Warm sound, great comfort and beautiful build-quality from Nokia’s BH-905
By The Prodigal Fool, published on 13 May 2010
As you may have seen in our video yesterday, as part of Nokia’s #NokiaNav promotion, we’ve been given their latest Bluetooth noise cancellation headset to try out. We’re hugely impressed.
From the moment you open the box, this headset reeks of quality. It has a satisfying heft and bulk to it but it’s still smaller and less obtrusive than you might think from photos. Sure, it’s not as discrete as traditional in-ear buds and you may have to put up with the occasional odd look when worn out in public but we’re beginning to think that that’s a very small price to pay. You see the BH-905 has three killer cards up its sleeve:
- It’s totally wireless and supremely comfortable: The BH-905 connects to any Nokia phone – or indeed any Bluetooth-equipped music device for that matter – seamlessly. We tried it with our Nokia N86 and N97 mini. Both worked flawlessly and, once connected, you have total control over your music – you can pause, forward, rewind tracks – but also your phone calls. There is a built-in microphone so you can make and receive calls without ever getting your phone out of your pocket. This functionality almost extends fully to the iPhone 3GS: unfortunately, for reasons we couldn’t explain (no doubt Apple would blame Nokia and vice versa), the track forward / rewind buttons don’t work when paired with Cupertino’s finest. The real bonus though is that, unlike other so-called wireless headsets, there really are no wires at all. Most other Bluetooth headsets we’ve tried still have wires connecting the two buds and the mic which means that you lose the elegance of the BH-905. The slightly ungainly over-head design means you have no wires at all and can enjoy the comfort of padded ear pieces. We swear we could wear this thing for hours.
- It’s hugely effective at filtering out ambient noise: We’ve used noise cancellation headsets in the past and, honestly, have come away pretty unimpressed. The general principle is that they have a number of built-in mics devoted to sampling the ambient noise and then the speakers counter it with so-called white noise: sound that is the direct opposite of what is being produced in your surroundings and therefore cancels it out. We don’t know how Nokia has done it but the BH-905 is the first headset we’ve tried that actually delivers on this promise. We tried it on a busy London underground journey and it worked superbly. Now, obviously, you won’t always want to have all ambient noise filtered out. When walking around town, being able to hear a 911 hurtling towards you could literally save your life (especially if The Prodigal Fool is driving) but in other circumstances – like long plane journeys – this is a killer feature. The BH-905 has a convenient little switch that allows you to toggle noise cancellation on and off. Lovely.
- It delivers wonderful sound quality: The last point is the most important of course. What you really, really want from a headset is great sound and the BH-905 doesn’t disappoint: strong bass, precise treble and a warmth and immediacy to the music that most other headphones lack. We didn’t realize that our iPhone could sound this good. You really do rediscover tracks when you listen to them on good equipment: the detail and depth adds enormously to the experience.
Over the last year or so, the number of people you spot on public transport using full sized headphones like the BH-905 has increased. Until yesterday, The Guide eyed them with a mixture of derision and suspicion. Oh sure, we know all about the appeal of audiophile sound but looking so geeky was just enough to put us off. But the BH-905 is the smallest and best looking full-sized headset we’ve seen and it’s made us reconsider our take on this. We’d certainly al least consider wearing the BH-905 for our daily commute. One thing’s for sure, when it comes to long-haul flights, the BH-905 is the very first thing we’d want to pack in our hand luggage.
Indeed, we were so impressed with Nokia’s latest headset that we cheekily asked them if we could keep it. They declined we’re afraid. But here’s how much we like it: we’re giving very serious thought to going out and slamming our own hard-earned cash down for one. We can’t give it higher praise than that.
Warm sound, great comfort and beautiful build-quality from Nokia’s BH-905
As you may have seen in our video yesterday, as part of Nokia’s #NokiaNav promotion, we’ve been given their latest Bluetooth noise cancellation headset to try out. We’re hugely impressed. From the moment you open the box, this headset reeks of quality. It has a satisfying heft and bulk to it but it’s still smaller [...]
7 Responses to “Warm sound, great comfort and beautiful build-quality from Nokia’s BH-905”
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bluejacker
13 May 2010
The BH-905 sounds like a great headphone. But I still can’t imagine walking around with it, so I’ll stick to In-Ears. Could you say something about the battery life?
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Honestly, it’s smaller than it looks. You’ll look a bit like a geek but it’s not THAT bad…
I’m afraid I can’t comment on battery life as we haven’t drained the battery completely yet. What I can tell you is that I’ve used the headset for a good four hours without any sign that the battery is dying…
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I guess its a matter of social situation, in London it’s very common to see people commuting with large headphones on, it’s almost a sign of cool. These are quite a bit smaller than most – they look massive in a photo but the pad is around the size of your ear not covering half your head. I had a demo set before xmas, and i was surprised again opening them that they were so small.
I quite happily where them ‘everywhere’ as the sound is SO worth it.
and you can drop them round your neck of that off duty hipster chic.-
You’re absolutely right Mac. They’re much smaller than they look in photos and it’s so worth it for the sound quality and comfort of pads vs in-ear buds.
I shall redouble my efforts to achieve “hipster chic”.
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BH-905 ‘reeks of quality’ « WOMWorld/Nokia
13 May 2010
[...] while zooming round as part of the #NokiaNav challenges (not jealous, honest), has had a pair of BH-905 Bluetooth stereo headphones to listen to the driving [...]
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Matthew
17 May 2010
impossible to look “hipster chic” with a set of those. Especially for The Guide. Let this trend pass you by, for chrissake.
My Nokia BH-905 Noise Canceling Bluetooth Headset Review - Yours Questions Answered
13 May 2010
[...] Great review Micky and thanks for some answers ! I see this as part of NokiaNav promotion, we’ve been given their latest Bluetooth noise cancellation headset to try out. We’re hugely impressed. Warm sound, great comfort and beautiful build-quality from Nokia?s BH-905 The Prodigal Guide [...]