S805 Bluetooth DJ Headphones

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The floodgates seem to have opened, with countless companies releasing Bluetooth wireless headphones within the last few months. Motorola's latest entry comes in the form of their S805 Bluetooth DJ headphones, which are a large, over-the-ear model that offer reasonable sound quality combined with a few nifty external controls. While the audio could use improvement, they are quite comfortable and are one of the better pairs of wireless headphones we've reviewed.

Pros

  • Wireless connectivity, good sound compared to other wireless headphones, comfortable

Cons

  • Sound still lacking clarity and refinement

Bottom Line

The S805s are one of the better pairs of wireless headphones we've reviewed. Their sound quality isn't exceptional, but it is better than many other similar units and the comfortable design combined with intuitive controls makes it a good choice if you're after wire-free music.

Would you buy this?

  • Price

    $ 249.00 (AUD)

Our chief concern with all wireless headphones is audio quality, as they have a history of sound for unwired freedom. However the DJ headphones fared better than we expected during our testing. The big problem for this model is clarity and control, but this is fairly standard with wireless models. Most elements of our music were quite muddy and didn't fit very well together. There was noticeable distortion and the mid-range is pushed forward far too much. Combined with the uncontrolled highs, this makes for quite a harsh sound overall that we found fatiguing, even after just a few minutes listening.

We were surprised by the bass. Typically when a pair of headphones is labeled as "DJ" they almost always have overbearing bass, but the bass on this model is surprisingly good. It extends quite deeply and has a nice rumble to it, without overpowering the other elements of the music. If the mid-range wasn't quite so strong the balance would have been enjoyable, but as it stands the bass is slightly overpowered by the mid-range, at least on guitar heavy tracks.

We found the soundstage to be a little flat, although it does have decent positional audio with some nice transitions from front to back. Overall the sound won't satisfy audiophiles, but it is a fair bit better than we've heard on most wireless headphones and more than adequate for most uses.

While the S805s are advertised as wireless headphones, they do come with a 2.5mm headphone jack and a 2.5mm to 3.5mm cable, so you can run them via a wired connection if you like. This improves the clarity a little and also removes the delay that is always present on Bluetooth headphones, but of course you sacrifice the convenience of no wires.

As with other Bluetooth headphones, to make use of the wireless connectivity you'll require a device that is A2DP compatible, so it can stream music wirelessly in stereo. Most products with this protocol are currently mobile phones, however companies are gradually releasing MP3 players with Bluetooth support, such as Samsung's T9B.

Pairing is a simple process. Just turning the S805s on puts them in pairing mode and they are easily found in a matter of seconds. We had no signal issues and the connection remained strong throughout our testing. Wireless aside, the other funky thing about these headphones is that they have playback controls. By twisting one side you can increase or decrease volume, while spinning the other changes tracks. You can also play or pause using the button on the right hand side. These controls, along with the call button on the left hand side also double as call controls when hooked up to a mobile phone. There is a microphone built into the base of the right hand ear cup and we found calls to be crisp and clear. Outgoing audio was similarly impressive and all our callers had no complaints with the audio clarity. You can also make outgoing calls using voice dialing and the included microphone.

Comfort-wise, the S805s are fairly good. They have soft, leather cups that enshroud your ears, and while you do get a little warm at times they are comfortable for the most part. They also do a reasonable job of blocking out external noise, which is great when trying to keep to yourself in a busy location. The cups are extendable to fit a variety of people and the build quality is decent, if not outstanding.

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