Henson Audio BTH033 Bluetooth Headphones - **Now with Bluetooth 4 aptX & NFC (Near Field Communication)** - Connect Wirelessly To Any Bluetooth Enabled Device Such As A Smart Phone, Tablet PC Or Computer For Wire Free Music - 10 Meter Wireless Range - Send And Receive Phone Calls Directly From The Headphones **As featured in GQ Magazine**

I was recommended these headphones by a friend, so I got the chance to try before I bought them. Bluetooth audio has come a long way in the last few years, and these headphones really are excellent. I was very impressed with the sound quality when I tried them out - most wireless headphones skimp on bass response but these are very well designed and have frequency response that rivals cable right through the frequency range. This is quite impressive given the low-bandwidth nature of Bluetooth audio! It also has a conventional headphone connector as an aux-in fallback.Pairing is a doddle. Although I bought the NFC model, I didn't bother with it - only my tablet has NFC, and I never use that. I'm well versed in pairing up Bluetooth devices, so these headphones are no harder to set up than any common-or-garden headset. I use these with an HTC Wildfire S, Nexus 7 tablet, Apple MacBook Pro laptop and most recently a Kokkia i10s iPod Bluetooth adapter - they work great with all these devices, and I assume it has the standard eight device profile slots so it can be paired with a sizeable stack of devices at once.The leather-effect padding is very soft and the large ear-cups are comfortable to wear for an entire working day. I use these at work and they allow me to drift into my own little world with my music; they filter out enough local noise on their own. The staying power of the headband isn't brilliant of you tilt your head far enough back or forward, they will try and slip off, but the only ways to improve this is to either increase the tension squeezing your ears together, or make the ear-cups much larger which would make them bulkier.The right ear-cup section has all the controls; it has AVRCP Play/Pause/Previous/Next buttons facing the front, Volume Up/Down on the back and a multi-function button on the flat of the cup which serves as Power, Pairing, Call Answer and Hang Up. There is a tiny LED on the underside of the device to indicate status, but this is invisible in use. It's down to the user if this is a good or bad thing. The microphone is a tiny hole below the Next button; against the odds, it picks up plenty of sound without being obstructive. A thing to note is that the Volume control is for the device itself; the buttons do not control Bluetooth volume on the transmitting device like a conventional headset. This has pros and cons; on the one hand it means it doesn't modify the volume on the device and you have a second volume control to lower the sound if you're in a very quiet environment, but if your device already has the volume down too far you'll have to correct this on the device.When using a phone, transitioning from audio to call is seamless. The phone pauses playback on receiving an incoming call, the headphones beep for ringing, and answering the call immediately gives you the caller's voice in both ears. Call quality is very good, and though I don't have first-hand experience of the microphone, I've been able to talk very easily. In fact, in a quiet office, I was able to speak in a hushed voice and still the caller heard me well enough.What really impresses me about these is the battery life. They'll go several whole 8-hour workdays without complaining. In fact, I haven't been able to run them out yet! I've charged them several times just out of habit; I don't think I've ever gotten the battery low warning. They take longer than a phone to charge, so the battery must be quite substantial, but these headphones are remarkably slim and lightweight, so I can't work out where such a huge battery is hiding!These headphones are definitely Bluetooth audio done right when paired with a mobile device; they work great with my phone, tablet and iPod. I've had some issues with computers, though - they show up as two different devices when I connect them to my Mac. Headphones work okay, but using them as a headset is trickier - they only seem to work in mono, like with a phone call, so you can't have stereo sound and the microphone at once. It's also not reliable switching them over; I've had the Bluetooth connection fail entirely when switching from headphone to headset mode. I also cannot seem to get them to connect to my Linux desktop, though this is probably more to do with the Bluetooth stack in Linux than anything else.Range is okay; I can't seem to get much past five meters reliably, but odds are the device is going to be very close to you anyway. I use these because they eliminate headphone cables on my desk at work, which get in the way of my typing. Being able to pause the music if the screen goes off is also very useful. They're well designed for travelling; the ear-cups fold up against the headband, and they feel quite sturdy - the headband is substantial. You also get a few useful accessories - a drawstring bag to hold them, a USB charging cable (note: charge only, won't provide USB to any devices) and a cable for the aux-in. It uses micro-USB to charge, so chances are your phone already uses this and you'll have a mains charger that'll work.At around £50, these represent great value wireless audio. Highly recommended.Update: 2 years later, I'm afraid to say these are now falling apart. Small cracks appeared at the hinges on the earpieces and widened very quickly until the plastic snapped off. The earpieces now fall off the adjuster band. I'm trying to work out how to stick these things back together to be usable; I think I'll have to give up the folding hinge. They do still work properly, but the build quality is poor. I take very good care of my possessions and these headphones have not been abused. I used them daily at work. Seems they weren't made for this kind of use. Downgrading my review to 3 stars because I have considerably cheaper headphones/earphones that have withstood far more use than these.

