Although they launched back in April in the US, they’ve just hit Australian shores for the asking price of $165. They performed fairly well in the A2DP Battlemodo back in September, so if you’re after a pair of reasonably priced, funky looking Bluetooth headphones, these might be a good option for you.

[Jabra]

About a month ago, Jabra sent a little bag out to its regular reviewers. Inside was a stone—a literal, polished stone—and that was it. It was a cheesy PR stunt, the kind we see all the time, but when I got the headset itself, it made sense. The Jabra Stone, when docked, is a near-seamless pebble, broken only underneath, at the headset’s hollowed-out ejection point. It’s a stunning headset, actually, which sounds weird coming out of my mouth. (Or fingers! Who’s counting.)

The Stone’s specs are appropriate to its pricepoint: it’ll pair in regular and A2DP modes for voice or music listening, respectively, has a minimalist status display, a noise-cancelling mic, volume controls—though here they’re managed with a touch-sensitive shell rather than buttons—and a charging dock. The claimed talk time is two hours per charge, and the dock is good for three extra charges. Standby time is a respectable, though not spectacular, 12 hours.

And to be honest, aside from eking out a little extra battery life over competitors’ products, there’s not a whole lot a company can do to make a Bluetooth headset technologically interesting. What they can do, and what Jabra has done with the Stone, is focus on style and feel. Bluetooth headsets look dumb, and they’re awkward to wear. The Stone is a headset designed with these thoughts in mind—it looks as not-dumb as a headset can; it feels as not-awkward as a piece of plastic in your ear conceivably could. It’s self-conscious, almost embarrassed for what it is.

Long-term testing might bear out some initial concerns about battery life and the practical convenience of carrying around a slippery little battery rock, but my first impressions were uniformly positive. The Stone paired almost instantly with an iPhone, a Pre and a Hero right out of the box, sound quality was clear, and three ears of varying shapes and sizes found the angled earpiece plenty comfortable.

The Stone will be available at AT&T stores from November 8th, priced at $US130 right alongside the Platronics Voyager. From the looks of it the Voyager edges out a win on battery life, but the fact that Jabra’s put even the tiniest bit of sex into their newest piece goes a long, long way. [Jabra]

The Problem

Honestly, there are plenty of reasons to be uneasy about Bluetooth headphones: They run off battery power, so you need to be mindful of keeping them charged; they’re often styled strangely to accommodate the necessary wireless hardware; they’re more expensive than equivalent wired headphones; and most of all, they sound like crap. Or, so you’ve heard. You know, from other people, not with your ears. The colloquial “heard.” Er, you know what I mean.

Perhaps even more than choosing the best Bluetooth headphones, the point of this little exercise is to figure out if A2DP, the technology, is even worth your time. After all, it isn’t really worth going to the trouble and expense of untethering your headphones if they barely qualify as headphones. So first, some background:

The Advanced Audio Distribution Profile, or A2DP, is an umbrella term for the modern Bluetooth audio profile, meaning the standards by which Bluetooth devices send a receive audio. It complements the Headset Profile (HSP), which takes care of low-quality mono transmissions, like those to single-ear Bluetooth headsets, to provide the capability to listen to music without too much distortion. And that’s the crux of the A2DP problem, both real and perceived: It’s better than mono Bluetooth, to be sure, but is it as good as a wired headset? Or more realistically, is it close enough that it doesn’t really matter?

Since A2DP audio is encoded and recompressed at the source, leading to (sometimes drastically) differing audio quality betwen devices, I paired a number of sources—an iPhone 3G, an HTC Hero, a unibody Macbook Pro—with a veritable stack of headphones to see if the end result, the sound that actually hits your ears, is worth the trouble. Here are the best five:

The Headphones

(Click the chart to enlarge)

Sony DR-BT50: The only cup-style headphones included in this roundup, the Sonys serve as a sort of reference for sound quality, features, fit and comfort. Also: impracticality. If you’re planning on using a Bluetooth headphones as they’re generally understood to be intended, you’re probably not looking for bulbous headhuggers like this.

