Customer Reviews

Motorola S805 Bluetooth D.J. Style Stereo Headset

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

These are now my 5th pair of bluetooth wireless headphones and I think I've finally found one that does just what I want: great sounding streaming music from my iPod and simultaneously make or take calls from my Blackberry.

In my typical fashion, let's begin with the good, move on to the bad and then finish with those things that need improvement.

GOOD

Excellent sound quality - Clear, clean and LOUD. What more can I say about it. This may seem obvious but apparently some people don't understand the many different profiles available with Bluetooth devices and which ones are necessary to get good sound quality from these headphones. In order to hear quality audio, your Bluetooth source must support the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP). Many of the USB dongle devices and quite a few built-in Bluetooth laptops (including MacBooks) and phones DON'T support this profile. How will know? First check the documentation to see if A2DP is listed as a supported profile. If not, try pairing with the headphones. If you hear tinny sounding music in mono, your device probably only supports the Headset and Handsfree (HPF) profiles. You'll need to find some other hardware or maybe a software upgrade.

Convenient - My S805s are paired with my iPod equipped with Wi-Gear's iMuffs MA110 Dock Adapter. This adapter is powered by the iPod and supports both the A2DP and Audio Video Remote Control (AVRCP) profiles allowing the headphone to control the volume, play/pause and next/prev track of the iPod while getting the great sound you expect. With no wires to get tangled or swing around when you move, these are great for workouts on the treadmill or elliptical.

Battery Life - Motorola claims that these fully charged headphones will operate in standby mode for up 30 days! I haven't had an opportunity to test this out and I not quite sure exactly what is "standby" mode, but I do know that the music play time is good for about a week of bus rides and occasional office use--about 15 hours. Not bad for the volume and quality.

Nice carrying case - the S805 comes with a durable semi-rigid zippered ballistic nylon case that holds the headphones with the earpieces folded flat at 2 inches thick. There's even a strap inside to conveniently hold the charger and the wired adapter cable.

Elegant Design - The headphones are very nice to look at once you get past the bulk (more on that next). They are symmetrically designed with a single button on each earpiece. One side controls the phone the other the music. The volume and track skip controls are ingeniously integrated into the rubber trim rings of each earpiece. Twist the left one forward or backward to change the volume or the right one to skip or repeat tracks.

BAD

Bulky - While the over-the-ear design is really effective at blocking outside noise, they are also very large and rather obvious. Especially with the blinking blue lights on the side. This attracts a lot of strange looks since you resemble a Borg. BTW, the blue lights can be turn off but I often forget since they default to "ON" after your recharge.

Cheap plastic parts - These definitely aren't your Bose QuietComforts. Most of the plastic pieces feel very cheap and appear as if they would easily break if dropped. The little rubber flap covering the charging and wired adapter ports is very flimsy and I don't expect it to last very long. The volume adjustment control dial and the track control dial have a lot of slop and wiggle room. I'd have to say that the case is better made than the headphones.

Short Wired Adapter - The wired adapter cord is very short. Less than a meter long so you need to be very close to your wired device.

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

Scratchy Fabric on Headband - The fabric inside of the headband is same acoustic fabric as the inside of the earpieces. I often take these off and dangle them around my neck but the fabric is kind of irritating. A smooth fabric would be much more comfortable.

Earpiece Cushions - The soft vinyl earpieces aren't too uncomfortable, but the do make the area around my ears all sweaty, especially during a workout. They're also kind of tight so they don't slip off your head but the pressure begin to get uncomfortable after a while. But if don't like the headphones with eartips that go into your ears, these are minor issues.

Complicated Controls - Although two buttons make for elegant design, it also makes for a confusing array of functions that you must remember to control them. Press and hold for 6 seconds for pairing mode. Press and hold for 2 seconds to turn them off. Press, hold and wait for three blinks to turn off. Short press to answer a call, long press to reject a call or answer a call waiting or redial the last call (all depending on the current state). Yikes! That's a lot to remember.

Minimal Instructions - The instruction booklet is a double-sided sheet of paper with a minimal amount of information to get you started. There are two paragraphs of troubleshooting along with a support number and web URL. If you can't get these to work as expected, don't expect to get much help.

I've had this headset about two weeks, so there may be more but here are the pro's and con's.

PROS:
1) sound is very good. Bass is just right and the whole spectrum is there. I'm sure there are better, but probably not in a bluetooth device.
2) headphone is pretty comfortable. I'd prefer slightly larger cups, but I can wear them for a couple hours before I have to rest. The adjustable band fits my large head well.
3) overall quality is good.
4) bluetooth distance seems to work between 20 to 30 feet OK.
5) the pause and play controls work fine on my phone (not on iTunes on my PC).
6) The volume control and 'change songs' controls are very nice controls that you tip back or forward easily and are easy to find.

