Customer Reviews

Sony Ericsson HBH-IS800 Stereo Bluetooth Headset (Black)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I ordered these headphones with the expectation of using them to listen to music while at work on my HTC Touch Pro. I have owned a couple bluetooth headphones in the past, which usually are somewhat bulky in size due to the built in bluetooth receiver and battery, usually making me look like a distant relative to Frankenstein. However, I was pleasantly surprised at the size and quality of these earbuds. Each earbud is about 1 inch in length, the silver portion of the earbud is unexpectedly made of metal, as is the microphone section.

After charging the headset I put them on a test run, pairing the device to my phone was painless, and the sound quality was much better than I expected for a bluetooth headset. I am overall very happy with my purchase.

However, there were some small pieces of information I feel others may find interesting:

-You must use your device to adjust the volume to the headset.
-Your phone must support AVRCP, A2DP, HSP, and have Bluetooth 2.0.
-The headset can only be paired to ONE device. I tried to pair the headset to both my laptop and phone... No dice. It will only pair to one or the other. For example, I first paired the headset to my laptop. I then shut the bluetooth off on the laptop and paired the headset to my phone. If I try to shut the bluetooth off on the phone and connect to the headset using my laptop, it refuses the connection. It will only connect with my phone. This works vice-versa as well.


-Most annoyingly, the headset comes with a paper label attached to it (like a price tag) with the model number, serial number, etc. When I read the user manual (yea, who does that?) it actually states in one line that "Removing the label from the head set might void the warranty."

So Sony Ericsson, you are telling me that if I remove this stupid paper label off my headset, it will potentially VOID MY WARRANTY? All your advertisements and even the product pictures on Amazon does not show the paper label hanging off of it. Why didn't you just engrave the serial number onto the device somewhere instead?

Overall, very happy with my purchase. Besides the limitations noted above, I will be using this headset for a long, long, time.


Update 10/7/10:
It has been about a year, product still works like new. Battery holds charge for 4 hours of continuous playing like when I first purchased it. I recently bought a Droid X to replace my aging HTC, this headset paired with the Droid X with nary a hitch, all features work perfect, plays music, starts and ends calls, and supports the phone's volume adjustment.

When I first heard about this headset I thought Wow they are really small. I was looking for some external box to support the Bluetooth but your seeing pretty much everything that is included in the package, and pretty nice carrying case not shown. All of the tech is stored in the ear buds and charging is done on one side of the ear plug. A very small plug for ac adapter to plug in and charge the headset. Some reviews I had seen from other sites posted that the headset gets warm after extended use. In my case it doesn't but I have not been using the headset beyond 3 hours of use. The feeling in the ears is a little heavy then normal. Guys with larger canals will not notice much but those with smaller canals would find them a little uncomfortable. One of the strange things about Bluetooth and plugged ear phones of course is fidelity of the sound and when you wear these Sony headset sealed in your ears you get some pretty decent sound not the typical high end fidelity you expect from most plugged ear sets. I currently use the headset with my new iPhone 3G S and they work outstanding with a distance of about 20 feet from the iPhone. The audio for music and podcast is prefect for me. The audio for the phone with the mic works perfectly with very little echoing on receivers end. Of course the biggest con in this review is the price. I've managed to get the headset at about $149 but I think for the portability and flexibility for the Bluetooth this is an excellent choice.

Don't throw away your other bluetooth device just yet. While this is a nice unit it doesn't last long as described by the products manufacturer (2.5 hrs). Other bluetooth devices usually last about 6.5 hrs of talk time. Standby time is good and comparable to other units. Music sounds great; however, the distance one can put between the device and the phone is not comparable to regular bluetooth devices. For that reason, this device gets 4/5 stars.

These Sony's are lightweight and comfortable. If they work with your phone or mp3 player they are unobtrusive as to be almost invisible. Unfortunately these don't work well with the iPhone 3Gs or the Palm Pre. The iphone can not control volume which is ear-splitting loud. The volume control disappears and pressing on the volume buttons does nothing. The Palm Pre does control the volume and it works well with the phone but the music doesn't play. Too bad because they are nice and lightweight.

I purchased these Bluetooth headphones on 02/17/09. After passing the 2 year mark I think it's probably a good idea to write a review.

Day One: Tossed the wire clip and case in my junk drawer. Don't need either and the case just makes more unnecessary work. Never in 2 years have I ever had an issue with them falling out of my ears. Simply run the wire BEHIND your head and pull the slack even on either side and you're good to go. I spend 10-14 hours at the gym each week including mixed running/weight training and have never had a fitment/wearability issue. The case is a bit of a drag and is more for show. I usually toss them in the small compartment of my gym bag as-is. THESE HEADPHONES ARE DURABLE. I would repeat that but you get the picture. I have read a few reviews of people breaking them, pulling the internals out when charging etc. and I'm sure they must be treating them like $20 headphones and not a $100 set. I paid $140 new and have treated them as such. The driver housings are aluminum which is great for sound replication and the satin coated wire keeps it from getting tangled while in your bag or stuck to your skin.

Week Two: After giving these headphones a week or so to break in, I found that the audio quality is on par with the Sony MDR-EX76/BLK EX Style Headphones with Carrying Case (Black) which I recently purchased for use with non-bluetooth devices. Bass response is great as are the mids and highs. Microphone pickup and noise cancellation is phenomenal. Even in a crowded, noisy, music saturated gym environment my callers had no problem hearing me. The lack of a volume control was initially mildly concerning but since getting an EVO 4G last June, the volume can be adjusted from the phone without ever turning the screen on. A track forward and back feature would be nice as well, but for the minute size that would only add weight and drain battery.

