Nokia BH-905 review

Bluetooth headsets.

You know, those things that somehow always manage to have a blinking blue led somewhere. Those things that when worn in public, make you look exactly as you would had you actually had a blue tooth.

Not necessarily.

It turns out that not all bluetooth headsets are created equal. Some may not even be that strange in-your-ear-but-not-quite, over-your-cheek-but-not-close-enough-to-your-mouth type of contraptions.

No, no, some may look from afar as a high-end, overhead, professional, normal, wired, headset.

And cost as much as a Nokia E55. And more than the E52, 5800 and almost as much as the E75 (prices based on nokia.co.uk).

Gulp.

Yes, ladies and gents, the BH-905.

No pix, no vids, no gimmicks.

That's how I roll.

So, do I like it?

Yes.

Why?

It's unbelievably comfortable. Seriously. Everything is cushioned. After a minute, you start to not feel it anymore. That in great contrast to a lot of over-the-head headsets, which you *start* to notice and feel after a minute and have to take off after 30. This? 4 hours? OMG, has it really been so much? I must get back to work! :)

The fact that in the beginning you always have to read the L and R designations does take a little getting used to. You have to do this, since the way it's designed means you'll instinctively want to wear it the other way around, if you've ever worn another over-the-head pair before. This design does seem strange at first, but adds a lot to the overall comfort of wearing it.

The sound quality is phenomenal for a bluetooth headset. What I mean, is that when connected via bluetooth (it also comes with all the cables and adapters you'll ever need if you want to use it as a wired headset, including an airplane adapter -neat), it does take you a while to realize that you're listening to music via a wireless connection.

The bass is just a little bit thinner than I like it, but for 99% of the people, this won't be noticeable (it also depends highly on what music genres you're into, mind). Other than that, the audio quality is the same, no matter which connection method you choose.

I haven't done any scientific tests on battery life, but it was more than enough for me. Best estimate? A few hours. Seriously, I didn't pay attention to that at all. Sorry, it's a bit hard to, when you're listening to music in such high quality. Also nice is that it charges via standard Nokia 2mm jack, which means, for example, that I charged it with my N95's charger.

The volume levels on this thing seem illegal for the EU, but trust me, that's an amazing thing, not a bad one. Your eardrums will surrender long before you've maxed this thing out.

The buttons are all big and nicely placed, it will take you less than a day to get used to their positions. You can skip and repeat tracks from the headset. Tested this even with 3rd-party music players on Symbian, and it works.

It also features a noise cancellation switch, you can use this mode if you so wish or if you're in a very loud environment. It works, but does create an odd feeling of pressure in your ears. Not unbearable by any means, and, again, it is a switch. You also notice its effect a lot less when in loud environments.

I've had long phone conversations from this, and have only let the other parties know I was on a headset at the end of each conversation. No one had noticed it. And I say this in all seriousness and honesty. If you read a lot of headset reviews, you'll notice that almost all of them contain this phrase, and trust me, most of the times, it just isn't true. The BH-905 is helped in achieving this feat by its external mics, which also help with the noise cancellation noted above, but they also 'record' ambient noise when you're talking and filter it out. All very well.

So do I recommend you run out and buy one?

As much as I'd like to, no.

See, there are a few things I really can't agree with here.

First off, the case. It comes with a case. Ok, you say. Well, yes. I don't know if it actually is leather, but it sure feels like it. And it's the only thing in the box. Yes, it's that big. Very useful for travelling, indeed. You can store your headset, charger and all the cables and adapters it comes with in there. Because, they all actually come in there.

You can also say goodbye to a lot of carry-on baggage space.

This does seem like a little bit of overkill to me. And as good as it looks, it does feel like it adds a lot to the price.

Which brings me to the BH-905's biggest shortcoming: the price. I mean seriously... It's a headset. A good one, yes. A perfect one? Not without being able to pair to multiple devices at the same time. Not in my book. But anyway, a very good one.

Still, I'd rather buy an E55. Or save a hundred more pounds and get the N86.

You do whatever you want. I mean, if you have the money to spare, by all means, go get it.

Then there's also the minor annoyance of having the 2mm charging jack and the 2.5mm jack used for connecting the audio cable (if you so wish) in the exact same place on the two different earpieces. Since there's only a .5mm diameter difference between them, it will take some getting used to which is which.

Bluetooth transmission of music has come a long way. And bluetooth headsets have come a long way too. They're not quite at the 'prosumer' level of wired headsets, audio-quality-wise, but for many use cases, close enough. Yet paying this much of a premium (for it being wireless? for the case? your guess is as good as mine!) doesn't make much sense to me.

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5 comments

Feb 09, 2010

lookatbowen said...

A good review up until you mentioned the negatives and I will explain why...

Did you know that Play.com are selling the BH-905 headphones for £144.99 (that includes the travel case and all the accessories) and they are also selling the Nokia E55 (unlocked) for £219.

Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that the headphones are actually a lot cheaper than the Nokia E55, and why would you buy a phone when you are in the hunt for a pair of Bluetooth headphones?

How many savvy people do you know buy devices, gadgets from the original source? (e.g. Nokia), without shopping around first for a better price?