CONS:
1) I did have them hangup a couple times where I couldn't get them to turn on until I plugged them into the power source which seemed to reset them.
2) It's difficult to switch between my PC (iTunes) and my phone. It would be nice to have a switch or couple buttons to go between two audio sources. It often takes me 5 to 10 minutes to do this. I'm hoping I have something to learn yet that will make this better.
3) The bluetooth works fine with my phone on walks, but it has to be in my left pocket. The signal won't transverse my body from the left pocket to the right headphone (where the receiver must be).
4) There are drop-outs from time to time. I suspect this is true of most bluetooth devices. The headset won't function during file transfers on my WIFI system. If you have a very heavy use of WIFI you might have problems.

I suspect most of these CONs are due to the implementation of bluetooth in general.

Overall, I'm very pleased so far with the performance of these headsets.

After my rather disastrous and mostly disappointingly purchase of a Motorola MOTOROKR S9 Bluetooth Headset, I felt a bit stung as well as buyers regret. But not quite enough, apparently, and despite the somewhat lukewarm reviews of the Motorola S805 "DJ" Headphones.


SOUND: GOOD
Fairly crisp and clean and strong enough to be head on a busy city street. Reproduces bass levels nicely and does a fairly good job at shutting out external noise (these are not noise canceling headphones by nay means, but the fact that they fully enclose the ear creates a fairly decent seal).

And like the MOTOROCKR S9, loud enough to hurt at the highest level.


CONNECTION: DECENT
And now the bad news. Once the device is actually connected, it holds it quite well. I can have my phone in my pocket, or my MacBook in my bag, and not loose the signal once. I can even leave my Samsung Blackjack on my desk, walk a few steps down the hall to the kitchen, and not have the sound drop out. Very nice.

Unfortunately, consistency at startup seems to be the issue here. Once I have paired the headphones to both devices, I seem to constantly need to reconnect them every time I turn the headphones on. And since that only seems to work half of the time, I need to erase the Bluetooth profile and reconnect it as a new device. I would have suspected my devices were causing issue were it not for the fact that the MOTOROCKR S9 had no issue connecting and reconnecting.

Theses headphones do appear to be better shielded the the MOTOROCKR S9; I did nit notice any of the sound dropout when I passed other strong radio signals.


EASE OF USE: GOOD
Ignoring the hugely annoying issue of keeping the headphones paired with your devices, once connected the controls on the device are simple and intuitive. You have controls for volume up/down and track forward/reverse as slide rings around each ear that are chunky and rubbery enough to provide flawless control. Oversized buttons over each ear also allow the user to play/pause a song, answer/disconnect calls and use voice activation (assuming the device they are connected to have voice activation, which my Samsung Blackjack does not)


COMFORT: GOOD
Aside from the unfortunate decision to make the headphone bar slightly narrow and pyramid shaped instead of a smooth rounded edge, resulting in a pinching for those of use with larger craniums, these are very comfortable headphones that I can wear for a few hours without discomfort. They are fully adjustable, and should fit just about anyone.


CALLS: DECENT
Again, nothing spectacular here. Like most headphones, the headset part of this device was a secondary thing, and while calls coming is sound rather good, you will not. Only appropriate for quick conversations.


BATTERY: GOOD
I am getting about 6-7 hours of battery life off each charge, which takes a little over 2 hours. And it can be juiced with a standard mini-USB plug. Nice.


RECOMMENDED: YES

I originally bought these to replace my broken iPod earbuds for my nano that broke over christmas. First off....they sound way better than my other headphones, mostly due to the enclosed space i'm guessing. They may have cost a bit more (I believe Ipod replacement headphones go for around thirty bucks), but are worth it.

The only downsides I have against these are they are a bit bulky (I can't take them jogging) and my ears sweat alot when I have them in for any lengthy amount of time. Other than that, this was a pretty good purchase.

I got this headset primarily for PC gaming and it has performed as I expected.
I looked for a few days and settled on this even though it was a little pricier than I was intending to spend (I got mine for $100).

My previous set was the wired Motorola X205 (a logitech headset with Moto branding). It did the job but the ear pad kept coming off and it was too tight and took weeks to break in.

Back to the 805, sound quality is much better than the x205 and the wireless freedom helps me slide my chair back and forth without worry about tangling the audio cord with the wheel of my pc chair. Since I have a 100yard/330ft bluetooth dongle (about $12), I can walk around my apartment without audio loss, compared to the regular 30ft range of most bluetooth devices.

Just like I feared, it does have a slight background hiss but it isn't noticeable all the time. You have to adjust your system, headset and application volume to eliminate it completely but it isn't really a problem.

You have to remember to turn it off when you got to work or to bed so that when you're ready to use, you won't be disappointed.

Battery life is great but takes 2-3 hrs to fully charged. (I've had if for about a week and have only charged it twice).

One picky problem I have about it is that when I pull it down over my neck to listen to someone or the TV, it itches my neck. Why didn't they have something more comfortable on the inside that wouldn't be so irritating?

