Motorola Rokr S9 HD - black

CNET editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.3 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Nicole Lee
• Reviewed on: 07/01/2009

When Motorola came out with the Motorola Rokr S9 headset two years ago, stereo Bluetooth headsets were still fairly new, and the S9 gained popularity because of its sports-centric design. Now that more phones have stereo Bluetooth capability (including the iPhone 3G, thanks to its latest firmware update), Motorola is wise to keep hammering away at making new headsets, like the Motorola Rokr S9 HD. It has a similar design to the S9, but is equipped with higher fidelity sound for your music-listening needs. We quite like the sound quality and the fit was OK, but it doesn't handle sports activity as well as we would like. The Motorola Rokr S9 HD retails for $99.99 but you can find it for as low as $60. The Rokr S9 HD comes with a Motorola D650 iPod adapter.

The Motorola Rokr S9 HD has a design almost identical to the S9. The neckband connecting the two earpieces floats slightly behind the head, and you wear the headset so that the ear loops hook over the top of your ears. It's not at all clunky or bulky, but we did find that it does pinch the sides of our head slightly. The S9 HD can also be a bit of a hassle if you have longer hair. Otherwise, it's quite comfortable to wear and it's easy to slip the headset on and off because of the slightly flexible ear loops. The earpieces sit just inside the ear opening, and there are three different size earbud coverings for a more custom fit.

The battery of the S9 HD is housed in a long and flat base at the back of the neckband. Underneath the base are the power button and charger jack with an indicator light in between. The music player controls are located above the right earpiece and the call button and volume controls are above the left. These side earpiece buttons are raised above the surface and are easy to find and press, but the power button on the neckband is a bit stiff. Also, the charger jack is covered up by a rubber flap that isn't very secure, thus reducing the headset's moisture resistance.

We tested the Motorola Rokr S9 HD headset with the Apple iPhone 3G and the Casio Exilim C721. The Rokr S9 HD comes with SRS-WOW HD sound that really amps up the overall fidelity of the music. You can choose between two SRS-WOW HD settings: one has fuller sound with more clarity, and another has balanced audio with enhanced bass. Music quality was quite spectacular as a result; the bass sounded round and full, and we were impressed with the surround sound qualities of the high-definition audio.

Where to buy

store	price	in stock?	rating
	$86.14	Yes
Amazon.com Marketplace	$71.99	Yes
	$56.95	Yes
ElectraWarehouse.com	$103.24	No

see prices from 4 stores

Compare prices for Motorola Rokr S9 HD - black

	Amazon.com	$86.14
	Amazon.com Marketplace	$71.99
	Buydig.com	$56.95
	ElectraWarehouse.com	$103.24

Recent user reviews

• Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 27 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars Write review

• Showing 3 of 27 user reviews

• 0.5 stars

  "It looks cool... that's it"

  by mcox1124 on November 16, 2009

• 3.0 stars

  "Decent product but overall dissastisfied"

  by Cloud9South on November 10, 2009

• 4.0 stars

  "Has good points-bad points Good outweigh the bad"

  by Cholerae on November 10, 2009

• See all 27 user reviews Write review

Reviews from around the WebPowered by alaTest

• alaTest.com

  Editors' rating: 91

  Summary: alaTest has collected and analyzed 496 reviews of Motorola S9 from international magazines and websites. Experts rate this product 72/100 and users 64/100. Comparing these reviews to 79034 other Headsets reviews gives this product an overall alaScore™ 91/100 = Excellent.

  Read full review

• mobiletechreview.com

  Editors' rating: 80

  Read full review

• pcworld.com

  Editors' rating: 78

  Summary: Each earpiece houses three controls: a multifunction call button and a volume up/down on one side, and a play/pause and track skip (forward and back) control on the other. Though these ridged buttons are small, I had no trouble finding them, and they ...

  Read full review

• wmexperts.com

  Editors' rating: 80

  Summary: How does it measure up? Read on for my experience, which is a mixed bag of pros and cons

  Read full review

• pocket-lint.com

  Editors' rating: 60

  Summary: Something of a mixed bag, the Fitness Music Pack from Motorola, adorned by David Beckham, is an evolution of the S9 headset rather than a considered final solution

  Read full review

• pcmag.com

  Editors' rating: 70

  Summary: Motorola's well-designed and affordable S9-HD may finally give stereo Bluetooth headsets a good nameeven when it comes to sound quality.

  Read full review