After reading Styff's excellent and detailed review of the Motorola HT820 bluetooth headphones I decided it was time for me to get some new 'geek bling' and invested in a pair for myself.

What are they?

A stylish pair of 'over the ear' headphones, supporting a number of bluetooth profiles:

1. Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP)

2. Headset

3. Handsfree

They come with a multi-national to devices that don't support bluetooth or the A2DP profile and a cool hard-case for storing/transporting the headphones.

Out of the box, the headphones needed charging, which took 2 hours. Whilst being charged you are unable to use the headphones, which is justified given these are supposed to be wireless but it was very frustrating for impatient people like me!

I really need to mention that these headphones have a blue light on each ear-bud, which indicate what mode they are currently in (i.e. Music or Headset/Handfree). While these can be turned off to prevent funny stares from fellow commuters, I like to leave them flashing. It makes the headphones look like some serious 'geek-bling'.

Test setup

Not that I have particularly 'tested' the headphones per se, I have been using them for a week under different conditions and with a couple of different devices.

I swapped the bluetooth stack on my Xda II from the default Microsoft one to a Widcomm stack made available on Xda-Developers. For the record, my Xda II is running an original O2 ROM (v1.66) and therefore original Windows Mobile 2003 with original Windows Media Player (v9.0). By upgrading the stack I added the A2DP profile but lose the ability to use the headset profile, however I receive few calls but often listen to music on the train at work. I also gained the Personal Area Network (PAN) for connecting multiple bluetooth devices together.

My laptop is a Toshiba M40 with built in Toshiba bluetooth, running Toshiba's bluetooth stack (v4.01). Toshiba's stack supports A2DP (only for clients that use SCSM-T copy protection), serial profie, headset, object push, PAN, etc. Unfortunately, the Motorola HT820's do not support SCMS-T so I could not test A2DP, but I could test the headset with Skype's VoIP software. My laptop also has a bluetooth mouse and synchronises over bluetooth.

Opinion of the HT820 Bluetooth Headphones

I wasn't really expecting too high a quality of audio from the headset. I read about bluetooth data transfer rates on Wikipedia.org and noted that the maximum speed of a bluetooth 1.1 or 1.2 device, which the Xda II is, is about 720kbps. I have to admit to being very impressed however, although I am no audio expert. The range on the connection is great, exceeding 8 meters in our open plan office before the sound started to break up.

Construction-wise, I have found the headphones to be very solid to feel. I haven't felt the need to be overly delicate and have even gotten away with carrying them naked in my rucksack without using the protective case. I haven't dropped them yet, but I imagine they could withstand the majority of accidents.

In terms of voice conversations, I have only had limited experience with using the headphones with Skype and while it is an improvement to my laptops built in microphone and speakers, I have found the headset to 'break up' on the odd occasion. It is hard to tell though, as this could be due to a sloppy connection with the other Skype party. I have a BlueAnt Supertooth that I have been very impressed with and the voice quality of the HT820 heaphones is comparable with that of the supertooth handsfree.

Battery life is very good. The user-manual quotes 14 hours of music mode or 17 hours of headset mode, but I tend to recharge each night ready for a full days use the following day. The headphones are capable of lasting this entire day of music for me.

The audio is able to continue playing at high quality even with the presence of other bluetooth wireless devices. I was able to play music from my Xda II whilst it synchronised to my laptop as well as using the bluetooth mouse.

I do have a number of very serious gripes about these headphones however. Firstly, although I have worn these headphones almost daily since receiving them, I have found them to be very uncomfortable after about 15-20 minutes of use. I am not sure whether I have mis-shaped ears, but even after giving them a week to wear in and for my ears to toughen up, I still look forward to the end of the train journey. The following is an example of my usage pattern:

• 30 minutes whilst travelling to work on the train.

• 4 – 6 hours worth on and off at work. Probably about 20 minute sessions.

• 30 minutes whilst travelling home on the train.

As you can imagine, this is not abnormal for an IT type person who spends most of their day at a PC. I thought my ears would get used to the pressure from the headphones, but alas, they haven't.  The picture to the right here shows how the outside of my ear is being squashed at the front...ouch!!!

Secondly, these headphones are not what I would call LOUD. Granted, they are wireless and battery powered, and in my office environment I wouldn't turn them to full volume, but on a noisey train, I sometimes find myself straining to hear the music. I wonder if this is just me as Styff has stated they are plenty loud enough, but perhaps we use our headphones under different scenarios.

Thirdly, while the Motorola HT820's can be paired to up to 12 devices and is able to switch between the last used A2DP connection and last used Headset/Handsfree connection at the push of a button, I often become confused as to which connection is currently operating. I am getting better as I get used to the device, but switching from music mode to off plays the same sound (as far as I can tell) as switching from music mode to headset mode. Perhaps I will get better as I learn to use them more, but the point is that it shouldn't take more than a week to get used to your device.

The final gripe, which Motorola can't be fully blamed for, is the lack of compatability with the A2DP audio profile. This rant is really at the Bluetooth special interest group (SIG) for Audio/Video, who are responsible for defining the A2DP profile. From what I can gather from reading the specifications at www.bluetooth.org, there is a lot of flexibility in how the protocol is implemented, allowing for DRM like protection such as SCMS-T to be mandated, as in Toshiba's bluetooth stack, or not, as in Motorola's headphones. C'mon guys, a standard is a standard. No options, no buts, no nothing. It either matches or it does not. Thumb's down to Toshiba too, who seem to be one of a very limited number of people who force this protection on people.

Where did I get them from?

My Motorola HT820 bluetooth headphones were ordered online from www.mrgadget.com.au for $150. I believe the headphones to be very well priced given you get a headset and some very cool headphones all in one. As per usual Mr Gadgets service was prompt and reliable. Thanks Mr G!

Conclusion

Having spent a week with the headphones I have to admit I thoroughly enjoy them despite their short-comings. I have always hated the concept of having wires hanging around hence my bluetooth mouse, Wi-Fi network, etc and now I have tried wireless audio whilst commuting, I will never go back. The HT820's are a high-quality headphone/headset at a great price and I would recommend them to anyone (so long as you have small ears of course).

Pros: High quality Well priced Wireless

Cons: Uncomfortable Not very loud Can be confusing

Score: A satisfying 7.5/10.  We need more comfort and more volume to improve on that score.