It is sleek looking (even though bulky as advertised), very easy to use and I'm very happy with it.
Due to the slight background sound/hiss and the fact that it is $100, I'm giving this a 9.

The headphones themselves sound quite nice and are very comfortable to wear. But, I got a bum deal because I didn't research properly and made an impulse purchase. I take complete fault for this and I do not feel Amazon mislead me. However, if you buy these same headphones from some other retailers on the web (which also have a slightly cheaper price) you will get a better deal. Amazon only includes the headphones, the charger, and the instructions. You don't even get a manufacturers box. The headphones were just in a pink bubble-wrap bag inside of the Amazon shipping box. Other retailers, for less money, actually ship you the headphones in the manufacturers box, with the charger cable and manual, AND a 3.5 to 2.5mm stereo audio cable (just in case you need to plug it up to a non-bluetooth device) AND a thermoformed carrying case for the headphones. What Amazon shipped me was almost packed the way you expect a used Ebay item to be packed, not a brand new item you purchased from a reputable dealer. And yes, I am positive I purchased a new one from Amazon and did not choose refurbished or used. I double checked before I wrote this.

These head phones are a great design. They fully cover the ears and are comfortable. You can wear them for hours, and last they up to 17 hours before recharging.
They have studio quality stereo sound and have a rugged design for everyday use. They have volume control, pause/hold right at your ear, and
they work great with other blue tooth devices like the jabra music adaptor
and with any blue tooth cell phone.

Headphone sound is very good in comparison to other BT headphones. The headband is very tight and can cause discomfort when having it on for an hour the first time. Took me a while to get use to put it on for longer than an hour. Sound dropping rate depends on distance from the source and the interference from Wi-Fi. Overall, I am please with the performance of this headphone.

Be aware that there is a mistake in product packaging which the 3.5mm to 2.5mm cable is missing from the box (I checked with my friend and local store). Don't bother to call Motorola customer service. Like the other reviewer said, the Motorola service agent did not know about this headphone and trying to push reponsibility of missing cable to the hand of the store that sales the product. At one point the agent offered to send me a mini-USB to 2.5mm adapter like the RAZR headset converter. He also suggested me to go buy the cable myself at RadioShack. BAD MOTOROLA CUSTOMER SERVICE.

I purchased these for my new iPhone 3GS. I must admit I thought that they would not be up to par due to some of the reviews. Well, I was pleasantly surprised.

The BEST thing, is losing that annoying cord. Also, the earbuds that never seem to stay in my ears. OK, maybe it's my ears. I did not know how annoying the cord was, until I didn't have it to deal with.

I own a pair of corded Bose noise reduction [$299] earphones. Yes, they do sound better, but, not $260 better, that's for sure. And, they have that very annoying cord.

The Motos work so well, I will never go back to the Bose and the annoying cord. Once you have gone "cordless" you will never come back to cord. I promise you that.

Keep in mind too, Bluetooth will not match the quality of a corded headset, but, in my opinion, you can have the cord and your slightly better quality. I will never go back to the cord.

So, it really depends what your audio priorities are. Some, may feel that the quality is not up to what they want. If you are a real fussy music type these may not be for you. I am not and value cordless.

For me, the convenience and adequate quality works. I feel the money paid more than well spent.

They paired easily to my iPhone, I love the controls and the comfort they provide.

Outstanding value for price paid.

I needed a bluetooth headset that would serve as a Skype headset for international calls and stereo headphones for one of my jobs. I decided on the S805 headphones because of the many positive reviews it has received, and so far I haven't been disappointed. What's really impressive about this device is that you can also pair it with your cell phone, so you basically get a 3-for-1 deal!

The cell phone/skype headset is good. The audio quality is as good as your cell phone, so you really can't ask for more. I have a Motorola cell phone too, so I had no problems pairing the headset to my cell phone.

I had some trouble initially setting up the stereo headphone profile on my computer. Later I discovered that the problem was not with the headset, but with the Motorola PC850 Bluetooth USB Dongle (wireless adapter) that I bought, which I would NOT recommend. (If you want a good USB Dongle to pair your S805 headset up with your PC, I would recommend a Zoom brand USB dongle. You may have to download updated drivers from Zoom's website before you install the dongle, but it's worth it.)

The sound quality from the headphones is wonderful. It sounds just as if I had the headset plugged in, with very few pops or crackles. In addition, the headset has noise reduction material in its earpads, so the headphones get rid of a lot of ambient noises for you, however not electronically like a super expensive noise-canceling headset.

The headset fits my large head just fine, although in some places the plastic feels a little flimsy/weak. When you take the headset out of the box, it looks huge, and probably heavy. However, they're not nearly as heavy as they look and fit quite comfortably.

The battery life on this headset is just amazing. I use my headset on average 2-3 hours every day (because of work), and I only need to charge it about once a week. It takes about 3 hours to charge, but as long as you do it at night along with your cell phone, the long charge cycle won't even matter.