Related
Are you guys having any problems with stereo sound quality playback or
sound quality (both ends) during calls?
I'm getting a black Jawbone for handling calls but I would like to be able to
listen to music or watch video on the commute to and from work without
having the 'train/subway' in my head.
Is the S9 from Motorola good at pairing up with the Hermes (X01HT in my
case) and holding the connection? Do all the remote features on the S9 headset
work with the S9/Hermes pairing?
Thanks in advance for any advice you may have.
hey man. the s9 are great...the best stereo headset hands down! its like jaw dropping. the controls on the side is very sensitive. its not like an actually button besides the talk/end button. the audio controls are like touch control. HOWEVER, the actual headset for phone calls is horrible...most stereo headsets use both sides to listen to the caller...however this one only allows hearing the caller on the LEFT ear...that is the only downside. if you're coming from the jawbone...it is night and day...but for music/video purposes its great. i use it for my ipod now
truciet said:
hey man. the s9 are great...the best stereo headset hands down! its like jaw dropping. the controls on the side is very sensitive. its not like an actually button besides the talk/end button. the audio controls are like touch control. HOWEVER, the actual headset for phone calls is horrible...most stereo headsets use both sides to listen to the caller...however this one only allows hearing the caller on the LEFT ear...that is the only downside. if you're coming from the jawbone...it is night and day...but for music/video purposes its great. i use it for my ipod now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, I was worried about stereo sound quality over BT since BT isn't known
for great sound quality to begin with. I have heard that the S9 are only
average for calls but that's going to be the Jawbone's job.
So all the button features like answer/end, volume up/down, play/pause
and forward/back tracks all work with the Hermes based phone?
I love the S9. the audio and the controls all work wonderfully.
The phone aspect isn't really good, it picks up a lot of background noise and it can be a bit difficult to annunciate into it.
As a music headset it is GREAT. great sound. Louder than it needs to be and great frequency range
I use the S9 quite a bit. The sound quality is fantastic and the volume can get quite loud. You'll often see me at starbucks listening to streaming internet radio with my S9/8525.
As far as call quality, it's not too bad. you only get call audio out of the left earbud, since the mic is in the right one. There's pretty good compression going on with the mic, so you really don't have to raise your voice at all. However, callers on the other end complain about background sound if I'm in a noisy place, so use it accordingly.
( I use the JawBone also, especially for long calls where background noise would be unacceptable. )
Radimus said:
I love the S9. the audio and the controls all work wonderfully.
The phone aspect isn't really good, it picks up a lot of background noise and it can be a bit difficult to annunciate into it.
As a music headset it is GREAT. great sound. Louder than it needs to be and great frequency range
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Louder than needed is always better than "I wish it could be louder". I was
hoping that it would not be underpowered. Thanks for bringing that point up
as I didn't read that in any of the online reviews out there. Plus, I always
think those reviews aren't so 'real life' anyways. Here on XDA-developers
you get the 'actual real life' reviews with no worries that someone is getting
paid to prop the product up for profit.
Call quality is a concern but I figured into that an ordered a Jawbone based
on the great reviews its received here on XDA.
Thanks for your input.
roboHaxx said:
I use the S9 quite a bit. The sound quality is fantastic and the volume can get quite loud. You'll often see me at starbucks listening to streaming internet radio with my S9/8525.
As far as call quality, it's not too bad. you only get call audio out of the left earbud, since the mic is in the right one. There's pretty good compression going on with the mic, so you really don't have to raise your voice at all. However, callers on the other end complain about background sound if I'm in a noisy place, so use it accordingly.
( I use the JawBone also, especially for long calls where background noise would be unacceptable. )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's really good to hear that the S9 is NOT underpowered volume wise.
You can always turn it down but it really does suck when the sound is weak.
I would figure some of that loudness maybe due to what looks like a really
good fit (seal) of the headset to the ear causing a good block of surrounding
sounds.
It's too bad about call quality because that is usually one of Motorola only
strong points in most of their products. Oh well, I guess the other one being
looks has been achieved with the S9.
The background noise issue is the same reason I'm getting the Jawbone. I
have had the same complaint with the OEM wired headset that came with
the X01HT. People just don't want to talk to you when it gets hard to
understand you. Plus it really just doesn't help if you're trying to handle
a situation that needs no extra stress added like that loud background
noise. It's too bad because the caller's voice comes in nice and clear through
those OEM stereo headsets. Sometimes it's kind of creepy because it's too
clear and it sounds as if they're right in your head.
