the same problem with Windows 7 as with Symbian: resuming from the paused state simply doesn’t work. A big thumbs up to Plantronics for this – now, I can make use of my N95 (by far the best all-in-one multimedia handset right now in my opinion). (Note that, while the Voyager 855, Plantronics’ last-year model, is still incompatible with Symbian, it has no problems with resuming under Windows 7 – unlike its predecessor, the Pulsar 590.)
Two screenshots follow; the first shows the automatic driver installation for the BackBeat and the 590; the second shows the automatic, additional handsfree driver install after a reboot. Note that, after this, the Voyager 855’s drivers have also been automatically installed.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Finally, don’t forget I’ll still post a lot on these headphones after doing some thorough singal interference durability, battery life and handsfree usage tests.
These look very promising indeed. I'm pretty sure they're far superior to the Motorola S9s, however do you have any insight/experience with the S9s to compare the two. I have the S9s and really like them in every aspect.
UPDATE (22/02/2009 10:35 CET): I’ve continued testing the headphones outdoors to find out whether
- it’s sensitive to interferences and quickly changing signal reflections (no, it isn’t)
- it’s capable of delivering sufficient volume in a very noisy street so that the podcasts I listen to still remain understandable (yes, it is; naturally, you might want to disable the built-in megabass when turning up the volume that high)
- wearing it for an extended length of time turns out to be tiring (no; it’s as easy to hold as for example the Gear4 BluPhones with the exception of they staying on the ears and your not having to be afraid of their dropping)
- the call quality is sufficient in handsfree mode (it is; tested this on my N95. Everything went just OK) and the switching between A2DP and handsfree mode is seamless (on the Nokia N95, it is).
Currently, I don’t see any point in NOT recommending this headphones. Sticking to its category (earbuds), again, it produces way better sound quality than even the Zune 8 GB earbuds. I consider the latter one of the best, but still cheap earbuds. Yes, I know they are considerably worse than even the Zune 80 GB ones, let alone for example some of the Sennheiser earbuds, but I won’t pay THAT much for any cabled headphones just to be able to compare its sound quality to the A2DP headphones I test now and then. (Nevertheless, they’re still considerably better than the factory earbuds coming with both the iPhone 3G and the Nokia N95.)
Related
REVIEW: a brand new phone / meeting call recorder with great, unique rolling recording capabilities: LivePVR by Softtrends LLC
This sound / voice recorder application is both a phone call autorecorder and a meeting recorder with a, on the Pocket PC, really unique (yes, I know what I’m speaking about – I’ve thoroughly tested all the alternate voice/sound recorder applications – please see the “Recommended links” section for links) feature: “rolling recording”.
In this article, I thoroughly compare the just-released, latest (2.4) version to the already existing alternates, particularly PMRecorder (please read the review of the latter here – I will NOT explain why you can’t record the other party on most Pocket PC Phone Edition in this article!)
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Compatibility, availability
It’s available here and costs $9.95. The trial version is pretty usable and only time (30 days) constrained if you want to take it for a test ride.
It’s only compatible with WM5. I’ve tested it on two WM5 PPC Phone Edition devices (HTC Universal and HTC Wizard) – both worked OK (except for the VGA incompatibility problems on the former).
The unique feature: “rolling recording”
It may happen to you many times that you would like to record things that have just been said. In these cases, “rolling recording” can be of help. It makes it possible to record things that have already been said – before you pressed the “Record” button.
Please note that you will need to read the online documentation on the “rolling recording” in order to be able to properly utilize the unique rolling recording facility of the app. (Note that the homepage has a dead link to the Virtual Demo). In my extensive tests, rolling recording worked flawlessly and really delivered what it's supposed to.
Compared to...
Yes, as applications (fortunately) don't exist in isolation, it's the best to compare this app to the numerous alternates to get a clerar picture whether it's worth getting (or even trying).
As opposed to other “standard” voice recorders...
Pros
Buffering functionality – no other voice recorder is capable of the same. Note that the “Rewind Length” slider in Vianix Pocket Talk Enterprise Pro only sets the amount of seconds the Rewind icon steps back on each press (the same stands for forwarding).
It puts the entire date/time (incl. seconds) in the filename. Except for iPlay (which puts hours and minutes in the filenames – not the seconds) and Personal Memory Systems’ Audio Memory System (which is quite revolutionary in that it puts both the date, the time (incl. seconds) and a user-supplied remark in the filename), no other recorder does the same: they “only” autonumber the files. This approach can be easier for many people, particularly if you see the filelist from an application (for example, the FileList control itself in Windows Mobile itself when listing files created more than a day ago) without timestamps or, when the timestamps are lost (because, for example, you FTP the files or ActiveSync synchronizes them to the desktop).
