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DASH & HBH-DS970 Bluetooth Stereo Review

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Posted by: know1

Coming from a Sony Ericsson W800, I was more than disappointed with both the headset hardware and resulting sound quality of the included stereo headset. It was uncomfortable and had a horrible noise to sound ratio. When you plugged it in and turned on WMP, you could immediately hear a hiss. The size of the ear buds is roughly the circumference of a dime (there is a dime under this blurry shot of the kit ear bud).



So if you don't have this headset, imagine sticking dimes in each ear (if they will fit). This probably didn't help with the sound pressure level, as I could never get them fully into my ear.

I couldn't find a replacement on the net, and I was originally resistant to buying a Bluetooth headset, so I decided to mod an old pair of Sony earbuds to the HTC headset module.





The strange part is that the Sony earbuds are the same size, if not bigger, but feel much more comfortable because of their anatomical shape.

This was fairly easy (if you can solder, which I barely can), because the HTC circuit board audio output is standard. The red is the right lead, the green is the left, and both sides have a ground. This is the same for most headsets if you strip the outer rubber. Just solder red to red, and green to green, and ground both sides. Oh, and by the way, the HTC hands-free unit comes apart with anything the size of a guitar pick. It is not glued or screwed in, but does stay in place with a pressure clip on the side opposite to the volume slider.



The sound quality improved in range, but not in noise to sound ratio. The hiss was still there.

I was reluctant to buy the stereo Bluetooth headsets because, as one Hofo member put it, it would just mean another thing to charge and keep track of battery life. I don't want to worry about where both items have battery left. As long as my phone has battery, I want to be able to listen to music. I changed my mind because I felt that I would otherwise have to carry around an Ipod, and this would almost be the same situation. But this also renders airplane mode useless.

UNBOXING:

Bought in s retail store in Boston for $110. I know that I could buy it online for less, but nothing beats instant gratification.

One thing that I was quit to note is that while you can adjust the position for each side of the earbud (they slide up and down on the main lanyard), you can not adjust the overall hanging length of the unit’s lanyard. This means that it would hang around the belly button on a child, but would look like a necktie on a football linebacker. It works just fine for me, giving me enough slack to use it with either hand, but not hanging too low to be annoying, but then again I probably fall in between the two examples that I listed above.


A couple of other quick facts that you wouldn’t know from pictures: There is a quick release on each side of the lanyard at the point where the earbuds protrude. I assume this is because some lawyers over at SE made the design team add it to avoid choking lawsuits. I hope that these are not too touchy, because I would hate to drop this baby if it ever got caught on something. There is no clothing clip on the main unit, so if it were to “quick release” it would probably hit the ground. I think I would rather choke.



The earbuds are part of the overall device, so if you didn’t like the OEM W800 set, you’ll probably not like these either. You CAN NOT plug in your favorite set, nor use this device as a Bluetooth connector for a home entertainment system. The battery is also non-replaceable. For this reason, I am actually following the manufacturer’s suggestion of charging a full 8 hrs before first use.



The device can be charged with the regular fastport charger, something that SE owners will like, but it comes equipped with a half-sized fastport charger.

Also, this thing is incredibly light. Almost fake feeling, when compared to something similar in size (take the lighter for example, which feels heavier to me).

Now, on to the Dash part:

PAIRING:

The Dash is pretty straight forward with pairing—something that I was really nervous about coming from the ease of SE phones’ Bluetooth functionality. Before I bought it, I paired with the live one that the shop had. It took under a minute from start to finish, and that was considering I had never done it before with this phone and this was adding the device. Simply turn Bluetooth on on the Dash, go to Bluetooth options (Connection Manager screen/ then right soft key for more options/ Bluetooth options/ Add Device). Once you see the HBH-DS970, select it, enter 0000 for the default pass, and you’re connected. There is nothing more that needs to be done (well, unless you want to rename it or change pass). Just open WMP and play music.


ONE VERY IMPORTANT THING is to make sure that you select “Set as Wireless Stereo” in Menu/ the device name. This will make the HBH-DS970 get the full music stream instead of a mono (in both ears) low quality sound.

SOUND QUALITY with Dash:

Once I figured out the proper stereo profile, everything was great. The sound level is louder than the W800 wired headset (at least I think so). This is perfect for my main use--morning and evening commutes on the Subway. The bass is deep and rich, and the hiss, although still present, is almost unnoticeable. The only time I really focused on it was for songs with pure vocals or solo instruments. I am truly impressed with the quality.

I also connected it with my girl’s Samsung. No problems connecting here either. I think Samsung needs to update their spell check software.

One thing to note is that phone’s EQ will affect the sound quality ever through Bluetooth, but I personally thought that the Dash’s sound was much fuller and louder even without EQ.



I then connected to my laptop running XP and using the Bluesoleil driver pack and software. It connected without any issues, and once it did, everything came through the headset including all system sounds. One interesting thing to note is that I accidentally connected the Dash to my computer and the Dash’s track on WMP was playing on my laptop’s speakers. An interesting note for people with entertainment center PCs. I have to admit though, I think the Dash is the best sounding of all the players I tested.



