G-sat BTH-820 / BTA-830 Bluetooth audio hands-on review
We
had the chance recently to review the GlobalSat Bluetooth Entertainment Pack. And for kicks, we took 'em up on the offer
to see just how well this thing delivered on the promise of bringing CD quality stereo audio to any media
device with a standard 1/8-inch minijack. The pack consists of two devices: the BTH-820 stereo headset which attaches
to your uh, head and the BTA-830 Stereo Audio Gateway which attaches to your device. Both are Bluetooth 1.2.First, get to know your Bluetooth profiles ‘cause that little bit of info tucked away in your noggin could save you a bit of trouble and dough too, someday. Afterall, we're just crossing a digital divide whereby most new musicphones will feature everything you need to enjoy Bluetooth stereo sound while remaining fully in control of the music; pause, skip, volume, and the like, without ever touching the handset. Problem is, vendors just aren’t making it easy to figure out what their wares are packin’. So listen up kids, if you want in on stereo audio and wireless control of your device then both the Bluetooth headphones and device must support...
the A2DP and AVRCP profiles. A2DP, or Advanced Audio Distribution Profile, brings the stereo love while AVRCP, or Audio / Video Remote Control Profile gives you the device control. If all you want is stereo audio, then A2DP is all you need.
So as you probably guessed, the BTH-820 headset supports both AVRCP and A2DP. However, the BTA-830 gateway goes A2DP, only. Those of you paying attention go get yourselves a cookie since you already realized that the headphone remote won't allow you to control your media player no matter how hard you push the buttons. That is, unless the device supports AVRCP natively, dig? Regardless, the BTH-820 will still control the volume which isn’t all bad, right?
Initial Thoughts
Mmm, bubble wrap.
Performance
Let’s start with audio quality which is largely down to personal preference once it exceeds some unwritten, but generally agreed threshold of crap. Some of us found the quality achieved by the included earbuds to be comparable to that of the buds shipped with one's portable audio player. Especially when used outside the Engadget Mansion’s sound studio where ambient noise is an issue (unlike where we record the Podcast). Others found the slight, but audible baseline fuzz to be unacceptable. Your mileage, as they say, will vary. Most found the audio quality acceptable and simply enjoyed the novelty and freedom of untethered stereo audio.
As expected, the devices paired easily via a 6-second press-and-hold on each unit’s power button. They could then be used to enable stereo audio on any device which could muster a 3.5mm jack. It should work with any stereo audio device with good results, with one (discovered) caveat -- inexplicably, there was a very slight but very noticeable delay in the transmission of the audio when connected to a Mac. No problem if you are just listening to music, however once we started a movie the delay was quite obvious with lips and audio clearly out of sync. No problems from a XP laptop however.
While on the topic of using the device with a Macintosh we should also note that we simply could not get the BTH-820 headset to pair with the D-link DBT-120 Rev. 3 adapter on our G5 PowerMac running the latest OS, updates, and firmware. No problem on the XP laptop. GlobalSat was not able to sort the issue although they still claim the headset is Mac compatible.
And as you can tell, GlobalSat’s headphones aren’t completely wireless, which has its advantages and disadvantages. On the plus, you don’t have to wear big cans or thick droopy cable behind the neck since the Bluetooth radio is in the remote which clips onto your kit. Besides, you want that remote anyway, right? The disadvantage of course is wires and the occasional fashion conundrum of where to clip the remote since the cable is not long enough to reach both your cuffs and ears without turning you into a gimp.
Not to knock GlobalSat too much for the following, since it seems that all Bluetooth headset manufactures suffer from the same deluded idea -- let’s be clear, we're not huge fans of our Bluetooth headsets flashing. We already feel goofy enough having lumps of plastic bolted to our heads, we don’t need yet another badge-o-geekdom drawing even more attention to (y)our wares. The GlobalSat lights blink 4 times in rapid succession every 2 seconds until death by battery or harikiri. The incessant flashing of the two devices reached such an annoying pitch that we finally had to cover the units with tape before we could peaceably enjoy a film in a dimly lit home theater. Seriously, not good.
While the range does indeed extend to 10-meters and occasionally beyond, the signal is easily interfered with by the human form. For example, when adjusting the volume on the remote, the mere presence of the hand in front of the unit while adjusting decibels was enough to cause the sound to drop completely, regardless of whether we were 10-meters or 10-centimeters from the Gateway. So no dancing, ok folks?
The battery operated as advertised giving us about 5.5 hours on average of good strong music playback. The biggest problem was keeping all three devices (headset, gateway, and media player) charged once we started using these for day-to-day listening. That might not be a problem for you Mr. Order-n-Sunshine but in our chaotic life of battery drudge it sometimes seemed to be a bit, say, over-the-top.
