Nokia bh 503 is a budget model for music lovers. Sound quality, overall experience

Contents of delivery

The model cannot boast of a rich package bundle. Only everything you need is in stock:

• the headset itself Nokia BH-503


• "Thin" charger Nokia AC-5 of the old model (as you know, the transition to new interface connectors of Nokia products - microUSB)


• cloth bag for storing the headset (we note right away that the headset does not fold, therefore it takes up a lot of space)


• instruction manual (it is interesting that in our case there was no place for Russian among the languages ​​of this worthy manual).

Design

The Nokia BH-503, like any other similar solution, is positioned as a youth model, in fact, it is difficult to imagine a combination of a wireless stereo headset and a formal suit.

Although it should be noted that the model is not too flashy, its design is not as pretentious as in some other headsets, bright inserts do not pester the eye.

In total, two colors are available on the Russian market: black with red inserts around the perimeter of the "ears" and silver, respectively, with black inserts. The second solution looks calmer, one might even say more conservative.

Like many other modern earbuds, the Nokia BH-503 headset is designed to be worn in such a way that the temple is pressed against the back of the head. At the same time, the model provides a fairly reliable fastening (also due to the design, in which the distance between the cups and temples is sufficient for comfortable wearing and at the same time not so great that the "ears" can slide off), the headset does not fly off during outdoor activities ...

The dimensions of the Nokia BH-503 headset are comparable to other solutions, at the same time the weight is relatively large - it exceeds 100 g. I would like to point out one of the main drawbacks (for some people) - the non-folding design.

The body materials are quite varied and interesting. The cups themselves, with the exception of the key ring, are made of glossy (but what about without it?) Plastic. However, fingerprints on it are almost invisible. The adjustment keys are made of solid rubber, and the bow itself is a kind of sandwich made of plastic on the inside and rubber on the outside.

The foam rubber of the ear cushions is quite reliable and at the same time comfortable, it does not cause any troubles.

As noted above, the wearing method provides for a fairly tight fit of the headset on the head, the temples are pressed well. At the same time, a gap may remain between the back of the head and the headset, if the user becomes uncomfortable (say, with the collar of the outer garment turned up), you can always lift the back of the headset and press it against the back of the head.

It should be noted the exemplary build quality, nothing creaks, does not stagger.

Ergonomics and control

And here is a characteristic feature of the headset, which consists in the location of all the control elements and even the charging connector on the right cup. The left "ear" remains pristine.

On the right bow, in addition to the player control keys, there are also volume control keys. All this together allows you not only to listen to music, but also to receive calls; if we are talking about compatible Nokia models, then remote control of the phone (thanks to the support of the AVRCP Bluetooth profile).

There are two rewind keys here, a Play / Pause key below it, and a multi-function key on top. With its help, you can hang up / off the handset, it is also assigned to enable and disable the device.

When working with Nokia devices, the rewind keys, in addition to switching between songs, are also assigned a progressive rewind within a song, which is convenient.

Note that all buttons are mechanical, despite the absence of any relief. It's just that they are all made on one plate.

In addition, at the end of the right cup, right under the ear hook, there is a paired volume rocker-rocker, its stroke is quite tight, accompanied by a click.

Around the perimeter of the cup there is also a microphone hole and a headset charging jack.

In addition to the keys, in the center of the cup, inscribed in a circle with the Nokia logo, you can find an information LED that can notify about actions and events in three colors - red, green and blue.

To turn on the device, press the multifunction button and hold it for a few seconds until the LED turns green. The headset is turned off in the same way, while the LED changes color to red. In standby mode, the LED flashes constantly, you cannot turn it off.

Sound quality, overall experience

During the tests, the headset demonstrated stable operation with both Nokia devices and non-native devices, such as, as well as a computer (Motorola Bluetooth USB PC Adapter PC850 Bluetooth adapter). Unfortunately, we were unable to achieve simultaneous pairing with multiple devices, although some users noted this possibility.

In all cases, we note the stable operation of the connection. If the device supports auto-connect, the synchronization process is simplified.

Music

Perhaps the most critical parameter for a potential buyer.
Of course, the quality of music playback from wired solutions is unattainable for any Bluetooth headset. Nevertheless, the Nokia BH-503 headset demonstrates the best audio quality attainable. Often, the playback volume is even excessive, there is bass, they are perceptible, felt. At the same time, one must understand that it is impossible to completely get rid of extraneous noise “from the outside world”, the design is not the same. Look out for some noise canceling headphones for the ultimate immersion.

The range margin is very good, out of the declared 10 m, 7-8 m are reached, and even a couple of walls are not a hindrance.

