Creative CB2530
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CNET Editors' Review
The good: Creative's CB2530 Bluetooth wireless headphones feature rugged construction and conveniently located volume and muting controls.
The bad: Unfortunately, the Creative CB2530s offer subpar sound, battery, and wireless performance.
The bottom line: If you're serious about music quality, Creative's CB2530 Bluetooth wireless headphones aren't for you. Although they eliminate pesky wires, they also suffer from lackluster sound quality, frequent sound dropouts, and limited volume output.
The plastic Creative CB2530 headphones weigh 7 ounces and feel like they're ruggedly built; the ultrasoft vinyl ear cushions are almost large ... Expand full review
The plastic Creative CB2530 headphones weigh 7 ounces and feel like they're ruggedly built; the ultrasoft vinyl ear cushions are almost large enough to completely cover our ears. However, we found the CB2530 only moderately comfortable after an hour of listening, mostly because the headphones squeezed our ears with a bit more pressure than we would have liked. The right ear cup conveniently houses a combination volume and muting control. The CB2530 doesn't fold for compact storage, and Creative doesn't supply a carry pouch.
The Creative CB2530 is powered with a total of three AAA batteries: one in the Bluetooth transmitter and two more in the headphone's left ear cup. Creative quotes a 7-hour life expectancy when using alkaline batteries, and we found that claim to be fairly accurate. Just be aware that you'll have to change batteries often; a rechargeable model would have been better in this case. The Bluetooth transmitter isn't a whole lot bigger than its battery and comes with a 7-inch-long cable, terminating with a 3.5mm gold-plated miniplug; we were disappointed to find Creative doesn't include a 6.3mm home adapter. The cable was too long for our tastes, plus it just dangles there, leaving us wondering where to put the transmitter after we plugged the cable into our iPod or MP3 player. The CB2530 uses Bluetooth 1.2 technology; its range is quoted as 32 feet, but our sample conked out around 20 feet.
To use the Creative CB2530, you must first pair the Bluetooth transmitter to the headphones. It's a simple enough procedure: just hold down the transmitter's power button until its blue LED indicator lights up, then flick on the headphones' power switch. The headphones' red LED illuminates, followed by the Bluetooth's blue LED, then the sound comes on. Or at least it's supposed to--there were times when we had to repeat the steps a few times before we got sound. When you're finished listening, simply turn off the headphones, and the transmitter automatically shuts itself off.
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Ex-movie theater projectionist Steve Guttenberg has also worked as a high-end audio salesman, and as a record producer. Steve currently reviews audio products for CNET and works as a freelance writer for Home Theater, Inner Fidelity, Tone Audio, and Stereophile. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET.
User Reviews
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Showing 3 of 6 reviews
"Very good product." By greg3305
Pros: No cords!!! Great quality audio when paired with devices that support A2DP.
Cons: Earpieces are not hinged; fit perhaps a bit too tight.
Summary: Let's get one thing cleared up right away: these will not match the sound quality of a high-end, $300 set of Bose wired stereo headphones. If you're that big of an audiophile, you shouldn't be looking at anything wireless.
However, if you simply want wireless freedom and ... Expand full review
"better product then expected" By rskipk
Pros: decent sound, simple to set up,good build quality
Cons: a little hard to get a comfortable adjustment
Summary: After reading the few reviews I could find I wasn't expecting much when I ordered these headphones from Amazon. I usually use my Sennheiser PX100 with my Zen Vision M so I wanted something at least close to the sound from my wired set. To be honest I think ... Expand full review
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