A Symphony At My Beck and Call - The Motorola S805 Headphones

Okay, I confess. I purchased a new AT&T Tilt 8925 PDA Phone instead of the latest Motorola RAZR cellphone - breaking my penchant for Motorola phones over the last several years! I also purchased an 8GB. Sandisk Micro-SDHC card with USB reader to load the new AT&T phone with at least 8GB. of the 32GB of memory it is capable of. This gives my new Bluetooth enabled phone a huge memory for music and video. (chuckle) To "redeem" myself with Motorola, I decided I should try their new S805 Bluetooth headphones.

"Why I needed headphones" or "Let's move the rest of the way into the twenty-first century":

Well, honestly I probably didn't need new headphones as a while back I received a small 1GB Insignia Kix player to enjoy my music on - and it works quite well. I have two styles of headphones I use with it in preference to the ones that were supplied with it. The ones I use most often? These are a wired pair of studio headphones that I've had since the 1970's, with a small mini-plug adapter from Radio Shack. The old studio phones still work, look, and play great, but the only time I use them is while exposed to noisier environments - such as when I'm running my diesel and gas yard equipment at home.

No these old wired headphones don't have noise cancellation beyond their physical capability to fully cover my ears - but they do work out well in noisier environments. They are also heavy and bulky, and hot in warm weather. Another thing I dislike is the thick cord these studio phones have.

Due to this, and the fact my new AT&T 8925 has Bluetooth, can handle up to a 32GB Micro-SDHC storage card of music, and stays with me everywhere, I decided it was time to go Bluetooth Wireless. Like the old studio headphones, the new S805 headphones do not have electronic noise cancellation, but they are much lighter, and less cumbersome by far. I can also hear the phone while wearing them to easily take a call or receive messages - even using them to answer or make calls.

Actually, these Motorola S805 headphones first caught my thoughts when I noticed my new AT&T Tilt 8925 supports all of the advanced Bluetooth features these headphones offer. The look of them in a Motorola video also pleased my eyes... and the cute girl wearing them was a good enticement also.

Comfort and looks:

The Motorola S805 headphones have very soft and pliable leather covers over very soft foam to seal around the ear. The actual ear cups are not as large those on my wired studio phones, but they do have a 2" diameter center opening with approximately 1/2" depth to a open mesh cloth and foam covering over the actual speakers. The soft leather seats around my ears against my head but does rest on my ear lobes, pressing against them while sealing firmly to my head. Note to myself - earlobes tend to elongate with age, at least these headphones hide them.

The headband is also a nice thick solid piece with an inner woven nylon open mesh covering, which comes in contact with the head. The upper or outer portion has the look and feel of nice leather, but could be some very good synthetic approximation. The overall look and black color is nice even down to the chrome buttons and emblems. These headphones also do not feel or look cheap for more expensive commercial headphones of even a $150 price range. I've purchased several more expensive commercial wireless 900 MHz. phones before that, looked nowhere as nice as these, had less features, proved to be less durable, and were harder to adjust - and I only paid $89 for the S805 headphones. The S805 headphones simply blows them away, and I expect they will hold up much better - they also rival a number of professional headsets I've owned.

Adjustment for a proper fit has added extension capability built-in to 1 1/4" per side. I use the extension at about 1/2" out per side. To give an idea of my size, I wear a size 7 1/4 hat - not small, but not overly large as head sizes average. The fit tells me these headphones would fit not only smaller heads well, but most of those larger than my own. As for comfort, I wore these for about ten hours in my garage at home while servicing one of my antique cars - only removing them for about 30 minutes each at two intervals during meals in that time. I do have sensitive ears, but there was no soreness on my head or ears after wearing them so long, and I was also wearing protective eye glass frames I am accustomed to wearing. They were warm by design, but no more so than any other headphones of this type. I also didn't notice any added warmth from the integrated lithium battery. They did feel much better than other headphones I've worn. (chuckle) Just looking at myself in a mirror, while wearing these, reminded me of my younger self when I was flying a plane I once owned - but the ball cap I also had on was hiding my receding hairline. Those professional headphones I wore then were quite a bit different, and some more like these would have been welcome back then - even if they are commercial headphones. Overall the S805 headphones have a compact size that is close to the head. My older more expensive wire frame professional headphones were much bulkier - and not as comfortable.

