Source: Tom's Guide | Keywords: bluetooth, headphones | Themes: Audio/Video Players
8. Etymotic ETY8
Etymotic’s ETY8 Bluetooth headphones look nothing like their in-ear headphones, apart from the range of tips supplied, which includes deep triple flanges, foam tips and three sizes of rubber grommet. The familiar tips are attached to boxy square earpieces that look more like remote controls than headphones, strung together on a reinforced woven cable.
The Etymotic ETY8s have the sound quality you’d expect from in-canal ear buds, and the range of accessories, too. Even the controls are laid out like a remote with volume and forward back buttons forming a quartered circle and the power, play and pause button above them. The power connector is a proprietary USB port. And while the neat black leather case has room for the8.Mate iPhone dock adapter and spare tips as well as the headphones, it’s hard to fit in the proprietary USB cable as well – which you will need to carry with you on longer trips.
The different tips matter because these are what support the ear-pieces in your ears – the headphones are light and if you’re comfortable with in-canal ear buds you won’t notice the weight. They do take some getting used to if you’re not familiar with this style of ear bud. But when the tips are inserted correctly, they block a significant amount of external noise even without any music playing. With music on you won’t be able to hear people talking to you (to the point that you may need to be careful crossing streets when walking).
Although you have to press and hold the play button for 10 seconds to turn the ETY8s on and start pairing, the button is so easy to find you can even do this with the ear buds in place. The optional $99 iPod adapter is pre-paired so you just turn on the headphones, press play on you iPod and get your music. With the iPod adapter the back and forward buttons also work as fast forward and rewind; this didn’t work on the Windows Mobile media player or the Samsung YP-T9 we also tested with. The adapter doesn’t need charging because it takes power from the iPod (and you can’t charge the iPod with it fitted). This is one of the smallest and neatest adapters we’ve seen. It adds very little to the weight of the iPod; it’s virtually as thin and narrow as the Nano although it doesn’t quite line up with the edges on all generations of Nano.
The control buttons are logically arranged. But since you can wear the headphones at any angle you find comfortable, the volume and navigation buttons won’t always be the same way up.
Audio quality is by far the best of all the Bluetooth headphones we tested, with rich, subtle and impressive bass; clear detailed treble; smooth midtones and excellent stereo separation. The range is the worst we tested by at least a foot and the ETY8s can’t transmit through a brick wall. You need to keep your phone or media player on the same side of your body as the right ear-piece or your music will cut in and out even if the device is very close to you. This wasn’t as much of a problem with the iPod adapter.
Even without the optional iPod adapter, at $199 the ETY 8s are expensive for headphones that don’t have headset functionality. The odd styling won’t suit everyone but the noise isolation is excellent, the battery life is good and the sound is superb.
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- Next page Jabra BT8010
Although the quality of the sound, range and simplicity of the 590a speak for them self, there is one area that all reviews will never tap into and that is usually the durability and the overall quality of the product. The huge minus for this product is the very cheap plastic that they have used. I have had this pair for slightly over a year and the only thing keeping it together is the epoxy mixture, lots of patience and forgiveness. So if you love sound and don't mind applying epoxy every couple of months, or if you want to give someone a gift that will eventually upset them, then this is a BARGAIN!!!
I've taken a middle ground - I use a BlueStreamer 2 device, which lets you hook up your wired headset to the device. It then can communicate with your Bluetooth phone/player. While I do have "wires" connected to the BlueStreamer, I'm not connected to my phone (or my Samsung P2). I feel comfortable in saying that using my Jays Q-Jays headset and the BlueStreamer 2 exceeds the audio quality of any of the devices mentioned. Big time (I also have the S9).
Can't you guys put up some of your own photos highlighting the pros/cons of each set rather than just using stock photos? I want to see those tiny buttons on the Motorola S9s!
I'm real curious about the Plantronics Pulsar 590As and how they compare with the Motorola s805 (which seem to have all the same features and have been around for years). I have been thinking about getting the s805 because i saw some good reviews.. and now I?d like to know which is better.
You failed to review the Sony BT50 (link below). It has a better sound quality than the Plantronics, which I also own. The Sony is also better because, being over the ears, it muffles the outside noise better than all but one you reviewed. It has a lower distance range than the Plantroics, though. I've gone thru several bluetooth headphones and the two I just mentioned are the best.
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wc [...] 1665095015
I've got the Plantronics 590 without the analogue adaptor - alot cheaper, Eventhough I don't get the plug in desktop charger. I bought them to be as comfortable as possible to wear all day at work. They are, especially compared to over the hook over-the-ear types. I was blown away with the sound quality. Having had 4 other sets of bluetooth earpieces I didn't expect it to be anywhere near as good.
I do have 2 issues - when listening to music from my notebook I'm sure that occasionally songs slow down for a few seconds - just enough to be noticable. Then again I have had issues with my notebook bluetooth adaptor so might be unrelated to the 590s. The other issue is that headband is not comformatable around the neck when you dont have a collared shirt - ie when not using them. That's because they have sharp edges on the adjustbable area of the headband.
i had problems with Bluetooth headphones of Plantronics 590A where i would get interference. The bluetooth audio connector didnt seem to transmitt at any range other then 2m infront of the pc. I fixed it by extending output audio jack with a 3.5mm audio cable so that bluetooth transmitter thing sat ontop of the pc. Now the sound is very clear.