Customer Reviews

Logitech Wireless Digital Bluetooth Headphones for MP3 Players iPods and Computers

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(25)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

I originally wrote a favorable review for this item because I felt it deserved recognition for seamlessly integrating bluetooth technology with stereo headphones and music players. However, as other reviewers have pointed out, the headband has indeed cracked right down the middle and rendered the device almost unusable.

I am quite surprised that Logitech has put their name on this device. HP even jumped on the bandwagon and has a rebranded version of this same headphone set (released over a year ago) that originally was only for the HP IPAQ--look it up if you don't believe me.

Shame on you Logitech, I love your mice, keyboards, speakers and webcams, but this is utterly disappointing.

Buyer Beware.

DO NOT BUY THIS. Ignore the "4 stars", a I'm editing a glowing post I made last month. Sadly, I have to join the others in reporting that the headphone arch does indeed break. After about 6 weeks, for me. It cracks at the midpoint where it flexes.

This is a shame, and it's really inexcusable from Logitech. They did fine with the Bluetooth tech and sound quality, yet they f----d up the product by screwing up the simplest part -- the old technology that's been in mass production for 50 years. I'd love to know what corporate politics or short-sighted decision making ruined what should have been a great piece of gear.

DO NOT BUY THIS, or if you do, go ahead and buy the duct tape that you'll soon need. And beware, do not buy the white version tailored to the iPod, which appears to be the same construction. There are some other brands of Bluetooth headphones out there.

These are some decent headphones, but if you use them they WILL break. It's only a matter of time. I did some research and found the following tips to prevent/fix the breaking:

Solution #1:

Put the band portion of the headphones in boiling water for a while and slowly spread them open. Once you have them opened up some take them out of the water and let them cool while holding them in the spread position. This reduces the tension of the headphones against your ears and reduces the stress put on the headphone band. This results in two advantages, less pressure on your ears resulting in better comfort and no cracking of the band.

If you stretch them to far they will fit too loose and will lose some of there bass effect. But all you have to do is reheat them and close them up a little until you get the fit you want.

Solution #2:

Even if your headband has broken in two this will still work. It will only take a little patience and $5.00 of materials from a local hobby shop.

Materials:
- 3/4 inch or 1 inch nylon tape (all hobby stores that have RC Plane materials have this)
- CA (cyanoacrylate) the stuff that superglue is made of but I recommend getting some real CA at any hobbystore. Get the "thin" stuff.
- Saran Wrap. yes the sandwich stuff...
- Scissors

Side note: I call the nylon tape "tape", but it is really just a ribbon of nylon. There is no sticky stuff on the "tape"

1) First if your headset has snapped completely in two use a little CA to mend it as best as you can. It doesnt need to be perfect but just mended enough that it is technically one piece again and headphones are seperated to where you want them to be.

2) Next cut off a 6 inch piece of the nylon tape and using a VERY small amount of CA, tack the top edge of the tape to the BACK of the band where the crack has occured (which should be exactly in the middle of the band in most cases). Use just enough so it sticks as you don't want too much CA getting into the ribbon. It should be hanging down now in the back like a tail. Note: Use the saran wrap to help hold the tape in place as you are tacking it in place as you DO NOT want this stuff to get on your fingers...

3) Once the CA has dried enough and the tape is stuck, wrap the tape under and around the band one time until the tape is hanging down again in the back. Pull the tape VERY tight and use a little bit of CA at the top to keep it in place.

4) Wrap around one more time and tack it again one more time making sure to always keep the tape tight when you tack it. You should have wrapped the tape around twice at this point. If your set was broken completely in two you may want to wrap one or two more times and at a slight angle to cover a little more area. When done, use some scissors to cut off the excess tape at a point so the cut end of the tape is at the back.

5) Now you can saturate the whole band of tape with CA. Use the saran wrap to press down the cut end of the tape as you glue and it will end up perfectly flat. This is an incredibly strong fiberglass patch similar to carbon fiber. The patch will have a very small profile (not that thick) and be similar in color to scotch tape, however it could easily be painted to match the color of the headband if desired.

