Sony DRBT21G/B Stereo Bluetooth Headset
by Sony
List Price:
Our Price: $75.00
You Save: $24.99 (25%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: CE
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Customers in the UK,
buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: SonyFormat: CD
Model: DRBT21G/B
Color: Black
Product features:
- Wireless neck-band style
- Remote control on the earpiece
- Subtle built-in microphone
- Rechargeable function
- A2DP profile to transmit stereo sound
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony DRBT21G/B Stereo Bluetooth Headset
Customer Review: superb bluetooth headphones/headset!
Summary: 5 Stars
I know of all the horror stories about bluetooth headsets/headphones. too much static/hiss, frequent connection drops, short-lasting battery, just stopped working randomly, etc. although i had absolutely no issue with them at all, i was really getting sick of my wired $15 behind-the-neck sony headphones, because of backpack issues and having the wire just flail around even if i get rid of the slack.
after years of watching bluetooth headsets come into the market, i finally waited for sony to bring out some behind-the-neck style ones. unfortunately, there were hardly ANY reviews on this particular model. none of my friends knew they existed, and the reviews online were mixed/sporadic (cnet), and hardly useful to be honest. i wanted to see how good (or bad) they were for myself...and thank god, they are great.
pros:
-it pairs with my macbook pro perfectly. i have a late 2008 15" macbook pro, and it paired wonderfully without any hitches. it detected the headphones right away and set it up for headphone mode (used for listening obviously) and headset mode (as a microphone). unfortunately, there isnt any way to use them at the same time though, so you're stuck with using the headphones to listen and the built-in mic on the mbp to speak, or vice versa. ive paired them successfully in 10.5.7/10.5.8, and 10.6.0/10.6.1. in snow leopard, it also gives you the option to use it in mono mode or stereo mode, but im sure most people will use it in stereo mode. :)
-it pairs with my iphone perfectly. i have an iphone 3GS and it detected the headphones right away. the best part is that the iphone DOES use them at the same time! you can be listening to whatever you have on your iphone (ipod, live streaming from an app, etc), and if a call comes in, the headphones will make a noise indicating that you have a call. also, if you own a 3GS and have updated to 3.1, you can press the button on the right earpiece and it will go to voice control! now that is pretty handy!
-the controls on the right earpiece are nice too. in addition to the power button and the "voice control" button that i just explained above, there is a rocker thing that you push up to go to the next track and push below to go to the previous track. if you push the rocker/button thing itself, it will pause/play. there are also dedicated volume up/down buttons too. for my 3GS, these took over in terms of changing the volume, and it was nice considering i didnt have to pull out my iphone just to change the volume.
-the battery life is superb. ive gotten 10-15 hours on this thing nonstop.
-works in airplanes too (in case anyone was wondering). ive used it domestically and internationally without any problems! however, one time my iphone's audio was skipping/hissing loudly at one point, but a restart solved that and i never experienced that issue again.
cons:
-the left and right earpieces are heavy, so it makes the plastic feel a little cheap and a bit loose. maybe its because it is foldable, but mine was loose from the beginning since i opened it. for example, you can hold either the left or right earpiece and you can see how heavy it is, because the entire other half of the thing will sag down a little. its not a dealbreaker by any means, but know that its not going to be extremely rigid/durable and perfectly made if you are used to really nice headphones.
-while people can definitely hear you if you use it has a bluetooth headset on the phone, their volume through the headphones is a bit low for my expectations. i was hoping for it to be loud, but even at the max volume, its still a bit too low...and unfortunately, if you are at max volume, you will definitely hear the hiss along with your callers voice. you can still hear the caller clearly, but the hiss might drive some people crazy.
-as of 3.1, AVRCP still isnt supported in the iphone 3GS bluetooth profiles. so this means you cant change/scroll through the track on the headphones itself, but only do play/pause, increase/decrease volume (separate from the iphone as i explained earlier), and the voice control button. of course, your mileage may vary, depending on what device you use these headphones on.
-even though i am an audiophile, i knew that getting bluetooth headphones meant static and hiss. even though this set has noticeably less of it than any other bluetooth headsets/headphones ive used, its still present, especially when cranking up the volume to its max.
-it would have been nice to have sony make this charge from usb and not from their famous "yellow plug" ac adapter. i dont like carrying around an extra ac adapter just to charge and i would rather have a usb cable instead, but its just a minor quirk though.
-i got my set from amazon.com's 3rd party seller for $40. prices seem to have gone up since then unfortunately...probably because they are so good! :p
-is there really a need for such a huge package/box for these to come in? sony needs to get on the bandwagon with "frustration-free" packaging. probably only me of course...:)
-using A2DP probably will drain your mobile devices' battery really fast and heat it up quite a bit. my iphone 3GS lasts just a few hours with bluetooth on/streaming, but that is to be expected from a phone that already pushes the limits of energy conservation right? :)
overall, this was definitely worth the $40 i paid for. if you see it online for more than $50, i wouldn't personally get it because i think that is too much to pay for a product thats been out for a little more than 2 years. if you can get over the static/hiss at its max volume, then this pair is excellent. its has all of the features i wanted from a bluetooth device - A2DP, AVRCP (currently not supported by apple...yet, i hope), dedicated volume, track, play/pause, and voice control buttons, great battery life, behind-the neck style, foldable, and best of all, the iphone supports it almost exactly how i want it to. i just wish it would make everyones calls sound loud at the max volume, and be able to charge via usb. other than that, i highly recommend it.
reviewed on late 2007 15" macbook pro (2.2Ghz, 8600GT 128MB) and late 2008 15" macbook pro (2.53Ghz, 9600GT 512MB) running both leopard 10.5.7/10.5.8 and snow leopard 10.6.0/10.6.1, as well as the iphone 3GS 32GB and ipod touch 16GB 2nd/3rd generation.
Description of Sony DRBT21G/B Stereo Bluetooth Headset
Neck band type Bluetooth® stereo headsetDigital Cameras and Photo Categories
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