Sony DR-BT50 Stereo Bluetooth Headphones Review
The availability of stereo Bluetooth headsets has been steadily increasing this year, helping to bring prices down. In particular at the top end last month’s arrival of Nokia’s noise-cancelling flagship set, the BH-905, has led to significant drops in other premium closed-back designs. Motorola’s high end S805s have been selling for a steal recently on some sites but today I’m going to focus on Sony’s DR-BT50, which for some represented the pinnacle of stereo Bluetooth headsets until Nokia recently crashed Sony’s party. I’ll make comparisons to the S805 along the way.
First impressions
Sony debuted the BT50 at a whopping $229 but it’s now available for a around $129 or so at several e-tailers. The cans are based upon Sony’s celebrated Altus MDR-D777LP, so they carry a promise of good sound delivery. They also bring practicality, being foldable.
Physically the BT50s are extremely light, feeling like about half the weight of my Motorola S805s. The BT50’s earpads are also thinner and the buttons are smaller; more on this later. Like the S805s the Sonys sport a full set of music playback controls as well as a mic and call management.
Pairing was straightforward with my BlackBerry Bold 9000 and subsequent reconnections have gone perfectly, as has also been the case with my Motorola S805 and S9HD headsets. The days of fiddly Bluetooth connections are hopefully now well behind us!
Put them on already!
The BT50s feel great to wear and the slim earpads enclose the ears comfortably. The pads are so soft that it’s easier to wear sunglasses with the Sonys compared to the S805s, which is important if you live in a sunny part of the world. Having said that, this not so much a failing of the S805s but rather a comment on how soft the BT50’s earpads really are.
I mentioned earlier that the controls on the BT50 are small and when I first saw them I wondered how I would find them when the cans were on my head. The power and call pickup buttons are fine but the playback and volume controls are, frankly, tiny. Worse still the playback control is a flick-touch rocker switch controlling play/pause/stop and track navigation. The S805 seems like a Tonka truck in comparison, with its large finger-friendly controls.
Listen up
In use the BT50’s buttons were actually easier to locate than I had feared, although the playback rocker is too easy to nudge causing a track skip when you’re trying to depress it to pause. The call pickup button is a decent size, as is the power button, so these present no issues.
Once the music is playing the BT50s simply shine compared to most other Bluetooth headsets, trumping the S805s for both bass and mid-range although sometimes the top end detail seems to suffer at the expense of the solid bottom end frequencies. It’s not that reproduction is too overly bass heavy, but the current consumer trends favor bass and consequently the BT50s will find plenty of fans in this regard.
When a call comes in pressing the call accept button pauses music playback and answers the call. I could hear callers very clearly and they could hear me well both indoors and outside. Call quality was definitely superior to my S805s.
In order to use the stereo music and playback functions you’ll need a device supporting the A2DP and AVRCP Bluetooth profiles. Check your specs on your device manufacturer’s website. A2DP provides music playback support and AVRCP provides remote control of playback functions.
The BT50s felt both light and snug even for lengthy listening sessions and that included time wearing sunglasses. When I was finished listening I found that the folded BT50s fit perfectly into my jacket pocket.
Some room for improvement
On the downside the BT50s are picky about placement and like to have a decent line of sight to the originating device. They are far less tolerant to obstacles than the S805s and this results in occasional cut-outs unless your BlackBerry is in a shirt or jacket pocket fairly high up on your body. This issue is not unique to the BT50s, my Motorola S9-HD suffers from a similar weakness.
The BT50s must have a decent size buffer however because it takes a while for the cut-out to occur. As a result I found I could walk around normally with almost no cut-outs with my Bold in my top pocket. Part of this issue could also be attributed to the Bold, which I’ve found to have a below-average strength Bluetooth transmitter compared to other phones I’ve used.
The other niggle is that Sony fitted the BT50 with a proprietary charging port rather than a mini-USB connection. This means needing to remember to take the charger when you travel, rather than simply a USB cable to charge from a laptop. Accessories these days should be rechargeable via USB.
Stereo stars or falling stars?
Overall I can give the Sony DR-BT50 a solid recommendation at its current street price. Most listeners are likely to be very happy with their sound quality and they felt both practical and comfortable for extended use on my ears, although as ever your mileage may vary depending on your head and ear shape so try before you buy if you can!
Note: I also published an edited version of this review on BerryReporter here.
Link to Sony product page here.
Neil Berman
In case you were sleeping, Windows 7 officially landed today and is already a record breaker
Mr Postman arrived today with two shiny copies for me, but these didn’t count towards the record set in the UK where Windows 7 became Amazon’s biggest selling pre-order product of all time there.
