The Motorola S805 Bluetooth DJ Headphones ($40) are wireless, stereo bluetooth headphones that work with the iPhone 3G and 3GS. After pairing the headphones with the iPhone, you can to listen music, answer/end calls (there’s a built-in microphone), play/pause music, and control the volume. And with the iPhone 3.1 update, you’ll be able to access Voice Controls as well.
The headset has a built-in rechargeable battery, which lasted for around 15 hours of music playback in our tests (Motorola claims 17 hours). The headphones come with a plug-in wall adapter for recharging. A full recharge takes around 3 hours.
The headset has a studio or DJ-style appearance and is larger and bulkier than most Bluetooth headsets. They are made of mostly plastic, with the earphones covered in a combination of vinyl and fabric, which can get hot if worn over long periods of time. The inside of the headband is lined with fabric, which makes the headphones more comfortable to hang around your neck. Overall, we found the headphones comfortable to wear if not a bit warm due to a lack of ventilation.
The headphones delivered a full, rich sound–much better than the stock iPhone earphones and just about all in-ears we’ve tried. The bass, in particular, was deep and full. There was some audible background hiss that all Bluetooth headphones experience. The hiss is only clearly heard at higher volumes and generally did not interfere with the enjoyment of music (although some audiophiles might disagree).
As mentioned, the headphones come with built-in controls for both audio and phone functions. The left earphone features an answer/end button for phone calls. The volume can be lowered or raised by twisting a circular knob around the earphone.
The right earphone has a play/pause button for music control. There is also a circular knob that can move the music forward/back a track, but the iPhone only supports the A2DP profile, which doesn’t have music controls built in. The good news is that upcoming iPhone 3.1 software update is bringing Voice Control, which will allow users to verbally move the music forward or back a track.
I tested the headphone’s range around my apartment and found that it delivered a solid signal even in rooms separated from the iPhone by several walls. Motorola says the Bluetooth has a range of around 30 feet, and our tests indicated about 25-30 feet before cutting out. But that’s 25 feet with a solid signal through 3 walls in between.
Motorola describes the S805s as having “noise, echo, and wind cancellation.” In reality, we found no noise cancellation other than the fact that the headphones are large and form a decent seal around your ears.
In our tests, the call quality with the headset’s microphone was mediocre at best but good enough to be heard clearly during phone conversations. My voice was described as sounding somewhat tinny compared to the normal iPhone microphone, but still clearly audible.
Conclusion
What most impressed us about the Motorola S805 Bluetooth DJ Headphones was the excellent audio. They delivered full, rich sound reproduction and excellent bass levels. The built-in microphone is adequate for phone calls but not up to par with the iPhone’s built-in mic. The cons of the headphones are their bulky size, which make them difficult to travel with, and the plastic-and-vinyl construction, which give the headphones a somewhat cheap, breakable feel. Overall, thanks mainly to the excellent audio quality of the earphones, we can recommend the Motorola S805 headphones for iPhone owners.
Notes:
Bluetooth signals are susceptible to interruption from other signals like WiFi and microwave. I tested the headphones while running a microwave and experienced severe gaps in the music.
I also had audio interruptions due to WiFi signals, although the interruptions were much less frequent than with the microwave (about a one second interruption every five minutes or so). Quality was best when I turned off the iPhone’s WiFi, which may be an annoying thing to do for some users. I also experienced heavy interruptions when downloading files over my apartment’s WiFi network.
The headphones can receive audio from apps like Pandora, WunderRadio, games, etc. Gamers should appreciate this as it allows them to use headphones without a headphone plug getting in the way of holding the iPhone.
The microphone doesn’t work with apps (Skype, Voice Memos, etc.).
Forward/back controls work with recent iMacs and Macbooks.
The headphones support both A2DP and AVRCP Bluetooth profiles (but the iPhone doesn’t support AVRCP).
Links:
Amazon.com: Motorola S805 Bluetooth DJ Headphones
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#1 by Michel on November 29th, 2009
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Another feature you should mention, is that the earphones can be dismounted from the headband and fixed onto a GIRO snowboard/ski helmet. In fact I bought the helmet already equipped with the earphones and discovered later that I could use them with the headband!
Now I use an iPhone 3GS and can use the voice control to go forward/backward, but before, when I only had a 3G, I used to plug in a small bluetooth appendix from Infinixx that supports the backward/forward right knob. It still works with the 3GS though I will most probably not use it this winter and use voice control instead (looking like a fool talking to himself in ski lifts).