| | |  | Wireless | Home » » NuForce BT-860 Stereo Bluetooth Headset (Audiophile-Grade) | | | | | | | Description: | | The NuForce BT-860 Bluetooth Headphones feature the latest innovations in Bluetooth V2.1 technology. The quality of the BT-860's sound easily rivals that of wired units. The BT-860 is capable of receiving wireless stereo sound** from Bluetooth mobile phones, MP3 players, Bluetooth stereo players, and, with the appropriate software, Bluetooth-enabled PCs. The BT-860's built-in microphone supports concurrent headset and hands-free operation. | | | Features: | |
• Outstanding stereo sound
• High-performance transducers
• Volume-and-track-control button
• Built-in microphone (headset)
• Low audio coding delay to minimize latency and 'lip-sync' issues.
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 6.1 inches | | Product Width:
| 1.5 inches | | Product Height:
| 6.18 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.23 pounds | | Package Length:
| 8.3 inches | | Package Width:
| 7.1 inches | | Package Height:
| 2.8 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.65 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 23 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 23 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Great headphones. Not audiophile quality though.Aug 15, 2011
By Juan C. Cruz
Introduction
I've been using these BT-860 for about two weeks now.
Fortunately, I received these from Nuforce a few days before going on a business trip. So I had the opportunity to use these on the road, in the subway, on a plane, walking around the city, and at home. A good mix of listening environments.
Bluetooth
First of all, these are the first pair of bluetooth headphones that I've had the opportunity to use. I've heard horror stories about the connections with bluetooth headphones. I am glad to say that this was not the case with the BT-860's. Scanned for bluetooth devices on my Sony Xperia Android, picked up the BT-860 right away. Never had a connection drop. Turned off bluetooth, BT-860 disconnected. Turned on bluetooth, BT-860 connected right away.
Next I disconnected the BT-860 from the Android, scanned for bluetooth devices on my laptop, and it connected right away. You can't have the BT-860 connected to two devices at the same time, but you can have it registered on more than one device at a time. The connection was very stable.
While walking around the city, riding the subway or airplane, I never had a problem with the bluetooth connection. At home, while connected to the laptop, I walked away about 15ft from the laptop and still had a solid connection.
The bluetooth portion of these headphones are top notch!
Sound Quality
I must note that the Sennheiser PX-100's have been my choice of portable headphones for years now. I've purchased other portable headphones, but the PX-100 always come out on top. So my review of the sound quality of the BT-860 is more or so a comparison against the Sennheiser PX-100 II.
The BT-860's sound quality is good, but it did leave me wanting more. I did let the BT-860 burn-in with pink noise and heavy music for over a 100 hours before ever trying them on. All files tested were MP3 192VBR LAME. I choose not to test with flac files because these headphones are designed for portable use, and not all devices will play flac files.
First, the source DOES matter. I'm not talking about MP3 vs lossless. I mean the source of the unit. I thought that the bluetooth connection would not make a difference, but it does. When connected to the Android, the max volume that I could obtain was "just loud enough". At that time I thought the unit inside the headphone was too weak to play loud. However, when connected to the laptop, I had to turn the volume down to 50% because it was too loud.
I had mixed feelings on the sound quality of the BT-860's.
Bass. This was the unit's weakest area. It was very lacking in bass. For hip-hop, dance, type music, these headphones just didn't cut it. Bass was just not present enough. However, that is not to say that the bass that was present was bad. When playing jazz or R&B or classical type music, though the bass was not very present, it was nicely controlled. Natural sounding and precise. There was never bass deep enough to "feel" it. Compared to the PX-100, the BT-860 had nothing in bass to compete against it. However, the overall tone of the BT-860 made the PX-100 II sound dark. The original PX-100's were in fact a bit dark, but I never considered the PX-100 II dark. Again, compared to the BT-860, the PX-100 II did appear as a dark set of headphones.
Mids. The mids had a nice balance to them, smooth, present. However, I find that the soundstage, that mostly comes from the mids, was very small. In music that had a large soundstage with the PX-100, the BT-860's had almost done in comparison.
Highs. This is were the BT-860 excel and suffer. There were songs that I listened from (ranging from all types of music) where I was hearing parts of the song that I never heard before. Listening to snare drums sounded very clear and realistic. But then cymbols played with too much frill and sounded overbearing. Music with brass instrument were a pleasure to listen to. Trumpets would play wonderfully... until it would hit a high C note... and then it actually sounded bad. Listening to certain female voices often sounded too bright. But listening to a male voice with a high pitch voice (like Ne-yo) sounded just the way it should. That's why I say that the highs are where these headphones excel and suffer. It's a hit or miss on this.
Comfort. This was the best aspect of these headphones. Extremely comfortable to wear even for long periods of time. It is a solid grip, but not too tight. I fell asleep on the airplane listening to music, and when I woke up, my ears did not hurt at all from the padded earpads. Compared to the PX-100, these are definitely much more comfortable. It is not as portable though as these headphones do not fold up. The manual mentions that it folds up, but I do not see how it is possible since it is a solid piece of a rubber material.