I have a feeling it might go on to become the best selling OS of all time too. I already posted my comments on Windows 7 way back in Jan and Feb this year based on pre-release versions and, as you probably know from the overwhelmingly positive media reviews, it rocks. So what are you waiting for? Go and get yourself a copy to try it out already!
Neil Berman
Netflix & Windows Media Center meet, and it’s instant romance
Microsoft hinted about this one way back at CES in January and after a long wait it’s finally here. Windows Media Center now has direct Netflix integration and I’m lovin’ it.
The Netflix icon appeared in my Movies section this week and clicking it led to a one minute installation followed by instant gratification. Not much more to say apart from that it integrates seamlessly into the already superb Media Center interface. Will other platforms ever try to catch-up with what is so far and away the best media library experience out there?
Here’s the gallery. A warning for those of you not in the USA, this gallery may make you extremely jealous. Sorry about that, and here’s hoping Netflix goes international!
Neil Berman
EFO iPassport wireless controller review
Oh aren’t living room computers just the best idea! There’s nothing like having a huge keyboard on the coffee table hugging that hardcover copy of ‘Finest landscape photography’, and how about that wireless mouse which can double up as a paperweight for the New York Times when the windows are open.
Hmmm…someone needs to make a cute, tiny and usable media center keyboard and mouse which can be hidden away real quick when necessary.
To be fair there’s already one solid player in this market, the Logitech diNovo Mini, which at $150 is just too darn expensive to merit widespread consideration.
Fortunately there’s now a more affordable contender in the form of the iPassport. Available for around $40 plus shipping, this mashup of a smartphone-style thumboard and notebook trackpad aims to take two familiar input methods and turn them into a tiny wireless solution for controlling a computer…and it works.
Unboxing the iPassport
The iPassport ships in retail friendly clear plastic (which can easily be opened without needing a saw, yay!), and includes a USB dongle and separate USB charging cable. The main unit sits comfortably in the hand and is exceptionally light. Some may find it lacks a quality feel, although the plastic body seems fairly sturdy. The keys are rubber with similar travel to a typical smartphone. The keypad also has a backlight, which is a nice touch and essential for theatre-style viewing.
The trackpad buttons have a similar feel to the keypad buttons with minimal travel, but the trackpad itself defaulted to tap-to-click upon install which improves the experience in my opinion. The one feature lacking from the trackpad is a scrolling area, so you’ll need to call upon the arrow buttons on the keypad. There’s no multitouch support either, so no MacBook-style two finger scrolling which is a feature every trackpad should have.
Installing and using
I installed the iPassport into my ancient living room Pentium 4 which is running Windows 7 RC, and the OS had installed a device driver in the five seconds it took me to get back to the sofa, seriously! Everything worked just great and my previous (very nice) wireless keyboard with its built-in trackball started the process of gathering dust. The included documentation notes that recent Windows releases and Linux are supported but according to the reseller’s website the iPassport also supports Mac, Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii.
Now this device might not be the best choice for everyone. If you struggle with the keys on smartphones then you may also find this thumboard tricky to handle. Equally if you type a lot then you will probably get more words per minute with a larger keyboard on your lap. Personally I find myself using my living room media center for watching media and surfing the net, neither of which requires a huge amount of typing.
Some compromises have also been made regarding the selection of keys on the device, probably due to the size of the unit. For example there are neither F1-F12 keys nor a Tab key, which I missed when navigating web forms. Other keys are curiously placed, such as the Enter key which is near the middle of the keypad instead of being on the right. The arrow buttons straddle the Space bar instead of being clustered on the right and the numeric keypad is in two rows on the left instead of being grouped in threes. I would have preferred to see a layout closer to a typical BlackBerry thumboard, or one inch of extra width added to the iPassport to accommodate more keys. Text selection can also be a bit finicky as the arrow keys sometimes behave erratically.
The other caveat is around the design of the iPassport. This device is likely to live on a coffee table and get plenty of curious attention from visitors. Put simply the Logitech diNovo Mini kills it in the looks department, so if you’re a design conscious person then the iPassport might not meet your expectations. It does come in white or black, but it goes about its business in a more functional than designer way.
Is it worth a try?
Overall I’ve been impressed with the iPassport. Aside from a quirky key layout, for the money it’s a fun and unique controller. The backlight and multi-platform support are the icing on the cake.