Isn’t overpriced, unlike many of the alternates
No excess CPU usage: in both “conference” mode and while actively recording, around 1% only (measured on the HTC Wizard, recording to a storage card), which certainly shows it’s well-written and bugfree (in this respect)
Can record as a background task (unlike Notes)
Moderate memory usage: with 45 sec pre/postbuffers (as can also be seen in this Settings screenshot), it’s 2 Mbytes only
Cons
On the Pocket PC, no touchscreen support: must be operated by the D-pad + Action button + WM5 softkeys or the built-in keyboard (if present)
Sometimes, on the HTC Wizard, D-Pad only started to work after a forced screen orientation change while the app is active (this isn’t a problem on the HTC Universal though). This was also the case when traversing the focus to another application and then, switching back to LivePVR: you must change the screen orientation in order to be regain control on the GUI. After resetting the Pocket PC, these problems generally went away. It’s still be good to be aware of the solution if you want to avoid resetting your PPC.
Recording quality can in no way be set - everything is recorded as lengthy (about one Megabyte for every 45 seconds) PCM files, no matter what the system-level quality setting is. (Needless to say, it sports no codecs either, unlike many of the alternates.)
There are no niceties like Voice Activation System (VAS)
No VGA support – it only occupies the upper left quarter of the screen on VGA devices like the HTC Universal even in standard (SE) VGA mode
WM5 only (tested on other, previous platforms – a no-go)
As far as phone recording is concerned, as opposed to PMRecorder:
Pros
Resulting file doesn’t have an additional header and, therefore, need to be converted in order to be played in any media players. (Note that PMRecorder, thanks to my documenting the header and a Russian coder coding the converter, already has a third-party decoder.)
Cons
Doesn’t store the number of the caller/called
Auto-phonecall-recording must be reactivated by hand after every single reboot
PMRecorder has two recording quality settings (one of them using the space-saving GSM vocoder); this only one
Costs $10 (as opposed to the free PMRecorder)
Verdict
For a phone call recorder, stick with PMRecorder. The latter is definitely better in every respect. The same stands for recording individual voice notes where rollbacking isn’t needed (because you know beforehand what you want to record and what not).
However, as far as conference/meeting recording is concerned where rollback capabilities are a must, you won’t find anything better for the Pocket PC. It’s only in this case that I heartily recommend this application.
A TIP: how can you make it record all your phone calls without explicitly starting LivePVR?
It must be done exactly the same way as with PMRecorder: you just put a link to the executable of the program, \Program Files\LivePVR\sftLivePVR.exe, into \Windows\StartUp (with PMRecorder, the executable can be found by default at \Program Files\PMRecorder\PMRecorder.exe).
Unfortunately, while with PMRecorder it’s sufficient to just minimize the task when it’s (auto)started (and it will record everything), with LivePVR, you MUST explicitly go to the Phone Call PVR menu (one Action button press) and explicitly reactivate phone recording (two Action button presses). After this, you can safely minimize it, just as with PMRecorder, and it will record all your calls.
Note that while, seemingly, auto recording is activated upon reboot, in practice, it doesn’t work. This is why you will need to reactivate it after every reboot. In this respect, PMRecorder is certainly easier to operate, particularly if you often reboot your device.
Recommended links
In addition to the most important PMRecorder article, I also recommend the following articles:
Everything you may need to know about sound recording on the Pocket PC
and, to a lesser degree, my following reviews:
Personal Memory Systems’ Audio Memory System
MotionApps’ mVoice 5
does LivePVR record phone call with ear and without loudspeaker ?
Does LivePVR record phone conversation with in-ear and without loudspeaker ?
is there another software that does this?
I know the law!!
thank
goodmanbrt said:
Does LivePVR record phone conversation with in-ear and without loudspeaker ?
is there another software that does this?
I know the law!!
thank
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to XDA-Dev
Nope - it's suffering from the same, hardware-based problem as all other call recording apps, as has also been pointed out in the article.
There are several sound recorder applications for the Pocket PC (please see the Pocket PC Audio Recording Bible for more info.) Now, the previously Palm OS-only Audacity Personal DVR (Digital Voice Recorder) has also been ported to the Pocket PC.