RANGE

I walked back and forth in my apartment. I got signal for the whole distance with minimal interference (around 40 feet), but this was in eyesight on the phone. Through walls, even in the next room, I got a consistent drop outs, but this is to be expected with almost every headset, stereo or mono.

FUNCTIONALITY

With the Dash, you get caller ID, track skip, volume control and play/stop. I didn't have any track loaded on this laptop, so I couldn't test track skipping on a computer. Sadly, the Dash would not produce track names. Oh well, if I don't know what track i'm listening to, its probably not worth remembering.

There is a little latency on all control elements, but hell, it's wireless.



The Definitive “NO” to “Will this work with my K750/W600 /W800/W810?”


I could have added more phones to that list, but I assume that these phones operate on the same Bluetooth profile list. I imagine that any phone without AD2P will react the same, but I am only commenting on these.

I paired the HBH-DS970 with my W800. The result? Mono calls, and that’s about it. It pairs well enough, but no music. Enough said.

WEIRDNESS

The only part I haven't been able to figure out is how to enable automatic headset profile on the Dash. For instance, when I get a call, the music stops as it should and I can hear a ring through the headset (a SE ringtone by the way, even though my phone rings it normal ring), but then it defaults to speakerphone. I can then select "handsfree", but this is hella annoying. I must have something set wrong. Otherwise, this headset rocks.
________________________________________
I will post about battery life in two weeks, once I have used this a bit. I am more worried about the Dash’s battery than SE’s. I’ve noticed that the Dash goes from 1 bar to dead rather quickly, so this will not help matters.


Posted by: tkao2025

Nice Review.............By the way, what's the theme you have on your dash???? Looks really nice, care to share


Posted by: scoobydooby

I already sold my DS970, battery life was pathetic

Sound quality was pretty decent, though I couldn't get the music button to autolaunch my media player on my TyTN (on my Sammie x820 it started the mp3 player). Once I left the headphones on by mistake and 2 hours later they were dead. Sadly it also uses a proprietary charger port, I would have preferred a mini-usb port.

Other than that sound was good, they fit well.


Posted by: know1

Quote:
Originally Posted by tkao2025
Nice Review.............By the way, what's the theme you have on your dash???? Looks really nice, care to share


The theme is on this site:
www.kooldezine.com/Q.htm

Oh, and just so everyone knows how much of an idiot I am, I was pressing the talk button on the Dash to answer calls, not the talk button on the HBH-DS970 (DOH!). If you press the button on the DS970, the hands free works like a charm.

Quote:
Originally Posted by scoobydooby
I already sold my DS970, battery life was pathetic

Yeah, I already touched upon that concern, but like I posted in the begining, the stock headset sucks in every imaginable way, and there aren't too many other options out there. If HTC made a solid fitting, good sounding and loud headset that connected to their mini USB, I would buy that in a heatbeat.


Posted by: firemenace

GREAT REview i think im goingto go with the DS970 for my dash aswell.You noted that the headset didnt show track title, when you press FRWD or BACK whats shows up in the screen?


Posted by: know1

Nothing. When you press the buttons, the screen lights up and just shows the battery meter and the status icon (connected/searching/etc). It does work as caller ID. Don't feel bad though, as the track feature doesn't even work with SE's k800.

Having played around with it for a few days now, I have to say that I do notice a bit of distortion in some tracks. It sounds like a modulation issue. I don't know if it is the track itself (poorly coded MP3) or the sound pressure level, or even the range of a particular track. I imagine that these headphones must transmit an slightly cropped sound range (100-15,000 instead of the average 20-20,000) and it is just another D/A processor that the music has to go through, so its no surprise that it isn't perfect. Once again though, it kills the standard package set.

Oh, and the bouncing issues is a little annoying. If you wear this outside of your clothes, it swings back and forth and bounces off your chest no matter how you walk. Why didn't they put a clothes clip on the back of the LCD unit?


Posted by: firemenace

lol @ bouncimg effect. what mp3 player r you using on ur dash? im usin pocket player


Posted by: know1

So far I am using WMP, but I might try a few aftermarket players. I haven't found a good reason yet to not use WMP, but if there are other players out there that are more user friendly and can take advantage of A2DP, I am all ears. WMP is a little bit of a let down comming from SE's Walkman software (No EQ and an over complicated menu system), but it does work with this headset.

The Dash in general is becoming a bit of a headache. I've been experiencing frozen screens or the system won't backlight after 30 mintues of non-use. Just yesterday I had to take the battery out and put it back in, just for it to freeze again during startup. I'm wondering if all the extra crap (Facade, Fizz Weather, registry edits for Jogger) is messing things up. I've also noticed that Outlook will randomly open up. I put the Dash down on my desk yesterday and Outlook opened. My hand was nowhere near the Jogger or any other buttons.

I might have to go back to my SE phones. Maybe when the W830 comes out......


Posted by: datacrime

Is there a way to see the song titles on the headphones? Or even caller ID? Any thoughts?


