Guest Author - Kathy Fleming
If you love your MP3 player but hate the cord, these headphones could be the answer. With these you can listen to your music up to about 30 feet away without carrying the player with you. Even when working at a desk, it’s always nice not to have a cord dangling around. So here’s the scoop on Logitech’s latest wireless headphones.
Distance
They claim to provide interference-free audio up to 33 feet. This appears to be fairly accurate. That isn’t very far, but if you just need to get up from your desk and walk around it’s fine.
Sound
The sound quality is excellent, at least for the average listener. I experienced little to no interference, and I work around dozens of computers and sit a few yards away from half a dozen very large satellite dishes. If that didn’t cause problems I don’t know what would. They also have integrated volume control which is convenient if you need to adjust your sound when you’re out of reach of the player.
Comfort
My only real complaint is the comfort. The headband is not adjustable which I find very awkward. It just hangs down the back of my neck. The bands that go over your ears are lightweight and flexible, making them more comfortable than hard plastic. However, after extended use I found them very uncomfortable. Part of the discomfort is probably due to the lack of adjustability. I should also mention that I wear them for most of a nine-hour day. They don’t start hurting until I’ve had them on for about a couple of hours. So if you plan on wearing them for shorter periods of time you may not have a problem.
Power
Both the headphones and the receiver have to be charged. It takes about two hours to give them their full battery life of about six hours. For people like me who wear them all day, this means I don’t get a whole day out of the battery, but probably few people wear them that long. The tip of the charger glows orange during charge and goes dark when they’re ready. When the battery runs low, you get a little tone in your headphones warning you. Power lasts only a few minutes after this, so you might as well start charging as soon as you hear it (not to mention it’s annoying when you’re listening to music).
Installation and Ease of Use
These are totally plug-and-play and very easy to use. You simply plug the wireless receiver into the top of the player and turn it on. The red flashing light means it’s on but not synched. Then you push a button on the headphones which turns red to indicate it’s on. Both turn blue when they have recognized each other and you’re ready to go.
Look and Style
They are compact and stylish. The black color of the headphones and the receiver match nicely with a black iPod.
Cost
At around $100, they may be a little on the expensive side for some consumers. You are basically paying for the convenience of wireless.
Note to iPod Video Users
These are the best pair of headphones I’ve found for video iPods. I have an older pair of Logitech wireless headphones that I used with an older iPod, but older iPods have a headphone input in addition to the audio jack. Likewise, older headphones have receivers with these two inputs. Thus, you can’t use the older headphones with the newer iPods because there is no place for the second input. So if you are looking for headphones for your video iPod, make sure what you buy is compatible.
Overall, if you are looking for a Bluetooth headphone for your MP3 player, these are great. But given the expense and comfort issues, you might want to stick with traditional headphones and carry your player with you when you go mobile. These are worth the money only if you really have a need to go wireless.
