I had been looking for a decent wireless Bluetooth stereo headset for years.

I wasn’t asking for a miracle. I just wanted a Bluetooth stereo headset that had great audio quality, long battery life, was comfortable to wear and cost under $100. Sure, I could use a wired headset. I just didn’t want to. I know it’s just a thin piece of wire, but I hate it! I just want something I could put on my head and listen to music and podcasts, and maybe answer a phone call, without a piece of wire dangling around my arm or down my shirt. A few months ago, I saw someone on the bus wearing a headset that didn’t have a wire. I had to ask him what they were, and he told me they were the Bose AE2w Bluetooth Stereo Headset. I asked him how much they cost, and he quietly whispered, “Um…they were $250.” I was visibly taken aback, and blurted out, “Wow! That’s expensive!” He promptly got off at the next stop. I’m not sure if that was his stop, if he was embarrassed, or if he was afraid I was going to steal his headset!

Ever since my encounter on the bus, I have been actively looking for a Bluetooth stereo headset that would do the job, but we’re a little less expensive. I tried the Motorola S10-HD Bluetooth Stereo Headphones. Perhaps it was because I had long hair at the time, but I did not like the behind-the-head model stereo bluetooth headsets. So, those were eliminated from my quest. I looked at some earbud Bluetooth stereo headset models like the LG HBS-730 Bluetooth Stereo Headset. Again, I wasn’t excited about something laying on my shoulders. I finally found the Jabra HALO2 Bluetooth Stereo Headset. Fortunately, the price was under $100 too, which made my wallet happy. So, I ordered a pair on Amazon.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I was so excited when it showed up at my doorstep. The Jabra HALO2 Bluetooth Stereo Headset is a beautiful piece of technology. It has clean lines, even at the joints where the headset folds, with just enough chrome to make it look like it’s from the future. It catches peoples’ attention everywhere I go. I’ve lost count of how many times people have asked me about them. Fortunately, they all wait until I take them off before asking me! The outer band has a soft, plastic matte finish. The inner band is a soft, velour material. The headset has an inner circumference of about 15.5 inches and the ear pieces extend an additional inch on each side. This allows both me and my 7-year-old daughter to use the headset comfortably. The bluetooth stereo headset is small enough to be held in my hand when they are closed, although I do have large hands. I’m not sure if Jabra endorses this, but because of the bluetooth stereo headset’s flat profile, when you aren’t using them you can put one ear piece in your pocket and let them hang at your hips.

Setting up the Jabra HALO2 Bluetooth Stereo Headset and using the controls

The first time the Jabra HALO2 Bluetooh Stereo Headset is turned on, it pairs easily by entering the pairing code from the manual in your smart phone. From then on, the Jabra HALO2 Bluetooth Stereo Headset conveniently turns on and pairs with your phone by just unfolding the headset. To turn the headset back off, you need only fold the headset. No more worrying about turning off your bluetooth to save the battery. Even if you forget to fold them up when you aren’t using them, the Bluetooth stereo headset gets 13 days of standby time. You can also listen to music or talk on the phone for up to eight hours before you have to charge them. I have spent several days where I walked out of the house listening to podcasts, continuoulsy listened to podcasts the entire day, and only finally during my bus ride home after listening to podcasts for 8.5 hours straight would the battery give out.

Fortunately, even then I can keep listening. The Jabra HALO2 Bluetooth Stereo Headset works wirelessly with any smart phone or any music player that supports Bluetooth A2DP, which includeds the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android devices running 4.2 or higher. It can also be paired with two devices at the same time; it doesn’t have to be virtually unplugged to use it with two devices at the same time. So, you could have it connected to your Sony Playstation and still answer phone calls with it. However, one of the best features is that the headset can also be plugged into devices that do not have Bluetooth via the included cable. The cord has a Answer/End button on it because the controls on the headset turn off when you plug the headset in to a headphone jack. Unfortunately, it does not have a volume control switch like the cables on the Apple Earpods.

The Jabra HALO2 Bluetooth Stereo Headset has two physical controls: a volume touch slider and the Answer/End button. With the Answer/End button you can obviously, answer and hang up phone calls, as well as ignore incoming phone calls and play and pause music and podcasts. With the volume touch slider you can adjust the volume of your headset by sliding up or down, and skip to the next track or skip back to a previous track by double-tapping the plus or minus end of the slide. I typically prefer volume controls that physically move, but the volume touch slider is suprisingly intuitive and easy to use. When you reach the top and bottom of the volume level, the HALO2 beeps to alert you.

Sound Quality

The sound quality on the Jabra HALO2 Bluetooth Headset is quite respectable, especially for the price. The AM3D Virtual Surround Sound 2.0 & Power Bass give it a full, rich sound that most headsets at this price range lack. The sound is significantly better when plugged in, but it is still solid when played over the Bluetooth connection. This headset isn’t going to compete with a pair of cans that can really kick out the bass, but they’re not supposed to. They’re not perfectly balanced either. They are just a tiny bit tinny and a little bit hollow on the low end. The sound quality might not impress your friendly neighborhood audiophile, but for the average listener, these headphones are above average. They won’t replace my studio headphones that I use when I am recording, but they are definitly the pair that I will carry everywhere with me. They are delightful to wear and listen to all day.

I only have one complaint about the Jabra HALO2 Bluetooth Stereo Headset. Occasionally, when I was walking or jogging, the sound would cut out every now and then for less than a second. It happened at least once every five minutes. Like I said before, the Bluetooth stereo headset has great sound for the price, as long as you sit or stand still and the phone and headset have a clear line of sight. The problem was only really bad when I would put my phone on my belt clip. I found that if I kept my iPhone 4S in my front shirt pocket, it worked perfect, but if I have to keep my phone in my front shirt pocket, I’d rather just use a wired headset. Fortunately, I found that if I kept my iPhone in the front or the back pocket of my jeans or shorts, I didn’t have a problem except every once in a while. It might cut out once every half hour to an hour. I let Tom take them out for a spin with his Galaxy S3, and he said that it only cut out on him once. After talking to a few of my friends that also have iPhone 4S phones I have come to find out that this problem is not unique to the Jabra HALO2. They all reported having the same problem with their bluetooth headsets as well. Although, this small problem makes the headset less than perfect, it is definetly not a deal breaker for me. I suppose I now have a good excuse to stop wearing my iPhone like a nerd.

For listening to music and podcasts on the go, the Jabra HALO2 Bluetooth Stereo Headset is the best in its class that I have found.