The title is available for all WM2003+ operating systems and is accessible here.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
In this review, I “only” provide a list of pros and cons and compare the title to other PPC sound recorders.
Pros
Filename may contain full date / time (screenshot 1 2 3. Very few other PPC recorders are capable of the same (see the “Additional recording features: Auto recording numbering?” test in the Pocket PC Audio Recording Bible and my Audio Memory System by Personal Memory Systems review). Currently, as far as non-MP3-recording (but either Speex or Ogg) is concerned, the best Resco is able to include both the date and time in filenames but it’s not so configurable as Audacity Personal DVR.
It can pause/resume (not possible with all recorders; see the “Recording pause/resume?” test in the Pocket PC Audio Recording Bible) and even append to recordings (even rarer; see the “Append new recording to file?” test in the Pocket PC Audio Recording Bible)
Alarms can be defined and added with your own recordings (as opposed to the built-in notification / alarm mechanism in Windows Mobile)
Buttons are freely redefinable for all the four types of dialogs / recording states. See here and here (button shortcuts on the Home dialog), here (Idle state), here (Record state) and here (Playback state). Note, however, that the hardware button support is certainly lacking; also see the Cons section on this.
You can start recording with a looooong-press of any (and the same) hardware button (after assigning Audacity to a button first in Settings / Buttons and assigning the same button to the Record functionality in the Home and the Idle dialogs / states and to either Stop or Pause/Resume for the Record and Playback states. (Remember, however, to disable the tutorial at startup by checking in the related checkbox!) Most alternative Pocket PC sound recorders require, in general, TWO button presses to achieve the same (see the “Buttons: One-button recording? Does it need to show the app window?” test in the Pocket PC Audio Recording Bible.
Free (currently)
Desktop-side file synchronization support
Cons
Exceptionally high CPU usage – much higher than with Notes or anything else only using built-in OS-level codecs (check out the related remarks in the Audio Recording Bible – you WILL see other apps, which are only based on the built-in codecs, consume far less power)! (Some figures: Dell Axim x51v: 25% at 624 MHz; Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox 720: 60% at 416 MHz.). This, unfortunately, not only means vastly reduced battery life when you make a lot of recording (and even playback! – unfortunately, the CPU usage is very high even when you play back stuff), but also skips in the recording on some devices as is the case for example on the HTC Wizard, even when overclocked to 240 MHz. These problems render the application useless on some models.
Only built-in codecs may be used, unlike with the Palm version (see the codec chart at the bottom of the page). A decent sound reorder should support something better than PCM WAV / GSM; for example, MP3 or Speex.
Doesn’t see CF cards in devices sporting them – an example x51v screenshot is here (the situation is exactly the same on all other devices with a CF slot; for example, the PL720). This also means it won’t be able to make recordings into file stores on pre-WM5 devices (and unlocked Extended ROM’s on PPC PE devices) either – only (mini / micro) SD cards.
It doesn’t handle the two side buttons on the Dell Axim x51v and Pocket Loox 720; there is no support for the HP iPAQ hx4700 side button either (tested on a WM5-upgraded device). On the HTC Wizard, it only handles the Camera, Mail, Wireless and Notes buttons (that is, there is no support for the Explorer button and the two WM5 softbuttons); this means at least you’ll be able to use it in the one-keypress mode if you redefine any of the supported (preferably side) buttons. The button referred to as the “Side button” (the only one to have a record functionality assigned to by default) is not supported on any of these devices; this means you MUST redefine one of the accessible buttons (which will be one of the front buttons on non-PPC PE models and can also be the side buttons on PPC PE models) in order to be able to use it to start / stop recording. The developers, as with many others not having read it, should read on my past tutorials / articles on enumerating the available buttons on a given Pocket PC ( Where does the PPC Registry store button mapping info - a tutorial (alternatives: PPC Magazine, BrightHand; make sure you also follow the link to More Programmers'/Hackers' Stuff, along with some cool Pocket Loox 7xx Hold Button Tips: More on Pocket PC Hardware Buttons for more info.). I’ve discussed this problem with the developers; they have assured me support for all accessible buttons will be implemented really soon.
No built-in screenoff support; all the utility offers is backlight dimming (but NOT locking – now, compare this to how Resco allows for full even button protection!) the screen after 30 seconds (independent of the system setting; that is, you don’t even need to enable screen dimming on the system level at all); see for example the button reassignment list above. Of course, you can still use independent screenoff utilities even assigned to hardware buttons, as long as you don’t re-map these buttons inside Personal DVR to inner functions. The fact that only screen dimming takes place also means the graphics-related excess CPU usage will always be a problem.
