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An excerpt from my forthcoming, new A2DP headphones roundup

3 replies · 4,826 views · Started 17 May 2008

I�ve, among other things, been working on an A2DP headphones roundup. While it�ll take at least 4-5 days to publish it (I�m still waiting for a Motorola HT820, which will also be included), I already publish a chart of four headphones so that you can avoid going for a pair of headphones that is completely incompatible with your handset / PDA.

Note that I�ve tested the headphones on all the three contemporary smartphone operating systems of today having A2DP support: Windows Mobile, Symbian and BlackBerry. Do NOT tell me to publish a separate version of this article for these three operating systems because it�d cause me a lot of extra work. Just skip the rows in the chart not related to your particular OS.

HERE�S THE CHART - CLICK THE LINK!! Sorry, the chart is just too big to fit in here.

As can clearly be seen, there are no �best� headphones, particularly if you require full Symbian compliance and/or the lack of blinking LED�s or dongles without (!!!) any desynchronization problems � these three things that MAY make the, in my opinion, best of the bunch, the 590 pretty much unappealing for people that do need these features. There is, however, a definitely worst one: the Cellink BTST-9000-D, which should be avoided at any rate � unless you want to use its dongle, which is far better than that of the Pulsar. All in all, you�ll need to carefully evaluate your needs, the platform you�re on, whether you plan to listen to the music a lot while you�re outdoors etc. There�re no �hard and fast� rules as to which of these headphones are the best for you.

For the time being, please consult my earlier reviews for more info on how this all should be interpreted. Start with, say, HERE.

I�ve updated the chart by adding the Moto HT820 and extending the info already available (for example, added a Verdict row). I seems I will only be able to publish the full roundup next week. In the meantime, check out and comment on the new chart.

My experience has been you get the best experience if you use the same manufacturer e.g. Nokia A2DP stuff works best with Nokia, Sony Ericsson (who do some really nice stuff) with Sony Ericsson etc.

Generally A2DP headset nearly always works fine in my experience, but it is AVRCP that has more problems (hence comment above).

e.g. I have a Sony Ericsson A2DP speaker ball that works great with the UIQ phones, but with some Nokia the AVRCP does not work (quite important since there's no physical volume control on the speaker)...