There you have it. This is a permanent and SOLID fix and only takes about 5 minutes. I'm wearing mine right now after i just fixed them. Also you can do this (and I strongly suggest you do) to a set that has not cracked yet, because they WILL NOT CRACK if you do. Just do it exactly in the middle of the band.

Got these 2 weeks ago. Just for work and maybe a little gym action down the road when I get some more time. They've just been sitting on my desk charging when not on my head. The sound is decent quality. I've had to do a hard reset with a paper clip on the reciever unit a couple times to get it to sync with the headphones. The volume up and down buttons feel a little cheap but get the job done if sometimes not until the second or third press. All these things considered I would say a 4 star rating because its cool not to have any wires and I can walk all the way down the hall before the music stops.


BUT....TODAY I NOTICED THE HAIR LINE CRACK WHEN PUTTING THEM ON. Smack dab in the middle of the band.. on the underside. After reading all the reviews I bought them anyway and figured you guys just didnt take very good care of your stuff. I told myself they would just sit on my desk and when I started taking them to the gym and putting them in a bag(which is sure to break them by the way)I would reenforce the band with duct tape or metal. Well.. they've just been on my desk and on my head, and the motion of pulling them apart slightly to put on my head has caused the dreaded crack. What a piece of crap. Time to get the refund process going.


UPDATE 12/2006 (6 months later): So I just reenforced the weak part of the band with duct tape and elctrical tape and never returned the head phones. They lasted for a few more months but managed to break even with the reenforcement. Now they are not longer able to sync with the receiver.

I would give this a 4.5 star but because of having to repair the headset myself it looses a star. Let me start by saying that these headphones work great. They are discontinued now so jump on your favorite auction site and buy a brand new set for $45 like I did. Buy a couple of sets if you can while the getting is good. Even with the faulty headband they are well worth the money because I will tell you how to repair or prevent them from breaking in the first place. The sound quality is top notch and nothing beats having wireless headphones...

So anyways onto the repair... Even if your headband has broken in two this will still work. It will only take a little patience and $5.00 of materials from a local hobby shop.

Materials:
- 3/4 inch or 1 inch nylon tape (all hobby stores that have RC Plane materials have this)
- CA (cyanoacrylate) the stuff that superglue is made of but I recommend getting some real CA at any hobbystore. Get the "thin" stuff.
- saran wrap. yes the sandwich stuff...
- Scissors

Side note: I call the nylon tape "tape", but it is really just a ribbon of nylon. There is no sticky stuff on the "tape"

1) First if your headset has snapped completely in two use a little CA to mend it as best as you can. It doesnt need to be perfect but just mended enough that it is technically one piece again and headphones are seperated to where you want them to be.

2) Next cut off a 6 inch piece of the nylon tape and using a VERY small amount of CA, tack the top edge of the tape to the BACK of the band where the crack has occured (which should be exactly in the middle of the band in most cases). Use just enough so it sticks as you don't want too much CA getting into the ribbon. It should be hanging down now in the back like a tail. Note: Use the saran wrap to help hold the tape in place as you are tacking it in place as you DO NOT want this stuff to get on your fingers...

3) Once the CA has dried enough and the tape is stuck, wrap the tape under and around the band one time until the tape is hanging down again in the back. Pull the tape VERY tight and use a little bit of CA at the top to keep it in place.

4) Wrap around one more time and tack it again one more time. You should have wrapped the tape around twice at this point. If your set was broken completely in two you may want to wrap one or two more times and at a slight angle to cover a little more area. When done, use some scissors to cut off the tape at a point so the cut end of the tape is at the back.

5) Now you can saturate the whole band of tape with CA. This will create an incredibly strong patch. Use the saran wrap to press down the cut end of the tape as you glue and it will end up perfectly flat.

There you have it. This is a permanent and SOLID fix and only takes about 5 minutes. I'm wearing mine right now after i just fixed them. Also you can do this (and I strongly suggest you do) to a set that has not cracked yet, because they WILL NOT CRACK if you do. Just do it exactly in the middle of the band.