Posted by: know1

Quote:
Originally Posted by datacrime
Is there a way to see the song titles on the headphones? Or even caller ID? Any thoughts?


Umm......no and yes, respectively.

I put that under the FUNCTIONALITY section. Caller ID works well enough with the Dash. You can see the number, sans "-", so they come out in strings like "5555555555". No text whatsoever so far, so no track titles or caller names stored on the SIM or phone will be visible. This might be something that can be tweaked with enough know-how, but I think SE specifically made it not work standard because they wanted to market this headset with their Walkman line--hence it working 100% with the W850 and W950, but not perfectly with the K800/K790 or the M600.

Now I feel like I wasted my time with such as long, detailed review seeing as though you just asked me a question that I already covered. But alas, reading is quite difficult.


Posted by: datacrime

Quote:
Originally Posted by know1
Umm......no and yes, respectively.

I put that under the FUNCTIONALITY section. Caller ID works well enough with the Dash. You can see the number, sans "-", so they come out in strings like "5555555555". No text whatsoever so far, so no track titles or caller names stored on the SIM or phone will be visible. This might be something that can be tweaked with enough know-how, but I think SE specifically made it not work standard because they wanted to market this headset with their Walkman line--hence it working 100% with the W850 and W950, but not perfectly with the K800/K790 or the M600.

Now I feel like I wasted my time with such as long, detailed review seeing as though you just asked me a question that I already covered. But alas, reading is quite difficult.



Sorry if you feel you wasted your time, i did read your review, i was merely asking how do i get caller ID to work on my headset. Your work is much appreciated, can you tell me how you got the caller ID to work on the headset.

Thanks


Posted by: know1

Once you pair the headset, it should work automatically. Caller ID is independent of the A2DP profile and HID profile, so almost every phone with Bluetooth should be able to make use of this feature (I think it is standard for the headset profile). No special set up is required, unless you have somehow managed to turn off caller ID on your phone itself.

Also, after you pair the headset once, as long as Bluetooth is activated on your phone, all you need to do is turn on the headset and press the play button. This will auto pair the headest with the last device that the headset paired with, saving you all the trouble of going into the comm manager and Bluetooth options to select the device.

No prob on the question. I wasn't my cheery self yesterday.

______________

One major dissapointment here about this headset. I was on the train this morning and it made a loud cracking-beep, then the screen went blank and the sound dropped to almost nothing. I could faintly hear it in the background, but none of the buttons would work. I was just standing still when it happened. It wasn't the track--I heard it a few times already through the headphones. It also wasn't data use, as I was in the subway tunnel.

Unlike most electronic devices, you can not take the battery out, so a physical reset is out of the question. I had to turn off Bluetooth (because it was still paired), wait 5 mintues, and then cycle the power. It worked again, but now I'm a little freaked out. Also, the icon on the Dash went from a stereo headset with a mic to just a stereo headset.


Posted by: datacrime

I have caller id on my phone and i do not get caller id on my headphones, Im not sure why?

The loud crackking sound i have heard in my phone too twice now?? not sure what it is but almost blew my ear drum last time!!!


Posted by: firemenace

ya pocketplayer supports the Forward and back feature on A2DP headphones you should give it a run know1 its much better then WMP has equilizer Album Art itune interface Etc... give it a google search


Posted by: gauchos

Hi, I just got my HBH-970 (ebay from Taiwan) and am having problems pairing with my dash. Following the pairing procedure in the manual I am able to see the headset just fine. When I press connect I am asked for a passcode. If I enter 0000 I get an error saying "...the connection failed or the passcode is incorrect...". However if I leave this first passcode blank my dash says I have connected with the HBH-970. I then enter a name for it and the services and hit done. After a couple seconds my Dash gives me a message saying the HBH-970 would like to connect using Bluetooth. I hit add and now get prompted for another passcode. This time however, if I leave it blank I get a message saying I have to enter a passcode. If I try 0000 I get the error saying "...the connection failed or the passcode is incorrect...".

Any thoughts? Thanks,

Jason


Posted by: gauchos

Quote:
Originally Posted by gauchos
Hi, I just got my HBH-970 (ebay from Taiwan) and am having problems pairing with my dash. Following the pairing procedure in the manual I am able to see the headset just fine. When I press connect I am asked for a passcode. If I enter 0000 I get an error saying "...the connection failed or the passcode is incorrect...". However if I leave this first passcode blank my dash says I have connected with the HBH-970. I then enter a name for it and the services and hit done. After a couple seconds my Dash gives me a message saying the HBH-970 would like to connect using Bluetooth. I hit add and now get prompted for another passcode. This time however, if I leave it blank I get a message saying I have to enter a passcode. If I try 0000 I get the error saying "...the connection failed or the passcode is incorrect...".

Any thoughts? Thanks,

Jason



Oops, I just figured it out...password problem. Everything's working now and I'd recommend the headset with the Dash.

Jason


Posted by: webhsu

Just got this nice little toy for my dash - seems though, that it doesn't work with TCMCP music player.




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