On the 624 MHz x51v, it takes seven seconds for the application to start recording when started anew – in no way so fast as Notes (not to talk about its CPU usage) or even most other alternative recorders. In this respect, preferring a two-buttonpress-required, but much faster-to-be-invoked recorder may pay out.
Verdict
As with many other direct Palm (and Symbian – see for example Lonely Cat Games’ products like ProfiMail and LGC Jukebox) ports (see for example my review of mVoice 5 by MotionApps, which suffers from exactly the same problem – that is, a title that has been one of the best on the Palm can’t really be compared to the commercial alternatives on the Pocket PC), this application isn’t really a match for current top-of-the-line, commercial (!) Pocket PC sound recorders like Resco – the Pocket PC platform is just far stronger, software-wise, than Palm.
However, given that it’s free (and I’m comparing it to commercial titles like Resco Audio Recorder), I still recommend it, particularly if you’re looking for a one (as opposed to most alternative Pocket PC recorders which almost all require two (consequent) presses) button-press application if you can live with the (current) limitations and problems (no CF, no support for side buttons of non-Phone devices, very high CPU usage, lack of screenoff, long activation time when it needs to be loaded etc.). Hope the problems will soon be ironed out in subsequent versions.
UPDATE (02/03/2007): PPCT frontpage
Updated review posted.
Guys / gals, I’ve just posted a really cool comparison & roundup of three stereo BT headphones: the Nokia HS-12W the Plantronics Pulsar 590 and the Plantronics Pulsar 260 to http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=1161097 . Make sure you don’t miss it if you’d like to choose a stereo Bluetooth headphones model or just would like to know more about A2DP – it’s a MUST for all A2DP fans!
Menneisyys said:
Guys / gals, I’ve just posted a really cool comparison & roundup of three stereo BT headphones: the Nokia HS-12W the Plantronics Pulsar 590 and the Plantronics Pulsar 260 to http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=1161097 . Make sure you don’t miss it if you’d like to choose a stereo Bluetooth headphones model or just would like to know more about A2DP – it’s a MUST for all A2DP fans!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very informative. Thanks a lot!
Great overview!
Any word on a Media Player (or plugin for Windows Media Player) to display titles on the display of a Nokia HS12w?
I can confirm that voice dialing using the HS12w works with the Cyberon software as well (my TyTN came with this installed). Jetwaremobile has a new beta software to show the name of the caller rather than the number; I'll have to try the latest beta (1.25), as I was unsuccesfull with previous versions.
Jörg
V J said:
Great overview!
Any word on a Media Player (or plugin for Windows Media Player) to display titles on the display of a Nokia HS12w?
I can confirm that voice dialing using the HS12w works with the Cyberon software as well (my TyTN came with this installed). Jetwaremobile has a new beta software to show the name of the caller rather than the number; I'll have to try the latest beta (1.25), as I was unsuccesfull with previous versions.
Jörg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info; will link your post in from new versions of the article.
Don't really know of any plug-ins, unfortunately.
Several new Plantronics Pulsar 260 reviews published
It was over a month ago that I’ve published an all-in-one comparative review & compatibility report (available HERE) on three A2DP (stereo Bluetooth) headphones. Now that the headphones have also arrived at the U.S. too (at last, something we Europeans got way earlier than you Americans ), a lot of reviews have surfaced on well-known headset / headphones manufacturer Plantronics’ new Pulsar 260 also featured in the above-linked roundup.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Unfortunately, as has been emphasized numerous times by me and a LOT of other mostly XDA-Developers and HowardForums users (I really recommend following the BT & A2DP-related posts in these two forums, there are some very knowledgeable people there; for example, Fire Dragan in the latter forum), the current state and implementations of the A2DP standard are far from perfect and interoperability is REALLY reduced. This means on paper A2DP-capable headphones are not guaranteed to co-work with any A2DP sources. An example of this, in addition to the major sound quality problems with the MS BT stack, is the constant reconnection problems (resulting in annoying beeps and pauses) with the Nokia 5300. And, of course, the sound quality issues...