Talk

The Nokia BH-503 headset is also a good solution for conversations. The microphone is quite sensitive. Interestingly, unlike some other wireless stereo headsets (such as) the signal goes to both ears, the interlocutor's voice is heard clearly and clearly, in some cases even too loud.

Using the headset is ideal both indoors and outdoors, and in a noisy street. It should be understood that extraneous sounds still penetrate, respectively, in the subway or in a very noisy place (club, for example), the convenience will be minimal.

Battery life

The headset battery is not removable, the manufacturer does not advertise its capacity. However, it is quite sufficient for long-term use - the declared 11 hours of continuous playback is not so far from reality. During the tests, the values ​​of 9-10 hours of playing the player were reached, including making several calls.

Such hardcore conditions are unlikely to be achieved in practice; rather, users will get tired of prolonged wear. In any case, you can focus on 2-2.5 days of operation, this is a good indicator. Full charging time is 1.5 hours, of course, charging from a computer is not provided. At the same time, if you have an adapter, you can easily charge from the car's cigarette lighter.

When the battery is critically charged, the headset starts emitting beeps, of course, there is no way to turn them off.

Characteristics table

Outcomes

The Nokia BH-503 headset appeared not yesterday, but it is still in great demand among mobile music lovers. There are several reasons for this, the main one is the optimal combination of sound quality, excellent ergonomics, convenient playback control, and practicality. We must not forget about a fairly long battery life. Naturally, the advantages of the headset are best manifested when pairing with "native" Nokia devices, where remote playback control is possible (in particular, starting the player directly from the headset), as well as additional bonuses in the form of rewinding within a song.

The main competitors of the model are now quite an old woman, as well as other "saucers", in particular, Sony DR-BT22G, as well as its predecessor BT21G, and Samsung SBH-500. And in their environment the Nokia BH-503 headset does not look like an outsider at all.

Pros of the model:

• good sound quality


• good ergonomics


• original design


• good behavior as a headset for conversations


• decent range and long battery life.

Minuses:

• non-folding structure


• inconvenience when worn for a long time


• not the most optimal cost in comparison with similar solutions.

© Evgeny Ruslanov, Test laboratory

Frankly speaking, there was no abundance in this product segment. I focused on finding those products that have customer reviews. I had to choose between graceful BH-505 similar to them S9-HD and somewhat cumbersome BH-503 ... After reading the reviews, I realized that either I will sacrifice the lightness and grace of the headset, or its consumer qualities. Resigned to the fact that the dimensions and weight of the headset will be larger than I would like, I chose BH-503 ... Having paid for the purchase with paper, they took 784 rubles from me in total, I began to wait for the coveted parcel. This is not my first order at the dealer street and, I must say, this time the package arrived pretty quickly - in just 3 weeks.

The story will go about the headset itself and about my impressions after a month of operation. As usual, a dozen pictures.

WHAT IS INSIDE

At the post office, after completing the usual ritual, I was handed a small and not particularly heavy package.

From the package, I took out a pretty crumpled, but still well-made box with dimensions of 175x185x70 mm. Printing and quality of cardboard at a height.

In addition to the box, caring Chinese hands put a $ 5 discount coupon in the package. A trifle, but nice! eight)

Out of the box, I took out a thin manual in English (well, not in Chinese, although upon request in Google I immediately found a link to the same manul in PDF format in Russian)

And the "crib", which contained headphones and a charger. The ear cushions of the headset were covered with polyethylene foam bags.

The charger, as expected, turned out to be with a US-China plug, but that didn't bother me. On the same day, I bought an adapter for 60 rubles and the problem was solved. I was pleased with the presence of a "ponytail" with "Velcro" for easy fastening of the coiled wire. It's a cheap question, but how inconvenient it is when this little thing is not there!

The charger looks great. I suspect that those chargers that are put in the boxes of original NOKIA devices came off the same assembly line as this one. I was also surprised by the presence of the "PCT" icon on the device.

QUALITY OF MATERIALS AND PERFORMANCE

For a $ 25 device, the headphones look great. The only thing that caught my eye at the first inspection was the presence of a small flash in some places on the rim. The headphone rim is molded from plastic, and its outer part is filled with rubber. But if you do not find fault, the bezel looks quite passable.

The arches are attached to the rim with rivets, to which the speaker housings are already attached with the help of two miniature screws screwed in from the inside. I could not find any backlash or creaking at the joints of the parts. Everything is done soundly. The plastic is of high quality to the touch, the rubber too (at least it does not leave marks and does not get dirty itself).

