BSH-100 Heaphones Overview and Range

If you’re like me, you spend a lot of time on the computer while also being anchored to a nearby cell phone. With the advent of 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth, wires and PCs are now officially mutual enemies. So what’s the typical office worker to do when trying to “decouple” oneself from all the cabling which tethers you to your desk? Well, for one, get a pair of wireless headphones… and a Bluetooth phone. Now make sure the headphones work on both at the same time. What? That’s right, just like the new automobile Bluetooth systems can interrupt audio playback for incoming cell phone calls, the ANYCOM BSH-100 headset can suspend audio from the PC for an incoming phone call. This goes beyond the trendy, cool gadget and into the realm of the Truly Useful*. If you’ve never experienced this, welcome to the next level.

*provided your phone is compatible and “releases” the Bluetooth connection as needed.

Form and Function

I immediately liked the look of the ANYCOM BSH-100 headphones. They come with thickly padded earphones and felt much more comfortable as a result. The system is shipped with quite a bit in the packaging. In addition to the headphones the packaging included an integrated, removable USB microphone, the Audio Gateway, audio connection cable, USB DC charger, and two mini USB cables.

The headphones collapse in the middle with a hinge. This unique feature allows them to be more easily stored and packed away, making them a bit more portable than many other models we’ve seen. The plastic headband wraps around the head and rests gently on the tops of the ears. I found that after wearing them for about an hour the tops of my ears began to get a bit sore. This is, unfortunately a result of both my particular head shape as well as the nature of a behind-the-neck headphone design (which I feel is trendy, but flawed).

I noticed the online description for these headphones said they would be suitable for jogging – I wouldn’t recommend that. Shake your head too much and the headphones will likely fall off or at the very least move away from the optimal ear position. For exercising, earbuds remain king.

Range

The range on these Bluetooth headphones was very impressive. I was able to walk from my office (the source and location of the USB-200 BT adapter) into the adjoining room, then on to the dining room and further around another corner. By the time the signal started breaking up I had about 30 feet and 2 plaster/drywall walls between myself and the USB-200 transmitter. No matter how you slice it, that’s pretty impressive for a Bluetooth device.

The only issues I experienced, in fact weren’t range related but with re-syncing the headset to both the PC and cell phone once one was out of range or shut down, severing the dual connection. This was a scenario that had no pattern and the only way to successfully reset everything back to “right” status was to restart the PC. To get the microphone to work with VOIP again I actually had to reinstall the software… and reboot… and reinstall the software… and reboot… you get the picture. I personally chalked it all up to the relative infancy of Bluetooth and the fact that it was basically grafted into WindowsXP. Perhaps the next edition of Windows will have somewhat better integration.