Thanks for your input.
I had the s9 for about a month. It was great for music and video via Coreplayer. No skipping on my 8525 with the lastest rom. Call quality was decent, but I bought it for the music. Now, the bad news, my S9 just died on me a couple days ago and wouldn't charge. I finally got it to work ,sortof, but the controls on the right side don't respond. Called Motorola and got a return authorization. Will be sending it back. Hope it was just a fluke. Just some info. With coreplayer the S9 controls play/pause skip/ff didn't work. But volume and phone control worked.
guamlaw said:
I had the s9 for about a month. It was great for music and video via Coreplayer. No skipping on my 8525 with the lastest rom. Call quality was decent, but I bought it for the music. Now, the bad news, my S9 just died on me a couple days ago and wouldn't charge. I finally got it to work ,sortof, but the controls on the right side don't respond. Called Motorola and got a return authorization. Will be sending it back. Hope it was just a fluke. Just some info. With coreplayer the S9 controls play/pause skip/ff didn't work. But volume and phone control worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you buy direct from Motorola? I just placed an order from an 'online shop'
so I hope I don't have any problems down the road. If I do, I hope I can deal
with MOTO directly since they 'sometimes' tend to be a bit more on the ball.
Plus most online shops will tell you to go directly to the manufacturer to deal
with warranty issues anyways so you never know who's handling warranty.
Good luck with the warranty exchange and I hope it all works out for you.
Thanks for the heads up on the non-functioning buttons with Coreplayer.
I did want to point out a few details before I posted my review of them over at mobilitysite
Pro: USB charging... 1 cable to rule them all
Pro: only 1 blinking light, relatively subdued and it is facing the back of your neck while worn
Pro: will turn itself off after an hour if I fall asleep or an otherwise careless
Con: my fat fingers aren't really sensitive enough to find the little controls while worn
Con: it doesn't quite feel right on my big fat head... don't know if it is because it has to spread out a bit to get around my head or if I'm just not used to it. In any case it is very secure and isn't going to slip off.
Con: No way of determining battery life.. is it good for an hour or 8 hours?
Con: not quite flexible enough to store or a clip for a lanyard, although it is an easy fix to tie something to it
Radimus said:
I did want to point out a few details before I posted my review of them over at mobilitysite
Pro: USB charging... 1 cable to rule them all
Pro: only 1 blinking light, relatively subdued and it is facing the back of your neck while worn
Pro: will turn itself off after an hour if I fall asleep or an otherwise careless
Con: my fat fingers aren't really sensitive enough to find the little controls while worn
Con: it doesn't quite feel right on my big fat head... don't know if it is because it has to spread out a bit to get around my head or if I'm just not used to it. In any case it is very secure and isn't going to slip off.
Con: No way of determining battery life.. is it good for an hour or 8 hours?
Con: not quite flexible enough to store or a clip for a lanyard, although it is an easy fix to tie something to it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for breaking it down into pros vs cons.
I did not know that the S9 would shut it self down after an hour of inactivity.
That's cool since it should extent battery life a bit. The blinking LED is
hopefully not too noticeable by others, I hope.
Yeah, I've heard that the buttons can be a bit of a pain to deal with simply
because of the way they are made. I guess I'll just see how I rate in finger
size when I get these S9s sometime next week according to the website I
ordered them from.
AquiEsta! said:
Did you buy direct from Motorola? I just placed an order from an 'online shop'
so I hope I don't have any problems down the road. If I do, I hope I can deal
with MOTO directly since they 'sometimes' tend to be a bit more on the ball.
Plus most online shops will tell you to go directly to the manufacturer to deal
with warranty issues anyways so you never know who's handling warranty.
Good luck with the warranty exchange and I hope it all works out for you.
Thanks for the heads up on the non-functioning buttons with Coreplayer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought my S9 from an online shop as well, so i'm hoping that motorola wont give me a hard time when I turn it in for repair. In the meangtime I just ordered a sony hbh-ds-970 as a backup.
guamlaw said:
I bought my S9 from an online shop as well, so i'm hoping that motorola wont give me a hard time when I turn it in for repair. In the meangtime I just ordered a sony hbh-ds-970 as a backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's going to be Christmas in June for me when the Jawbone and the S9 arrive
this week and next week. Hopefully I won't have trouble with either one
of them because warranty returns are such a PITA.