Speaking of battery life... I never listen to these headphones at full volume. I don't have the best hearing, but I have never been the type to have my headphones so loud the person standing 10 feet from you can hear your "Oh na na, what's my name?" through their own headphones. That being said...

Expected Battery Life:
<> 50% Volume > 4 hours Listening time OR 2.5 Hours talk time
<> 75% Volume ~3.5 hours Listening time OR 2 Hours talk time
<> 90% Volume > 3 hours Listening time OR > 1.5 Hours talk time

*I usually spend about 15-20 minutes total on calls at the gym so if you put your phone in airplane mode or stick to texting you can expect even more listening time.

The ear caps are pretty noise canceling so even 50% volume is an enjoyable level. It comes with 3 different sizes so you're sure to find one that suits you. I couldn't really wear these comfortably in my motorcycle helmet however because they do protrude about 1" from the ear. They were a struggle to keep in while putting the helmet on and after a 20 minute ride my ears were sore to the touch. If you plan on using these in-helmet I would look elsewhere.

Mid January 2011: Ran these suckers through a full wash cycle. Warm water, detergent, liquid softener, the whole 9. Dead as can be out of the washer. In my lazy (I didn't have the time to do the "rice trick" or leave them in the sun) yet comprehensive pursuit for durability testing I went ahead and ran them through the dryer on high. Figured if they were shot what could it hurt? Tried to power them on, nothing, no LED, nada. Plugged them into the charger and instead of a solid red LED I got a blinking one. I'm sure this means to service them. After an hour of being on the charger the LED turned solid red. I figured it would charge but still not work. After a couple of hours the LED turned green. Powered them on and THEY WORKED LIKE BRAND NEW. I guess now it's appropriate to repeat myself when I say that THESE THINGS ARE DURABLE!

Beginning 3rd Year: The headphones sound just as good as week one. The battery still performs identical to when I first purchased them. I can predict almost to the minute when I will get my first low battery warning based on the listening volume.

In a Nutshell:
<> Excellent battery life and longevity for the size.
<> Great music and call sound quality.
<> Amazing microphone.
<> Lack of volume/track control may be bothersome.
<> Comfortable and light.
<> DURABLE.

Not to mention it's nice when you get the occasional "Those are wireless?!?" from envious wire restricted gym rats.

I am very pleased with this headset. Great style, simplicity, and decent sound. Paired easily with my IPhone 3GS. No, I can't control the volume, but that is Apple's fault... not Sony's.

It looks cool, is comfortable, and is literally the smallest stereo bluetooth headset around. It comes with a simple, but elegant case, and (3) sizes of earbuds as well as a collar clip to keep the cord from moving.

Highly recommended!

Are these headphones perfect? No, but they have incredible sound, and light, small, high quality and are probably the best option for stereo bluetooth headphones.

NOTE: These DO work with my iphone 3gs (took a bit of turning on and off to get the iphone to see them, but once it did things went perfectly).
Also note: With the iphone, volume is set at a fixed level on these (every other bluetooth item I have works perfectly and has variable volume with these headphones) BUT, i think the volume level is just right anyway...not too loud and not too soft.

If you intend to use these with the iPhone, take note of the above issue (which really isn't a problem for me) but with all other stereo bluetooth capable devices this should work fine.

Sound is excellent considering these are wireless headphones. Quality is first rate.

Manual could be a bit better as I had to play around for a few minutes to get the iphone to see the headphones and the charging indicator lights are on one of the earphones almost unnoticeable unless you know where to look. This is not mentioned in the manual and it took me a bit to figure it out.

Once I got these setup they sounded great - it is a great thing to be wireless with high sound quality. I can leave my phone o the desk and walk around the office and still have full connection to my music, audiobooks, and phone calls.

Awesome device - highly recommend.

Despite complaints about the lack of volume control, I decided to get it because of its portability. I'm no audiophile, but sound was decent, though it seemed treble and high frequencies were lacking in detail. Obviously, at the same price, wired headphones beat this in sound quality. (My Shure's sound much better)

As an iPhone user, the lack of volume control makes this purchase a little disappointing. However, I think it should be noted that both sides (SE and Apple) are at fault. Apple should update the iPhone OS already and give us AVRCP already. It's disappointing when most of the phones in its class can control volume while the iPhone cannot (I don't think such low scores from iPhone users are justified and are being unfair). SE should have given us volume control, but how they would integrate that while keeping it slim I have no idea.

Another drawback is the proprietary charging interface. Since it's battery doesn't last that long (2 hours according to the manual), I expect I would have to carry the charger everywhere I go. It would be much easier to carry one charger for my laptop and use mini USB to charge the headphones.



Overall, I'm happy with my purchase. I'd recommend it to people who have AVRCP-enabled devices.

11/15/10 Update

It's kind of late, but you can control volume on your phone now. You can only play/pause with the button on the headphones though. Still wish it can charge via mini USB.

I like the headphones, and the quality of sound is good. The problem is it will not work with the palm pre. It works for phone calls, but not with music. Not sure if it's Sony's or Palm's fault, but it needs to be resolved.

Please...please dont buy this. This is an awful built product. After a week of owning it, the item stopped turning off. It didnt turn itself off after 10 minutes like the instruction. It basically was on until it ran out of battery. Basically everyday i had to charge it before using it. It took about 4 hours to fully charge it. After 3 weeks of this, it stopped charging. I had to leave the country for a month. When i came back, it was able to charge again. But when i tried turning it on, it wouldnt turn on.
As for the sound quality when it was working... awful.
Please dont buy this.