The Kinivo BTH240 Bluetooth Stereo Headphones are convenient, comfortable, and a considerable bang for your buck.
The 240s are a followup to the 220s that Kinivo also sells. They support A2DP (v1.2), HSP, HFP (v1.5) and AVRCP (v1.0), using the 2.1+EDR class 2 Bluetooth version. They're mostly comfortable with a reported 10 hour music and talk time, plus a reported 200 hour standby time with its rechargeable 400mAh Li-Polymer battery. Personally, I have found the music/talk time to be closer to 6-8 hours with a standby time of easily 1 week (200 hours would be 8.3333~ days). The recharge time is about 2-3 hours, and the headset will let you know with 2 repeating audible beeps that it's time to recharge via the micro USB port and the included micro USB to USB cord. The cord is just shy of 3 feet, measuring at 35 3/8 inches (89cm). You can listen while recharging, which makes the cord annoyingly short. Any micro USB cable can be used, however the cutout for the USB port on the headphones is small, so not all cables will fit. Bluetooth range will depend on your source. Cheap off brand $4 dongles on eBay have barely any range, and the signal can be cut out just by placing your hand over the right earpiece.
All of the buttons are on the right earpiece, along with a red/blue LED. The LED slowly blinks blue when connected, red when battery is low, and solid red while charging. You have your basic volume up and down, track back and forward, plus a multi-purpose button which turns on/off the headphones, toggle voice command or voice dialing, answer/end call, redial last number or refuse incoming call, switch audio between phone and headset, as well as play/pause music. The buttons are conveniently laid out and are easily found just by touch. They have quite an audible click when pressing, but nothing that you can't get used to.
These are behind the head style headphones with loops to rest on the top of your ears. There is no cushion on the loops, so they can get uncomfortable after many hours of use. The ear pads are mostly comfortable foam with a very thin leatherette covering. If you use these for exercising they may get hot and sweaty, depending on your body chemistry. They are in no way adjustable (other than manual positioning -- and hoping they stay put) which is not a huge issue -- at least for me -- but varying head sizes may find varying results (full disclosure - I have a huge cranium).
And now for possibly the most important aspect -- sound quality. These are definitely not high end, but they sure aren't junk either. The bass is lacking (mostly due to the seal -- or non-seal -- around your ears) but not entirely absent. The mids seem a bit overbearing at times, possibly to make up for the weak bass. Highs are nice but not absolutely crystal. Some EQing can help some of these shortfalls. Overall -- especially in this price range (sub $50US) -- the sound is great. I can listen to music for hours, and easily watch some TV shows or movies. The volume can be adjusted quite high (which I find myself maxing out the volume -- they yell at you when you reach the limit -- during movies) and don't suffer from any perceptible distortion. One annoyance is you can't adjust the volume unless something is being played, so if you're coming from max volume while watching a movie to listening to music -- you may be in for a slightly painful burst as you rapidly tap the volume down button.
Overall, I love these headphones. Comfortable, great sound, and wireless. I'd recommend these for anyone on a low budget but wants great sound too (and bluetooth is awesome). If you need audio mastering level sound quality -- I think it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway -- forget it.
The 240s are a followup to the 220s that Kinivo also sells. They support A2DP (v1.2), HSP, HFP (v1.5) and AVRCP (v1.0), using the 2.1+EDR class 2 Bluetooth version. They're mostly comfortable with a reported 10 hour music and talk time, plus a reported 200 hour standby time with its rechargeable 400mAh Li-Polymer battery. Personally, I have found the music/talk time to be closer to 6-8 hours with a standby time of easily 1 week (200 hours would be 8.3333~ days). The recharge time is about 2-3 hours, and the headset will let you know with 2 repeating audible beeps that it's time to recharge via the micro USB port and the included micro USB to USB cord. The cord is just shy of 3 feet, measuring at 35 3/8 inches (89cm). You can listen while recharging, which makes the cord annoyingly short. Any micro USB cable can be used, however the cutout for the USB port on the headphones is small, so not all cables will fit. Bluetooth range will depend on your source. Cheap off brand $4 dongles on eBay have barely any range, and the signal can be cut out just by placing your hand over the right earpiece.
All of the buttons are on the right earpiece, along with a red/blue LED. The LED slowly blinks blue when connected, red when battery is low, and solid red while charging. You have your basic volume up and down, track back and forward, plus a multi-purpose button which turns on/off the headphones, toggle voice command or voice dialing, answer/end call, redial last number or refuse incoming call, switch audio between phone and headset, as well as play/pause music. The buttons are conveniently laid out and are easily found just by touch. They have quite an audible click when pressing, but nothing that you can't get used to.
These are behind the head style headphones with loops to rest on the top of your ears. There is no cushion on the loops, so they can get uncomfortable after many hours of use. The ear pads are mostly comfortable foam with a very thin leatherette covering. If you use these for exercising they may get hot and sweaty, depending on your body chemistry. They are in no way adjustable (other than manual positioning -- and hoping they stay put) which is not a huge issue -- at least for me -- but varying head sizes may find varying results (full disclosure - I have a huge cranium).
And now for possibly the most important aspect -- sound quality. These are definitely not high end, but they sure aren't junk either. The bass is lacking (mostly due to the seal -- or non-seal -- around your ears) but not entirely absent. The mids seem a bit overbearing at times, possibly to make up for the weak bass. Highs are nice but not absolutely crystal. Some EQing can help some of these shortfalls. Overall -- especially in this price range (sub $50US) -- the sound is great. I can listen to music for hours, and easily watch some TV shows or movies. The volume can be adjusted quite high (which I find myself maxing out the volume -- they yell at you when you reach the limit -- during movies) and don't suffer from any perceptible distortion. One annoyance is you can't adjust the volume unless something is being played, so if you're coming from max volume while watching a movie to listening to music -- you may be in for a slightly painful burst as you rapidly tap the volume down button.
Overall, I love these headphones. Comfortable, great sound, and wireless. I'd recommend these for anyone on a low budget but wants great sound too (and bluetooth is awesome). If you need audio mastering level sound quality -- I think it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway -- forget it.
