Review: Logitech FreePulse Headphones — Taking Bluetooth Where It Has Never Gone Before.

Posted by: dgoldring on Apr 28 2007

I remember when the USB cable was first invented.  Until then, peripherals used a wide variety of connections, with little interoperability.  The keyboard plugged into the keyboard slot.  Printer into a parallel printer slot, other peripherals into a serial slot…or maybe even something else entirely.  When USB came onto the scene, it sounded like a snake oil salesman.  You want something that can plug into all of your peripherals with just one cable?  Buy this and you’ll see.  We did buy into the USB cable, and far from a snake oil salesman, it delivered everything it promised and more.  Today, the USB cable has revolutionized the industry and few of us would consider connecting devices and peripherals with anything else.  It made the industry as well as our lives easier and more flexible. 

So, what does this all have to do with a pair of headphones?  Nothing really…and everything when those headphones connect via Bluetooth.  In my opinion, Bluetooth is the next USB.  It is the most underutilized development in the mobile industry today.  Although it has been available for years, it was almost exclusively used for nothing more than wirelessly  connecting cell phones to earpieces.  Only recently has its true power begun to be realized.  Only now are companies developing Bluetooth stereo headphones and other cutting edge peripherals which rely on this technology to connect to your device without wires (even the USB variety).  As each new Bluetooth protocol becomes available, the power of this technology to create bigger, faster, stronger, and more useful connections becomes more apparent.  In years to come, everything will become dependent on the increasingly more stable Bluetooth connections.  Eventually, just as we do with the USB cable today, we will look back and wonder how anyone connected anything together without Bluetooth.  What appears top be the promise of a snake oil salesman today, will prove to be a revolutionary development in years to come.  For this reason, I am always eager to review the latest developments in Bluetooth connectivity.

One of my biggest frustrations in this area is that devices have not nearly kept pace with the development of peripherals.  As stereo Bluetooth headphones become more readily available, I have noticed that most of the popular media players (iPod, Zune, Sansa, Creative Zen) do not typically offer Bluetooth connectivity.  A Bluetooth peripheral is useless if you have nothing to connect it to.  One solution to this problem is offered by Logitech with their FreePulse headphones which include a Bluetooth receiver.  This receiver promises to turn any device with a 3.5 mm headphone or audio out jack into a Bluetooth capable device.  A lofty promise.  Snake oil if it fails…the promise of a new tomorrow if it succeeds. 

 

 

What’s In The Box:  The Logitech FreePulse Wireless headphones come stylishly packed with everything you need to start enjoying your music in minutes.  In addition to the wireless headphones, you will also receive:

• wireless receiver (fits any 3.5 mm audio jack)
• AC power adaptor
• custom fit iPod adaptors
• quick start guide
• spare foam earpads

Setup: Unlike most Bluetooth headphones, there is virtually no setup involved with the FreePulse.  Of course, the battery is not likely to have a charge when it comes out of the box, so you will have to wait about two hours to use them while you give it an initial charge.  Once charged, just turn on the receiver and headphones (watch for the blue light) and begin listening to your music.  There is no difficult pairing procedure involved.  The headphones and receiver will automatically find each other and sync in seconds.

Comfort and Design:  Logitech really went the extra mile when they designed the stylish FreePulse headphones.   One of my chief complaints about foampad headphones such as these has always been holding them securely to my ears.  Logitech solved that problem by adding a rubberized ring to each earpad.  This ring wraps around your ears in order to hold them securely to your head.  This worked fairly well, however, I wish the rings had been adjustable.  I found they were slightly too large for my (apparently) tiny ears, so the earpads hung down too far.  This was not a significant problem, but it did detract slightly from my comfort with these headphones.

The earpads are connected by a carbon spring-steel band which wraps around the back of your head.  This band is semi-flexible, which means it can be twisted or bent slightly without damage.  Again, I wish this had been adjustable.  The band was far too wide for my head, which meant it constantly dropped into my collar instead of sitting snugly on the back of my head. 

