Review Jabra Sound ID SM100
Description Review Top 5 Headsets Compare Price
The good: The SoundID SM100 Bluetooth headset has a comfortable fit and excellent performance; with wind noise reduction and voice capture technologies that enhance audio clarity. It adjusts to different noise levels, plus there's an environment-awareness mode so you can hear your surroundings with headset still in the ear.
The bad: The SoundID SM100 Bluetooth headset's environment-awareness mode results in a noticeable background buzz that can be quite distracting.
The bottom line: The SoundID SM100 Bluetooth headset is excellent with above-average performance.
Specifications: Type: Microphone Built-in ; Product type: Headset ; Design: In-ear ear-bud ;
We were very pleased with the SoundID Personal Sound System SoundFlavors Bluetooth headset from a year ago, but we felt the price was a little too prohibitive for most people. The SoundID SM100, however, is much more consumer-friendly at a more affordable price point, without sacrificing quality. Manufactured with a thorough understanding of the science of hearing--the founder of SoundID is an otologist from Stanford University--we have to say that the SM100's audio quality was indeed amazing. We were impressed with the headset's noise reduction technology, and it has quite a comfortable fit as well. It's still fairly expensive at $129, but the quality and performance is worth the price.
Though not the most stylish headset we've seen, the SoundID SM100 is still a supremely tiny and compact device, measuring only 1.75 inches by 1.0 inch by 1.2 inches and weighing a very lightweight 0.4 ounce. Its body is egg-shaped, with a tiny boom mic jutting out the bottom. A large multifunction button sits on the front and is suitably raised enough above the surface so it's tactile and easy to press. On the left spine is the volume rocker as well as a Personalized Program button to switch between different sound amplification modes (more on that later). All these side buttons are a little on the skinny side but are still easy enough to press.
On the back of the headset is a rubbery earpiece that's tapered to a narrow point, for a deeper fit in the ear. It has a flexible rubber ear loop attached to it for additional security. The SM100 comes with a couple of other rubber earpieces (one small and one large) to fit different size ears. When inserted properly into the ear, the headset feels very snug and comfortable, and we could see ourselves wearing it for long periods of time. Also, you can add an over-the-ear hook for additional stability. The earpiece can be swiveled to fit either the right or left ear.
The SoundID SM100 comes with multiple modes and functions to better optimize the audio performance. For example, there are three Personalized Sound modes or Hearing Enhancement programs--Normal, Moderate, and Strong--and you can toggle through these modes by hitting the Personalized Program button. As the names suggest, these modes toggle through normal sound clarity to strong sound clarity, depending on your hearing needs.
There's also something called Environmental mode, which amplifies the sound around you when you're not on a call. This is because a lot of Bluetooth headsets sometimes act like earplugs, blocking outside sound when you're wearing the headset. Well, with Environmental mode turned on, the surrounding sound is amplified so you can better carry on a face-to-face conversation while still wearing the headset. While we commend this feature, we often found this to be less than ideal--for one thing, when the Environmental mode is turned on, there was almost too much amplification of surrounding sound, resulting in a constant background buzz. We would just rather take off the headset to have a conversation. If you want, you could also turn off Environmental mode by toggling through the Personalized Program button.
Another neat feature is One2One mode, which is available only if you have another SoundID SM100 lying around. If you do, you can pair them with one another and activate a kind of ad-hoc two-way radio communication.
We tested the SoundID SM100 Bluetooth headset with the RIM BlackBerry Pearl, and the pairing process went smoothly. Call quality was exceptional. Callers could hear us just fine--they reported some background noise in especially windy environments, but even then they could hear our voice just fine. We also tried making calls with an automated voice service without a problem. Though we weren't too pleased with the Environmental mode because of the background buzz, we do think it's better to have that turned on than to go around half-deaf because of the headset. We liked the three different hearing enhancement modes for better clarity, and we certainly love the headset's noise compensation technology that alters the sound level depending on environmental noise.
Other features of the SM100 include the typical answering, ending, and rejecting calls, call-waiting support, voice-dial support, call mute, and a battery life indicator. The SoundID SM100 Bluetooth headset has a rated talk time of 8 hours and a standby time of 3 days. With the Environmental mode turned on, the standby time is 24 hours.
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Headsets
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Pros
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Cons
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Summary
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Plantronics Voyager Pro
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The Plantronics Voyager Pro is a comfortable headset with excellent sound quality. It has the best wind noise handling of any Bluetooth headset we've tried to date. It's easy to use and offers value for the money.
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The Plantronics Voyager Pro is bulky and its retro design might turn off some people.
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The Plantronics Voyager Pro might not look like much, but it has the best sound quality of any Bluetooth headset we've ever tried.
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Aliph Jawbone Prime Bluetooth headset
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The Aliph Jawbone Prime is a highly fashionable headset with a snug fit, plus it has better noise-cancellation and wind noise handling over its predecessor, resulting in even better sound quality.
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We're not thrilled with the hidden buttons on the Jawbone Prime, and the singular volume button is a bit annoying. The volume is a little softer than we would like at times. While it has excellent call quality, you can get cheaper headsets that are on par or better.
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The Aliph Jawbone Prime is a great Bluetooth headset that combines high style with high performance.
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BlueAnt V1
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The BlueAnt V1 is the world's first voice-controlled headset. It does not require voice recognition training and is easy to comprehend and use. The built-in capability to call GOOG-411 is a nice bonus. The audio quality is excellent, with top-notch noise canceling and voice-isolation technologies.
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The BlueAnt V1 doesn't feel secure without the ear hook, and the ear tip may fit a little too deep in the ear for some people. Its design is also a little on the boring side.
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The BlueAnt V1 may not wow us designwise, but its voice controls and excellent audio quality more than make up for it.
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Jabra BT8040
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The Jabra BT8040 is a small Bluetooth headset that is packed with features such as MultiPoint technology (the ability to connect to two different devices simultaneously), A2DP for streaming music wirelessly, plus an intelligent noise reduction and volume equalization technology that offers great sound quality.
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The Jabra BT8040 may take awhile to fit properly in the ear.
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The Jabra BT8040 is a compact yet powerful Bluetooth headset that offers more than enough features for the mobile professional at an affordable price.
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Sound ID SM100
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The SoundID SM100 Bluetooth headset has a comfortable fit and excellent performance; with wind noise reduction and voice capture technologies that enhance audio clarity. It adjusts to different noise levels, plus there's an environment-awareness mode so you can hear your surroundings with headset still in the ear.
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The SoundID SM100 Bluetooth headset's environment-awareness mode results in a noticeable background buzz that can be quite distracting.
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The SoundID SM100 Bluetooth headset is excellent with above-average performance.
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