Jabra BT530

I wanted to start a thread about this headset. Discovered it on someone else's thread and didn't want to continue dragging that one down.

I read about it being able to stream A2DP despite being a mono earpiece.

Prior I had bought the Plantronics Voyager 855 which is not a bad headset except it's heavy and seats firmly in the ear. The weight of the headset causes it to constantly unseat so I felt like I was always twisting/pushing/reseating it.

So I ran out for early lunch today and grabbed the Jabra BT530. I'm loving it! This is exactly what I wanted...a device I could listen to music discreetly and I only needed it for one ear. If I want to really listen to music I can use a wired headset for better sound quality overall, or I could use my jabra with the extra ear piece plugged in. But for every day use I think this headset is going to work out great.

Did a test voicemail and was impressed with the sound quality. Especially considering I was talking at roughly the same volume as I had the stereo...in fact the stereo was louder.

I hope others come in and share their experiences. Surprisingly the A2DP ability (stream music, radio, etc.) is not hyped at all on Jabra's site. I think they should be advertising the heck out of it as I feel it's the one thing headsets today have been lacking.

The only thing I don't like, and maybe I don't know what I'm doing, is it doesn't appear to have music controls via the earpiece. So forwarding or rewinding songs, etc. does require you to use your handset still. I can live with this...I'll just be better about creating playlists that only have music I love. :)

If anyone knows something I don't about controling the media player via the headset please chime in.

I got the jabra bt 8040 and it does the same and has no ear hook , it could be a little louder but I love it and it only cost $60 bucks

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I have to say after playing with this Jabra530 a bit more...it really does have the best voice isolation capability I've personally used...BUT, the incoming volume may be an issue for me. It doesn't allow me to turn it up as loud as I would like. I'm also not crazy about how it unmutes. In order to mute you press the volume up and volume down buttons at the same time, but it takes it off mute by just pushing either one. I ran into an issue where I was on a call, had it muted, then had to turn up the volume when someone else in the room spoke and realized, thank goodness before I did or said anything, that I was unmuted. NOT GOOD. You should have to turn it off the same way you turned it on. Would allow user to adjust volume as needed during a conference call, for example, without fear of what happened to me.

Originally Posted by French

I wanted to start a thread about this headset. Discovered it on someone else's thread and didn't want to continue dragging that one down.

I read about it being able to stream A2DP despite being a mono earpiece.

Prior I had bought the Plantronics Voyager 855 which is not a bad headset except it's heavy and seats firmly in the ear. The weight of the headset causes it to constantly unseat so I felt like I was always twisting/pushing/reseating it.

So I ran out for early lunch today and grabbed the Jabra BT530. I'm loving it! This is exactly what I wanted...a device I could listen to music discreetly and I only needed it for one ear. If I want to really listen to music I can use a wired headset for better sound quality overall, or I could use my jabra with the extra ear piece plugged in. But for every day use I think this headset is going to work out great.

Did a test voicemail and was impressed with the sound quality. Especially considering I was talking at roughly the same volume as I had the stereo...in fact the stereo was louder.

I hope others come in and share their experiences. Surprisingly the A2DP ability (stream music, radio, etc.) is not hyped at all on Jabra's site. I think they should be advertising the heck out of it as I feel it's the one thing headsets today have been lacking.

The only thing I don't like, and maybe I don't know what I'm doing, is it doesn't appear to have music controls via the earpiece. So forwarding or rewinding songs, etc. does require you to use your handset still. I can live with this...I'll just be better about creating playlists that only have music I love. :)

If anyone knows something I don't about controling the media player via the headset please chime in.

I did not know the BT530 had A2DP until I skimmed the manual from the Jabra website. A2DP is a definate plus!
I would have bought it earlier it I had know that before today! I have read many good reviews about it.

I bought it today on sale from BestBuy! ($59.99 down from the usual $99.99) I just did a call to voicemail and checked from my landline; sounds awesome! It sounded natural! I will have to test it outdoors and in other conditions, however.
I had the BT8040 also, but I like this one better.

In addition, I updated the firmware using the utlity from the Jabra website.
The update process did not work for me using Vista; I used my other PC running XP. The update process was easy.

Originally Posted by q5ypdg9

I did not know the BT530 had A2DP until I skimmed the manual from the Jabra website. A2DP is a definate plus!
I would have bought it earlier it I had know that before today! I have read many good reviews about it.

I bought it today on sale from BestBuy! ($59.99 down from the usual $99.99) I just did a call to voicemail and checked from my landline; sounds awesome! It sounded natural! I will have to test it outdoors and in other conditions, however.
I had the BT8040 also, but I like this one better.