If you're looking for a bluetooth pair of headphones that have a good solid sound and comfort, I would recommend these. However, I would not say that these are of audiophile quality. For the price, I am sticking to my Sennheiser PX-100 II.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Nuforce BT-860Aug 08, 2011
By ccc
This is an excellent bluetooth headphone. I have been using it with iPad2 while I work out past 2 weeks. The range is great and no problem connecting to iPad2; it works with iPad as well, if anyone wondering. I tried to connect to my android cell phone and again it worked great. Unfortunately, the headphone cannot connect to both iPad and phone at the same time, which is not a problem for me though. As far as the sound quality goes, it is good and acceptable but not for serious listening. I compared with other headphones I have (Bose Quitecomfort 15 and Alessandro MS-1) and BT-860's bass is diffused and sound stage is not as big. I was wondering if this is different from the headset by Jaybird or Gogroove. Nuforce has no information how BT-860 compare with the others. Nevertheless, I would not hesitate recommending this to any one. For my specific need of the headphones, I give 5 stars. For overall quality, 4 stars.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
NuForce BT-860 ReviewAug 07, 2011
By Brian Kim
I've used this product for the last two weeks and have had a chance to test out most of its functionality. Let's start off with their use as just bluetooth headphones. The sounds quality is good and not great, I would say it's not quite up to Nuforce standards (I use only Nuforce earphones), but that is one of the drawbacks of using bluetooth. The bass is not quite as solid abut the mediums and highs are still very clear. The volume also does not go very loud (I know this is an issues with a lot of bluetooth headphones, but even on max volumes I had some issues hearing songs in noisy environments). The headphones also provide very little noise-cancellation. But in terms of sound, I was satisfied.
As a bluetooth headset, they work very well. Despite no protruding mic, friends have never complained about not being able to hear me. Volume level is acceptable for calls and audio is clear.
The headphones sync'd very well with my phones and laptop very well. The controls on the headphones also worked very well and are very intuitive. The range is also pretty decent, I could leave my phone in the living room and walk around the house pretty freely without losing signal.
Though the sound quality is not great, it is worth the convenience of not having any wires. The headphones also look very good aesthetically. I've received several questions about them in my two weeks using them, and friends have been very impressed. I would recommend these headphones without hesitation unless you are someone who likes to listen to your music very loudly (which I would def. not recommend doing...).
6 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 Good general purpose headphoneAug 09, 2011
By Ross A. Seymour
"rseymour10"
These are good general purpose headphones. I compared them to another (wired) headphone that was a similar price and design - the Jays V-jays.
Let me note that I don't have much experience with bluetooth devices, and have never had a pair of bluetooth headphones (mostly because of their bad reputation).
Compared to the wired V-jays, the NuForces did not sound as good. There was a slight graininess in the sound and some distortion on complicated passages. But, the overall differences weren't great. While I wouldn't call these "audiophile," they do deliver a good sound for the price range.
Set up was easy. I paired it with a HTC Incredible Android phone without problem. I'm using the PowerAmp app, playing mp3 and FLAC files.
Reception was OK. It says 10 meters. I could get reception at 10 meters but there would be gaps. In the 1 to 2 meter range, reception was perfect.
I bought it for listening to on short walking errands, where I need to interact with people. IEM's are a pain to take in and out. Wired headphones get tangled up. For that purpose, I think these headphones will be just the ticket.
I haven't used them for telephone calls, but assume they will work OK for a short call.
The build on these is top notch. Compared to the frail v-jays, these are heavy duty. Again, I hope to be taking them on and off. The v-jays broke a couple of times in my jacket pocket but I doubt these will.
Despite being of substantial build, they are light weight. The band is wide and seems to have a steel band inside the plastic band. There is no padding on the band. I have a sensitive head (no jokes) but these don't bother me at all.
They clamp fairly tight but not in an uncomfortable way. I'd describe the clamp as perfect, and I have a large noggin'
The ear pads are large and there is a replacement set that comes with them.
The earpads adjust into the band. The manual says they are foldable as well, but I haven't figured out how to fold them. Folding would be great as they would take up less room.
The controls are a bit confusing but like with any portable device, extended use will lead to ease of use. Pausing, skipping to the next track and adjusting volume all worked as advertised.
They come with a proprietary charger, not a USB charger. A pain. Battery life seems to be advertised as well. Not great, but I suspect longer batter life would require a bigger a battery, leading to a heavier headset. I'll take the shorter battery life.
Overall, a good value.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Great Stereo Bluetooth Headset!Aug 10, 2011
By dpham8
I have owned many IEM (In-Ear Monitor) headsets but I was looking around for wireless for casual listening. I researched lots of similar items but decided on NuForce for a couple reasons. First, NuForce makes hi-end audiophile-grade stereo equipments. I was hoping their technology would trickle down. Second, I own their NE-700M IEM headset and its sound quality is excellent. I am not disappointed! I am using the BT-860 with my iPhone 4 & Macbook Air and it paired up easily. Range is typical of bluetooth technology. What is great is the sound quality. If you have nice clean source, such as 320kp mp3, this headset will deliver. Once again, this is for casual and not critical listening. As a matter of fact, I let a few friends listened to it and they were all clamoring for a pair. Lastly, it is apt-x enabled, so if you have similar technology, it will deliver even cleaner sound.
See all 23 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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