Sony DRBT21G/B Stereo Bluetooth Headset

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.7 x 3.6 inches ; 2.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• ASIN: B000PCCLPA
• Item model number: DRBT21G/B
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

Neck band type Bluetooth® stereo headset

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, wireless street styles, October 22, 2007

By 

Maki (Minneapolis) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony DRBT21G/B Stereo Bluetooth Headset (Electronics)

The only headphones I've ever trusted are Sony classic Street Style - they're comfortable, affordable, and have great sound quality. When I realized Sony had released this wireless pair, I was all over them.

I had previously tried the Motorola HT820 Bluetooth headphones because I've long been interested in wireless audio, so most of my comparison will be to those.

Design

The Street Style form of these headphones is excellent - I prefer this style compared to over-the-head headphones, and I have a terrible time with earbuds.

The neck band is almost exactly the same as a pair of wired Street Style headphones, with a little less bulk and no rubber "ear rests" that would sit on top of your ear. The band doesn't seem to grip your ears as well as a pair of wired Street Styles, but they are nearly as comfortable.

The "foldable" design is something I could do without. I wouldn't care whether or not they folded, but the stock photo does not show how they redesigned the neck band to accommodate the fold. Instead of being a perfect curve, the neck band comes to a subtle pointed shape where it folds. Less attractive, but it makes no difference while you're wearing them.

Performance

These headphones offer excellent sound quality, but only expect to get this when using the A2DP (advanced audio) Bluetooth profile (this goes for any Bluetooth headphones). This is only available on certain cell phones, with an adapter, or with special software on a computer. In my situation, I set these up with my MacBook Pro's built-in Bluetooth, but I have to use a software workaround to broadcast A2DP in Mac OS Tiger (a Google search will help you find that).

The sound is surprisingly rich and satisfying. I don't think of myself as an audiophile, but if the sound is bad, I can't get into the music - and with these I've had very little trouble focusing on my music.

In order to get a good balance of music and vocals, I did have to adjust the equalization in iTunes (unlike wired headphones, which I normally just plug in and go). With too much low frequency sound (bass) I did find that some music had an occasional popping noise - lowering those levels eliminated that issue and the phones still produce a good amount of bass. The effective frequency range on these is limited but I'm not sure if this is a result of the wireless technology or the speakers. I can't imagine Sony would use lousy speakers in something with an MSRP ten times the amount of a fine pair of their wired headphones.

These headphones hold a very steady connection, within range. The Motos often cut out during simple movements like bending over to pick something up. I can safely exercise and move about a room without these dropping the connection.

The battery life is more than acceptable for my use. I've used them for about 2 hours a day for the past 3 days and haven't had to do a second charge yet.

Bluetooth/Wireless Faults

There are a few issues which I blame on the Bluetooth/wireless technology, as it's just not perfect yet.

There is a very subtle amount of static that can be heard when no music is playing, and sometimes in songs with less background music. This may also vary based on the device you're connecting to. I have tried eliminating interference and the static seems constant. It usually fades into the music while listening.

If you're connected to a stationary object like a computer, don't expect to leave the room with these on. Bluetooth has a very limited range. If you use them with a cell phone or just in a single room, you'll be fine.

I can't use my wireless Mighty Mouse while I'm listening to these. Both operating on Bluetooth, the mouse causes the audio to cut out every few seconds. Not sure about other Bluetooth devices, but expect interference. Wireless router doesn't seem to cause disconnection though.

Summary

My expectations of wireless headphones is very low. These are definitely a step in the right direction though. While the Motorola HT820 may have decent sound quality with A2DP (not tested), the Sony DRBT21G triumphs in comfort due to it's lighter and less bulky design.

If you are able to connect to a device with A2DP and don't mind the caveats of wireless technology, I would recommend these as the best I have found so far. I bought these for about $95 but they're worth the $129.99 retail price. The freedom is worth it!

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still a compromise, but getting better, November 29, 2007

By 

GadgetHead (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sony DRBT21G/B Stereo Bluetooth Headset (Electronics)

I have had these for about a month.

Things I like:
-Comfortable, at least much more so than the Moto S9's and the Bluetrek ST1
-Decent sound quality with a fairly flat response, but can still be EQ'd to your taste. IE, the low end doesn't distort or whimp out if you boost it with an EQ.
-Phone calls come through in stereo
-Caller can hear me fine in a normal speaking voice
-Better battery life than most competitors
-Nice that they fold, but I pretty much keep them at work
-They block out most, but not all sound so I can still hear people come up behind me, the phone ring, etc
-Buttons are easy to use and have a good tactile response and "seperate" feel. The motos have this touch snsitive thing going on, and it is hard to tell when your htting the right button. The Sony's have a different type of rocker for volume vs track advance/pause, so it is easy to tell which one you are touching.

Things I don't like:
-A bit finicky when pairing, especially when using it with more than 1 source. For instance, if I use it with my laptop then go to use it with my PDA Phone, I have to "trick" it into reconnecting by first calling a phone number. This may not be true for all phones though.
-Not snug enough to wear while running / working out.
-Take longer to charge than most.. more then 2 hours, although it is rare they run out mid day and I can usually time it so I charge them over night.

So I am stuck with the problem :) of having to use my Moto S9s for workouts and these for work. Actually this winds up working out quite well because while the Moto's are better at fitting snugly for work outs and block out more noise (like the huffer on the treadmill next to you), they make my ears sore after more than an hour or so.

However, while these are the best I've tried yet and the downsides are not all that much of an annoyance, they are still not a "top of the line" set of headphones such as the high end corded phones. I find this to be a bit like a good quality TV though. When you look at a better one side by side with an inferior one, you'll notice the difference but if the inferior one is equal to or better then what you were previously used to (like upgrading to HDTV from standard), you probably won't be disappointed with what an expert would consider inferior.

On a final note, these are susceptible to radio interference like any other wireless device and I do get occasional skips. Again, this is no more frequent than any other BT model I've tried and seems to be much less of a problem with the newer BT 2.0 transmitters.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best Choice Out There..For Now, September 15, 2007

By 

W. Schwartz "schwartz" (Athens, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony DRBT21G/B Stereo Bluetooth Headset (Electronics)

Well, I have been looking at wireless bluetooth headphones for about the past year. I went out about 10 months ago and tried the Motorola HT820's. They worked amazing, but they looked straight out of Star Trek and had this distracting blue LED light. Furthermore, they were huge for anything more than sitting by yourself in a room. Then came along, these Sony's. They are streetstyle, which is comfortable to me, but many people despise this design. Sound is nearly as good as the Motorola's at half the size and almost twice as cheap. Battery life is great, they are particularly lightweight, and fold up. Also they can skip tracks on Windows Mobile Phones and laptops using Windows Media Player just like the Motorola's. The only gripe I have about them is there range is maybe 15 to only 20 ft if nothing is in the way...Otherwise, certain walls would block them by as little as 4 or 5 ft. This somewhat deters use even walking around your house. By comparison, I could leave my phone on the second story of my house and walk out to my mailbox and never lose signal with the Motorola's. Overall, great design and price..just make sure you don't forget them at the gym since they are wireless and not connected to your phone or player...Trust me.