That said! They’ve got by far the bassiest, clearest sound of the lot, and the included controls, though they can take a while for your fingers to map out, are more complete than any others. Using these headphones is a joy compared to most others, but only in a situations where they’re appropriate: Sitting on a sofa? At a PC? I don’t really know. Whatever they’re meant for, the lack of a USB charger corroborates the theory that they’re not really intended to be that portable.

Far and away the best, most balanced sound; moderate noise isolation

Wider set of controls than any other headphones, but probably more than you need, or your handset even supports

They’re too big to exercise or travel with

Motorola Motorokr s305: Something about this headset is immediately alarming. It feels cheap, it comes with very few accessories, it even looks a bit dated — it sort of feels like you’ve accidentally been handed a stray accessory, dropped out of a Motorola Rokr box, yearning to be reconnected to its parent phone. But seriously, give it a minute.

You could find plenty of things to complain about with the s305s, but hell, I just don’t want to: With these cheap, stripped-down headphones, Motorola shows that they understand the draw of A2DP better than anyone else. They sound fine—solid mids, relatively clear highs, adequate bass — without sounding overequalised; their fixed fit works well enough on most heads, without sacrificing weight or durability; they connect with ease and offer minimal, though adequate, controls; they charge quickly via USB, for a playback period that’ll outlast any workout session. And most of all, they’re very, very cheap.

Minimalist: easy to use and set up

They’re gloriously cheap

It feels light in the hand and on the head; it also feels a bit flimsy

Jabra Halo: Nobody’s going to dispute the Halo’s stylishness, especially in this company — most of these headphones looks like they were designed in the late 90s (Why? No really — this doesn’t make any sense) and many come in form-factors I haven’t seen since I carried a Discman. For what it’s worth, the Jabra’s matte black, ultra-thin headband take on Bluetoothery is eye-catching, and there’s nothing expressly wrong with it.

Nor is there anything terribly wrong with the sound: It’s abundantly clear, though not very bassy — something that could be pegged as much on the sometimes awkward fit of the Halo’s earpads as on their actual drivers. I had the most pairing issues with the Halo, but they all mysteriously resolved themselves eventually — par for the course with Bluetooth, and less of a concern than you might think, since one they’re paired to a device, they’re paired to a device. Controls, aside from volume, which relies on a jumpy touchpad on the earpiece, were simple and intuitive. The price, I guess, is the only real kick in the balls from Jabra’s headphones: The street price is a hefty $US120.

HEADPHONES FROM SPAAAAAAAAACE

They’re comfortable, and it’s easy to forget you’re wearing them

Too expensive for what you get

Logitech Freepulse: Logitech’s gone all-out with the Freepulse, and you’d be hard pressed to find a hardware feature—aside from USB charging—that these things don’t list on their spec sheet. They’ve got by far the most versatile Bluetooth transmitter, meaning that they can be paired with just about any device comfortably. Controls are subtly built into the earpieces, but once they’ve been explored, they’re easy to reach and utilise during exercise.

I found the fit to be a bit strange, since these particular headphones, despite looking like a traditional wraparound headset, actually hang on your ears by means of floppy little rubber loops. They’re secure enough, sure, but they don’t exactly cram the drivers against your ear holes; hence lack of great bass. Oh and hey, no mic! These things aren’t cheap, so, uh, what the hell?

Best Bluetooth transmitter of the bunch—fits just about any device

They fit everyone fine, but nobody particularly well

At this price, where’s the mic?

iLuv i222: In a lot of ways, the i222 is a cheaper, newer equivalent to the Freepulse: Its design looks newer, albeit a little Bluetooth-headset-y, its feature set matches the Logitech’s almost point for point, and, crucially, it has a mic, because almost every A2DP-enabled playback device is, let’s face it, a phone.

Interestingly, the iLuv’s battery life trumped even the most expensive headphones in my limited testing. My main cause for concern is a generally plasticky feeling: I can already see multiple areas of concern on the headset, and online reports go some way to confirming my worries about durability.