Neil Berman
Playing the waiting game
Are you hoarding cash waiting to drop some on a Windows 7 PC on October 22? So was I, until I realized it might make more sense to take a different strategy. I think buying a Vista PC right in the next month might be a great idea, and here’s why I’m not mad…
You are probably aware that if you buy a qualifying PC at the moment it might be eligible for a free Windows 7 upgrade. Most manufacturers have a pretty clear definition of which of their systems are eligible, so you can check before handing over your hard-earned savings.
A FRESH START
Sounds like a schlep, after all this means installing a whole OS, and yes, it shouldn’t be considered lightly.
However most off the shelf PCs tend to ship with a boatload of bloatware, which few people want and tends to contribute to an overall performance degradation. Installing a fresh OS wipes all of this away and you get a clean system which is likely to perform better.
Normally OS upgrades are done well into the life of a computer, once many applications are all loaded on and working habits are well established. This can be disruptive to smooth running (experiences of upgrades to Snow Leopard and Vista are recent examples of this kind of user pain). But buying an eligible Vista PC in mid-October and going straight to a fresh Windows 7 a few days later sounds like a great plan to me as I probably wouldn’t have loaded on lots of software yet. Plus if you get the physical media it’s an added bonus in case you ever need to re-install.
GET ‘EM WHILE THEY’RE CHEAP
Deals on Vista PCs should start coming thick and fast as stores look to clear inventory ahead of October 22. Some refurbs may also be eligible for a free Windows 7 upgrade, but you should be extra-vigilant when checking the eligibility of these systems. For example it does seem like some systems on Dell’s Outlet site are eligible, make sure you check before you buy though.
CURRENT PLATFORMS ON THEIR WAY OUT ARE STILL CAPABLE FOR MANY USES
The other factor creating downward pressure on current Vista PC inventory will be the increasing availability of the Intel Core i5, i7 and i7 Mobile platforms. It’s likely that HP, Dell and Acer and the wider industry will time many of these system releases with Windows 7, again pushing existing inventory prices south. Those current inventory Intel Core 2 and AMD Phenom/Turion based systems are still capable for what many people need on a day-to-day basis.
WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?
Ironically it seems, with Windows 7 right around the corner, there may have never been a better time to buy a Vista PC. Just make sure that what you buy is eligible for a free upgrade!
Neil Berman
Does Core i7 Mobile bring us closer to the final destination for desktops?
Intel hit up the market with an (expected) bombshell on Thursday, bringing the Core i7 platform to notebooks.
If you’re thinking this is just another development in desktop chip design shoehorned into laptops then think again. Core i7 is sick in desktops and super-sick in laptops.
Why the fuss? Like its desktop sibling the mobile version has four cores capable of running eight threads (a thread is a stream of execution instructions sent to a core). Both also ship with large amounts of level two cache, starting at 6MB, and can support mega-performance memory on the motherboard.
Kicker number one for the mobile version thought is a sort of ultra-speedstep technology called Turbo Mode which massively varies clock speed based upon processor demand. This allows the cores to function at anywhere between around 1.6GHz and around 3.2GHZ depending upon the model.
Kicker number two is that the mobile version can idle unused cores at almost zero power usage, which should mean great shakes for battery life if you’re performing simple tasks.
How much difference does Core i7 make compared to previous generations of mobile processors? It appears to be simply staggering from the benchmarks taken by various reviews published this week. The price? Not quite as heart-stopping as you might think; Dell announced it would sell a Studio 15 model fitted with a Core i7 for $999.
So are we going to be seeing Final Destination: Desktop Massacre? Core i7 Mobile should give us desktop replacement power without the weak battery life of some previous mobile powerhouses. Consequently more people might feel they no longer need a desktop.
In permanent installations however, such as corporate or home media center environments, desktops will probably continue to have a place for a while to come. But even in those scenarios the votes are increasingly going towards notebooks. After all, why choose a desktop when similar power is available at a similar price but with more flexibility?
Neil Berman
iPod Touch videocam: It’s not over yet
Adding more fuel to the rumor fire about whether the lack of cam-equipped iPod Touch is a temporary delay or a never-product, a UK dabs.com flyer was spotted advertising an iPod Touch with “Built-in video recorder & WiFi”. This was a publication error as said features are not currently available, as we know all too well, but it does lend credence to commentators who say that the device was pulled at the last moment.
Here’s hoping for the Apple Store to come mysteriously down sometime before Christmas and to come back up with enough cam-equipped iPod Touches for Santa to fit in his bag.
Neil Berman
theONbutton
Turning the world on, one gadget at a time.