While our main goal was to review the stereo audio capability of these units, it should be noted that the BTH-820 headset also supports the Bluetooth Headset and Handsfree profiles. So we went and paired the headset with our cellphone and indeed, music was muted (not paused -- no AVRCP remember?) and the headset switched over to the call. However, we received regular complaints about the quality of our mic like, "Dude, you eating tin foil?" Seriously.
Conclusion
While the system works and provides good stereo sound free of wires you have to consider the cost. We don’t mean the $115 for the pair of devices, rather this solution means that instead of just one device to obsess over regarding fingerprints, scratches, storing, and keeping charged, you’ve now got three -- with one of those swingin' like a wrecking ball from your MP3 player. Can you deal with that? Ultimately this setup just proved too cumbersome for us on a day to day basis -- but we’re minimalists and a bit freaky too.
Bottom Line
If you absolutely, positively must have 10-meters of Bluetooth stereo audio for your legacy, non-Mac device then the GlobalSat BTH-820 Bluetooth Headset and BTA-830 Audio Gateway makes for an acceptable solution.
However, if you have the funds and patience, then you’d be wise to hold out for both a media player and headphones / remote that support A2DP and AVRCP natively. Think Sony Ericsson W950i Walkman phone and HBH-DS970 stereo Bluetooth headset -- that's how we'd roll given our druthers.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
nabil @ Apr 18th 2006 6:03PM
why not get a set of logitech bluetooth headphones for mp3 (that's what they're called)? you can pick them up for about $90 and the sound quality is great. no wires, and the included dongle is much more elegant than this one. they dont support AVRCP, but they do have volume controls on the headphones themselves.
Patrick @ Apr 18th 2006 6:06PM
Here's my little review of the BTH-820 half of the package with a smartphone:
I recently bought the BTH-820 alone (just the remote/headphone jack thingy) to use with my TMobile MDA with the QTek test ROM and my Shure E3cs. Sounded like a great idea, but I don't know if it's just the fact that the QTek ROM is a beta, but audio sounds pretty crappy, hissy and highs are muddled like low-bitrate compressed audio. I figured that I'd notice any deficiencies over the Shures, but the (lack of) quality really surprised me. Phone headset use is so-so, I found if you clip it on a button down shirt between the first & second buttons (not including the neck button), there are no complaints from those on the other end. On the downside, you do look like a bit of a douche with a flashing plastic thing on your chest though. I want to test it with another BT device to see if the AQ problems are just the ROM on my MDA or if the device really does sound this crappy...unfortunately, the only other device with BT I have access to is a G4 Powerbook which I, too, could not get it to pair with. Guess I'll have to go out and buy a cheap USB BT adapter to test with one of my XP machines.
Oh yeah, the remote features don't fully work with WMP10 with my MDA...all controls work, but if I pause, it totally kills whatever I was listening to. I have to go back into WMP10 on the device and reload the album/playlist/whatever from my library. On the plus side, audio keeps streaming even when I standby the MDA, unlike with wired headphones...nice, total device lock/screen blanking with no 3rd party software.
Even though there are a lot of negatives with this device...I really like it. It's an ingenious invention and it was reasonably cheap from Semsons and the convenience factor of switching between calls and music is huge. Hopefully, once I test the quality with XP, it's acceptable and in that case, I'll hold out for a new ROM for my MDA with the hope that AQ will be improved.
Kamalot @ Apr 18th 2006 6:41PM
I have one of these. The main reason I got it over wireless headphones is because I can use my own headphones and the behind-the-head headphones that are all the rage these days don't play well with spectacles.
My earl-canal headphones provide much better isolation than behind-the-head headphones any day. This is much lighter to wear, because the weight is clipped to your shirt and not on your ears.
It also works with the Treo for streaming audio as well.
yorkie @ Apr 18th 2006 7:00PM
Logitech bluetooth headphones ..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yorkie/103273889/
threEchelon @ Apr 18th 2006 7:13PM
Once they get the sound quality issues resolved, a great mod would be to physically combine one of the devices with the Sennheiser HD280's.
terminator @ Apr 18th 2006 8:28PM
what's the point of wireless headphones if you plug ur headphone into the damn thing...y not just get a shuffle or nano cuz its basically the size of the thing ur plugging it into
stupid
wayne @ Apr 19th 2006 12:19AM
#1... There's a $50 rebate on those Logitech headsets right now, and they're being sold for $79 at Office Depot, so your net price is about $35 after tax, pretty excellent! I just picked a set up this weekend, and I'm really liking 'em...
Nigel Watson @ Apr 29th 2006 8:52AM
This device sounds perfect for my needs...but where can I buy it??? I live in Ireland but can't locate a store on-line.
Any assistance would be gratefully received
Thanks