Sony Ericsson HBH-IS800 review

Bluetooth headphones can generally be characterised by their size. Thanks to having to fit that extra all-important bit of Bluetooth technology built into them, they tend to be bigger, bulkier and clumsier than their wired rivals. The Sony Ericsson HBH-IS800 earphones manage to sidestep this issue, being comparatively tiny.

If you're used to IEM ear canal earphones, they may still seem a little on the tubby side, but in operation they sit happily in your ears much like any other sound isolating earphones. Of course, these ones let you get to around 10 metres away from your phone without investing in a string of cable extenders.

Getting them to hook up with your phone is simple too. Nearby the microphone that sits towards the left end of the cable connecting the two earbuds is a button that, when depressed for a few seconds, sets the HBH-IS800s into sync mode. We found that after trying to connect using the phone after pressing this, the two were connected without a hitch.

If you roam away from the signal range, they'll reconnect once you return to the Bluetooth aura, making the HBH-IS800s virtually idiot proof. When you receive a call, you just have to press this sync button to take it, while the natural placement of the microphone is equally painless.

Rather cunningly, the charging port for the headphones for the headphones is hidden under a cap on the back of the right bud. Pull it off to reveal a socket that'll connect with a standard Sony Ericsson charger. Once again, simplicity itself.

From the weight of the individual earphones, we'd guess that where the right houses the charging socket, the left has the Bluetooth receiver. Although there's a slight difference to the weight of the earphones, the left being a little heavier, it's not something we noticed when actually using the HBH-IS800s.

Indeed, they remained comfortable after fairly extended usage, making them viable to use for everyday music listening. Of course, if they don't sound any good then their comfort is a moot point.

The HBH-IS800s manage to succeed in sound too, thankfully. The flimsy rubber flanges don't do a great job of isolating the sound, but they work well enough to maintain an impressively bassy, powerful sound considering that they're Bluetooth ‘phones. Although predictably they can't compete with wired alternatives in the same price bracket, they perform admirably across the frequency range, producing a highly listenable, solid sound.

The Sony Ericsson HBH-IS800s manage to successfully bridge the gap between a Bluetooth hands-free kit and a pair of headphones. Easy to use, comfortable and boasting good enough sound quality to do justice to Sony Ericsson's Walkman phones, we wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.