IO Gear Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headphone Kit

by Iogear

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 8 x 2.8 inches ; 1.1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000BGZ0BM
• Item model number: GBMHKIT
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 31, 2006

Product Description

Now you can experience the most comfortable way to enjoy your favorite music ¿ without wires! IOGEAR's wireless Bluetooth Multimedia Kit eliminates headphone cords by incorporating the latest Bluetooth technology. Enjoy music or other audio up to 66 feet from the source, in beautifully crisp mp3-quality stereo sound. The Kit includes both the Bluetooth headphones and an adapter, providing a great duo for use with your multimedia equipment. Simply connect the adapter to any standard 3.5mm, RCA, or phono audio jack, turn on the headset and adapter, and enjoy your music! Listen to music or audio from your computer, iPod, home stereo, boom box, MP3 player, TV set, or virtually any sound source. In addition, the Bluetooth headphones are compatible with any Bluetooth-enabled device with A2DP and AVRCP support. IOGEAR's behind-the-neck design makes the headphones very comfortable to wear even for extended periods. The headphones' built-in rechargeable battery offers up to 6.5 hours of music play time. With the included RCA audio cable and stereo phono connector, you can connect the adapter to virtually all your home audio devices. For added convenience, push buttons on the headphones allow volume and track selection control. In addition, the Bluetooth headphones support use with Bluetooth cell phones. To make or receive phone calls, simply connect the detachable microphone to the headphones. You can even pause music playback and pick up incoming phone calls with the simple press of a button. Free yourself from confining wires and immerse yourself in the music with IOGEAR's wireless Bluetooth Multimedia Kit.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Works the second time around; uncomfortable, February 28, 2006

By 

Jack Teague (Carrollton, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: IO Gear Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headphone Kit (Electronics)

The first set of headphones I received didn't work at all, my suspicion was that the transmitter didn't work, but I'm unsure of that. The replacement policy at Amazon is good, so the second set of headphones was on the way even before I got the first set back into the mail.

The second set works fine with the provided transmitter and works with my T40 bluetooth but not at top quality. I also have found that the signal interferes with my home wireless network which can be annoying when I'm trying to play a file off the NAS drive in the other room. Doesn't really sound too good with all the re-buffering due to the network interference.

Also, a little disappointing is that I have to finagle the connecting jack on both my computer and on a stereo receiver to get the sound right. If I just plug the jack in completely and without jiggling the sound is very substandard.

Lastly, I find that wearing them for long periods very uncomfortable as the behind the head design places a lot of pressure on the bones right behind the ear.

Overall, they work and do what I want, just wish the quality was a little better and the fit a little more ergonomic.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great functionality with other programs, June 22, 2006

By 

Paul C. Roethele (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: IO Gear Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headphone Kit (Electronics)

I had been using the Logitech bluetooth headphones with my Treo 650 when I experienced the cracked headband that has plagued many customers. I bought the IO Gear headphones as a replacement and have been very satisfied. My main complaint is the "neck band" isn't terribly comfortable, but the Logitech headphones made my ears ache after a half an hour - the IO Gear headphones are much better. Pros of the IO Gear kit are:

-The headphones fold up (I didn't realize how convenient that was until I had a pair that didn't fold),

-IO Gear includes everthing you could need, including a carrying case, extension cables, power adapters, & phono plug adapters,

-You can use the heaphones as a hand-free kit to make calls with the included plug-in boom mic,

-The charger can plug into an A/C outlet or a USB port (great if the batteries die while you're on the road)

-If you are using a Treo or another Palm OS device, you can download Softick Audio Gateway and eliminate the transmitter unit. Additionally, if you are using NormSoft's Pocket Tunes, you can select tracks using the buttons on the headphones.

I realize $100+ is a lot to pay for headphones, but I love to use them at work (I am crawling around racks of equipment all day, and traditional headphone cords were always getting caught or tangled) and for exercise. The build quality could be a little better with the IO Gear kit, so I will be interested to see how it holds up, but so far they are the only bluetooth headphones I have found that have all the functionality I want.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Works well if you hold your device out in front of you!, December 5, 2005

By 

Robert (Garland, TX, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: IO Gear Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headphone Kit (Electronics)

I bought a set of these a couple of weeks ago to use with my Siemens SX-66 (XDA III / Blue Angel). I tested them with my phone sitting on my desk and they seemed to work fine.

The good:

- Paired up right away with the phone.
- Liked the feel. They were fairly light and did fold up and fit into a small felt bag provided with the unit.
- Came with an AC charger and a microphone that screwed into the earpiece.
- Sound was excellent if the unit was a few feet away from you face in your hand.

The bad:

- The volume control (buttons integrated into the shape of the right earpiece) was very difficult to locate by touch. There are four buttons total, set in a circle around the rim of the earpiece. Two were for volume and two were for forward/back functionality if your devices supports it. Additionally, you have to press the button down each time you want to go up/down a level on volume. You can't simply hold the button and the sound will go down smoothly. So when the volume comes blasting out, you end up punching yourself in the head multiple times to get it down.
- Volume level between the phone and Windows media player were very different. If you turned the phone up to where you could hear it, when the call ended, the player would come blasting back and ear damaging levels. Back to the head punching thing again.
- I put my phone in a holster on my left side. The unit cuts out completely. Now I'm no slim jim, but I don't think it is 30' between my ears and my waist, even if you take the long way around. I had the same problem when I got more than about 20' away from the unit lying on my desk. The signal started breaking up.

I can't report on comfort or battery life as I never kept them on long enough to find out. Now granted, I have 802.11 wireless and 2.4 ghz phones, so that may have been an issue, but so do most offices now. I ended up returning the unit.