Review Nokia BH-503

In my opinion, a Bluetooth headset with stereo headphones is the most interesting accessory for mobile phones. Such accessories have long passed from the category of exotic to the class of comfortable ones, and have become available to the mass consumer. Today we are going to talk about one interesting model - Nokia BH-503. This is a youth stereo headset, which is made in the XpressMusic style, with a slightly sporty design. It also has a long battery life when playing music (11 hours).

This is not the first time a wireless headset model has this design. A couple of years ago, a similar model was released - Jabra BT620s. In general, this headset is a development of the Nokia BH-501 or Nokia HS-81 in the wireless version. In the line of Nokia devices, the BH-503 is located just below the slightly closed model of the Nokia BH-604. The beginning of the index with a five indicates that this is a middle-class device. Its price is roughly on par with many other wireless stereo headsets, except for the Nokia BH-903, which has a built-in radio and its own sound processor. The cost of the latter is almost double.

Previously, Bluetooth headsets only came with instructions. They were charged using a conventional charger. The Nokia BH-503 bundle includes an AC-5E charger, which has small travel dimensions. So for Nokia phone owners, a second charge will be an added bonus that will always be needed at work or elsewhere. There is also a small surprise in the box - a pouch-type case. It is absolutely useless: why wear a headset in it, if it can only protect it from dust, and its appearance is not very good. The cover is only useful for storing small items. This pouch tightens like a travel backpack. His ropes even have a special lock. All this is practical, but completely useless for using a headset.

This model made a good impression on me. I am not a fan of sporty style, but I was imbued with a certain sympathy for the BH-503's appearance. Everything is done quite solidly. The rigidity of the headband is average, materials that allow you to change the position of the headband would not hurt. The headset is made of soft-touch plastic, and its outer rim is varnished. The central part of the outside is matt. There are no prints on it at all.

The weakest point of such headsets is the foam pads inside, which tend to wear out. They appear to be reliable in our model. I have been using it for 2 weeks and have not found any minimal signs of wear. They are firmly glued to the base, so it is impossible to remove them. There is a soft touch plastic insert on the back of the headband. This is a simple decorative solution. But for some reason this insert collects all dust and dirt, which constantly sticks to it. Fortunately, this is all easily scraped off.

All controls are located on the right earpiece. The rubberized volume control key is located at its top, on the side. Other buttons are located with a cross on a four-way round button. Also on the right earphone there is a socket for connecting a power supply. As I said, you can use any standard Nokia 2mm charger.

When working with the headset, I did not see any surprises. On such devices, everything has been worked out and polished for a long time. If you have minimal experience with similar accessories, then the stereo headset can be connected to the phone without instructions. To activate the phone's Bluetooth search mode, you need to press and hold the buttons with the handset image. The BH-503 can automatically pair with a phone it already knows. You just need both devices to be turned on and within 10 meters.When all these conditions are met, they easily "find" each other.

It seemed to me not very convenient to control playback (except for adjusting the volume). It is almost impossible to determine the desired button without looking at the hit point with your finger - the rewind or play key is pressed all the time. It will take a long and difficult time to get used to it. But the volume control is always error-free. From the point of view of design or aesthetics, such an arrangement of the controls is quite logical, but from the point of view of comfort, every accidental hit of the song switching button gets on the nerves. The best location for any key (answer a call or a combined pause / play button) is in the center of the earpiece, which is opposite your ear. Any person gets into it unmistakably. In general, this problem could have been avoided by swapping the ringing tones and sound controls, or by placing them on the rim of the earphone.

The sound quality turned out to be good. This is facilitated by the large diameter of the speaker. But, the volume level, as for me, is not enough. Although in most cases it was possible to safely listen to music on the bus or even in the subway car. The headset emits deep, rich sound, but weak high frequencies. In general, I was pleased with the sound. Also, using a headset, you can rewind within a song (if the phone's player supports it). This is due to the Bluetooth Audio / Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP).

When talking on the headset, the sound is clear, and the interlocutors will hear you well enough. It also supports dialing the last number, although today this feature has already become standard for such devices.

Another important criterion in wireless stereo headsets is battery life. If you use it at maximum volume, then the battery will last for 8 hours of work throughout the week. In this case, the headset turns off at night. The duration of its full charge is about one and a half to two hours.

The main disadvantage of all wireless stereo headsets is the inability to listen to the radio. It requires an antenna in the form of headphones or a connected wired headset. Models with a built-in receiver have already started appearing on the market, for example, Nokia BH-903. But I will tell you one tricky way to output the sound of the receiver using a standard wired BH-504 headset. The algorithm of actions is as follows:

1. Connect a wired headset to your phone.
2. A menu will appear asking you to define the type of use of the accessory. You just need to click the "Cancel" button.
3. Launch the player and output sound to the BH-504.
4. Return to menu and select radio.

After completing all the steps, you will hear the sound in the wireless headset, although you will have to hide the connected wired headphones somewhere. After such non-standard shenanigans, the BH-504 may refuse to play sound. But this can be solved by simply rebooting the phone and headset. This feature is undocumented, so there is no point in blaming it.

The Nokia BH-503 headset demonstrated excellent sound quality and good battery life results. I would recommend it to fans of the “behind the neck” design, in which the earplug is located at the back of the head. Moreover, there are no headsets on the market today with similar capabilities and similar designs. The control of this model is not the most successful, there are errors in switching music and misses on the buttons. I think it will appeal to owners of Nokia XpressMusic phones.

Buy Nokia BH-503 in F.ua at the lowest price!