Additionally, although the carbon band was slightly flexible, it was not flexible enough to be folded into a gadget bag or pocket of my backpack.  I would have liked these headphones to be more portable for storage.  I commute daily, and the FreePulse headphones, while stylish, are not easy to pack in my bag every morning.  This is an unfortunate, since it could easily be fixed by simply putting the earphones on a swivel so they will fold, or even replacing the carbon band with a more flexible wire connection.  Of course, the best alternative would be to place a Bluetooth connection in each earphone, eliminating the need for them to be connected at all.

Finally, one of the biggest complaints I hear about Bluetooth headphones are that the phones over your ear are enormous (for no apparent reason) making everyone look like a Princess Leia impersonator.  The phones on the Logitech FreePulse, however, are not significantly larger than an average headphone, meaning they did not affect the profile of your head.  This sleek design was certainly appreciated.  For a change, when I wore these, I did not have the urge to call anyone a, "scruffy looking nerf-herder," or ask "Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?"

Sound: The main purpose of any headphones, of course, is listening to music and audio. As such, I can overlook a lot of minor problems with comfort and design if the headphones have superior sound quality.

I admit that I had some reservations about the sound quality of these headphones before I began testing them.  I have been using in-the-ear bud style earphones for a few months now, and I was concerned that there would be significant audio loss with the open style earpads.  I could not have been more wrong about these headphones.  I experienced almost no audio loss as a result of the earpad design.  Additionally, the sound quality was extremely crisp.  I did not notice any hissing, crackling, popping, or other background noise. 

My second concern with these headphones was that the earpad design would lead to significant interference from outside noise.  Again, I need not have been concerned.  Although outside noise was not filtered or blocked, it did not become a significant concern unless there was a particularly loud noise nearby — and this was usually only in passing.

After testing these headphones for several days, I am pleased to report that all of my potential concerns about the sound quality proved to be unfounded.  These headphones produced a quality of sound which was at least as good as any of the myriad of other headphones I own, and considerably better than most.  

Receiver: The receiver is really the amazing part of this package.  It plugs into any audio device with a 3.5mm jack (either a headphone jack or an audio out) and converts the device into a Bluetooth enabled media player.  It is small enough to easily fit in my gadget bag or pocket when I am not using it.

The plug is on a small sliding plate, which allows it to align with the jack on  any device.  The included adaptor plates (shown, right) ensure that this plug will properly align for any version of the iPod. 

The only control on the receiver is a small power button.  Press it to power on the device.  A light on the receiver will turn red when the device is turned on; and blue when the headphones are connected to the receiver.  I absolutely loved this receiver.  It allowed me, finally, to listen to my non-Bluetooth media player without worrying about how far my headphone cord would reach.  My only complaint was that the power button is extremely small, and can be a little tricky to push without digging in with your fingernail.  I would have liked a larger power button.  This is a small concern, however, compared to the incredible convenience this receiver brought me.

Bluetooth Connectivity: The FreePulse utilizes the Bluetooth 2.0 protocol with Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) to connect the headphones to the receiver.  It was extremely easy to connect the receiver to the headphones.  As I mentioned, there is no need to set up a pairing connection.  Just turn on the receiver and the headphones, and the two will automatically connect.

The documentation indicates that the connection range is 33 feet.  I have to say, I wandered throughout my whole house and never experienced any significant loss of sound or skips.  The range of these headphones was considerably better than any other Bluetooth headphones I have used.

Similarly, because this was a proprietary connection, I found the connection between the headphones and receiver was significantly stronger and more consistent than the connection between other Bluetooth headphones and my Axim.  I was able to toss my media player with the receiver in a side pocket on my backpack while walking from the train station to work, and experienced no skips or loss of sound.  I have never had such a strong connection with other Bluetooth headphones. 

One disappointment, however, was that the connection between the receiver and headphones is completely proprietary.  The same technology which provides such a strong connection, also ensures that you cannot enjoy this connection with any other devices.  For example, the receiver cannot be used to add Bluetooth connectivity to my cell phone to connect to a Bluetooth headset; or to connect a keyboard or other peripheral to a non-Bluetooth device.  Again, however, this proprietary connection is also what made the connection so much stronger than other Bluetooth headphones I have used.  This is a tradeoff I will gladly accept. 

[Update: Thanks to astute reader, Bob, for pointing out that the proprietary connection could be bypassed on both the headphones and the receiver.  As he noted in his comment below, you can holding the button on either for about 15 seconds will "unlock" the proprietary pairing, allowing you to pair the headphones to any device.  It will also allow you to pair the receiver with another set of headphones.  