Using the Motorola S805 headphones:

Out of the box, the headphones need about a three hour charge using the provided charger. I actually charged mine about 15 minutes to start with, using the USB port on a computer. I just couldn't wait to get started with them. The headphones must also be charged to use a wired connection using the supplied mini-plug cable for wired connections. That short initial charge didn't last long, but it helped me understand this product's operational characteristics much better.

While charging the headphones, the blue LEDs will flash steadily until they reach a full charge, at which time they stop flashing. As stated by Motorola, it takes about three hours to charge after the battery has become too low for proper operation.

Warning of excessively low battery power is noted by skips in the music playback. This could be a low battery in either a connected device or the headphones. Beeps are heard when pressing the "phone" button and the LEDs operate to indicate other specific things.

Charged up and ready to go:

A three second press of the headsets left "phone" button will turn the headphones on - noted by two quick LED flashes and a single blip sound over the phones.

A six second press of this same button, while the phones are turned on, results in a short beep and a second longer one to tell they are off. The LED will flash three times.

For pairing to a Bluetooth device (with the headphones off), you simply hold the "phone" button in for about six seconds. The LED will flash three times after about three seconds and you continue holding it in until the LED remains on.

Next, you ready the device you want to connect to and use the security code 0000. On my AT&T Tilt, the phone gave two boxes to check or un-check for the pairing of these for operation - which were "wireless stereo" and "hands free". The headset offers these two choices as some may not want to use the presses of the headset buttons to make calls. In this case, be sure the "hands free" box is unchecked.

I also paired these headphones to my 2005 Logitech Bluetooth keyboard and mouse hub. The older Logitech device of course has none of the capability of later Bluetooth standards used in these headphones, but the connections did work. Volume, phone, play/pause, next/previous - all functions worked using Vista Ultimate X64 on my computer, and my AT&T Tilt 8925 phone. The drawback (using the computer Bluetooth connection) was any time I moved the mouse or pressed several keys quickly on the keyboard, the sound went out for a minute until after the mouse and keyboard activity stopped. Evidently, the older Logitech Bluetooth hub doesn't have the bandwidth needed for simultaneous operation. Presses of the keys on my phone only made a very short quick skip while playing music stored in the phone over the headphones.

Pairing to either my phone or the computer using Bluetooth was very good and quick, and I also have an environment known to have a great deal of electrical pollution in the 2.4GHz. band Bluetooth operates in. (two wireless routers of my own plus about six more in the neighborhood and other strong signals in the area at this frequency) I did have some trouble breaking the computer connection to restore a full connection to my phone. This required a shutdown of my computers Bluetooth hub. The headphones really hang onto a connection once it has been made - even if you turn the headphones off and back on. They really do remember the last connection that well, and work immediately to very quickly restore it.

Range was the full 30' advertised for Bluetooth - even through walls in my home. A foot in or out of this 30' range was the difference in no signal and perfect signal. Stepping back and forth took only under three seconds for automatic re-connection to take place while in range. Connections were rock solid anywhere within this maximum 30' range.

Sound:

I had some 100 MP3s installed to my phone and have some 15,000 on my computer. I played selections with higher and lower bit-rates and had excellent reproduction. There were no skips in the music and there was no hissing or other spurious tones, only the clear tones of the music playing as it should be.

Bass is ample but of course not booming to the point of feeling vibration. Balance was perfect, as well as separation. This is the same at lower and higher volumes. I did note some treble loss at lower volumes, but it picked right up strongly for me at about mid-volume using the headphone volume control. The perceived treble could have been due simply to my slight hearing loss at higher frequencies, but the volume needed to correct it for my ears was not excessive. In fact, my hearing even seemed better after having worn the headphones using comfortable levels. The bass and treble did appear to be well balanced within the headphones without using any of the connected device controls. A quick connection to my Insignia KIX player, by the Motorola provided mini-plug cord, revealed sound to be just as great using it or a Bluetooth connection. The wired connection also uses the headphones volume control, and tonal quality worked identically as well with the KIX player set to full volume and using the headphones volume control. Volume range was also the same using a corded connection as it was using the Bluetooth connections.

