So our test criteria were set even before the box was opened to reveal that the BT 620s are a neck band style of unit which while very popular on the "street" take a bit of getting used to for more seasoned gadget fans. For us while the style appeals the comfort factor is also key and we did grow more accustomed the the band and weight (100g) of the headphones, we never become entirely comfortable and have to question if this design will be able to attract earbud users?

Set-up of the 620's was simple enough, the headset unit is paired with the device that is streaming the music and / or a mobile phone. A smart move from Jabra allows the 620s to be connected to both a mobile phone and an audio device simultaneously. However our set-up was rather more straight forward than most as we used Jabra's own Bluetooth dongle that supports the all important A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) profile. Real life for most users is a different kettle of fish with support for A2DP being quite sparse, most music gateways and servers and even music ready mobiles rarely support the required profile.

Probe a little deeper and the handy controls on the headphones that enable basic replay control (play/pause/skip) use another profile this time AVRCP which as before works well with Jabra's own dongle and in this case windows media player. But once again we struggled to find any other devices that could utilise the protocol.

Trying to ignore the limited profile support we pressed on with testing the Jabra BT620s with a laptop and the Jabra dongle. The range of the Bluetooth is a claimed 10 meters and in our daily use we found this to be reduced to about 8 meters in order to have a smooth uninterrupted playback and as low as 5 meters with a good chunky brick wall in the way. In effect it is a good system for losing the cable between your laptop and the headphones and on a par with an IR system with the benefit of not needing line of sight.

Audio quality was better than we had expected, it is not up to the standard of the best RF systems from names like Sennheiser, but then it's not the same price and does have a whole range of features that the RF system lack. Reproduction of a range of music was more than acceptable with good bass detail and mid range but perhaps a bit too bright for our tastes.

When selecting a Bluetooth headset over RF or IR or even a cabled headphone you are really picking it for integration with mobile phones. Here Jabra come up trumps with rock solid pairing and operation. Plus the 620s has a built in microphone meaning that calls can be made with the music replay being paused (using the AVRCP profile) and then restarted at the termination of the call.

Audio quality is good and although not stereo, phone calls are clear and loud. Our callers did report a bit more wind noise than normal and this is due to the positioning of the microphone with is not as close to the mouth as with traditional Bluetooth headsets.

Jabra also mention the use of this model of headphone for VOIP systems like Skype, however without the use of some intermediate software the unit is really only a remote microphone making it tricky to use. Perhaps if used with Vitaero (formerly SkypeHeadset) it would make a more compelling feature.

Battery life is a claimed 14 hours for music replay and we managed just under 13 hours during a weeks use, recharging takes 2 hours using either the supplied AC adaptor or via the mini USB jack which allows you to charge from a PC or Mac. It is possible to play music using the USB connection during charging from a PC, while this works we do question if you'd want to cable up your wireless headset?

Overall we found the set-up to be reliable when used with the  Jabra BT dongle and we'd have to recommend you stick to this for now, if you do so the 620s do what they say on the tin and provide a useful alternate to other wireless music systems. We love the way you can answer calls and pause music this is the high point of a system that feels like it is ahead of the technology curve and we hope it will come into its own as more mobiles and music systems support the A2DP profile.

Priced at £69.99 the Jabra BT620s headphones are an intriguing and forward looking however the vagaries of Bluetooth mean that reliance on emerging profiles limit the compatibility and therefore use for now.

More Jabra Reviews

Published - 02/08/2006

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