Motorola S9-HD stereo Bluetooth headphones review

Motorola S9-HD

Motorola S9-HD

Motorola S9-HD

Motorola S9-HD
Weight	38g (1.3oz)
Body Size	138mm x 140mm x 53mm 5.4" x 5.5" x 2.1"
Talk Time	Up to 6 hours
Standby Time	Unknown standby time
Ear Loop	Over the ear/behind the head
Left/Right Ear?	Both
LEDs	1, blue/red/purple
Pairings	Multiple
Headset Sound	Excellent
Mic Sound	Terrible
Included Accessories	AC power, user-changeable eargels, carry bag

Many cell phone manufacturers are using proprietary headphone ports on their phones, but are adding Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support for wireless stereo Bluetooth headsets, such as the Motorola S9-HD. The Motorola S9-HD is the second edition of the S9 headphones and maintains the same sleek styling and supreme comfort, while adding a few key features. How well does the S9-HD stand up to the music, though?

Physical Aspects

The Motorola S9-HD is a stylish, yet subdued headset, clad mostly in a rubberized matte black plastic exterior. There are two small strips of black chrome on each side of the antenna bump on the back of the headphones. The Motorola S9-HD came to us with an AC wall charger, a handy carrying pouch, and a set of user-changeable rubber eargels. We also had an iPod connector in the package to allow for wireless listening to our iPod Touch. There are 2 sets of large eargels, with a loose outer layer that seals off your ear, to keep background noise out and the music in. The other set is smaller, and lacks the loose outer part, thus making the S9-HD a bit safer for joggers who still need to be aware of their surroundings.

The Motorola S9-HD headphones wrap easily and nicely around the back of your head, with each earpiece resting comfortably in each ear. Control buttons for the S9-HD are found easily on both sides of the headphones, and are nicely arranged in a column containing 3 buttons each. On the right earpiece you'll find the music controls - forward, reverse, and play/pause. The left earpiece, then, provides the up and down volume controls as well as the call button.

The power button and mini-USB charging port are located at the back of the Motorola S9, on the underside of the antenna bump. The mini-USB port is covered by a rubber flap to keep moisture and debris out. The LED notification light is centered in the middle of the antenna lump, between the power button and charging port. The arms of the headset are made of slightly bendable plastic, so that it can easily stretch to accommodate users' heads.

The Motorola S9-HD weighs in at a barely-there 38g (1.3oz), which makes a difference when you wear them for extended periods of time. I was able to wear the S9-HD for hours, listening to music without experiencing any discomfort at all. The eargels are nice and soft, and there is just enough tension in the side arms to keep a firm fit, without causing ear fatigue or giving me a headache.

Setup and Use

The LED notification light at the back of the headset flashes blue slowly while the headset is powered on and connected to a phone or device. When you first power the S9-HD on, the light will flash blue three times, and will then turn solid blue to indicate 'pairing' mode. If you wish to reactivate pairing mode later, simply turn the headset off, and then press and hold the power button again until the LED shows solid blue. When you've successfully paired your headset with your cell phone, you'll see a blue light with 10 purple flashes.

When you have paired the Motorola S9-HD with your phone, you can simply press the call button on the left earpiece to answer or end a phone call. The play/pause button on the right earpiece can be used to reject the call. If your phone supports voice dial, you can activate this from standby simply by pressing the answer/hang up button. If you wish to simply redial the last number that you called, press and hold this button for a few seconds. While on a phone call, you can use the play/pause button to mute/unmute the headset's microphone.