Here is the link to my junior review...
http://www.mobilitysite.com/boards/...-s9-stereo-bluetooth-headphones-unboxing.html
Radimus said:
Here is the link to my junior review...
http://www.mobilitysite.com/boards/...-s9-stereo-bluetooth-headphones-unboxing.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice review and pictures.
"geek jewelry" ROFLMA
For me its a 7.5 out of ten. Two things i dont like, it hurts my left ears just a little if i keep it in there for long, and that you only hear from the left side when talking on the phone... other from that i'm ok with it.
S9 - Not perfect, but very nice
The Motorola S9 is a really nice little headset.
I find it a bit weak on bass, but I’m coming from a Motorola V3i (non-iTunes) with Motorola wired USB stereo headset, and that is one of the most impressive low cost sets of ear buds I’ve ever worn. Not sure how they did that! Note that Motorola wired USB headsets do NOT work on the Hermes, which is a shame, because the HTC wired headset is real junk.
The only glitchy things I’ve seen so far with the S9 and the Hermes / 8525 are:
After hanging up a call, music resumes, but sometimes skips badly for 10-20 seconds. A couple times pressing answer has given only a hum in the left ear, and no ability to talk or listen. Hopefully, the final versions of the Win Mob 6 Bluetooth stack will take care of this.
The S9 ships with 2 different sets of rubber “nubs” to cover the speakers. The default ones that come installed are small, and can be removed and rotated to really direct the sound into your ear as best as possible for different sizes and shapes of ears. In a little bag, you will find a spare set of the default nubs, but ALSO a larger set that have a very soft rubber membrane that floats over a harder rubber inner tube. Some users may find these more comfortable, as they do not intrude into your ear as far.
Personally, I don’t mind the fact that it switches to left ear only for voice calls, I’ve never been all that keen on that “you’re inside my head” sensation of stereo headsets when used for monaural voice.
Remember that on a stock Cingular ROM with Win Mob 5, this headset will basically sound like “mono”, not stereo, but that’s not Motorola’s fault, it's M$'s atrocious BT stack!
Good points:
- really, REALLY light, yet stays in place no matter what
- AV and phone controls work properly with HTC Hermes & Windows Mobile
- Rubber ear nubs direct sound into your ears without need for itchy foam covers
- Really soft touch activation of volume and FF/REW buttons (prevents displacment of the headset while adjusting the most common controls)
Not so good points:
- No indication of how much battery charge is left
- A little weak on bass response
- Not enough tactile difference to easily distinguish between play and answer buttons vs volume and FF/REW buttons
- Picks up room noise really badly in phone mode - works best in quiet(er) locations.
haiti525 said:
The Motorola S9 is a really nice little headset.
I find it a bit weak on bass, but I’m coming from a Motorola V3i (non-iTunes) with Motorola wired USB stereo headset, and that is one of the most impressive low cost sets of ear buds I’ve ever worn. Not sure how they did that! Note that Motorola wired USB headsets do NOT work on the Hermes, which is a shame, because the HTC wired headset is real junk.
The only glitchy things I’ve seen so far with the S9 and the Hermes / 8525 are:
After hanging up a call, music resumes, but sometimes skips badly for 10-20 seconds. A couple times pressing answer has given only a hum in the left ear, and no ability to talk or listen. Hopefully, the final versions of the Win Mob 6 Bluetooth stack will take care of this.
The S9 ships with 2 different sets of rubber “nubs” to cover the speakers. The default ones that come installed are small, and can be removed and rotated to really direct the sound into your ear as best as possible for different sizes and shapes of ears. In a little bag, you will find a spare set of the default nubs, but ALSO a larger set that have a very soft rubber membrane that floats over a harder rubber inner tube. Some users may find these more comfortable, as they do not intrude into your ear as far.
Personally, I don’t mind the fact that it switches to left ear only for voice calls, I’ve never been all that keen on that “you’re inside my head” sensation of stereo headsets when used for monaural voice.
Remember that on a stock Cingular ROM with Win Mob 5, this headset will basically sound like “mono”, not stereo, but that’s not Motorola’s fault, it's M$'s atrocious BT stack!
