Stereo Buetooth Headset

[Guest mobiholic]

The Streak being such a large device lends itself to the use of a headset for making calls or consuming any type of media that offers sound. I personally love the size of the Streak for browsing, watching films, sending messages and other tasks that involve looking at the display. What I don't particularly like is making calls with it because it makes me feel incredibly self conscious, so getting a Blue tooth headset was pretty much a given when I placed my order for the Streak in the first place. It's also nice to be able to listen to and control music off the phone (or any BT PMP) while leaving it in my bag at Uni or in the GYM without having to get it out where it can get damaged.

I don't own the Streak right now, but i've had two in the past and will be getting a third in the near future so I'm just getting prepared! :D

I already own one Stereo Blue tooth headset, it's a Philips unit called the SHB7100, which is very catchy I know! :)

It is shown here on HongKongPhooey and you should be able to see quite clearly how it works. There is a small Blue tooth receiver which integrates the 3.5mm headphone jack, a mic and the controls for the device you are connected to.

What I particularly liked about this unit was that by having the BT receiver and headphones separate I could have stereo BT sound and hands free but use my choice of headset. :P

Anyway, the device itself is very nice to look at and the idea on paper sounds great, sadly there are a few showstoppers, for me at least.

• Firstly and probably most importantly, the sound isn't great, in fact I stopped using the headset because I just couldn't cope with the reduced quality when using it. I tested this with several headsets (one of the benefits of the unit) but I the situation did not improve.
  
• Second, even when you are using your own headphones there is a small amount of the detachable neck strap that is attached to the unit which you cannot remove. It is only a small niggle but ruins the look and feel of the receiver and I feel leaving it there without any way to remove it was just laziness.
  
• Third, I don't believe this is widely available in the UK and when you can find it the price seems to be quite high.
  

Because I really liked the idea but didn't like philip's implementation I decided to give it another shot with the JVC HA-W700BT (another very catchy name!) and I've just received it in the post so I'll let you know what I think of it.

First impressions after unboxing, although it is a little 'boxy' compared to the rounded lines of the Philips, it actually feels lighter in the hand and the matte black finish would really go well with the finish of the Streak.

One thing I noticed which I like is that as well as the media navigation buttons, mic and 3.5mm jack, the receiver also has a dedicated call button. It's a small thing but in my experience very valuable, it still needs to be tested but I'm optimistic that it will be a welcome addition (it's often on the same button as play for instance instead of separate). Another small but very welcome offering from JVC is the charging dock, simply pop the Blue tooth receiver in the dock and then grab it when you need it, this might sound like a trivial thing but for something this small that is used so often it makes a HUGE difference.

My main concern is call and music quality though so once it's charged I'll have an extended play with it and post my findings here.

There are plenty of other options that range from ludicrously cheap to ludicrously expensive that perform the same function as the two I've talked about so if you like the idea there's bound to be something to suit your budget and taste.

Edited July 9, 2010 by mobiholic

[Guest the_didge]

I use the SE ds200 : AMAZON LINK

It works very well :) i also use it for my laptop, the stock earphones arnt too good but you can pick up an amazing pair of in ear ones for less than £20

[Guest mobiholic]

Oh, I forgot to mention, the Philips version cost me somewhere between £60 - £70 :D and I think that's a pretty conservative estimate tbh. It could have been more but it was a long time ago and the cost was made up of the high initial cost plus the charges for importing it to the UK.

The JVC on the other hand cost me £17.59 with free postage. :)

Regardless of how cheap the JVC is though if the sound isn't up to it then it will still be money wasted so I've got my fingers crossed.

[Guest mobiholic]

I use the SE ds200 : AMAZON LINK

It works very well :) i also use it for my laptop, the stock earphones arnt too good but you can pick up an amazing pair of in ear ones for less than £20

Oh wow, that looks nice. If the one I've ordered doesn't pan out i'll give that a shot!

the stock earphones arnt too good but you can pick up an amazing pair of in ear ones for less than £20

This is why I really like this type of BT headset^^

Edited July 9, 2010 by mobiholic

[Guest the_didge]

Its an amazing unit, will give me about 6 hours continuous playback. Also i get a male to male cable and plug the unit into my car stereo or home HiFi. Its just a lil bit larger than a AA Sized Battery.