The speaker enclosures are made of glossy black plastic with spacers made of red metallic red plastic. the parts are tightly connected, nowhere are there distortions, gaps. Everything is very high quality. All controls, as well as a microphone and a miniature hole for connecting a charger, are concentrated in the right earpiece. The battery appears to be divided into two parts, each of which is in its own earpiece.

It makes no sense to describe in detail the design and functionality, reviews of the original BH-503 are full on the open spaces of the Russian Internet, who are interested in details - you can read at least this one.

In general, I am satisfied with the workmanship of the headset. And my friends, when they saw my new thing, even took it for the original device from NOKIA.

QUALITY OF WORK AND ERGONOMICS

Ergonomics

Sound

• Headset Profile (HSP);
• Handsfree Profile (HFP);
• Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP);
• Audio Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP).

I have only used the headset with two Android smartphones: not long with the Samsung Galaxy S (firmware 2.3.3 unofficial) and the last 4 weeks with the Samsung SGH-I897 Captivate. I also tried it with a netbook running Ubuntu 11.04.

The first connection was to Samsung Galaxy S. I must say that I hardly use the regular Android player. My favorite music playing app is PowerAMP. It has great sound processing and a great equalizer. Plugging in the headphones and starting playback, I immediately realized that for the headset I would have to make a separate equalizer profile. I was literally crushed by the bass! After spending 10 minutes on tuning and saving the profile, I began to play various compositions - from hard rock to classical music. The sound of the new toy literally fascinated me. I put on my favorite album and went for a walk, putting the smart in my shorts pocket. And here a drop of tar appeared: when walking, the sound sometimes disappeared for a split second, the device lost contact with the sound source. Periodically, the frequency of these breaks began to annoy. I was a little upset. When I got home, I started googling for these symptoms and soon found information that the original BH-503 and other wireless headsets also suffered from this. One person generally noticed that the frequency of occurrence of such a nuisance depends on the firmware of the phone.

And I was convinced that this is so. When I changed my old Samsung Galaxy S to Captiva, disconnections became so rare that I stopped being upset about it. Maximum 1-2 times a day. In an apartment, the connection between the ears and the phone is held almost everywhere, if you leave it somewhere in the center. in the line of sight, the distance can exceed 10 meters.

I managed to pair the headset with the netbook and even listen to music - the sound is excellent, but! I do not know what the reason is, but the output to the headset now and then strove to jump to the laptop speakers. Having suffered a little, I left this venture, because I was used to using "plugs" for watching films and TV shows in a prone position, and in a prone position, the bezel will not allow using this headset.

Noise isolation, due to its design, leaves much to be desired. Listening to music in public transport or in a noisy place is not very comfortable. In addition, the sound is partly heard by the surrounding people. True, these little things do not matter to me. On the contrary, I often ride a bike and while listening to music it is better to hear the surrounding environment, so as not to be crushed by a car that crept up behind. eight)

Autonomy and charging speed

But with charging, the matter is slightly different from the word in print. The manual states that the full charge time is less than 3 hours. I was unable to fully charge the battery in less than 5 hours. I couldn't even wait for the first charge, I fell asleep, obviously more than 6 hours.

CONCLUSION

Pros:

• obscenely low price;
• high quality materials and workmanship;
• ease of wearing, no discomfort;
• long battery life;
• high-quality sound, rich, rich bass;
• excellent audibility during conversations - the microphone is at a height;
• no interruption of playback with sound notifications on the phone;

Minuses:

• sometimes briefly loses connection with the phone, with some devices the frequency of "breaks" can be high;
• there is no possibility of rewinding along the track;
• the ringtone is not transmitted to the headphones.

Thank you for the attention! I hope the information will be useful.

Over time, many users, in addition to the eternal waiting for new phone models, begin to expect the appearance of new accessories, which is quite logical - sometimes some little thing is able to give the use of new sensations, its charm (which will allow not to think about changing the phone for a couple of months, while this the toy will not get bored). For example, if we talk about the BH-503, then both forum visitors in the thread about accessories and readers in letters after the announcement began to ask a question about the test, express their expectations about the product, right up to the desire to buy here and now. Well, it's time to take a closer look at this thing, but first, let's talk a little about its place in the company's line of accessories. The fifth series among Bluetooth headsets is dedicated to devices for an active lifestyle for young people, which is why among the “five hundredths” you can find both the sports BH500 and simply the BH501 stereo headset. And if the first at the time of its appearance on the market was an extremely interesting solution for complementing phones with A2DP (only the price did not allow it to become popular), then the second, of course, had some sales, but its variations could be found in different companies, this and Sagem, and Samsung, and obscure manufacturers. It, in fact, was not at all, both from the point of view of design and convenience, and from the point of view of the quality of reproduction - an assortment offer, nothing more. Since 2007, the company has apparently rethought its approach to accessories, we can say that now we can hardly expect a repetition of the 501 from Nokia. A striking example of this is the BH503, I won't be lying if I say that this is a BH500 in the BH-501/601 form factor, an original thing. In addition, we should not expect any more Nokia headsets in the form factor behind the neck this year, I believe that attention will be paid to solutions like the BH903 (soon there will be a test, please wait for all those in need), that is, "invisible" devices ...

