Review: Lubix UBHS-NC1 Stereo Bluetooth Headphones

After a video get-go look at the Lubix UBHS-NC1 ($89.95 at the WMExperts Store), I kept on using the headset for the rest of the week. I've come away very impressed with these Bluetooth headphones - slap-up for music, boilerplate for voice. Read on for the total review.

Video

In case you lot missed it, here'due south the video first look:

Design & Comfort

The UBHS-NC1... heck, I'chiliad just going to call it the Lubix despite the fact that Lubix also makes a Caller-ID version called the Lubix UBHS-LC1. Anyway, the Lubix feels very much similar a music-centric headset. Much like other bluetooth stereo headsets, the Lubix handles both music and calls equally well. However, the design seems more suited to music every bit the headset doesn't have a "boom" like traditional Bluetooth headsets. Instead, it's designed to await like a pendant that hangs around your neck. The other not-standard headset design impact is that information technology doesn't use earhooks - instead hanging in your ear just via the earbuds. The headset is light plenty to exercise this, although if you're a runner you lot might have an consequence with them falling out occasionally.

Simply speaking, this pattern is elegant. Although nobody's likely to error the Lubix for an bodily slice of jewelry, it looks decent enough floating around your neck. My MO has been to just hibernate it nether my shirt when I'm not using it. Some other nice design touch is a modest slice of prophylactic on the cable that allows you to shorten the length of wire in front end - and therefore how low on your neck the Lubix hangs.

Every bit I mentioned in the video, the two sides of the headset click together with a magnet - it's really a very satisfying click. Also mentioned in the video are a couple of other pattern touches: the AC adapter is slim and charges via a simple USB port (meaning you tin use it to charge other USB devices). Finally, I discovered a better way to "cord-manage" the headset when it's not around my cervix. I don't know if this was intentional or not, but it all wraps up in a very neat footling package - improve than whatsoever other bluetooth stereo headsets I've used.

Finally, I'm securely gratified to notice a simple On-Off switch. Windows Mobile ofttimes requires more than steps than I'd similar for changing bluetooth settings, so sometimes y'all just want to know your headset is off and calls won't be routed to it.

Setup

After charging up the Lubix (which happened very quickly, btw), pairing it upwards is every bit elementary as with most Bluetooth headsets these days. Plough on the On switch while holding down the phone button and the status light lets you know you're in pairing mode. The lawmaking is 0000, of course.

Afterwards that, my Blackjack handled sending audio to the Lubix just fine. My Treo 750, sadly, suffered from the aforementioned bugs that it suffered with the Jabra BT8010s, namely that information technology routed all sound - including rings to the Lubix. I don't know how Palm implemented A2DP on the Treo 750, but however they did it, it's broken.

Music

My master intention in getting the Lubix was music. I'chiliad annoyed with telephone manufacturers who don't put standard 3.5mm jacks on their phones (which ways I'one thousand bellyaching with pretty much all of them). So A2DP information technology is. Bluetooth performance was about on par with the Jabra BT8010. As long as I was within xv feet or and so of the Blackjack, I didn't hear any static or drops.

In terms of sound quality of the earphones, I should start by saying that I'k no audio-phile. These headphones sound pretty good, though. I exercise wish that there were more ear-gel options for the headset. The headphones sat just a trivial loosely in my ears, which has the upshot of lessening what little base small buds like this are able to punch out. In any case, I'd put so on par with your average iPod white buds - which I imagine horrifies some of you and give the rest some indication that they're non crap, but they're not going to make you feel like you're at a live performance.

"Live Performance," by the way, is one of the 4 "3D Sound Event" settings y'all can cull in improver to the standard setting. Y'all printing the "telephone" push while listening to music to switch betwixt the different settings. In practise, these settings don't brand a gigantic deviation in music quality - it is Bluetooth afterwards all - but information technology'south fun to tweak the sound every now and once more. In whatever case, the settings are:

Normal: No filtering (the headset beeps twice when you lot've switched to Normal)
XOME: A sort of bones setting that supposedly filters noise
Live: A soft 3D effect that is simulates a Live setting
Wide: "Panoramic" sound - basically a stronger 3D outcome
MEX: Like wide, but with a bass booster. This is the setting I use

The headset also supports AVRCP, which means you tin can get forwards, dorsum, play, pause and stop straight from the headset. In that location's also a volume adjustment that'southward independent from your phone'southward volume. All of the above works as advertised. I like that both of the buttons are "jog buttons", which means each provides 3 different functions in a pocket-size infinite still aren't disruptive in the least.

Vox

Voice quality is on par with most basic headsets. The microphone picks upwardly some background racket, just not besides strongly. The headset doesn't accept any noise cancellation that I was able to notice. If you have a phone that supports vocalisation dialing over Bluetooth, that should piece of work fine also. I say information technology should considering I was unable to test that.

One other matter to mention is that the headset supports multi-pairing in an interesting way. You can pair upwards to ii devices with information technology, sure, but you tin can set it up to pair music from i device and calls from another. Neat. Of course, the answer and hang-upward buttons on the headset work fine.

Conclusion

The long and curt of the UBHS-NC1 is this: information technology'southward very user-friendly to carry around and use, it's great for music, and average for phonation. It's the convenience and well-thought-out design that gets me, though. If you're looking for a good ready of music headphones for your Windows Mobile telephone, these are probably the easiest carry around and use on the marketplace.

Last thing: Battery life is spec'ed at 5 hours music or vi hours talk fourth dimension with a standby time of 150 hours. In my testing that's just a fiddling optimistic, only not past much.

Ratings (out of 5)

Blueprint: five
Convenience: 5
Music Quality: 4
Vocalism Quality: iii

Overall: iv

Pros

Clever pendant blueprint
Expert music quality
Well thought-out "jog" buttons

Cons

Voice quality only average
Not a broad-enough diverseness of ear-gels

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