The Smorgasbord

Now that technology has made cell phones more popular than watches and handbags, you can’t go much of anywhere without seeing someone engaged in conversation with their hand plastered to their ear. This has become a bit of a problem since it ties up on of your hands and distracts you (while driving). That’s probably why the most popular accessory since the phone charger itself is now the “bluetooth headset”.

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

What Is a Bluetooth Headset?

Nearly all modern cell phones have “bluetooth” capatibility. Mobile phones equipped with bluetooth have the ability to create a “personal area network” or PAN. A PAN is a short-range radio frequency meant to connect small devices like cell phones, laptops, PC’s, digital cameras, printers, video game consoles, etc. So a bluetooth headset is just a small earpiece with a microphone that connects to your cell phone via this short range wireless frequency on your personal area network. Now you know why you see so many people walking around talking to themselves that look like they’re from the cast of Star Trek because of the futuristic device attached to their head.

What Makes a Good Bluetooth Headset?

A good bluetooth headset is comfortable and made out of quality materials that will last a long time. It has as decent battery life, and hopefully the audio quality doesn’t sound like a semi driving through a tunnel. There are two sides to quality audio and the first is the earpiece. What you hear while talking on the phone through the bluetooth headset is in part determined by the quality of that speaker in the earpiece itself. A very low quality sub-$20 earpiece you bought in a bargain store or flea market is likely to have very tinny audio due to the speaker quality. Without some decent bass and mid-range response you’re likely to have problems listening for any extended period of time. The largest factor of quality however lies in the microphone. It’s garbage in – garbage out they say, and you’ll only hear quality audio if that’s what the microphone picks up. The same for the person you’ve called, the audio they receive on their end is only as good as what your microphone picks up. Often, that quality is affected by your physical location. If you are in a car with an open window, in a subway station, or at a restaurant – the microphone is likely to pickup much more than your voice. In contrast, if it’s a nice sunny day at a quiet park or if you’re inside on your sofa the headset will likely have much better audio.

What is Noise Cancelling Technology?

Noise Cancelling Technology is where a headset attempts to differentiate between your voice and background noise. It then separates the two to the best of it’s ability, cancelling out the noise and tranferring along only your voice to make the audio quality cleaner. Of couse this works with varying degrees of success from poor to stellar. Once again the quality of the noise cancelling bluetooth headset (and price paid) are probably pretty good indicators of the audio quality produced. Noise cancelling in bluetooth headsets is also called “Digital Signal Processing” or DSP. Headsets with better noise cancelling usually have more than one microphone (two or more) to be able to separate the noise better.

What are the Best Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Headsets?

There are a handful that are simply exceptional and really stand out from the crowd you should take note of. I’ll tell you what makes each one unique.

The Eliph Jawbone

The Jawbone has been getting absolutely rave reviews since it was first shown at CES early 2008. The Wall Street Journal, c|Net, engadget, Financial Times, and Macworld all give it stellar reviews. On c|Net the user reviews are a bit lower than what the editor’s gave it, but all in all they are still above average. It uses “military grade” noise cancelling technology. You can usually find it new for $80-100.

Jawbone 2,II, 3,III USB Cable Charger Bluetooth Headset

US $0.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 10:45:39 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

OEM A Jawbone Prime Wireless Bluetooth Headset Bulk

US $43.00 (11 Bids) End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 11:05:30 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Apple iPhone 3G NO CONTRACT with Jawbone Bluetooth

US $222.50 (10 Bids) End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 11:09:11 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

The Jabra BT800

There are online reviews of the Jabra BT800 going back as far as 2005, which means this headset has been out awhile. Jabra is the world’s largest maker or bluetooth headsets, largely because of their lower pricepoint compared to others on the market. The thing that makes the BT800 popular to this day is what sets it apart – the digital display for caller ID. This is a feature not found in nearly any other bluetooth headset. The DSP in this headset boasts both noise cancelling and echo cancelling. Admittedly since this unit has been out a few years, newer units like the Jawbone will have better DSP, but then again you can get the Jabra BT800 under $40-50 now.

