Best Bluetooth A2DP Headset?

108 views and nobody even has an opinion?

Thanks for the recommendations so far. I've been looking at the reviews of these headsets at Amazon, and they seem to be all over the map. Some love 'em; some hate 'em. A friend called me last night and said that Leo Laporte was talking up the Sony DRBT101s on his Tech Guy show, so I looked at them on Amazon and the same thing - reviews all over the map from love to hate.

This seems to be one area of technology where nobody seems to have found that "silver bullet" that everyone (or nearly everyone) thinks is great.

Well, based on the fact that one of the folks in the chat room of Leo's podcast was recommending them and Terry White's video review of them at http://terrywhite.com/techblog/archives/3654, and since I prefer on-ear to in-ear headphones, I've decided to give the Sony DR-BT101 stereo Bluetooth headset a try. What the heck, for only $52.99 at Amazon, at least the risk isn't too overwhelming. Besides, if I don't like them I can send them back with no hassle.

I ordered them with next-day delivery, so as soon as I get them and get a chance to test them, I'll come back here and let everyone know what I think. I know that these won't be the choice for everyone since, as an on-ear set they're somewhat big, clunky, and dorky-looking. But I'm 64, and I couldn't care less anymore about who thinks I'm dorky-looking. Also, I want these for when I'm doing something else at home while talking on the iPhone and need both my hands to be free, or when I'm taking my daily walk and listening to an audiobook but need to be able to answer a call if one comes in. Subwoofer-level bass and svelteness are not among my needs.

If you don't mind the on-ear look, you might want to check out the video review I mentioned above.

I got the Sony DR-BT101 headset today. After charging, pairing, and connecting it to my iPhone, I went for a walk with it playing my current audiobook. During the walk, I placed a call to a friend to see if everything is working properly. I've only been out with it this one time so far, but here are my impressions at this point.

This would not be an appropriate headset for those who don't like on- or over-the-ear headsets. If you want something small, light, and in your ear canal, or if you're going to be doing heavy exercise while wearing it, this headset is NOT for you. It is a bit on the heavy side, and it's definitely a bit clunky-looking. When I get the urge to exercise, I go and lie down until it passes, so these drawbacks are fine with me.

The spacing of the ear pads is a bit on the wide side, but I wear a 7-1/4 hat size, so that also works well enough for me. I only wear it while sitting at the computer or walking. I'm beyond head-banging while listening to rock & roll.

The sound quality is excellent for what I do. Mostly, I "read" audiobooks when in the iPod mode of the iPhone, and the sound quality was just fine. I did try a song, though, and it is true that the bass is a little on the lightweight side. If you're one of those guys in a low-rider Honda who drives around entertaining the whole neighborhhos with your subwoofer, don't buy this headset. I prefer a "brighter" sound - not so much high in treble as midrange, and for that this set is excellent, but the bass could be increased a bit, even for me. This is no biggie for books, which are crystal clear and easy to understand through this set.

I didn't experience much in the way of dropouts as I walked for approximately two miles around the neighborhood. I did have a few, but not many, and they mostly occurred if I reached up to re-position the headset or took the phone out of its holster. Could be my arms or hands were interfering with the antennas a little bit. One negative thing I did notice was a fair amount of clicking and popping on my end during the phone conversation...not enough to be REALLY annoying, but enough to wish it wasn't there. My friend heard none of this on his end and said that there was hardly any of the usual Bluetooth "echo" sound. He said I sounded almost like I was using the iPhone's built-in microphone, and better than I did with the Monster in-line wired microphone.

I have no idea what is causing the clicks and pops, but that was the biggest downside of today's experience with this new headset. Since I'm more concerned with listening to books and my only interest in phone calls is the ability to take them and interrupt the book without having to handle the phone itself, this is not a deal-killer for me. It might be for some of you, though. I am curious why I have them, but I can live with them.

"If you're one of those guys in a low-rider Honda who drives around entertaining the whole neighborhhos with your subwoofer..."

Uh, that should be neighborhood. There is no deliberate reference to 'ho's in that sentence. 🙂

By the way, I LOVE the lack of wires. I do NOT miss the wires. I'll trade clicks and pops for wires any day.

"Have you tried:PLANTRONICS BACKBEAT 903 BLUETOOTH STEREO HEADSET..."

No, I haven't, but I'll check 'em out.

Regarding the Sony headset that I bought, it's fine for listening to my audiobooks and other media during my walks, but its performance is something less than stellar for phone calls. There are lots of pops and clicks that I don't claim to understand but are consistently there, whether I'm in the house or outside. After a while they get pretty annoying. So add this to the clunky look on the list of downsides for this headset...at least in my case.