BH-604

Good Gear Guide

A DJ-style Bluetooth headset offering the ability to listen to music and take mobile calls wirelessly, Nokia's BH-604 headphones promise "Hi-Fi sound and deep bass". Unfortunately, what they ultimately deliver is below average sound quality and a chunky design – all for a hefty asking price.

Pros

  • Excellent handsfree call quality, comfortable, design, user-friendly and easily accessible controls

Cons

  • Poor sound quality overall, lack of clarity and crispness, bulky design

Bottom Line

The BH-604's may offer decent handsfree calling, but their performance in streaming audio is below average.

Would you buy this?

  • Price

    $ 219.99 (AUD)

Wireless headphones are obviously still far behind their wired counterparts in terms of sound quality, but they have been improving as Bluetooth technology advances. Unfortunately, though the BH-604's are easy to listen to, they fall behind many other models in terms of audio quality. The sound produced is very harsh, with evident distortion, especially at higher volume levels. The bass isn't balanced and the overall sound is lacking in any sort of quality. The biggest audio issue though is clarity – but do keep in mind that this is a standard issue of most wireless headphones and not a problem of this unit in particular.

Utilising an over-the-head design, the BH-604's are comfortable to wear for long periods but their large size and bulky design will not suit everyone. They feel solidly constructed though, and the adjustable headband is covered in a soft, leather-like material so it sits comfortably on top of your head.

The one advantage to the bulky design is well placed controls. For music control, there are play/pause, previous and next buttons and a volume slider, while the multifunction key can answer and end calls, activate voice dialling (provided your phone supports it) and redial your last call. The controls are large and well placed making them easy to press.

We found both incoming and outgoing call quality excellent and definitely on par with dedicated Bluetooth headsets. Particularly impressive was the loud in-call volume and the clear incoming sound. The handsfree calling is definitely the BH-604's most impressive feature.

Pairing the BH-604's to a compatible phone or multimedia player is a simple process. Holding down the multifunction key until the indicator light flashes blue puts it into pairing mode. From here, simply search for the device, enter the default passcode and then connect.

Rounding out the package is a quoted 19 hours of music playback time and up to two weeks of standby time. In addition, Nokia claims that you'll get 18 hours of talk time from just under 1.5 hours of charging via the included AC adapter.

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