In addition, I updated the firmware using the utlity from the Jabra website.
The update process did not work for me using Vista; I used my other PC running XP. The update process was easy.

I'm glad someone else had some feedback on this headset. I do have a complaint at this point...I'm not at all impressed with the incoming volume of calls. I talked to my Dad while driving the other day and really struggled to hear him with the volume turned all the way up. I also haven't been impressed with the battery life thus far.

I have not tried to do the firmware update, but I only have Vista computers so if it won't update Vista then I don't see how I'll be able to get it done. Plus, I saw nowhere that they even told you what the firmware was changing/fixing?

Originally Posted by French

I'm glad someone else had some feedback on this headset. I do have a complaint at this point...I'm not at all impressed with the incoming volume of calls. I talked to my Dad while driving the other day and really struggled to hear him with the volume turned all the way up. I also haven't been impressed with the battery life thus far.

I have not tried to do the firmware update, but I only have Vista computers so if it won't update Vista then I don't see how I'll be able to get it done. Plus, I saw nowhere that they even told you what the firmware was changing/fixing?

I have not noticed any issues with incoming volume, but from that link I posted below; you are not the only user having an incoming sound issue.

What phone are you using?

The link below is a thread on the BT530 upgrade. Another user had an issue with upgrading on a Vista machine going back to 11/08.

HowardForums: Your Mobile Phone Community & Resource - Jabra BT530 with Noise Blackout

Besides the BT530. I have four other headsets; I think my Moto H721 is the next best one as far as sound quality.

There are also two headsets on the market that have a boom mic that comes close to the mouth. I am also curious to try one of those.
Links below:

Etymotic Research, Inc. - EtyBLU™ Bluetooth Headset

Joby - Zivio Bluetooth Headset

Am using Zivio and love it. Best BT headset I have had for sound quality, both to and from.

I use the Jabra BT8040, had it for a while and love it.

French,
I kinda concur with you here. I have used the BT530 and ran into the same thing where the incoming volume call just isn't loud enough, yet I totally like all of the functionality this headset has. Particularly I have been looking for a headset with mono sound.

I am curious about your experience with the Voyager 855. How do you compare the call volume of these two headsets?
Thanks..

The volume on the 855 is FAR better. If I could take the incoming call volume from the 855 and add it to the 530, it would be a winner. As it so happens, the incoming volume was a deal killer for me...doesn't do me any good to have the headset if I can't hear the conversation. Also, the battery life concerned me. It seemed to die faster than the specs said it would.

I would love to try this headset again if they figured out a volume fix. But I didn't even see what was fixed on the one firmware update that was available back when I owned it.

I got my husband a BlueAnt V1 for Christmas and love that headset for everything BUT it doesn't have the ability to play music.

Sight...I'm still in search of "the perfect" headset.

Originally Posted by French

The volume on the 855 is FAR better. If I could take the incoming call volume from the 855 and add it to the 530, it would be a winner. As it so happens, the incoming volume was a deal killer for me...doesn't do me any good to have the headset if I can't hear the conversation. Also, the battery life concerned me. It seemed to die faster than the specs said it would.

I would love to try this headset again if they figured out a volume fix. But I didn't even see what was fixed on the one firmware update that was available back when I owned it.

I got my husband a BlueAnt V1 for Christmas and love that headset for everything BUT it doesn't have the ability to play music.

Sight...I'm still in search of "the perfect" headset.

Cool. I am just curious.. so what don't like about the 855? I mean, it's got the loud volume, can play music and has decent battery life (at least not worse than BT 530).. Is it the fitting that you don't like about it?

ditto, I am still in search for a perfect headset too! Too bad that I want an ability to play music with my headset, just as you stated!
I can't figure out why BlueAnt, Jaw and other companies won't include A2DP support on their headsets...

The fitting is exactly the problem. I'm constantly having to reseat it. And because it is an "in" the ear canal (think blocking outside noise insertion), having it constantly "pull" out is a huge pain. BUT...it is a good headset. I've used it for conference calls and no one complained. Mute worked great, volume is good, battery life is decent, can play music...

I just can't stand that it won't stay in my ear. I've tried multiple sizes of the ear tips and I just can't find a good fit for me. Even using the ear hook it's an issue. If it wasn't intended to seat so firmly in the canal I don't think there would be an issue.

I will NEVER buy another Jabra Product. The quality of the pieces are undeniable. The problem is...They put the CHEAPEST batteries they can find in their units. Every unit I, my wife, and father have ever owned have died premature deaths due to battery defects. Sure they send replacements and 3-6 months later, those die, and without warning. They just stop holding charges. We don't buy the cheapy models either. These are the top of the line 100$+ units. So I am done with Jabra