We tested the BH-501 headset with the aforementioned Nokia 5700 Xpress Music. The pairing process took just seconds, and we were ready to go with no problems. Audio quality for music was more than acceptable; we enjoyed satisfying clarity and volume with no static or distortion. Deep bass was lacking, and there was a slight background hiss from some tracks, but on the whole, it was a pleasant experience. Yet it is disappointing, though, that while you can adjust the music volume with the BH-501's controls, you can't use them to interact with the music player. As a result, you have to use the phone to change tracks and stop music play. To us, that's important, as it sort of defeats the purpose of using a wireless headset.
When using the music player, your tunes will pause automatically when you receive a call. And they'll start from the same point after you hang up. Yet call quality over the BH-501 headset wasn't quite as good as when listening to music. Though volume was fine, and we could understand our callers plainly, voices didn't always sound very natural. At times there was an echoed effect, and other times they just sounded a bit harsh. It wasn't exactly a deal breaker, but it was noticeable just the same. On the other hand, callers didn't report any problems, and voice-automated systems could understand us. Also, the B-501 didn't pick up much wind noise.
Other calling features include voice dialing and last-number redial. Voice commands on the headset worked pretty well, but they performed better when we were in a quiet room. The Samsung BH-501 promises 11 hours of talk/music time and 6.25 days of standby time. Fortunately, the headset uses the same charger as do many Nokia phones.
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