Good points:
- really, REALLY light, yet stays in place no matter what
- AV and phone controls work properly with HTC Hermes & Windows Mobile
- Rubber ear nubs direct sound into your ears without need for itchy foam covers
- Really soft touch activation of volume and FF/REW buttons (prevents displacment of the headset while adjusting the most common controls)
Not so good points:
- No indication of how much battery charge is left
- A little weak on bass response
- Not enough tactile difference to easily distinguish between play and answer buttons vs volume and FF/REW buttons
- Picks up room noise really badly in phone mode - works best in quiet(er) locations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your review. You filled a few more of the blanks that I was trying
to figure out. I hope the bass response won't be an issue for me but then
again I like to 'feel' my bass and these are just headphones so I don't expect
be getting 'rocked' by them is what I'm telling myself long before they arrive.
OMG!!! BASS and lots of it!!! I am using GSPlayer with the sound settings
VERY tweaked to my taste and even with BassBoost at minimum I am getting
more bass then I would have imagined possible with a BT stereo headset.
Of course you must have really good, clean 192KBps or better MP3s to begin
with and if you ripped them yourself at 320KBps, then you're just enjoying
better then can be expected results with a BT stereo headset.
Me likely!
Once I manage to wipe the stupid smile off my face I will be back to
update my findings for anyone still on the fence thinking about getting
one of these Motorola S9's and needing a slight shove.
I put on the large silicon ear fittings and the bass is incredible.
With the latest ROM's and improved BT drivers I am now able to leave the phone next to the wall about 12 feet behind the basketball goal and shoot pro 3-pointers all day without skipping a beat. And that's while streaming with iPlay from my desktop at home. The microphone isn't the best but if someone calls you can talk, get rid of them, and get back to shooting and jamming in no time. We're getting there...
Disclaimer: I did search in the forum and did not see this question asked or answered.
First off I LOVE my prime. I thought my only issue was really just a small amount of light bleed in one spot and I could live with that. So I synced my iTune music to my prime and cranked up a tune. To my surprise I noticed a rattling in the speaker that I had not noticed when playing games or watching movies. Thinking it was just a bad song I picked out one that I knew I purchased through iTunes that played great on an iPhone and other devices. Turned it on and though it is mostly ok you can hear distortion in the speaker even when the volume is turned up only 75%. Next I placed the Prime in the dock and the sound became somewhat hollow and the distortion was even more noticeable. It is interesting how the sound changes when placed in the dock. I removed the Prime from the dock and plugged it into the charging cable and the sound did not change as it did when docked. Just to be sure it was not my iTunes music I downloaded a free song from the Market and it performed the same as my iTune music with some distortion. With a headset, however, the music is great.
I have read where others compliment the sound from the speaker and say the dock makes it deeper and better in some ways. I don't expect this to be a high fidelity audio system but I didn't expect to hear the speaker have tones that rattled somewhat like a paper speaker with a small tear.
Just curious if anyone else has experienced this and it is normal or if I am the unlucky guy with a defective speaker. I am undecided on whether to: 1) exchange with Best Buy 2) RMA with Asus or just ignore it as I will normally use headphones if listening to music and alerts and games sound decent so far.
All input welcome.
I listen to alot of music on my prime and have never heard the speakers cracking...
I am also using an app to enhance the speakers (volume +) makes it a lot louder and less tin can like sounding.
Sorry to hear about your speakers crackling, does not sound normal. I don't have a dock so i cannot test what your talking about.
This goes in the Q & A Forum.. Did you search there?
Three threads above this one...
MrGiggles said:
This goes in the Q & A Forum.. Did you search there?
Three threads above this one...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct. I inadvertently posted this in the wrong place. I was bouncing between different forums trying to research. Is there a way to have a mod move it ? My apologies.
Well I am not sure what kind of audio you'd expect from mobile devices, but I would call myself kinda audiophil with a rather large home cinema system at home and the Prime is the first mobile device I own and the first I've seen (heard),
where I actually want to listen to music with it.
My Prime has outstanding speakers for that size. I totally love it. So maybe you got a broken speaker (it has actually stereo speakers, so maybe one is broken?)
Ah and I use Volume+ too raise the Volume.
Diamondback2010 said:
Well I am not sure what kind of audio you'd expect from mobile devices, but I would call myself kinda audiophil with a rather large home cinema system at home and the Prime is the first mobile device I own and the first I've seen (heard),
where I actually want to listen to music with it.
My Prime has outstanding speakers for that size. I totally love it. So maybe you got a broken speaker (it has actually stereo speakers, so maybe one is broken?)