OEM JABRA HOME CHARGER BT500 BT500V BT800 BT150 BT160

US $7.88 End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 13:52:25 PST Buy It Now for only: US $7.88 Buy it now | Add to watch list

CAR CHARGER FOR JABRA BT800 BT500 JX10 A210 BT350 BT160

US $5.38 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Mar-12-2010 0:13:34 PST Buy It Now for only: US $5.98 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

NEW JABRA BT800 BLUETOOTH WIRELESS HEADSET

US $20.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Friday Mar-12-2010 8:52:24 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

The Blueant Z9

The Blueant Z9 bluetooth headset came on the market in 2007 and retails for about $100. It claims to have advanced noice cancellation that “preserves the natural voice”. They call this their “Voice Isolation Technology”. In addition this unit has 2 modes for noice cancellation, both standard and “Max”. I guess you could be at the market or in a dog kennel and having the options for extreme circumstance can’t be all that bad. It’s highly rated by most users at tech sites, in fact more highly rated that all the Motorola bluetooth headsets we viewed.

USB CAR CHARGER ADAPTER FOR BLUEANT Z9 Z9i BLUETOOTH DC

US $1.00 End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 16:52:39 PST Buy It Now for only: US $1.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

NEW BLUEANT Z9 BLUETOOTH WIRELESS HEADSET BLUE ANT Z9i

US $0.99 (1 Bid) End Date: Friday Mar-12-2010 8:08:26 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

BLUEANT Z9 BLUETOOTH WIRELESS HEADSET

US $9.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Mar-12-2010 10:45:07 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

The Jabra 8040

The Jabra 8040 is brand new for 2008 and it has some new features as well that make it stand out. It has MultiPoint technology, which gives it the ability to connect to two different devices at the same time (very handy!). It also seems to be one of the only “mono” headsets on the market with A2DP technology for streaming music wirelessly. You usually only see A2DP in full headphones or speakers. It is listed as having intelligent volume settings, and active noise reduction, but also has “Acoustic Shock Protection” which supposedly protects your ear from sudden spikes in volume. For all these features this Jabra model seems to be a bargain compared to some of the high priced models at it’s modest <$60 pricepoint.

Jabra BT8040 BT 8040 Bluetooth Headset Home AC Charger

US $5.31 End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 12:46:39 PST Buy It Now for only: US $5.31 Buy it now | Add to watch list

SET OF 2 SIZE JABRA BT8040 Ear Loop Hook Earhook 8040

US $7.25 End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 18:39:27 PST Buy It Now for only: US $7.25 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Jabra BT8040 BT8010 BT 8040 8010 Bluetooth Headset CASE

US $8.18 End Date: Friday Mar-12-2010 18:47:27 PST Buy It Now for only: US $8.18 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Things to remember

If you’re in the market for a new bluetooth headset try to get the highest bang for your buck. Spending a little more might result in better audio quality or a more comfortable earpiece. Buying a headset with better DSP or noise cancelling will results in better conversations and more effective use with your cell phone. Shop around and find the best price, and your new noise cancelling bluetooth headset may just become your top new must-have gadget and mobile accessory!

John Pratt writes about cell phones and accessories at Used Cell Phones and Cell Phone How To.

There are thousands of bluetooth headsets on eBay right now!

Stereo 3.5mm Bluetooth Cell Phone Headset Handfree 2.4g

US $33.88 End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 10:44:14 PST Buy It Now for only: US $33.88 Buy it now | Add to watch list

NEW Genuine Motorola HS810 HS-810 Bluetooth Headset

US $5.98 (1 Bid) End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 10:44:16 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Jawbone 2,II, 3,III USB Cable Charger Bluetooth Headset

US $0.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 10:45:39 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Plantronics Voyager 510 Bluetooth Headset - NEVER USED

US $46.75 (23 Bids) End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 10:48:56 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Samsung Bluetooth Headset WEP870 2 in 1 stereo & mono

US $30.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 10:48:59 PST Buy It Now for only: US $35.00 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

New Mini H700 Bluetooth Handsfree Headset ver2.0 Silver

US $9.77 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 10:49:48 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

NEW BLUETOOTH HEADSET FOR SONY PLAYSTATION 3 PS3

US $0.01 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 10:51:45 PST Buy It Now for only: US $1.99 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

NEW MOTOROLA H390 H 390 WIRELESS BLUETOOTH HEADSET BLK

US $24.99 End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 10:51:51 PST Buy It Now for only: US $24.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list