The case I agree is pointless on day to day basis, perhaps for a long distance flight or car journey, quite frankly a small leather bag would be sufficient for holding all the extra connectors and wires for wired play, but.... (and there is always a but),
How many other Bluetooth headphones are you aware of that supply all those extra goodies (wires for wired connection, extra length wire, standard pin for charging, adapters, cleaning cloth, protective case)? I speak from experience as I own a pair of Sony DR-BT50 headphones and it only came with a thin bag and a charger, nothing else... so the case in question most certainly is an advantage over others such devices.

Length of battery - a few hours would be totally wrong and tells me you haven't really experienced these headphones on a day in / day out basis - try 24 trips at 50 minutes a trip = 1200 minutes / 60 = 20 hours. That is the best I have managed listening to the headphones with noise cancelling on 90% of the time. The battery is exceptionally good and once drained takes around 2 hours to charge. I can't say I have experienced the problem of a wire in one earpiece and wired cable in the other, as I tend to charge the headphones at night.

Feb 09, 2010

Vlad Bobleanta said...

Good points.

I am aware that savvy online shoppers (I'd like to also include myself in this category) would not just go directly to a Nokia online shop and buy from there. However, I really can't say the same about 'normal users', the 'average Joe', whatever you'd like to call them. True, not even they might buy from Nokia, for example if they're in the UK they might try Expansys, CPW, or some other giant mobile stuff retailer, and buy from there.

But.

The reason I've used Nokia.co.uk's pricing is a bit complex, I'll try to explain.

Prices of mobile devices and accessories are a nightmare to deal with in my opinion. For example, when reviewing a phone and the need to mention price arises, I'll either go with the official recommended sales price (this usually is excluding taxes and subsidies), or in rare cases, where I see a bargain, the lowest online price.

But the lowest online price where? I usually pick Europe, but then again, not even the lowest price in Europe (of any electronic kit) is ever lower than the lowest price in the US.

And the internet is global. However, pricing strategies are still not. So if I say, "you can find this for 145 pounds here", someone can immediately point out that GreatNorthAmericanRetailer.com has the exact same item for $120. Or something like that.

Not knowing what the RSP was in the case of the BH-905, I tried to go with what I thought should be closest - Nokia.co.uk's pricing. I could have looked on Nokia USA, following this logic, but I always tend to have a pro-European bias in such cases.

The problem is, because the manufacturers of electronics still live in the '80s, pricing strategy-wise, I had to invent filters, otherwise this would have turned into a price-comparison post, and not a review. So that's what I did: price had to come from a Nokia online store (thinking this should be closest to a RSP), and from an English-speaking country that has a Nokia online shop.

And that's how it came to this.

Good to keep in mind that I don't disagree with you. However, wanting to compare the price of the BH-905 with some Nokia smartphones, I had to go with the same source for all these prices, otherwise it would have been a mess. Sure, that could have been play.com or any other e-tailer. I hope I made it clear(er) why it wasn't.

About the battery life: I did mention the complete lack of science involved in what I wrote there. Arguably, "a few hours" is exactly as opposed to scientific testing as possible. Thanks for mentioning a number (I suppose you were referring to wireless battery life?).

I would have liked to test battery life on a trans-atlantic flight, but sadly I wasn't able to. And not that that would have mattered to half of the people reading, since it would have involved a wired connection, and my focus was solely on wireless battery life. And yes, it charges from empty to full in less than 2 hours in my experience. That is very good.

I did also mention (didn't I?) that I do like that it comes with all possible connectors, adapters, even an extension cable in case the "normal" cable isn't long enough for you (making this more clear would have been nice, in hindsight).

At the end of the day, it is all up to you. Personally, and right now, I wouldn't buy it. But, as I said, if you can afford it, I don't think you'll be disappointed at all (perhaps with the exception of its impossiblilty to connect to more than one device via Bluetooth at the same time - that's a known deal-breaker in some parts of the world, the one I'm in included). You just have to understand you're paying for an accessory as much as you'd pay for a smartphone (I can always throw in the 5230 for comparison, and no matter where you look, that still is cheaper). And again, this might not be an ideal situation for many people. Yes, I am comparing apples to oranges here, but the point is that in my opinion, and generally speaking, a smartphone is a bit more useful in everyday life than a headset. You might disagree, and that's fine. I would disagree too if I traveled a lot, for example. But I think the majority of people don't, which is why I insisted (and still do!) on the comparison, apples to oranges as it may be.

Glad we agree on the case! :) -seriously, when you first see it, you go "wow!", but two seconds later, you start to wonder how much that influences the cost of the headset. At least I did. For example, with Sony, you know (or I do) that you pay a giant premium just, and only, for the brand. And that's fine, people buy Sony stuff like people buy Apple stuff (arguably, in the case of Apple, there's also the design and UX you pay for - sorry Sony). If you're making an informed decision, it's fine with me. What I try to do is prevent uninformed decisions.

Thank you very much for reading and for writing such a great comment. I hope you'll come back in the future!

Feb 09, 2010

lookatbowen said...

