Experience Mobility Reviews the BlueAnt X5 Bluetooth Stereo Headset

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://experiencemobility.com/wordpress/?p=1752' target='_blank'>http://experiencemobility.com/wordpress/?p=1752</a><br /><br /></div><i>"So I guess the search is for a headset that is close to the perfect solution and I think I have found one in the BlueAnt X5 Wireless Bluetooth Headset. It is comfortable, it has great sound, it's bluetooth and has batteries that have performed beyond my expectations with an added feature that they are replaceable."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/ekkie_blueant_200703.jpg" /><br /><br />Sounds like a ringing endorsement for the BlueAnt X5. If you're in the market for a good set of Bluetooth stereo headsets or (like me) are waiting for the right implementation to finally jump into the market, check out the review. Anyone manage to try these? Give us your thoughts!

[Paul Kay]

These look to be the same as the Anycom BSH-100 bluetooth 'phones. In which case I use them daily and they are great.

[Frankie1]

These look to be the same as the Anycom BSH-100 bluetooth 'phones. In which case I use them daily and they are great.

i have this headset at home (under a diffrent brand name) and they work pretty good. Although I had to use a third party application to have all the blutooth streamed to the headset because my WM5 device (O2 XDA Exec) kept on picking it up as a head set and not a stero headset. Oh yeah and I also lost my microphone attacment in a car accident that I had a couple month back (that a whole nother story).
They're pretty good though. under the different brand name as Paul stated above.

[mmidgley]

I have owned the BlueAnt X5 for several months. My package was missing the foam covers. A helpful representative at BlueAnt mailed a set to me promptly. Very good customer service so far. Now I may have to write to them again as it seems the 3.5 to 3.5 cable is shorting out. :( On to my review/comments...

The reviewer mentioned, "In theory, it should automatically connect to a previously paired headset with a simple press of a button". Using current firmware for the X5 you can press UP and DOWN together and it does re-connect to the last used device. Btw, I like that the re-connect is not automatic, as I sometimes change what I want to use. Note that when connecting to multiple devices using the included transmitter, you must connect headset with your phone first and then the transmitter (once connected to the transmitter X5 refuses to connect to anything else). I forget this sometimes and have to power-off and start over connecting things up. This also occurs when I am connected to phone and transmitter and need to swap transmitter and headset batteries (the transmitter doubles as a charger). Removable/replacable batteries rock!

The detachable microphone is silly. It should have just been built-in like other combo headsets have it. Certainly it wouldn't have taken much more space in the headphones and I doubt it "hears" me better by being 1" closer to my mouth. As a side note to the microphone assembly--when I first got my X5 my wife thought I sounded muffled on calls. I opened the microphone assembly and saw that the microphone was installed backwards!! so rather than pointing at the hole to the outer world, it was pointing inward, and the wires were wrapped around near the hole towards the outside. I turned it around and voice calls sounded much better to my wife! The headphones fit securely, but I still worry about losing the microphone either while jogging or charging (it has to be removed to charge a battery in the X5; if I can I use the transmitter to do all charging).

Sound quality is definitely ok, but not the best. I miss the overall quality I experienced with my HP Bluetooth Headphones (but of course it didn't do phone stuff). The HP headphones reproduced low-end frequencies in a much richer fashion. It may be that if I installed a third party music player on my PocketPC that could adjust equalizer settings this may be somewhat fixed.

I use the X5 with my i-mate JAMin (with the A2DP hack since i-mate hasn't been brilliant enough to release this). A2DP works fine. Without overclocking the JAMin there is only an occasional delay or stutter due to the JAMin getting busy doing something else. A2DP streams are either paused or muted (for the transmitter) when transitioning to a phone call and resume after the call ends. Yippie!

I also purchased Microsoft Voice Command 1.6 and find that I can occasionally use the power button to initiate and speak through the headphones. Unfortunately it is not 100%, and I haven't figured out what circumstances might block this from working.

The X5 uses press-and-hold for track forward/backward. It'd be nice if they could fit a couple more buttons on it for this (so it doesn't take so long to go multiple tracks). As it is, you only use this while listening to "shuffled" music to move on to the next random track.

I paid just under US$100 for the X5 shipped. I have been pleased with it, and have made use of the transmitter (an item many other headphones do not include).

m.

(wow, that was a long post to do from a JAMin!)

[Disco Stu]

These look to be the same as the Anycom BSH-100 bluetooth 'phones. In which case I use them daily and they are great.
It's nice that they fold up and fit into your pocket but I found them to be a little small to fit on my head comfortably. Also the sound quality and connectivity is not as good as my preferred Motorola HT820s.

[lvldcook]

I'm thinking, if the mike is detachable, that this headset is finally getting close to the ideal bluetooth headset to fit into a motorcycle helmet - the ultimate place where wireless communications is needed, not wanted. No more wires to tether the rider to the bike, stereo sound, and cell phone capabilities. Do you think the earpieces are small enough to fit into ear recesses in a typical full face helmet?