I purchased these headphones to replace my AKG K-450s (which weren't wireless and had poorly made jack leads - expensive to replace), and to use purely for listening to music wirelessly, when out and about.Here is my assessment after a few week's use:PACKAGING -Fairly stylish box, with a magnetized flap opening to reveal the headphones. The outer packing is sturdy enough if you want to pack these away.The inside packing is a bog-standard white moulded tray for the phones. Overall perfectly acceptable.ACCESSORIES - 1 x 3.5mm-to-3.5mm jack lead (about a meter in length), 1 x micro USB-to-USB charger (again about a meter long, for charging from a laptop) ,fabric travel pouch (with pull cord, nicely made, feels tough and looks stylish). All accessories are well made and feel durable. There's also a tiny user's manual which tells you all you need to know.CHARGING - Takes about 3 hrs, as the headphones have a micro USB connector, you can also charge these with a standard phone charger which plugs into the mains. Full charge gives up to 14 hrs music playing (or 16 hours talk time).If the charge runs out, you can simply connect them via the jack lead instead.HEADPHONE DESIGN - These are neither on the small or large side. The build quality feels good, certainly well made. The finish is slightly matte but also with a slight shine - seems good. These fold and retract on both sides. The overall look is stylish and they both feel and look like quality headphones.FIT/COMFORT - I've had these on for several hours at a time and they are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn (and my AKGs took some beating) thanks to the large leather earpads and padding on the headband. The earpads are soft and hard wearing - your ears/head won't heat up much at all compared to most headphones. They are fairly light on your head too. Some reviewers complained that these slip/shift off your head easily - they certainly aren't tight, there's not alot of tension built into the headband but if you position them well (headband over top of head not round the back) they stay put sufficiently. Bear in mind that once you've been wearing them for a few minutes, the heat from your ears should further grip them into place better. I think the ear grip is the key here though as is sensible use/positioning. They certainly don't move about when walking.CONTROLS - If using wirelessly, you have pause/play, skip track forward & back and volume control to the right hand side ear panel - the buttons feel durable and easy to find.SOUND QUALITY - (For music playing only- wirelessly) My AKGs were superb, premium quality headphones, I've also listened to some + £250 Bose which were magnificent. The sound quality here is very good for music. Whether you listen to technical extreme metal, rock, pop or dance, these handle various types of music very well. If the music source is reasonably produced, these give impressive clarity. These aren't noise-cancelling but the earpads will cover your ears and thus block out/muffle surrounding noise to a good degree, when you are out and about. They are a little weaker on the bass/depth front than my AKGs and they don't handle poorly produced, murky music quite as well - but not far off - regardless, the sounds is always good. A few of my mates have listened to these (we are all serious music fans with keen ears) and we were all highly impressed with the sound quality.BLUETOOTH - Easy to use, once you activate your device's bluetooth and turn on the headphones, they pair quickly. I tested the 10 meter operating distance and they passed with flying colours. I don't have the NFC (' Near Field Communication') capability on my device so couldn't test this but it allows you to pair your device by touching it to the headphones. Bear in mind bluetooth will run down your device's battery significantly quicker between charges.CONCLUSION- These are superb headphones - very good sound and build quality, stylish design and exceptional comfort, I wouldn't think twice in recommending them. For the price paid (£50) and the fact they offer wireless connectivity, they may well be unbeatable.Update 29/4/16. Firstly thank you to the many people who liked my review. Now it's not my intention to mislead you but in the years since I bought the Hensons I have had a change of heart. Why? The market for Bluetooth headphones is now far more competitive both in terms of price and quality. I have since purchased several Bluetooth headphones for half the price or less and nearly all offer better value for money. For example I picked up some Ausdom MO4S's for half the price. Those are less premium looking, but look better on your head, even more comfortable, have a longer lasting battery and better sound quality. You see, when I decided to try the Hensons again, after so long, I was surprised how muddy the sound was in comparison - they still offer reasonable sound but fail to emphasise detail in music such as kick-drumming, for example. Another thing I noticed was the extending arms are entirely plastic unlike the metal plating on my cheaper headphones. Perhaps a more realistic price would be £30-£35? So with hindsight I would suggest you look at the competition and only purchase these if you are adamant you really want them.