I’ll also tell you exactly which Nokia phones the BH503 is intended for according to the marketing plan: first of all, this is an add-on for the XpressMusic line, models 5310, 5330, not for the N-series. This is evidenced by the design of the device, and communication with the company representatives, of course, this does not mean at all that you cannot use the 503 with the N81, you can very well. It's just that in terms of design, the 903 is more suitable for the N-series, although the red in the product we are talking about today is not so terrible. Quite quite.

Design, construction

As you can see for yourself, the design of the device can be called sporty-aggressive, on the outside it is gloss black with matte inserts on the cups, but the ends are finished with bright red plastic, as if the designers had read Stendhal. On the one hand, it seems to be youthful, on the other hand, the little thing looks very solid, does not corns the eyes, it is perceived quite adequately. And I can explain why this is so: a lot of attention was paid to seemingly imperceptible details. Slightly convex designations of milky buttons, neatly squeezed out on the R and L cups, a notch in which part of the laid cable is visible, the heads of the screws that were left in plain sight, the design of the earphone itself, when a circle is inscribed in a circle, then another one in which a different one is applied material, and another one in which the company logo is inscribed (it is not very noticeable, by the way). They say about such things - a thing, certainly with an exclamation mark. Even the shackle is crafted in a clever way, both rather hard plastic and hard but springy rubber are used in its design (the volume rocker is also made of it). In addition, the keys do not stick out, they tried to make the cups as flat as possible so as not to turn the user into a cyborg-killer-from-space. In fact, I succeeded, even with my Soviet principles and complexes, it was not shameful for me to go out into the street in 503 to walk my child (however, we were practically alone in the park, so this does not count). Nothing sticks out, does not stick out, does not ring - beauty. I must say that you won't be able to use a headset in a pair with glasses, but I can definitely recommend it for a gym or fitness club, an excellent solution for these purposes. The ear cushions are finished with foam rubber, it looks strong enough, it is quite possible that the kit will include additional spare parts.

Ease of wearing

I have already said about the shape of the headset, it should be noted that before actually using it, I somehow did not really like the small distance between the cups and the bow, it seemed that my ear would not get through there. But no, everything turned out to be quite in order (but I had to fill my right ear). After spending about half an hour in it, I realized that the experiment could be finished, there was no pain, the headset perfectly snuggles to the ears. Of course, your neighbors in the metro or the ward will hear what is playing there, but there's nothing you can do about it, such a design. The bow, by the way, does not rest against the back of the head, there is a margin left, you can easily rotate your head without fear, the device sits tightly, you will not be able to shake it off, even while standing on your head. Well, in the stowed position, it is quite possible to simply hang the BH-503 around your neck, it holds up there perfectly. I like her more and more. By the way, the headset weighs a little over a hundred grams, but the weight is not felt on the head, everything is fine with that.

Control

All controls are focused on the right cup, which is quite logical for right-handers and painful for those who use only their left hand in life. In fact, everything is quite traditional: the front part contains the Play / Pause, Rew, FF keys, a multifunctional button. It turns the headset on and off, allows you to answer a call, and performs all traditional telephony functions. To put it into standby mode, it is necessary to press and hold it for about five seconds until the light indicator, inscribed in a circle with the company logo and invisible without backlighting, flashes blue. In total, by the way, there are three colors, these are red, green, blue. The indicator is not very annoying, it is made neatly, you cannot turn it off. I forgot to say, the volume rocker is located at the end, and the "+" is in a combat position almost in the ear, it is not difficult to press it, but I didn’t really like it. All the keys are a bit tight, this is a payback for the "licked" sporty design, especially the aforementioned rocker, in order to press it, you have to support the device from below with your thumb, for other keys this is not required. There are clicks when pressed, the stroke is small. In principle, dealing with the management of labor will not amount to any, except for toughness, everything else is quite pleasant.

