Customer Reviews

Cardo S-2 Bluetooth Wireless Stereo Headphones

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

This is the second pair of Cardo S2 headphones that I have owned. I generally like how they work in all respects except they tend to break halfway between the hinge and the ear piece. I accidentally broke my first pair and thought it was my fault until my second pair broke in exactly the same place for virtually no reason whatsoever. These headphones are cheaply made and poor mechanical quality. Avoid them. I've now got another broken set of headphones only two weeks after buying my second pair and I'm pretty careful with my stuff. A disappointment, since I was really enjoying them until they broke.

First of all, I bought these because I had purchased their earpiece before. The earpiece was very, very good and light weight. There was the problem. They were so light weight that I would forget that I had it on and would knock it off, several times, rendering it unuseable. So when I needed to replace it I decided to look into buying another Cardo Scala. My cell phone is Bluetooth compatable and I bought a 2GB chip so I can download music and needed a stereo headphone set so I can listen to the music. Since the Cardo Scala earpiece was very good (operating the buttons and voice and hearing quality), I decided on getting the stereo headset. These are great!!! The control buttons take a little getting used to, but the real nice feature is when you answer a call you hear the person in both ears (not stereo), which makes it easier to listen to the caller. The one problem I have is the rubber rests sits on the skin between the ear and skull and after about six hours makes that area a little sore.

This headset works great on my Nokia 6300b cell phone. I bought it primarily to listen to music on my mobile phone without wires. The sound quality is great here with good bass.

Pairing was simple. Just press the control button on the Cardo S-2 for about 7 seconds till you get alternating red and blue flashing lights and then go to your cell phone and "add" a "new bluetooth device" (make sure its in "discoverable" mode) with the 4 digit, 0000 passcode. Since my Nokia also supports the AVRCP profile, I'm able to control all the functions of the music player through pressing different parts of the Cardo S-2 headset. Moreover, the headset is very comfortable to wear, which is quite important.

To get the stereo headset to work, I first press the control button on the S-2 for about 3 seconds till I see blue flashing lights. Then I go to the bluetooth section on my cell phone and connect it to the Cardo S-2. Now I can open the music player and listen to beautiful music.

This headset comes with a hidden microphone. I've used it for voice conversations with my Nokia and it performs quite well. What's most impressive is that it easily switches from stereo to regular voice calling seamlessly. I hear everyone well and they hear me well too.

I paired the Cardo S-2 with my Fujitsu laptop, running XP Professional SP1, with the Widcomm software, version 4.1 and couldn't get it to work with Realplayer or Windows Media Player at all. I then tried version 5.1, but the result was not much better: just a few sporadic sounds came out. However, when I paired it with the BlueSoleil software version 1.64, I got these headphones to work on my laptop. The music quality was good (but not as good as on my Nokia), but there were breaks once in a while in the music, which I never had with my Nokia 6300b. However, when I tried the software version 3.2 (Bluesoleil), the sound quality of the music was perfect with no gaps. The only remaining problem I had was that MSN Messenger and Yahoo Instant Messenger did not recognize the microphone on my Cardo S-2 (like my Nokia does). When I emailed Cardo's tech support and told them about this problem, I got this abstract robotic response blaming Microsoft's drivers. But I remedied that by buying the tiny $5 Labtec Mic 333 and plugging it into the microphone jack of my laptop's sound card.

I bought the Cardo S2 to use primarily with my Nokia so I am very happy with it. With my Nokia 6300b, the Cardo S-2 deserves 5 stars. With my Fujitsu laptop, I only give it 4 stars because I could not get the Cardo S2 microphone to work with Yahoo Instant Messenger or MSN Messenger.

It is ironic that Amazon asked me to review this item today, because this thing just quit working just today. I have had this headset for about two weeks and before today I would have rated this as a "6". I charged it this morning and when I started it up, all I got was a buzzing sound.

Tried to pair to my cell and also my audio transmitter, but no go.

Before it quit, I was extremely satisfied with the unit. It fit real good, very comfortable and the sound was super! It was easy to pair to your cell, computer or audio hifi.

I sure hope this is an isolated incident as I am going to try another one based on the previous performance.

John Farrow

I had been checking out the reviews of stereo bluetooth headphones years, ever since I got my first Treo 650 with bluetooth. I have since changed to the Blackberry Curve.

Among the headphones I considered buying: Motorola (2 models), Blueant, Sony, Plantronics, imuffs, Logitech, and Jabra. I was looking for a headset that was reliable (a big concern w/ most models), behind the ear (generally works better for me), foldable (for travel), and durable (I throw them in my briefcase). There are now a few models that have a tether between two earpieces instead - and can function as a 1 ear headset or a stereo headphone. That seemed interesting, but I went with this. Most of those were earbuds, which I personally dislike.