This also means you WILL want to read my review & comparison. Believe me, no matter what some people state, these headphones deliver REALLY BAD sound quality when used together with the Microsoft Bluetooth stack coming with almost all current Windows Mobile-based devices (except for the Acer models, the HP iPAQ’s (including the hw6915) and the Fujitsu-Siemens T830). I’ve also elaborated on these issues in this PPCT thread – it’s REALLY worth giving a read to see why I state they are incompatible with the stack. You’ve been warned – don’t come telling me you’ve shelled out $50…$100 for a really bad-sounding pair of BT headphones because I haven’t warned you
OK, the new reviews, packed with photos:
The Gadgeteer review
GearDiary review
Digital Trends review
CTIA 2007 Blog post; related PPCT thread
BTW, upon the European release of the 260, Plantronics still didn’t have the promised and, in the leaflet accompanying the headphones, referenced online documentation. Now it’s out and available here.
I have VERY good new for most WM6 users: make sure you read http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=1296053
Hi all, I have recently acquired that gadget and this is my experience
I must start this review confessing that I am a quite intensive user of headphones, either it's radio, podcast or music.
For that reason, I found very interesting the opportunity to try this device, not only for being wireless (they use Bluetooth), but also for their bone conduction tecnology (the same used by the famous and expensive Google Glasses). The sound is transmitted through our bones and not through our ears cavity.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
External Appearance
They are made on plastic and the touch is very agreeable. On the right side can find the “Play/pause” button, on the left one, another button for calling (hang up, down and voice assistant). Finally in the rear part the is a microUSB adapter for charging, the On/Off switch and two small buttons for volumen and track change.
Specifications
Bone conduction technology
Bluetooth V3.0+EDR with profiles HFP, HSP, AVRCP, A2DP
NFC Connectivity
Stereo sound, with high sensitivity microphone
High-speed data transfer (24Mbps)
Intelligent power saving system
DigiCare splashproof design, suitable for outdoor sweaty sports
Ergonomic and including and adjustable band for different head sizes
Only 50 grams of weight
Working distance 10 meters
Frequency 20-20Khz
Impedance 32Ω
Receive sensitivity 88dBm
Battery de 260 mAh
My experience
Between the different advantages present on this technology, the first one that could be highlighted is that, since we don't introduce anything into our ears, the potential damages are clearly reduced, so less intrusive than traditional earphones.
In addition, it prevents of having bacteria inside the ears, and, something that surprised me, it doesn't block the sound while talking or listening to music, so if you are on the street, you continue hearing other sounds like traffic.
After using them continuously for more than one week, I can clearly say that the advantages mentioned on the above paragraph has fully convinced me. Specially because I guess my ears are quite special and so, I find uncomfortable almost every earphone... or they fall all the time.
In the past week and something, I have used those Digicare DO walking, running and riding the bike and, they didn't fall down at any moment, and the sound was always good.
The quality of the audio is very good, not only listening to music, but also during calls, even while going on the bike.
The battery duration is most than acceptable, it has last for several hours (like promised) using for music and doing long calls (more than 1 hour).
Another aspect I was a little bit doubtfully was the position of the buttons, BUT at the end the user experience has been great, very easily accesible all of them, the ones next to the ears (play/pause and calls) respond very quick to a simple touch, and the ones in the back are very easily identifiable, even wearing gloves.
Last the Bluetooth works excellently, the pairing was the quickest I've seen in the last gadgets I've tried (other earphones, speakers or between phones,…) and even when we change to another phone, once the Bluetooth enabled it connects really fast. The other good point here is that we can connect 2 phones simultaneously.
Points to improve
For sure not everything is good on this review, so here some aspects that Digicar should improve for future updates or versions.
The NFC is clearly improvable, it worked... but sincerely it wasn't quick, neither simple. I tried with 2 different smartphones (including Galaxy S4) and I only could detect the headphones with one of them.
They come on universal size. I have a small head, so I feel like I have too much "hanging behind" and it is a little bit uncomfortable with the coat or scarfs. It's true that the elastic belt to adjust it works well, and the position for a good audio quality, but still too much plastic hanging... maybe it would be a good idea to have two different sizes.
Voice assistants (Siri, Google Now, Cortana...) work but, sincerely don't help, or at least I couldn't make them understand as well as when you talk directly to the phone. I worked very well to sat "Call number 123456789", it dialed and the conversation quality was very good. But when asking about football results, or something to add to my calendar, it captured other noises in addition to my voice (I guess the micro is really sensible also for that) so Siri didn't finish capturing.
I suppose using it more often, Siri (or the others) will "learn" to understand us, and it will work better, but for the moment it's not so comfortable, I go much faster with the fingers
Conclusions
Some months ago, I was looking for Bluetooth earphones and I finally took the traditional ones (inside the ear), first because I didn't know anything about that bone conduction technology and secondly for the price, the difference was considerable.
