Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 50
 Versatile headphone July 22, 2010
J. Hinshaw
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I purchased these to replace / upgrade a 4-year old pair of Sony MDR-NC11 Noise Canceling Headphones noise-reduction earbuds (~$90) that I'd worn out. Here's what I found.
First, I charged the BH-905s. It took only about 1.5 hours for the power light to turn green. Next, I plugged in a Cirago Bluetooth BTA6210 v.2.1 EDR Class 1 Micro Bluetooth Adaper BTA-6060 Bluetooth USB 2.1 dongle to my PC (Ubuntu 10.04) and started BlueTooth discovery. Pressing the multifunction key on the BH-905 brought up the flashing blue light of discovery mode, and the PC found the phones immediately. It automatically paired without having to set a code. The phones then appeared in the Sound Preferences Output panel where I could select them.
The BN-905s fit quite comfortably. I wear glasses so full ear-enveloping type headphones (aka Bose) are not very comfortable. The BH-905s however are very nice. I was surprised the the noise reduction worked so well without a firm seal all around my ears.
I played with the noise reduction for a moment and was very impressed with the level of suppression of ambient sounds such as the drone of computer fans and traffic noises. The old Sony NC-11's, on the other hand, get most of their noise suppression in the mid-range frequencies from the tight ear-canal seal while the noise suppression circuitry does a fair job with lower frequencies such as found on an airplane. In the noise suppression arena the BH-905s are so far beyond the Sony's that there's little basis for comparison. I'll update, after my next flight, about airplane ambiance. The case is a little large, by the way, but there should be room for it in my normal technology-packed carry-on.
Playback of several selections from my collection of ripped CDs was very good, equally so with the CA-143U cord by the way. As others have noted these are not studio-quality phones, but the sound is well balanced although slightly weak in the bass (I agree, 15 Hz is a stretch). A little boost a low frequencies perked the bass up a bit. The old Sony NC11 phones, in contrast, have much more high frequency response along with a more energetic bass, but together his produces an uneven impression that always had me scrambling with equalizers to level it out. The mid range on the BH-905 sounds slightly off to my senses, but I have yet to fine tune for this. Could be my old ears, too.
The first small problem I encountered was with my iPhone 4 (iOS 4.01). Before trying to pair with Bluetooth I decided to try a direct cable connection (as would be the case on an airplane). The CA-143U cable terminates in a 4-conductor mini jack, the same as Apple puts on their terrible give-away ear buds. When used with the BH-905s this jack puts the iPhone into a telephony mode that does not playback music at all well, horribly actually. This may be the source of some other's complaints. Inserting the AD-63 adapter plug seems to signal the iPhone to go to high-quality audio mode, and now the sound was identical to playback with the cord (or with Bluetooth) from the PC. This effect of the plug adapter for the ipHone isn't documented anywhere I could find. Also, watch out for case interference with full plug insertion (i.e. for anyone with the iPhone antenna 'fix').
Next, I tried to pair the phones with the iPhone Bluetooth but at first could not get the phones to go back to Bluetooth discoverable mode. After a few attempts (including learning how to clear all pairings), I found that the time required to hold the multifunction button to start discoverable mode was more than twice the time needed at first. Apparently once there is one Bluetooth device paired the remaining seven require this longer button press. A short 2-second press activates Bluetooth; a longer press makes it go discoverable. Again, not really well described in the manual.
As others have noted, the playback control buttons are not functional over Bluetooth with the iPhone, nor do they work with my PC (granted it's not Windows 7 / XP...). I didn't try them with the iPhone and the CA-143U cable yet.
Telephony works just fine with the iPhone; initiating a call, starting voice command mode, hanging up, etc., work well. The microphone audio quality is useable but so-so compared to, for example, my Motorola H700 Bluetooth Headset [Motorola Retail Packaging] Bluetooth ear piece. But, the Moto sure doesn't play audio!
So, overall the BH-905s are an excellent choice for someone (like myself) who moves from listening on a PC to using a smartphone for music / telephony, and appreciates very good sound quality with just short of amazing noise reduction.
Lookout Mr. Bose July 17, 2010
K. Sanders
Nokia BH-905 High-Performance Bluetooth Stereo Headphones
I want to go on record saying that I am a noise cancelling pro. :) I have owned 3 Bose headsets but they always seem to peeter out 12-18 months. I am very HARD on my headsets because I use them for work only. LOT OF HEAVY DUTY NOISE where I work. So I got tired of giving Mr. Bose $300 plus shipping every year. I then went to Amazon and bought another pair of noise cancelling headsets Audio-Technica ATHANC7 Audio-Technica ATHANC7 Noise-cancelling Headphones for about $115.00...WOW what a savings! Worked even better than the Bose I've had them almost 3 years and they work so dang good I never wanted to give them up. My problem was that darn cord always in the way at work. I needed bluetooth and I needed it now! after 3 more hit and misses mainly misses I finally found these online. I ordered them and this is day 1 but overall I'm impressed. still a little pricey but hey?! they're YOUR EARS! Protect them or say huh? for the rest of your adult life.
 Don't use with iPhone July 15, 2010
Eriq Breland
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
These headphones were wonderful! The noise-cancellation is excellent, the battery life is very long and they are very comfortable to wear for a long time. However, the headphones do NOT work with the new iPhone OS4. I bought these when I had a 3GS and they worked great, very easy to pair to the iPhone and the sound quality is excellent, however, when iOS4 was released I updated my 3GS and the headphones stopped playing stereo sound. They still worked for mono such as phone calls and listening to voicemail however the iPhone would not send stereo signals to the headphones. I purchased the iPhone 4 and it too would not work.
I then contacted Nokia tech support for assistance and received a bizarre response from them. They indicated that their headphones are designed only to be used with other Nokia products and that to pair them with other products would VOID the warranty and could be DANGEROUS.
I have no doubt that this is an issue with the iPhone OS given that they worked fine before the update however if I'd wait to make sure before purchasing. I returned my pair and will wait until there's an update before "risking my life" by buying them again.
No more wires for me June 11, 2010
Francois Magny (Canada)
Why have I been waiting to go wireless for so long? It pairs easily with any Bluetooth phone or MP3 player and unless you are a sound technician, you wouldn't know the difference. The headphones are comfortable, the noise canceling feature is superior to my in-ear Sony headphones and the battery life is as I expected. Again, why again have I waited this long to go wireless?
I highly recommend this product.
Great product June 4, 2010
Lawrence A. Reeves (Bethesda, MD United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I will try to mention things not highlighted in other positive reviews:
Pairing with iPad (and iPhone) I find very easy and very stable. Carrying case that comes with the Headphones is also great. Case seems to be quite protective of the phones, and also carries charging plug and cable, and audio cables for when Bluetooth is not chosen to be used.
My prime application so far is to headphones and iPad together on the Metro. On the Metro, I put the headphones on, and turn on music on the iPad, and then go to the iPad for reading, accompanied by great music of my choice, no wires! Sound is great, and noise reduction greatly reduces noise on the Metro.
In this update I am reducing my rating from 5 stars to 4. Bluetooth stopped working: it could not be activated. Amazon sent me a new set of headphones in overnight shipping, and I am already using new set that seems to work fine.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 50
|