Maybe a bit different from most reviewers, my primary usage is phone (rather than music). I wanted Bluetooth Stereo, however, so that I could listen to the phone calls binaurally (through both ears). That way, I don't have to turn up the volume as loud (less strain on my ears) and some environment noise is blocked.

I bought the Cardo based on Amazon reviews and the Cnet review.

I am delighted with them. The setup was extraordinarily easy. I barely skimmed the instructions, and I had them running in no time. All you have to do is hold a button down for 7 seconds, and you are ready to pair. Then you set your device to pair with the headphones, entering the 0000 password.

The audio quality is very good. They are great for a casual listener.

The phone quality surprised me. It didn't have an extendable boom microphone, but I've tested it in wind, noisy environments, and the office - and I don't have to shout at all. I can speak quite softly and be heard clearly on the other side.

The fit has been very straightforward for me. They are comfortable and a good fit even though they are not adjustable (I have a big head). They are secure and comfortable enough to stay on my head for jogging.

The integration with the Blackberry Curve has been flawless. It switches seamlessly between music and phone. It's track selection and volume switches are quite easy to find on your right ear. I haven't tested pairing it with my laptop yet. Battery life has seemed good - I make it through my day just fine on a charge.

Highly recommended.

I purchased the Cardo S2 Bluetooth stereo headset less than one month ago despite reading a couple of reviews that stated the plastic head band cracks/breaks, and sure enough, mine broke two weeks after receiving them. I didn't beat them up either, treated them very carefully and the right earpiece just snapped off while putting them on. I've submitted a question to Cardo Customer Support via email but have not heard anything back from them yet. If I get good results from them supporting their product/warranty I'll comment on that as well but as for now, I would NOT recommend these to anyone. BTW - they sounded great for the two weeks of use I got out of them.

I had read about this same problem in a review before I bought these but I thought it was just a fluke. I had mine for a little over a month and the plastic that holds the right speaker on broke rendering the headset useless. It looks like I can return them and I would replace with another but I don't want to keep replacing them because of a design flaw.
Sound quality WAS great for music. These are good if you want music headset that you can answer a phone call if you have to. But if you intend on talking on the phone with much any back ground noise this might not be the one.

I was looking for headphones to use at the gym or when walking that would let me receive a phone call rather than something to wear all day. So, to meet my needs, they needed to be relatively comfortable for an hour or so, not fall off with movement, have decent sound (I'm happy listening to a car stereo -- so I'm not going to nitpick the fine points of the acoustic experience), not drop off or lose the bluetooth connection, and work with basic phone functions. My phone is a Verizon Samsung i760 windows mobile.

These work. I can listen to music or audiobooks without any problem and with good volume. The ear pads are comfortable though after an hour, I do notice they aren't as light as the clip ear pieces I usually use when exercising. They don't fall or move. When I get a phone call, it interrupts the music and I can use the ear controls or the phone controls for the call, then the music or audiobook restarts. I can't comment on battery life as they claim 8 hours and I never have gone that far without recharging. The controls are straight forward to use and they all work with my phone. The phone call quality is good for receiving. I'm told it is a little tunnel like (like a speakerphone) for the other end but easily understandable. I didn't hear any buzzing or odd sounds and, so far, I haven't been bothered by interference with other devices. My phone and the headset paired without problem.

The manual isn't as clear as it could be. They have a diagram in the beginning with labels for the buttons. Unfortunately, they then use various names, other than the labeled ones, in some cases. The control (or perhaps multifunction button) is a little small and hard to find but has a raised area to feel for. You use it more than the large play button. There are coded flashing lights if you can remember all of the codes (one red, flashing red, several blue flashes, purple flash! -- they are accurate if you have the manual handy). They don't come with any kind of case. The neck piece is solid but not very adjustable. Luckily it fit me but if you have a big neck, you might not like them.

I've had this product for well over a year, and I have been impressed with the sound quality. However, none of the functions (volume, etc.) ever worked. And recently the plastic frame broke so I had to wrap duct tape around it to keep it in place (but loose).
In addition, these headphones are very uncomfortable. If I sit in my recliner, after about 15 minutes the pain caused by the brackets that go over the ears is more than I am willing to put up with. Bottom line, look for a different set of headphones.

I purchased the Cardo S-2 Headphones to listen to the radio while at work so I wasn't tethered to my desk. After 2 days the right ear piece broke off. I contacted their customer support and received an address to send them back to and they sent me a new pair. Well these lasted for about 3 weeks and the right broke again, and when taking them off after it broke the left one broke in the same place. The plastic used for constructing the arms is a very brittle plastic. Trying to get someone to respond now to send them back and get my money back.