After trying those ones... I trully think the price is justified. In fact I haven't used the other ones anymore since I receive the Digicare DO, just a question of comfort.
They are currently in promotion at Geekbuying using the promo code PNALFZGX . That's where I got them
Hello everyone,
By way of introduction: I'm some kind of audiophile, and really like good quality music, I would like to make my s22ultra to the best mobile device (in terms of sound quality).
I would like to mention a few aspects related to audio in this topic.
1. App for audio (streaming) + audio player
2. Android Auto & sound/music
3. Devices wired & wireless
4. Others additional devices/apps to make sound better quality
What is your experience ?
What are you doing to improve the sound?
Ad.1 - switch from Spotify to Tidal (master,hifi) and think that quality is better - incomparable.
I'm don't using any app too source music - which app is good?
Ad.2 - I was change options with codec in AA by programic options, and its better too ! (see below)
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Ad.3 - I use for now Bose QC45 - sound is good but phone calls are much worse, I can hardly hear me, I don't know why
Ad.4 I think about headphone amplifier (dac fiio k5) to make better sound quality - it have sens? AA in car will play better quality (connected by usbc, by phone)?
Someone use a adapter (usb-C to minijack 3.5)? Can someone something recommend?
Poweramp, only .wav, HDCD or higher resolution* files. Buds+** sound pretty good once dialed with the Poweramp equalizer. Next step up be a LDAC bud or headphone solution. Otherwise you're stuck using the inconvenient C port.
*MP4's are ok... better than mp3's I believe
**if you get the Buds+ DO NOT update the factory loaded firmware as it will screw up the sound. They run very good on the factory load, this applies to the last production run firmware.
If you like the Buds+ try to pick up a new pair, not used manufacturer shortly before being discontinued. I don't like Samsung's current Buds lineup... I have 3 pairs of Buds+
Just use an external DAC on USB-C port
Norbertus20 said:
Hello everyone,
By way of introduction: I'm some kind of audiophile, and really like good quality music, I would like to make my s22ultra to the best mobile device (in terms of sound quality).
I would like to mention a few aspects related to audio in this topic.
1. App for audio (streaming) + audio player
2. Android Auto & sound/music
3. Devices wired & wireless
4. Others additional devices/apps to make sound better quality
What is your experience ?
What are you doing to improve the sound?
Ad.1 - switch from Spotify to Tidal (master,hifi) and think that quality is better - incomparable.
I'm don't using any app too source music - which app is good?
Ad.2 - I was change options with codec in AA by programic options, and its better too ! (see below)
View attachment 5753039
View attachment 5753045
Ad.3 - I use for now Bose QC45 - sound is good but phone calls are much worse, I can hardly hear me, I don't know why
Ad.4 I think about headphone amplifier (dac fiio k5) to make better sound quality - it have sens? AA in car will play better quality (connected by usbc, by phone)?
Someone use a adapter (usb-C to minijack 3.5)? Can someone something recommend?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What settings are these from
Pascal536 said:
Just use an external DAC on USB-C port
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This right here.
USB-C to 3.5mm adapters (DAC) - Let's find the best
Now that 3.5mm headphone output is nearing extinction in smartphones, it's time to start compiling the list for the best USB-C to 3.5mm adapter DACs. Many phones don't even offer analog output anymore on their USB-C output , so the only option is to have a dongle/adapter with a built-in DAC...
www.head-fi.org
#donglemadness
ANNOUNCEMENT: Effective July 2023, AndyAudioVault and #donglemadness will be 100% running from YouTube only. This site will cease to exist beyond July 2023. The cost of maintaining this site is som…
andyaudiovault.com
I'm currently using this which is arguably one of the best out there for SQ in the under $15 budget category..
Media Monkey has an excellent AA compatible player app that supports all formats. They also have windows software that will organize your music library, includes a server function to stream to all of your audio systems via Wi-Fi.
Has ripping, formatting and a host of other features that are included in the 'Gold' package.
I've used it for many years and would say it's a must have setup for 'some kind of audiophile types'.
In the car I use AA for convenience. I also use a flash drive loaded with 1,800+ flac files. That sounds superior with the Lincoln Revel Ultima 19 speaker system.
I can't help with the audio settings for the phone. I use it primarily to control my music more so than playback with headphones/earbuds.
Some kind of Audiophile wannabe type since 1982.
using TIDAL HIFI on wired Android Auto
Pascal536 said:
Just use an external DAC on USB-C port
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which do you recommend?