MOTOROKR S9-HD
With all the laws being passed regarding use of cell phones while driving (California, Washington and soon my home State of Oregon) I figured I should look into some kind of hands-free headset. I didn’t want to get the standard blue-tooth ear piece as I like to listen to music on my phone as well (either mp3’s or streaming Pandora) so I opted for a stereo headset. There are plenty out there to choose from but I went with the Motorokr S9-HD for a number of reasons. First, it’s Motorola and as a brand they typically stand for good quality. Second, out of all the headsets that I looked at I liked the Motorokr S9-HD the best due to its small size and weight, comfort and easy to use controls. Thirdly, the sound was the best. The negative aspect of the Motorokr S9-HD was that they were the most expensive at $89.00 (you can probably get them cheaper online but I purchased mine at Best Buy).
The remainder of this review is based on my use paired with an HTC TYTNII (also known as an HTC Kaiser or AT&T Tilt).
PAIRING
The Motorokr S9-HD supports the following profiles: HF 1.2, A2DP 1.2 and AVCRP 1.0. It was incredibly easy to pair the headset with my phone. I turned on Bluetooth on my phone and powered on the headset. The phone recognized and paired with the headset in a matter of seconds. It was just that easy. Powering on the headset is as simple as pressing the power button on the back for 2 seconds until you see a flashing blue light. Once paired, I was able to get quite a distance from my phone without sound cutting out. When I first used the headset on a walk and listened to a podcast the sound did cut out quite a bit and I was a little dismayed by that but with further use I haven’t experienced those issues since.
WEARING
Wearing the Motorokr S9-HD headset is just a matter of gently pulling the headset wide enough apart to slide over your head. The ear buds are comfortable (even after hours of use) and slip into your ears. The back of the headset simply floats over the back of your neck. My experience is that they fit snug enough that you can easily run, job or bike without feeling like they are going to come off your head like I imagine other brands that rest “on” your ears would. The Motorokr S9-HD comes with spare ear buds of two different sizes.
CONTROLS/CONTROLLING
Controls for the Motorokr S9-HD are pretty simple. On the right side of the ear piece there are controls for Track Forward, Play/Pause and Track Back. They are raised buttons so it is pretty easy to feel where they are and after a period of use I easily remembered which was which. On the left side are the volume control buttons as well as the phone button for answering calls (more on this in a bit). The buttons are all easy to press and operate and you feel a definite “click” when pressed as well as there is a beep you hear to indicate that the button was pressed.
SOUND QUALITY
I have used the Motorokr S9-HD with mp3’s as well as streaming music with Pandora and the sound quality is very good (much better than the wired ear buds I was previously using). The bass is probably the best I’ve heard from such a small headset. As Motorola advertises the Motorokr S9-HD has “high definition sound – powerful SRS WOW HD surround sound delivers spatial audio and improved bass for a rich music listening experience”. I will admit that I was skeptical about HD surround sound but I can honestly say that the Motorokr S9-HD sounds great. For its size, comfort and price it is probably the best sounding headset I’ve used. There are actually two different sound quality settings that you can choose from. The first offers a fuller sound and better clarity and the second more balanced audio with more bass. I imagine that based on the audio settings and enhancements on your device (phone, mp3 etc.) you may need to test the different settings and see what sounds best. To switch between the two it is as simple as pressing and holding the Track Forward button until you hear a beep. While listening to music you can use the Track Forward/Backward buttons on the side of the headset to move to the next track, back a track or pause the music.
RECEIVING A CALL
When you are using the headset for music and a call comes in you will hear it ring in your headset and the music will pause. The first time I received a call I answered the call from my phone as I usually did. What happened was that the party that had called me could hear me but I could not hear them. I quickly figured out that in order to answer a call you need to press the call button on the left side of the headset. If you don’t do this then you won’t be able to hear the party that just called you. I don’t know whether this is by design or a bug but it seems to me that you should be able to answer the call from your phone as well as the headset. I found the call quality to be decent. At times I needed to adjust the volume and I’ve had people say that I sounded like I was talking in a cave. Overall I am satisfied with the call quality and to be honest I don’t use them all that much for making calls. My primary use is to listen to music without all the cables. Of course as soon as the “hands-free” law passes in Oregon I will be using them much more for making calls. Also, to make a call you need to press the Phone button on the left side of the headset and then dial your number. Again, my experience is if you don’t do that you can still make the call but you won’t be able to hear the party you are calling. If you are on a call and another call comes in (you must be popular) simply press the Phone button on the left side of the headset to answer the incoming call. You can use this same button to switch between calls.
STATUS
On the back of the headset is a light that flashes in different sequences and colors, each indicating a particular status of the headset. For example a steady blue light means the headset is in pairing mode. Or a quick red flash means the battery is low. There are also audio tones that indicate different statuses as well. There is a whole table in the manual that lists the light/tone status for the headset.
BATTERY LIFE/CHARGING
To charge the headset simply lift a rubber cover at the back of the headset and use the mini-USB charger that comes with the Motorokr S9-HD. It generally charges in less than 2 hours. I’ve used the Motorokr S9-HD for about 2 weeks now and in general with my particular use (streaming music, podcasts for 1-2 hours a day) I find myself charging it twice a week. Your experience may vary. I’d like to hit on the biggest negative that I see in regards to the Motorokr S9-HD. THE BATTERY IS NON-REPLACEABLE. Motorola indicates that with general use one would get about 400 charges before the battery would no longer hold a charge. What this means is that you are basically buying a disposable headset. For me I am fine with that as I am sure I would upgrade to something different in a year, so I can live with this. But for many this will be a real negative aspect of this headset.
CONCLUSIONS
A few other questions I have regarding the Motorokr S9-HD are its weather proofing, how it stands up to rain or sweat. I’ve heard that they don’t stand up well to sweat and moisture so I plan on being careful with mine. I don’t have a definitive answer at this point and Motorola makes no mention of weather proofing. Overall I like this headset and would recommend it to anyone that wants a comfortable, lightweight performance Bluetooth stereo headset and can get over the fact that it will have a limited life due to a non-replaceable battery.
PROS: lightweight, comfortable, easy to use, exceptional sound quality
CONS: expensive at close to $90 and non-replaceable battery (meaning these are basically disposable)
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