My golly Vlad, that was a mouthful of a reply. You have started to confuse the whole point of your review. You are reviewing the Nokia BH-905 Bluetooth headphones, not all these other devices you refer too.

Lets pretend I am looking to buy a bluetoothe headphone and I stumble upon your review and now I am seriously confused... At the beginning you are saying it's fantastic, they are brilliant and then at the end you are saying "Don't Buy!",.... that is kind of a mixed reaction... So I step in and tell everyone about a real life experience / situation and you then start rambling on how you came about making your decision... why do that?

It doesn't matter what you think or don't think about the headphones! At the end of the day the person buying these headphones most likely owns a phone or device that is capable of accepting these headphones. They are a person looking for ease of use, most likely hate wires, or wires tangled up, want to be able to talk freely or make phone calls with ease, want to have a total hands free experience. Wants to be able to quickly fast forward, rewind, stop, play or pause their music with a touch of a button, rather than taking out the phone / mp3 player.

They don't care about the price / and if they do, they will shop around for the best price (no one buys from the source unless they are insane), or do not have internet, in which case they will not be reading your review.

They have most likely researched these headphones and just want a real-life person commenting on the headphones. Personally I don't think you have actually used these headphones in every day life.You come across as the person who has tested them in a once off situation, liked them, but then realized "OMG, they are expensive, I can't afford them, are they worth it?" - Depending on your needs and how much you are willing to spend, you might think they are expensive... For Joe Soap they might be cheap!!! (Average Joe... you'ed be surprised how much they pay for quality).

Never mind all the other devices you are talking about, the person reading your review really doesn't care about these devices, they only interested in the BH-905. So stay focused, don't confuse the issue!

Feb 09, 2010

Vlad Bobleanta said...

Interesting. I think we might have a misunderstanding here.

This is not a professional, paid, review site. I believe that was supposed to be obvious. I don't do this for a living, I do this out of passion. IF I did do this for a living, that would've been also totally obvious by you getting absolutely no reply whatsoever. That's how professionals handle this stuff.

The reason I wrote such a long reply the first time was that I believed your comment was a bit of constructive criticism. I may have been wrong about that, in light of your second comment.

Also, your assumptions as to why people would read this review are just that: assumptions. Had you chosen not to use the plural, then yes, I get it: you expected something apparently, and were not satisfied with my review. Ok.

But I don't understand what your expectations were. From what I can infer, in your view I'm only allowed to write about the product itself, not its price. Also, I'm allowed a short observation about the sales package, but nothing more.

Yes, I am confused. The few bits of information about the product itself that can arguably be said were missing from the review, I acknowledged in my first reply to you. Other than that, you just seem to be frustrated with the fact that I personally would not buy one. Are you selling any by any chance? If not, then why is that such a great issue? Can you not make an informed decision to purchase or not to purchase based on the list of good and bad points I have written? Even if you do not agree with the placement of some things on the "bad" side, you still KNOW about them and are able to decide for yourself whether they are relevant or not to you. Isn't that the point of a review?

I'm getting the feeling that in order for me to rise to your level of expectations, I should have only mentioned what I think is good about this headset. Well, sorry, no can do.

There's no such thing as objectivity. Get over it. I don't try to pretend that I'm objective in anything I write, because I'm not, and neither is anyone. However, I do make it a (some might say bad) habit of constantly reminding whoever is reading that these are all personal thoughts. And that's just it: a personal account of how I view a product.

In deciding to purchase a product or not, you should not be influenced by what I, or Walt Mossberg, would do. You should be influenced by what your specific needs are. What I can do is try to give you all the necessary information. The fact that I label some of that as good and some as bad and wrap it in my own opinions should be irrelevant to you. Because the information itself is important, not how I feel about it. You said it yourself: it doesn't matter what I think about the headphones. Well then, you should probably get over this, no?

I don't enjoy reading bullet-point lists, therefore I don't enjoy writing bullet-point lists. There are thousands of "review" sites out there that provide just that. This isn't one of them. And while I do appreciate your efforts to steer me into the "right" "how to write a review" direction, I don't see that likely to happen. I'd really rather not be the 3,456th person to write the exact same thing as the 3,455 before me.

I also don't generally appreciate and won't go out of my way to recommend overpriced products, which this, as good as it may sound, clearly is. Again, I have absolutely nothing against anyone buying it, for whatever price. That's YOUR decision, not mine, and if it fits your bill, by all means, go ahead! There sadly isn't much competition in this space (of high-end bluetooth headsets), because if there were, I assure you that this headset would have been priced differently.

The "one half good, one half bad" construction, which you've accurately spotted, was an experiment inspired by TopGear (the TV show, not the magazine) and their way of doing exactly this. While in your opinion this might have turned out to be a failure, I stand by each and every one of my words above.

If this review was useless to you, I sincerely apologize.

Feb 10, 2010

lookatbowen said...

No need to apologize and this review was not useless by any means. You have pointed out one very good fact. Professional websites do not bother to reply to comments, which is quite sad. At least you have taken the time to reply, explain yourself and agree or disagree.

a power user

a power user

Nokia BH-905 review

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