My next one will be a samsung unit SAMSUNG BLUETOOTH.

[Guest mobiholic]

Its an amazing unit, will give me about 6 hours continuous playback. Also i get a male to male cable and plug the unit into my car stereo or home HiFi. Its just a lil bit larger than a AA Sized Battery.

My next one will be a samsung unit SAMSUNG BLUETOOTH.

That male to male cable also comes with the JVC, seems obvious but I'm sure I never thought of it :)

And stop teasing me with your gadget porn! :D

[Guest the_didge]

That male to male cable also comes with the JVC, seems obvious but I'm sure I never thought of it :)

And stop teasing me with your gadget porn! :D

HAHAHA i would win an award for my Gadget Porn Collection.

The only downside to the bluetooth stereo adaptors is that they only work up to 10m, which in reality means 6m. I would love to have a set that allows me to walk around my house/office without any interruption to the service.

[Guest Davyb]

My weapon of choice :)

Moto

I find the range is amazing. I can actually walk around most of the house with the streak in my living room :D

I use them for just about everything from cycling to watching a video in work :P

And it also has a 3.5mm jack to plug into that dosent need the battery on

Edited July 9, 2010 by Davyb

[Guest the_didge]

Ive tried those, but found them too bulky, i then had the Moto S9 HD headset Link they were also a lil too big to carry round.

I settled on the SE ones as i can keep it in my pocket all the time.

The S9 HDs did have good sound quality.

Edited July 9, 2010 by the_didge

[Guest popetodd]

I'm using the Sennheiser MM100 that I got from O2 with my phone.

They sound great but the microphone for calls is kind of rubbish, don't know if it's just the headset or if it's the audio drivers in the kernel keeping the volume down.

[Guest Dogmann55]

Hi all,

Well my Stereo Bluetooth headset adaptor of choice is the Nokia BH-500 and I'm glad to report all the functions such as FF,FW Stop play all work perfectly not only is it a nice small unit and splash proof but it also allows you to plug your own ear phones in which in my case are a pair of Shure EC2g's and the sound from this set up is stunning. Another plus point is the volume is increased by the unit itself so you can get a much better and louder sound without having to have your device set on max volume and of course it has an inbuilt microphone so works as a hands free to. I can't remember how much it cost as have had it since my Nokia E90 and that was a long time ago now.

Marc

[Guest mwizen]

Hi all,

Well my Stereo Bluetooth headset adaptor of choice is the Nokia BH-500 and I'm glad to report all the functions such as FF,FW Stop play all work perfectly not only is it a nice small unit and splash proof but it also allows you to plug your own ear phones in which in my case are a pair of Shure EC2g's and the sound from this set up is stunning. Another plus point is the volume is increased by the unit itself so you can get a much better and louder sound without having to have your device set on max volume and of course it has an inbuilt microphone so works as a hands free to. I can't remember how much it cost as have had it since my Nokia E90 and that was a long time ago now.

Marc

just bought myself a Nokia BH-214 on eBay for GBP 16.50 - just the unit no headset - that I intend to use with my Shure EC2g (coincidence...). Will let you know how it goes. I have tried the Motorola S9 before and all keys work very well, but agree is bulky...

[Guest mobiholic]

Just a quick update on the JVC; sound for both movies and music is very good. There is some static when there is no sound being sent from the device to the receiver but this disappears completely when audio is being transmitted. Just to be clear on this, the static noise isn't drowned out or anything, it completely disappears when audio is being transmitted. It isn't there so you do not hear it in the background when the volume is set low etc. :)

Call quality is also just as good!

I'll test battery life, charging time and range during my normal usage and once I get my Streak I'll post anything streak specific that needs mentioning.