Hope this helps all you fellow people that had problems with the headband. They work too well to just give up on them. If you have never done something like this before you can practice on something like a pencil. Break it in half, then mend it with the above procedure. Once you get the hang of it go for it.

Russ

The technology is great, but give it a few weeks and the headband begins to crack. They designed the band with a studier material because the headphones are a bit heavier than normal headphones. Unforunately, this means the headband cracks after prolonged use. Mine cracked after a week's worth of use. After this they are useless. Check the Logitech support forums for more information. This isn't an isolated problem, but a design problem with all the headphones. I would not recommend this product, since they are so expensive with such a short life span. Maybe wait till they fix the headband.

They work great until they break.

This Bluetooth 1.2 version has since been replaced by the newer generation, but the price of this model has come down by nearly $80 as a result. I've used them for working out in front of a TV (if you equip your set with an inexpensive 3.5 mm audio out jack), listening to iPod, portable dvd player in the car, and computer. Pros: The sound is quite clear and true, provided you aren't an overly demanding audiophile. The single charger has a Y-shaped adapter end permitting charging of both the adapter and headset simultaneously. Cons: they are considerably heavier than corded headphones and become a bit uncomfortable after an hour.

I bought a few pairs of these for a client on another website. They are a dental office with many patients, and they offer music and movies while you get your teeth worked on, using these headphones. Everybody that comes in enjoys the experience, and not one person, old or young, had complained about the headphones being too heavy or not working.

I personally installed (IE: plugged in to charge and after the charging was complete I pushed the "connect" buttons, clearly explained in the manual) and tested each pair. Not a single defective pair, no pairing (connection) problems, and very thorough instructions on how to use them. I was able to explain to technically challenged dentists how to pair them, and I posted the included LED status light table which covers every color and blink pattern for both the adapter and the headphones.

The range of these was about 15-20 feet through a few thin walls, and they worked with great quality up to Bluetooth specs in line-of-sight from the adapter. Didn't test further; the building wasn't big enough :)

These are slightly less extravagant than the FreePulse model, which costs the same here on Amazon at the moment (I found a better deal using a very popular search engine's 'frugal' shopping search). The going rate on the rest of the Internet makes these a great choice in price and functionality.

For listening, these are pretty good. I don't hear any white noise, or difference in reception if I turn my head, so it is cleaner for listening than wireless headphones I have tried in the past. I can easily hook it up to other things like the TV or conventional Stereo. The reason I am posting this is to let anyone who is interested in using these, as I was, for playing music, that there is around a .2 second delay.

I purchased this unit a few weeks ago from one of Amazon's 3rd party vendors. I got a very good deal, but the trade-off was that it came in a bag with no instructions. I went to the Logitech website and got things going.

The pros:
1) No wires, and the batteries last about 7 hours (I tried using them all day at work)
2) The sound is good enough. (I had been using a Shure e3, which finally broke for good out of warranty). This unit is not near as loud or as bassy as the Shure, but they don't fall off while I'm on the treadmill either.
3) Worked well for watching TV in private.

The cons:
1) Seems to need it's own bluetooth transmitter. My Powerbook bluetooth connected but the sound was so scratchy and bad that it was unusuable. Plug in the supplied transmitter and everything was fine.

2) The headband is not adjustable and my ear feels bruised after wearing them for an hour. The time I wore them all day at work won't be repeated.
The headband is almost a dealbreaker. If it wasn't for that, I'd be using these headphones all the time.

3) The unit is kind of like those watches that use one button for multiple purposes. The button on each part does something different depending on how long you hold down the button. After a couple of days I got the hang of of, but the button on the transmitter is so small, that I have to stop doing anything but holding the button down to turn it off.

Overall, I'd say wireless on a treadmill is worth the ear bruising. I can't count how many times I've accidentally hit the cord with my arm and sent my iPod flying across the room. I like to watch videos on it while on the treadmill and the bluetooth headphones make that a pleasant experience instead of constantly trying to watch the cord. People with larger heads need to know in advance that these will be tight on your ears.