Okay Geek Farm
t3ch Review - Jabra Halo Bluetooth Headset
Jason Tsay
In an age of wireless peripherals, tangled up cords are a thing of the past. Jabra, a company specializing in Bluetooth headsets, has presented us with the Jabra Halo, a pair of wireless headphones, that look like they are straight out of the future. But during our review period, we noticed a fatal flaw that mars our overall opinion of the product. — Read our review after the break!
Jabra Halo
Features
- Enjoy wireless music and answer phone calls in crystal clear stereo sound
- Corded option for MP3 players etc
- Extra audio enhancement with Zirene Power bass
- Remote control your music via touch sensors
- Convenient carrying style – Folded in a soft protective pouch
- Noise Blackout technology with dual microphones – For clear communication
- Multiuse – connect to 2 devices at the same time
Review
What’s in the box? The Jabra Halo comes in a compact, black cardboard box with plastic windows on both sides. A pillar in the center separates the earcups and is stuffed with accessories; a charger, USB cable, audio cable, a neoprene pouch, and manuals.
The Jabra Halo headset seriously looks like something straight out of a sci-fi movie with its rectangular, minimalistic design. A black rubberized material forms the entire headset aside from two slightly metallic gunmetal rectangles on the earcups. The interior of the Halo is lined with a black velvet, creating a premium, classy feel. On the right earcup, you’ll find a circular button on the side lets you pick up a call or play/pause your music. Volume can be simply adjusted by brushing your finger along the touch sensitive areas on the earcups. This is definitely a nice addition but we’ll stick with using multiple volume options found on our device as the slightest touch will over adjust the volume.
No matter how hard you look, you will not find a power button on the Halo. Simply folding up the headphones will turn them off. Although this is certainly intuitive enough and the locking mechanism is quite good, we’re not quite sure how well constant folding will fair on the headband over time. On the underside of the right earcup is a micro USB port for charging. If your device doesn’t support Bluetooth, you can always use the included audio cable to plug into the 3.5mm jack of your choice. Overall build quality on the Halo felt quite decent, even given the slim form factor and constant need to fold it up.
Sound quality was acceptable for a pair of Bluetooth headphones but the headphones didn’t fit properly over our ears, which was a major issue for listening. We paired up the headset with both an iPhone and iPod Touch for testing within seconds - setup is that simple. Of course, the Halo is armed with microphones to make calls with. During our tests, the other end described our voices as average, so we’re fairly satisfied in that respect. Talk time is rated at 8 hours and standby time up to 8 days, which we have no reason to doubt. We had no problem with the headset running low on power too often during our review period.
At this point, the Jabra Halo sounds like a pretty damn perfect product right? Well, here’s the issue that makes the Halo so hard to recommend. It simply doesn’t fit most heads. The design is too appearance-oriented to actually wear comfortably. Larger heads are simply out of the question since you won’t be able to extend the headphones that much. In most cases, you won’t even be able to keep them on top of your head as they will keep sliding around. Once you get them secured, they are are quite comfortable in the time period that you do manage to get them from falling off. Strangely enough, we felt a searing pain where the edges of the headphones resided when we took them off.
Overall
The Jabra Halo is a pretty well designed product, almost overly designed, and that is also the reason why we won’t be able to recommend it to many people. It’s too much about design and slick features rather than being a product for humans. Comfort and audio quality take hits while overall looks are simply stellar. So if appearance plays the lead role in your product buying process, we’d recommend the Jabra Halo without a second thought. But if you’re more into functionality and real-world application, then the Halo’s may not be exactly what you’re looking for.
Pro’s
- Stellar design
- Slick hidden features
Con’s
- Unergonomic and at times painful to wear
- Mediocre audio quality
- Expensive
Price: $129.99
Where to buy them: Jabra Amazon
Photos
This review was done by Jason Tsay, who was provided the Jabra Halo by Jabra.
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