Unlike Ricky, who has reviewed hundreds of these, stereo bluetooth headsets and even bluetooth headsets, are a new thing to me. You can imagine how excited I was when I knew I was getting the BH-604 for review from WomWorld. Ricky has already made a nice review of these, but mine will try to be less formal and more about daily use.
My first impressions of the BH-604, as you recall were that these headphones are humongous, but that they were very easy to set up, and I totally maintain both of these thoughts. Now, one week after having them, here is a rundown of the things that I like about the BH-604 and the things that I believe need improvement.
What I like
Although these stereo headphones are humongous, they are very comfortable to wear. The ear pieces have a cushion-y feeling, and the leather and plastic make an extremely nice mix. Also the presence of 2 hinges and several types of customization make it very easy to adjust them to the very specific dimensions and shape of everyone’s head.
I won’t go and say that they are light on the head, but they are much lighter than I thought they would be.
Getting the BH-604 to work and pairing them with any device is extremely easy. I have always been intrigued by how many steps this would take, and always wondered how you could pair headphones with a phone without them having a screen and being able to see with what you are pairing. The process turned out to be pretty much straightforward: turn BT on on the phone, press the call button on the headphones for about 5 seconds, and voilà!
Bluetooth technology is awesome! I am always tied to my phone when I listen to music on my usual headphones. Most of the time, I don’t pay attention and get up, which sends the phone flying to the floor, or keeps it hanging by a thread literally. In the instance where I pay attention, I have to take my phone with me, which is very annoying when you’re wondering around the house getting some things done. With the BH-604, I just leave my N95 steady on the desk, and go do whatever need to be done, without having to worry about a thing. That is pretty darn sweet!
The volume, sound quality and range on the BH-604 are great. I never expected this nice experience from wireless headphones.
LED lights are very intense and extremely useful to have, they can tell you whatever you need to know about your headphones: battery life, charging and pairing status.
The BH-604 use the same charger as any of the new Nokias, meaning that I can leave one charger on, and it will be handy to charge my phone or the BH-604.
What I hate
There is no way I am wearing these in public. Period.
The music playback keys are very handy to have to control the music without having to get the music device each time, but the keys’ placement on the headset is just WRONG. When someone talks to me and I need to remove the headphones for a second, or when I am adjusting their placement on my head, I end up FF or RW a song, or pressing some other buttons.
I don’t know if this is an issue with my N95 but each time I open the camera application and close it while music is playing, the volume gets jammed up. This always startles me as the volume jumps without me pressing a thing.
The BH-604 come with a nice black bag to carry them, but it would’ve been nice to have a decent leather travel box to tuck them in, for more protection.
As I said, the LEDs are very useful, but they are extremely annoying when you’re using them in a dark environment. It’s like having a blinking light coming out of your ear, and it gets irritating after a while. Suggestion: get a light sensor on these, and have the LED light intensity adjust accordingly: in bright conditions, the LED can be like it is now; in dark conditions, the LED should be less bright.
Talking about listening in dark, I have been enjoying listening to podcasts on the BH-604 before going to sleep. Problem is that I can’t lay on my side while having them on. This must be one of the oddest disadvantages you have read about headphones, though it is true. I think that the 5cm of thickness on the ear pieces is too much. 2cm should be more than enough, and would make them more usable.
Conclusion
All in all, I am pretty impressed with the Nokia BH-604 Stereo Bluetooth Headset, but I am convinced that they are not for me. I need something smaller, more acceptable on a girl’s head, more portable, and with better controls.