Tons of features for the price, including a Bluetooth transmitter

Build quality is a concern

Post-Game

If all these evaluations sound a little bit tentative, that’s because they are. Each headset evaluation was underscored by a fundamental discomfort with A2DP because, well, it’s not that good.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s better than I expected, and a far sight better than you might predict if you were weaned on Bluetooth earpieces. But the sound is flat, lacking in bass range and sacrificing detail on higher tones. And even if these headphones are specifically tuned for playing back Bluetooth streams, the few that include direct line-in support, like the Jabra Halo, give you a ready-made comparison between wireless and wired sound. Spoiler: It isn’t all that flattering for the ol’ toof.

This casts A2DP headphones in a different light, not as a viable, wireless, futuristic alternative to regular headphones, but as a degraded, battery-hungry, expensive compromise. You buy them because you need something wireless — that’s it. There’s no other reason.

The Winner

As such, the headset I’m most comfortable telling people to buy is also the cheapest. There will be people who’ll want something else—the Sonys are the best bet for, say, a PC gamer, and the iLuvs are an obvious choice if your music-listening devices don’t actually support Bluetooth. But more than anything, I see A2DP headsets as a way to listen to music during a run, or on cable-averse exercise machines, as a way to listen to a charging device while you wander around a room, or as a way to merge your everpresent Bluetooth headset with your earbuds.
For this, the Motorola s305s fit the bill: They’re light, functional and simple. They sound fine. They look OK. They sync with almost anything. They win because they do as much as you can ask of Bluetooth headphones, and they do it on the cheap.

As you probably already know, the upcoming iPhone 3.0 software was upgraded with Stereo Bluetooth A2DP audio. That means you can pair it with a compatible device—like the stereo installed in this Toyota Venza.

As you will see in the video, the process looks pretty smooth—even with beta software. Hopefully this will mean less annoying adapters and cords for us to deal with in the future. [Kicking Tires]

The NOISE BLACKOUT feature on the JABRA HALO STEREO BLUETOOTH HEADSET allows you to vanish

loud patrons

around you, so you can communicate effectively while impressing cleverly. The headset warmly embraces Bluetooth 2.0/A2DP for most excellent music listening, and features touch controls so you can easily express salutations to others or explore the variety of your music library.

The lightweight folding design means you can also take these on the go, so you can easily impress cleverly from anywhere. If you’re not clever enough for a wire-free experience, you can use a cord, though maximum impressiveness may decrease.

My proposition to you is for you to give me your bank info, so I can pull $US130 dollars from your account, give it to Jabra, and I can deliver to you your very own JABRA HALO STEREO BLUETOOTH HEADSET so you can impress cleverly.

Jabra HALO stereo headset featuring Noise Blackout™ technology (MSRP: $129.99; Available: May 2009)

The Jabra HALO is a wireless Bluetooth stereo headset that allows users to enjoy wireless music and answer phone calls in crystal clear stereo sound. Featuring A2DP technology, the Jabra HALO gives users the ability to seamlessly connect to any Bluetooth music-playing device – and all 3.5 mm music playing devices – including mobile phones, Mp3 players, laptops, and TVs. In addition, ensuring that users won’t miss phone calls while listening to music, the HALO fades out music to allow for incoming calls. The HALO features a lightweight (only 3 ounces!) over-the-head design with a foldable headband – small enough to take it wherever you go. The HALO also has the versatility to switch between wireless and wired connectivity if a device doesn’t support Bluetooth stereo (A2DP) technology. The device also features Zirene® Power Bass for audio enhancement.

I was really torn between which of these three are my favourite, because this one inspired by R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” is very special:

As is this Orca-coloured pair for Would You Be There, aka the Free Willy theme:

The contest received over 8,000 proposed song-inspired designs, and these were among the handful of winners that were actually made into working headsets, which are on display in Nokia’s flagship store in London. More to be seen at: [CR Blog]

AU: Motorola offer an A2DP dongle for iPods – not sure if it will work with the iPhone though…

[Brando]