Design and Construction
The left speaker has the music playback keys, which include the Play/Pause key and also acts as the Power key. Then there are the FF/REW keys, the Call key and the volume control keys on the rim of the speaker. The Volume + key when pressed and held for some time activates or deactivates the SRS WOW HD feature.
The BlueBAND Sport is not adjustable in any way. You just turn the speakers around which are held by flexible rubberized plastic to make them sit on ears and that's about it. Due to the one-size-fits-all design, there is no guarantee that the headset will fit your ears perfectly.
Unfortunately, when I tried them on, they did not fit firmly on my ears. What made it worse was that I could not move my head up or down without displacing the headset off my ears. Also, the neck band prevents you from lying down or resting your head. The headset can be quite uncomfortable to wear for long.
The build quality of the headset was fine and it seemed rugged enough to take a sufficient amount of abuse. The buttons also worked well and reacted with a clicking sound. The headset is also sweat resistant, which is a good thing, as it can be used while you work out in the gym.
Performance
Pairing the headset with a device is very simple. You first have to press and hold the Play/Pause key for eight seconds, after which the status LED starts flashing Red and Blue alternately. At that point you start searching for the headset through the device you want to pair the headset with. It can either be a mobile phone, a computer or a media player. As long as it supports the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you'll get stereo sound through the headset.
After searching and finding the headset, you click on it to start pairing by entering the pairing password, 8888, and you are done! Now, even if you turn off either the headset or the device, they'll automatically pair back when you turn them on again. I tried pairing it with a Nokia 5700 XpressMusic, an Asus P565, Samsung L700 and an Acer laptop, and it worked perfectly.
OK before we start with the sound quality, here is a little bit of gyaan regarding the working of stereo Bluetooth headsets. Stereo Bluetooth requires the presence of the A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) in both the devices. The device transmitting the data compresses and converts the audio data so that it can be streamed over Bluetooth.
The receiving device then decodes the data back and plays it through the speakers. Now, since the device usually compresses the audio data into a lossy format, the quality of the audio that you ultimately hear isn't 100% of the actual audio file. Add to the fact that most people use MP3 format, which itself is compressed, and you can understand why Bluetooth headsets are not popular among audiophiles. They still swear by the wired headphones regardless of the mess that the wires create.
AVRCP (Audio Video Remote Control Profile) is another Bluetooth profile for wireless headsets, which enables you to control your music with buttons placed on the headset such as Play/Pause, FF/Rew, etc. wirelessly.
Now, coming back to the sound, the quality of the headset is pretty good. However, the bass was slightly on the lighter side for my taste. Initially, I thought it might be because the speakers weren't very securely placed on my ears but then even after manually pressing them on my ears the bass performance didn't improve substantially.
The high frequencies weren't perfectly clear as well, however, the mids were fine. The maximum volume of the headset was quite high and should be sufficient for most users. The headset also has the SRS WOW HD feature, which is activated by pressing and holding the Volume + key. On activating it, it makes the sound louder and adds a bit more clarity with 3D surround effects. Unfortunately, there was also some distortion that I could hear after activating it and the 3D effect didn't really appeal to me. Overall, considering the limitations of A2DP, the sound quality was good but not exceptional.
When used for calls from a mobile phone, the voice of the caller could be heard clearly. The microphone, despite being placed on the side, picked up my voice very well. However, when outdoors, I had to speak loudly to make myself heard.
Battery Life
The BlueBAND Sport has a 340 mAh Li-Pol battery. The rated music playback time was up to eight hours, while the talktime was also about eight hours. The headset has a standby time of 200 hours. It managed to achieve the manufacturer's reported time, which is a good thing, as eight hours is a perfectly acceptable amount of time for a Bluetooth headset.
Verdict
The i.Tech BlueBAND Sport is a great-looking headset with a good battery life. The controls on the side are large and easy to use, and the pairing process is swift. The sound quality is decent but not great.
The bundles storage case is great for carrying it around in your bag without damaging the headset. Priced at Rs. 4,799 MRP
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