Ah and I use Volume+ too raise the Volume.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear Volume+ working for you. it really does wonders for the speakers. a lot of times now my Prime be too loud. especially when playing the games. I mean its VERY LOUD now. stereo system loud..lol j/k but its loud as a mofo though
demandarin said:
Glad to hear Volume+ working for you. it really does wonders for the speakers. a lot of times now my Prime be too loud. especially when playing the games. I mean its VERY LOUD now. stereo system loud..lol j/k but its loud as a mofo though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, start a great action film, put the prime next to a solid wall/thing/whatever, max out the volume and enjoy the brachial sound
Can't stress often enough how impressed I am by the sound Makes me sound like a super fanboy
Unfortunately, regardless the song at full volume my speaker sound over driven the way it is. When in the dock it also sound hollow. Definitely sound different in and out of the dock. Funny thing is I really don't hear the distortion with games or movies only songs.
I called Best Buy and they show them unavailable on their system and I didn't really want to return it to them anyway since it is otherwise great so I will test more and decide if I want to have Asus take a look at it at some point. If so I have a small spot of light bleed they can take care of. Either way I LOVE this device and truth be told I use earbuds or headset 80% of the time anyway. Just the fact that I want it right.
Thank you for the comments.
Ever since I booted up the DNA, the speaker sounded outrageously loud distinguishably.
I pulled out my old Samsung Fascinate and tested its decibel level at full volume...and guess what; the full volume from the Fascinate is close to what the DNA produces at the lowest volume level!!!
At full volume from the DNA, it clearly eats up the sound from my laptop at its full volume.
Nonetheless the sound quality even at full is just superb with no distortion nor uneven dynamics of each frequencies (From standards of a phone of course), but it is just too damn loud even at the lowest level.
Yeah I like how loud and clear it is, but I also find it annoying that this thing is still quite loud at the literal lowest volume setting haha. Oh well...
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using xda premium
Mine isn't very loud .. is it broke?
Sent from my HTC Droid DNA
Yeah, it really cramps my style watching videos in my work bathroom. I have to lug my N7 around now because of it!
Using speakerphone is a bit quiet for my taste.
x4sper said:
Mine isn't very loud .. is it broke?
Sent from my HTC Droid DNA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could test your DNA's decibel levels and have HTC determine if your device is functioning as it should be. But I doubt that yours is a faulty one, as HTC would test all products during the manufacturing stage.
GSM arena tested it
x4sper said:
Mine isn't very loud .. is it broke?
Sent from my HTC Droid DNA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GSM arena tested it and it did very well it is supposed to be 83.1 decibels so I suppose if yours is less than that then your speaker is faulty. I feel like mine is not that loud of a speaker so I may have the same problem as you.:crying:
True.
I would agree, it seems rather loud, especially for some of the ringtones. It also depends on the ambience of the room obviously. In a quiet house where no noise is made for several hours, a simple tone on low volume seems too loud. Though when I go outside, sometimes the speaker is not loud enough. I can't ever find that happy medium.
Ha! OK, I thought I was the only one to think this phone was loud. In fact, I even seem to remember seeing another post on here about the phone being too quiet. Whaaaa?!? I find myself attempting to turn down the earpiece volume even though it's already on the lowest setting. Sometimes I think people sitting next to me are listening in... I can use the earpiece as a speakerphone in a quiet setting. Any devs out there planning on creating a custom ROM would do themselves good to add a wider sound range for the earpiece speaker.
Mine is noticeably loud but not like, exceptionally so. I usually keep it like 2 notches below full and the ringtones are kind of "normal volume".
This is interesting. I have found my DNA to be too quiet even with volume at 100%. I can barely hear (let alone understand) the navigation voice when driving in my car. Though I do find the earpiece to be ridiculously loud. Other people around me can easily hear the caller speaking when I'm on the phone. I'll have to see if I can find a way to test it.
Put me in the "too loud on speakerphone" category. The sound is clear, but it is WAY too loud at the lowest volume setting on speakerphone. It's a real problem for me, as I ALWAYS use the speakerphone, but I don't want everyone within 50 feet to hear my conversation. It's crazy-loud.
Is there any way to tweak this? Some dbproperties, or whatever? Also, has anyone been able to root this phone? I can't find any instructions that actually work. Thanks
ClarkSt,
Adjusting output level from software or kernel isn't yet possible on this device, but you can reduce the speaker volume manually; simply cover the speaker bar with your finger or some rubber or wood material to the length which you want it to be.