After following Bob's suggestion, I was able to pair the headphones with my Dell Axim x50v.  The sound quality remained extremely good.  I also was able to pair the receiver with the Plantronic Pulsar 620 with similar results.  

This option of pairing directly with another device was not referenced in any of the documentation which came with the headphones.  This is unfortunate, because it is an extremely useful option if you have a device which is already Bluetooth ready.] 

Controls: Like most Bluetooth headphones, the FreePulse allows you to control your music from the headphones.  Logitech provides four functions which you can control from the headphones:

• Volume Up
• Volume Down
• Play/Pause
• Bass Boost

I absolutely love the volume controls on these headphones.  Unlike most headphones which offer a small volume control button hidden somewhere on the earphone, Logitech utilizes the entire right earphone.  Push the upper portion of the face to raise the volume; push the bottom to lower the volume.  Not only is this easy to find and control, it also ensures that the controls are well hidden within the design of the headphones.  Additionally, if you push and hold the volume button, the volume will gradually increase or decrease until you release the button.    

The play/pause button is located on top of the right earphone, and doubles as the power/connection button.  When the headphones are connected and music is playing, simply tap this button to pause playback.  Tap it again and the music will resume.  As I mentioned, this button also doubles as the power/connection button.  To establish a connection, just push and hold it until the red light turns on.  Turn on the receiver and the red lights on both units will turn blue indicating they have successfully connected.  (Note that the headphones and receiver need not be powered on in any particular order.)  To drop the connection, simply push and hold the button until the light begins blinking rapidly.  The power will then turn off and the connection will drop. 

Finally, the headphones include a relatively impressive bass boost feature.  I could tell a discernible difference in the nature of the music with bass boost activated.  To turn on bass boost, simply push and hold the volume up and play buttons together.  A tone will be emitted when bass boost has been turned on/off.

Battery: The documentation which came with the unit claims a seven hour battery life.  I used these headphones fairly extensively for several days.  I’m not sure whether I reached or surpassed seven hours, but I certainly came close.  At the end of that time, the batteries (there is one in the headphones and one in the receiver) showed no indication of slowing down. 

This of course, brings us to the charging unit itself, which is a bit of good  news and a bit of bad news.  The good news is that Logitech has designed a fantastic dual charger which connects to both the receiver and headphones at the same time, charging them together from a single AC adaptor.  The bad news is that this is done with a proprietary plug, meaning that when you travel with these headphones, you will have one more charging unit to carry with you.  It would have been nice if Logitech had used a standard mini-USB plug for this, so that I could use the travel charger I already carry in my gadget bag.  Another solution would have been a USB charger.  If the proprietary end could plug into a USB port and charge through my laptop, the plug would at least require only a little extra space in my gadget bag.  As it is, however, I will now have to carry around a separate AC adaptor when I want to travel with these headphones.    

Conclusion: When I started testing these headphones, I had some serious reservations.  I have not experienced the best sound quality from this type of foam earpad style headphone.  I should not have worried.  The sound quality was perfectly crisp, with exceptional stereo quality.  The proprietary nature of the Bluetooth connection ensured that it was among the best connections I have ever experienced with a Bluetooth device.  There was virtually no sound loss or skipping in the connection, and I think the advertised 33 foot range is a significant understatement. 

The Logitech FreePulse has helped resolve the frustration I associate with spending hundreds of dollars on a new media player, only to find that my Bluetooth headphones will not connect to it.  What is the point of spending so much money on an advanced media player and then plugging in cheap $10 headphones to hear tinny music over a backdrop of static.  Thanks to Logitech and their FreePulse headphones, you will never have to learn the answer to that question.  Logitech frees you to buy the media player of your dreams without fear of whether your headphones will work.  So go ahead, head over to the iPod, Zune, Sansa, or Creative Zen store…just don’t tell your wife I sent you.

Vital Statistics:

Name: Logitech FreePulse Wireless Headphone

Manufacturer: Logitech

Where to Buy: Logitech

Price: $99.99

Technorati Tags: logitech - freepulse - wireless - bluetooth - headphones - justanothermobilemonday

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