Handling the controls does reveal some looseness that can make noise during quick movements as well, while wearing the headphones. Happily, there are no vibrations or distractions at even full volume. It also takes a fairly good jarring motion to hear any rattling while wearing the headphones - far more jarring than in normal movement. Full volume has to be set on the device you are connected to as you must use the spring loaded (returns to center position on release) volume control in a clock or counter-clockwise movement to raise and lower the volume. The Previous/Next control works in the same manner. The Phone and Play?Pause buttons are found and operate just as easily. Overall volume using the headphones is more than adequate. Half volume was more than I needed in a quiet environment, and I doubt I would want full volume in a noisier one.

Battery Life:

I used these for about ten hours after the first full charge. After two days, I still didn't need to recharge after several more hours of use. Motorols claims 17 hours of use and I believe that - it could even be more. The LEDs do flash slowly in use or standby, its not anything upsetting or distracting, but it also appears it has no significant drain on the battery - of course that's one of the nice things about LEDs.

In the Box

One pair S805 headphones
One Motorola 0.2 ampere mini-USB wall charger
One mini-plug adapter wire (3 and 3/4 feet long)
Two quick start guides (Englander and Spanish)
One warranty and caution guide
One zippered carry case

Specifications courtesy Motorola:

Talk time: 20 hours
Music time: 17 hours
Standby time: 29 days
Dimensions: 197mm x 196mm x 36mm
Weight: 276 g / 9.7oz

compatible with any brand of
Bluetooth-enabled phone or music device that supports Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) and
Audio Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP).
(support Bluetooth Profiles 1.1, 1.2, and 2.0)

12 month limited warranty

accessory specs:

Bluetooth Stereo PC Adapter PC850 - compatible with devices that support A2DP, dial-up
networking (DUN), human interface device (HID) and most other Bluetooth profiles

naviPlay adapter - compatible with Generation 3 or newer iPods that have a dock connector

Final Thoughts:

I also used the Motorola S805 headphones to make and receive calls. I did this in a quiet environment and no one could tell I wasn't using a landline - but the microphone has been designed to be wind-resistant, and for echo and noise-reduction. The call functions for voice activated calling meant I never touched my Tilt 8925 as I used the headphones to make and receive calls. The music paused while in a call and returned at the end. Every function of these headphones worked flawlessly for me. Even better, I surfed the Internet while listening to music on the phone using the headphones (a feature of my AT&T service) - much better than using the Tilt's small built-in speaker. I can even do all of this and take or make calls at the same time. So, the quality is readily here if you only connect the S805 headphones to a properly performing advanced Bluetooth device. Just comparing these headphones to my professional wired headphones, all the difference I could find in performance was the volume. The wired phones were slightly louder at full volume (uncomfortably so) using the same sources - a KIX player, a headphone port on a home surround sound unit, and one of my computers. Tonal quality was so close I could hear no difference. This was the same whether I used the S805 headset with the supplied cable or Bluetooth on my computer.

Motorola has provided a nice carry case for storage of these headphones. The case has a quality look and feel as well, and has a stiff shell to help prevent any damage. A small strap with Velcro tab is also stitched to the case to hold the supplied mini-plug cable and the wall charger - still leaving room for more small items the user might want to stow with the headphones. There is even a nice elastic webbing on the back side of the case - perfect for keeping a CD handy. The black zippered hard case with its chrome Motorola emblem shows Motorola took great pride in this offering and shows a continuing effort at Motorola to please consumers. I'll add, the case is a very nice touch to the already nice headphone package.

The quality of these headphones even makes them suitable for TV or music listening in the home. The addition of a compatible Bluetooth receiver with RCA Audio cables would be perfect. The long 17 hour life between charges of the rechargeable battery, says easy upkeep. The controls say easy adjustment, without fiddling around, and un-interrupted comfort while relaxing on a bed or kicked back in a recliner. 30' feet, in my opinion, offers plenty of movement for most people inside their homes while enjoying TV or music.

You have my fairly intensive report here - maybe you now know if these are what you want. I can't see anyone being dis-satisfied with this product. At the $89 I paid the "Egg", they were a steal for commercial headphones of this quality. Now all I have to do is dial Carnegie Hall on my AT&T Tilt and listen to the Symphony wherever I am.