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using xda app-developers app
Yeah, it's pretty loud for me too, but only on the second setting level, the first level is perfect on mine, I compared it to a Galaxy S2 and Nexus.
So... Not sure what's going on. But my m8 seems to only be loud on the last 3 clicks of the volume slider. Anything below that is almost inaudiabe.
Is this normal?
Sound just doesn't travel far either. I'm running skydragon with the hardon karmon thing. So maybe that's bugged?
Just need to know what volumes I should expect.
Definitely abnormal. I have to keep my phone reasonably low or else my ring tone is obnoxiously loud. One thing I know I have on my phone is that the speaker grills are a little bit occluded with what looks like where they drilled holes for the speakers. They are filled with material which does impede sound. Doesn't impact my experience enough to degrade the experience as a whole but check it out
Sent from my HTC One_M8
Assume you are talking about the speakers (versus headphone volume), as you don't specify, but do mention how the sound "travels".
Similar to the above response, I find the volume to be just great. The loudest speakers on any smartphone I've owned, by far. Normally have it at about 2/3 max volume when listening to music with the device somewhat nearby (maybe about 5-10 feet from where I am) and find it plenty loud enough to enjoy and hear details in the sound, etc. But still able to hear people in the room talking to me. The last couple "clicks" on the volume slider are too loud for me under most circumstances, actually. Of course that depends a bit on your own tastes (on how loud you want it), what you are listening to, how far you are from the phone, etc.
Ringtone volume anywhere above maybe 1/3 is obnoxiously loud.
I'd try a different ROM. I'm presently on InsertCoin, which has Harmon Kardon, but does not seem to have affected the overall volume significantly. It might be the ROM you are on, or some result of your settings/configuration. Hopefully its just the ROM, and not some sort of hardware defect.
redpoint73 said:
Assume you are talking about the speakers (versus headphone volume), as you don't specify, but do mention how the sound "travels".
Similar to the above response, I find the volume to be just great. The loudest speakers on any smartphone I've owned, by far. Normally have it at about 2/3 max volume when listening to music with the device somewhat nearby (maybe about 5-10 feet from where I am) and find it plenty loud enough to enjoy and hear details in the sound, etc. But still able to hear people in the room talking to me. The last couple "clicks" on the volume slider are too loud for me under most circumstances, actually. Of course that depends a bit on your own tastes (on how loud you want it), what you are listening to, how far you are from the phone, etc.
Ringtone volume anywhere above maybe 1/3 is obnoxiously loud.
I'd try a different ROM. I'm presently on InsertCoin, which has Harmon Kardon, but does not seem to have affected the overall volume significantly. It might be the ROM you are on, or some result of your settings/configuration. Hopefully its just the ROM, and not some sort of hardware defect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah! Thank you mate. That gives me a much better idea of the phone's potential.
Also...I'm very gentle with my electronics, how durable are the speakers to damage?
Locklear308 said:
Also...I'm very gentle with my electronics, how durable are the speakers to damage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean like blowing them out? I don't think you will do that just by playing MP3, streaming music, etc. Once you have the low volume issue resolved, you might just keep the volume a notch or 2 below max volume to be safe. But I wouldn't worry about it too much.
TheEmpyre said:
One thing I know I have on my phone is that the speaker grills are a little bit occluded with what looks like where they drilled holes for the speakers. They are filled with material which does impede sound. Doesn't impact my experience enough to degrade the experience as a whole but check it out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The speakers actually do not span the length of the speaker grill. The obstruction you're seeing on ~50% of the bottom grill and ~40% of the top grill are other hardware components (headphone/usb ports on bottom, camera module, etc. on top). The actual speakers are only on the left half of both grills, which you can test by playing music and covering the right sides with your thumbs, then the left sides.
---------- Post added at 12:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:01 PM ----------
Locklear308 said:
Also...I'm very gentle with my electronics, how durable are the speakers to damage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I regularly blast them on max volume in lieu of the radio my piece of **** car doesn't have. I do this twice a day for about 30 minutes both ways, and haven't noticed any damage or degradation.
modest_mandroid said:
I regularly blast them on max volume in lieu of the radio my piece of **** car doesn't have. I do this twice a day for about 30 minutes both ways, and haven't noticed any damage or degradation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's awesome. HTC kicker box!
