Guest Review: Sony DR-BT21G Bluetooth Stereo Headset

Look ma, no wires!

Reader carper55 recently posted in the forums asking for advice on a suitable Bluetooth stereo headset to use with his iPod touch. It’s an often over-looked fact that both the iPhone and iPod touch (with the exception of the first generation models of both) are A2DP enabled, which means they can send your music to Bluetooth headphones or other devices like car stereos. We asked carper55 to review the headphones he decided on, so with many thanks to him, hear is his Guest Review.

The Sony DR-BT21G (which I have just bought for my iPod touch) is a very neat and compact Bluetooth headset. It folds down to a 9 cm triangular shape, is only 7cm wide and weighs in at just 63g. It is a neck-band model and fits comfortably behind the ears with the angle of the band can being adjustable for a comfortable fit. Only available in black, it comes with an AC power adapter and instruction book.

The important bit for all you iPod touch (2nd-gen +) and iPhone (3G and above) users is the fact that it is A2DP Bluetooth compatible which means it will work with them both. I tried these headphones on  the iPod touch but haven’t got an iPhone to test it on so can’t vouch for that device, however  if you are close to a Sony Style store they have demo models for you to try before you buy.

The first thing you will need to do is charge the unit for three hours. A red light will illuminate on the right unit to show the unit is charging, this will extinguish once the unit is fully charged. The charge state of the unit can be checked at any time while the unit is switched on by simply pressing the power button located on the right unit. The red light will flash a number of times: three indicates full charge, two flashes indicates mid state and one flash indicates that the battery is low and requires recharging.  There is also an automatic function whereby the red indicator will flash and an audible beep will alert you to the fact that the unit is almost empty and unit will turn off when empty. Sony claim that the unit will give you up to approximately eleven hours of playback and communication time with one hundred hours of standby.

The Bluetooth pairing on my iPod touch was really simple. You simply need to make sure that Bluetooth on the iPod is ON and then press and hold the power button on the headphones for seven seconds, at which point the blue and red LEDs will flash twice to indicate that the unit is in pairing mode. Now look at your iPod / iPhone and the device DR-BT21G should appear: select this and you are connected. The unit will flash blue slowly to indicate that pairing is complete.

Perfect for wedge-shaped heads!

The right hand unit has the power, volume, FF, REW, Multi-function button (this controls various call functions), red and blue indicator lights, jog switch (this controls various music functions), and microphone. The left hand unit has the DC-in 3V jack.

So how did it perform? Well, on the iPod touch front the music clarity was the best I have ever experienced. There was enough volume adjustment to listen to the heaviest of rock, and with no wires dangling everywhere it made it so much easier to carry on with your everyday functions. I paired it with my Sony Ericsson K850i phone and got the wife to give me a call, the ringtone was clear and all I had to do was press the multi-function button on the right-hand unit to answer the call. Her voice was as clear as a bell and she could hear me with the same clarity.

The final test that really impressed me and I’m sure the outcome will be the same on the iPhone was to listen to music from my iPod touch over the unit and receive a phone call on my Sony Ericsson K850i at the same time. It worked a treat with the music fading as the ringtone took it’s place, at which point the multifunction was pressed and I was on the receiving end of the phone call. As soon as the call finished the music resumed.

Now for the bit you have all been waiting for, the technical specifications:

Bluetooth version… 2.0
Bluetooth Power Class… 2
Maximum Range… 10m/30 ft
Compatible Bluetooth Profiles… A2DP, AVRCP, HSP, HFP
Power source… DC 3.7 v, built in lithium-ion rechargeable battery.
Receiver… Open air, Dynamic
Driver Unit… 30 mm dome type
Reproduction Frequency range… 14 -24,000 Hz
Microphone Type…omni directional, electret condenser
Effective frequency range…100 – 4,000 Hz

I’ll give these headphones ten-out-of-ten and I’m sure you will too.

– Official product page, via sony.co.nz