Nutrition

The manufacturer claims that it can work in talk mode or listening to music for 11 hours, in standby mode the headset works for about 210 hours. I checked these figures by connecting it to a Nokia N81 8Gb and just starting playback. I must say that I actively used the device for conversations while listening, of course, I did not spend all the time with music, sometimes just leaving the headset aside. I listened to music at full volume, in the end it turned out like this: with more than forty minutes of talking, the playback time was about nine hours. There are good indicators for such a device, there are, of course, better ones, but in general it is more than acceptable, one charge for three to four days with a small number of calls will be enough for you. A standard charger with a thin connector is used, model Nokia AC-5, the time for a full charge is about two hours.

Communication with the phone, sound quality

The headset was tested with a Nokia N81 8Gb smartphone, pairing is very fast, the code is standard, it's "0000". When pairing, a question is asked about the subsequent auto-connection, I recommend answering it positively, so that then the devices, being turned on, find each other themselves. To begin with, I checked the operation of all the keys on the headset, in general, the almost second response delays when pressing Play / Pause were somewhat alarmed, otherwise everything is correct. By the way, I often notice this behavior when working with different headsets with different phones - either the volume control works only from the accessory, or from the device, their joint work is not supported in some cases. There is no such problem here, you can raise the level both from the BH-503 and from your smartphone. However, I don’t know how the device of another brand will behave, for example, only adjustment from the headset worked with the SE W910i. Another interesting point: when paired with the N81 8Gb, rewinding within a track works quite adequately, it is progressive, just as if you pressed the corresponding key on the device. But in the case of SE W910i it is not there, just a jump to the next song. I will say the same about ringtone playback in the headset, the N81 8Gb has it, but the W910i does not.

Now about the playback quality, perhaps the most interesting part. In my lifetime, I have seen an order of accessories of a similar form factor, if we talk about personal preferences, as if I myself were faced with the need to buy this or that solution, then I would choose either Sony DR-BT21G or Samsung SBH-500, and the latter preferable both in terms of operating time and sound quality. Having listened to Nokia BH-503 paired with Nokia N81, I came to the conclusion that one more item was added to the favorites. Now I am writing these lines and listening to the composition 3 Kilos by the Prodigy ensemble on my headset. I think many people remember her and the wonderful album The Jilted Generation, 90s, the wave of interest in the band, the city day performance and all that. Here I am listening, listening and I understand that there are, of course, roughness in the sound - a kind of rustling in the bass, for example. Maybe a little unnatural, maybe ... But, on the other hand, I am listening and I understand that this is not BH-501 or BH-601, but something much better. Because there is both volume and a certain picture that I personally like. I'm not talking about the volume at all, it is enough, this very composition is not entirely comfortable for me to listen to at the maximum level. I’ll make it quieter. Well, at the same time I will tell you that with the help of the BH-503 you can quite well not only listen to music, but also talk on the phone, I did not find any mention of DSP in the materials, but most likely there is a noise suppression system here, there were conversations with the interlocutors completely calm, without a strong voice raising, questions about which barrel I am talking from, and so on. Voice dialing paired with N81 works correctly, as well as all basic telephone functions, there is nothing special to add here. I would especially note the range of operation of paired devices, I do not often come across combinations that calmly hold seven to eight meters, here it is.

Finally, I will say that the headset supports Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR, the profiles are as follows:

• Headset Profile (HSP)
• Handsfree Profile (HFP)
• Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP)
• Audio Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP)

Multipoint connection is not supported. In general, if I do not write anything about it, then it does not exist, so gracefully I answered a frequently asked question by mail. The operating temperature range for the accessory is from 15C to + 55C, so in winter I advise you to wear the headset under a hat, the design allows you to do this without sacrificing appearance.

conclusions

The headset will appear in Russian retail very soon, the price will be about three thousand two hundred rubles, I could recommend the company to slightly lower the bar, at least to two nine hundred. On the other hand, I recommend distributors and sellers to pay close attention to this product, because it is written to be popular, and, in principle, the indicated price is quite justified. The BH503, oddly enough, has practically no drawbacks. The design will suit both youth and even office clothes; nothing prevents you from using it with a corporate computer or laptop. It will come in handy for you in the gym, and on vacation, and just in life. In addition, I can not help but note the "flat" design, the way it is pressed to the head is correct. The control is convenient, the operating time is acceptable, but the competitors in the workshop also have a large figure, for example, the Sony DR-BT21G. As a matter of fact, if you desperately need a headset of this form factor, then I recommend looking towards the Nokia BH503, Samsung SBH-500 and this Sony gadget (but its ergonomics are not optimal and the design is not so inconspicuous). But I recommend BH-503 to the owners of Nokia phones, this is a good solution. Now we are waiting for BH-903.

Guarantee