Just got my item and I will do a short review for those who want to know about it.
Physical: The Sony SBH70 is a very light headset which can be worn comfortably. You can actually just put around your neck and forget about it. The buds are the same to the Sony STH30 (or to Apple earpods in case you haven’t saw the STH30). This means that the wire going from the unit on the neck to the buds is thin and flimsy just like on the STH30 headset. I feel it can snap if it would be drag but good thing the band wraps nicely around the neck and there’s a little possibility that the wires going to the buds would be damage or pull. It’s really ergonomically to wear and it’s never intrusive. Also you can fold the band, it’s flexible. You can put it in your bag without the fear of breaking, just make sure the earbuds are protected against tangling.
Function: Controls are as follow, Power button, the pause/play key which also is use for answer key or reject key, the volume up key or long press to skip track. The volume down key which also acts as a previous key if you long press it and there’s an led indicator but goes off when it’s paired. Press the vol up and down at the same time to record voice memo (you must have lifelog installed first). It was stated on the site that it has multipoint capability but on the box there was no manual on how it works or how will it be activate. Luckily I searched on if there’s a manual and found one but it was for SBH80, I tried it and it also applied on the SBH70. To activate multipoint feature, turn off the unit first, then hold power+volume up key until it turns on, then it’s multipoint activated. Multipoint means you can receive calls on a second Bluetooth device without having to switch/disconnect or do something. Music stream would still only come on the first device. To return to singlepoint mode,power off the headset, press power+volume down until it powers on. Now it’s only singlepoint, one is to one connection.
Sound quality vs. Apple Earpods and Sony STH30: On my previous review/comparison between the Sony STH30 and Apple Earpods, it became clear that STH30 sound quality is superior than the earpods from apple but the loudness isn’t that great which means you won’t appreciate the nice sound on a noisy environment (and this is made worst by the weak headphone volume output of the Z3). The SBH70 isn’t that bad and is actually great if we compare it to other Bluetooth headsets and other wired headsets including the stock headset of the Z3. The bass is okay, loud enough but feels muffle as you increase the volume. What I’m not impressed is the mids and high. No matter how I adjust the equalizer and Surround effect on the Z3 walkman app (or music app), it’s really not good enough. Even the stock Z3 headset beats this when it comes to mids and high (treble) but overall sound quality is comparable or a little better on the SBH70. The bad thing is that DSEE HX won’t work on Bluetooth headset and therefore won’t boost the sound quality as what it does with wired headsets. Also the preset Headset settings won’t take effect if you’re on Bluetooth headset. So for sound quality it’s okay, passable, but not really that nice compared to wired headsets and I’m sure audiophiles would agree on this. Bluetooth headsets are rarely better than wired ones (excepts for those expensive Bluetooth cans/headphones). Even the Apple Earpods sounds better. By the way, I can’t confirm if this has AptX since Sony’s site don’t give any info if it has.
Others: Battery life is rated at 10 hours though for me it was a bit short (around 8 hours combined) and my usage wasn’t continuous. Lasted 4 days before I charged. The SBH70 app on playstore would provide info about the battery life. There’s no voice prompt of any kind. And by the way, sony claims that it would vibrate if you would receive notifications but haven’t experienced that. Yes it vibrates for incoming call but never for notifications. Maybe there’s a function that can be done and the problem is the lack of documentation on the box, on Sony site or ever the app from playstore.
Final Verdict: Sound quality wise, it’s okay, it’s not garbage as what may others think about Bluetooth headsets. It’s good but not good enough for music lovers or for audiophiles. Volume loudness is okay but is overpowered easily if you’re on loud environments. On the plus side it won’t make you less aware of the environment and some may prefer that. I love the convenience of not being tangled by wires when I go for a run, or just commute. It’s a relief not to deal with those wires anymore but honestly, I miss the sound quality and power of my wired headset (Sony STH30). When I’m at home and just want to enjoy the rich tones of my music library, then I would definitely pick my wired headset over this.
infinitylook said:
The buds are the same to the Sony STH30 (or to Apple earpods in case you haven’t saw the STH30). This means that the wire going from the unit on the neck to the buds is thin and flimsy just like on the STH30 headset. I feel it can snap if it would be drag but good thing the band wraps nicely around the neck and there’s a little possibility that the wires going to the buds would be damage or pull.
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if the wires are like the sth30 i'd say it's pretty durable. i've had my sth30 since last year and have been using it everyday since then. the wires getting snagged on door knobs, bag hooks, chairs, hand rails, etc always happen (maybe i'm just clumsy? idk) but it never snapped or stopped working. sometimes when it gets caught on something it sends my z1 compact flying with it but it's still working great. one thing i regret is that since i use it every day, my headphone jack has become loose (my phone is 18 months old so :/). would been better had i not sold my sbh80 but i could never get used to in ear headphones trying to get me killed by not letting car horns or other sounds in. haha. this is somewhat a mix of sth30 and sbh80. would definitely buy one if it sounds anywhere near the sth30 or sbh80.
thanks for the great review.
eumanoid said:
if the wires are like the sth30 i'd say it's pretty durable. i've had my sth30 since last year and have been using it everyday since then. the wires getting snagged on door knobs, bag hooks, chairs, hand rails, etc always happen (maybe i'm just clumsy? idk) but it never snapped or stopped working. sometimes when it gets caught on something it sends my z1 compact flying with it but it's still working great. one thing i regret is that since i use it every day, my headphone jack has become loose (my phone is 18 months old so :/). would been better had i not sold my sbh80 but i could never get used to in ear headphones trying to get me killed by not letting car horns or other sounds in. haha. this is somewhat a mix of sth30 and sbh80. would definitely buy one if it sounds anywhere near the sth30 or sbh80.
thanks for the great review.
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The wires on the ear part they are actually weaker in my opinion. Although I still haven't snapped my sth30 the feel is nowhere like my earpods which are quite strong.
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Support + First Use
In the name of GOD
Hey Guys;
I JUST bought the SHB70. Started Testing it. These are my opinion.
1- Very useful for one who owns a cell-phone with big screen sizes (>4 inches);
2- Earbuds won't get out of your ears (even while shaking your head till getting dizziness), because of nice design;
3- Sound quality, Base & Volume are nice [at least fully acceptable for me, because i'm not gono have my ears exploded by sound][common guys this is a Bluetooth headset];
4- Battery Life was very good i think;
5- Very light, soft & comfortable [both the body & the earbuds]
6- A thief won't be easily able to steal it, as much as about the tiny one's which are installed on the ear. also you won't loose it because it's always on your neck, even when you take the earbuds out.
7- For me when i drive, it's good for me to hear the sound from the environment to better take control of my car (hear other cars' sound, ...). so this type of earbuds are good.
8- U can easily wash it when gets dirty due to perspiration;or take a shower with it.
ONE IMPORTANT THING:
go to sony support website and search for SBH70 to see the complete user manual. there's a lot of useful information including:
1- How to switch between single/multipoint mode
2- How to check for battery status without using the special apk
3- How to answer a second call (also switch between them)
4- How to reset/restart the device
....
ONE MORE POINT:
Guys who say there's no battery indicator are wrong; there actually is a battery indicator but U should know who to use it; if the battery indicator was programmed to be always ON, that would increase the battery usage & take everyone's attention (on this black device), ha? SONY has done a great job (see more info on support website).
I'm a SONY FAN, because:
1- SONY is "like no other" as it says
2- Every single detail [in all SONY devices] is perfectly designed & thought about (somehow like the apple products)
3- I'm a graphics designer & also programmer, i believe that SONY doesn't miss anything & it's programmers are one of the best. because the result of their job is perfect.
I knew that what i'm gono buy is gono be a perfectly designed object, but when i got it & studied the instructions & capabilities from the support center, i was just surprised. SO NICE Programming, implementation (both software & hardware), material,...
i forgot to say my cellphone is a XPERIA Z2. that's also a great job buy SONY.
Good review.. Yes setting this to multipoint mode is the same with sbh80. Turn it off and press vol. Up while powering it on. For manual pairing mode, turn it off, then turn it on and hold until led flashes blue continuously. About my sound issue on first review, still not as good as wired but now better than my initial impressions when I started adjustment of my EQ on my music player. GOOD headset in general, one of the best bluetooth headsets for me.
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SBH70 on windows
Hey, i wanna ask, if i connect to PC and set default the headphones, when i start to voice chat, the headphones become disabled by Windows, it must set the headset as the default.. can we use the headphones (high-quality audio) and headset(microphone with crappy audio quality) at the same time on windows?
sorry for my bad grammar
Not that good