Hello, today we will talk about Bluetooth – JBL T205BT headset. The model is not new, it has been on the market for a long time, however, despite this, it continues to remain interesting due to its form factor.
I was forced to pay attention to this headset by your comments to articles about completely wireless headphones, where many complained that manufacturers pay little attention to in-ear headsets, since not everyone likes earplugs.
Although the JBL T205BT is not completely wireless, that is, it has a wire between the drivers, it is presented in the same 'in-ear' form factor, which, in fact, is in demand by many.
Despite the existing demand, for some reason manufacturers are in no hurry to release headsets in the 'in-ear' form factor.
Packaging and delivery set
The device comes in a small box, which shows the headset itself and gives a summary of the characteristics.
We will not dwell on the packaging in detail, because many will throw out the box immediately after unpacking, since there is nothing interesting or outstanding in it.
As for the package bundle, everything is Spartan, and there is nothing special to say about it – a standard set of waste paper in the form of instructions that no one reads, as well as a short orange microUSB cable, which has already become classic for JBL portable acoustics.
Appearance and materials
The headset is made in a classic style and is a collar made of flat flexible wire. At its ends there are two massive blocks, from which thinner wires come out, at the ends of which, in turn, are the drivers.
Sophisticated and well-proven design that is easy to wear. I would especially like to note that in this case the headset is symmetrical – there is no separate remote control hanging from the side that could drag the headset to one side or the other. Another plus of the headset is the flat cable, but more on that later.
In general, on the Russian market this headset is presented in four color options.
It is white with silver, white with gold, black with blue and black with silver options.
In my case, this is a white and silver version of the headset – the lightest and, in my opinion, the most elegant.
Blocks on the right and left sides are unequal. All the control elements are concentrated in the right block, while the block on the left side is devoid of any elements and contains only a battery inside.
The headset itself has a comfortable size and length of the wire so that, being in your ears, nothing pulls anywhere, does not move out and does not cling.
It does not create difficulties when worn at a time when you are not using it – it does not hang up to the navel, which also cannot but rejoice.
Control
Now a little more about the controls, which, as I said above, are concentrated on the right block, on which, on one side, you can see the embossed company name with a small logo, as well as a rather large microphone hole.
On one edge of the same block there is a microUSB connector covered with a plastic flap, which, on the one hand, opens quite easily and does not cause difficulties in use, on the other hand, it looks reliable.
It can be assumed that over time it will not come off, as is often the case with this type of solution.
The very presence of such a plug pleases, as it protects the connector from dust.
On the other edge of the control elements there is only a three-color LED, which signals certain actions of the headset, for example, about the launched pairing mode, low battery, and which periodically flickers in the active state. Although, I believe, it was possible to get rid of the standby indication and not make this signaling.
On the reverse side of this block there are three control keys, which are made in an unusual way.
This is a small central key, recessed into the body and has a small bulge, thanks to which the key is easy to feel even blindly, as well as two large keys made as part of this block and marked with lines '+' and '-'.
These two keys are flexible rubberized surfaces. They are quite tight, which is why they have to be pressed hard enough.
The left block with a battery is devoid of any control elements, but it has paint markings – this is the model name and certificates of conformity. Actually, there is nothing more on the left block.
Features:
Attention is drawn to the structure of the main cable. It has a ribbed inner side.
Apparently, this is done so that the cable better grips clothes or skin and does not slip during wear.
I don't know if this trick or symmetry is working, but the headset doesn't really slide off.
Two thinner, but also flat cables, in my case white, come out of the blocks, at the ends of which the drivers are located.
There is a slider on the left earphone cable that you can use to secure the wires of the headset for carrying so that it does not dangle or get tangled.
Convenient thing.
Now a few words about the headphones themselves. These are dynamic emitters in the form of earbuds, with their shape reminiscent of the headphones of one Apple company, but with a larger size.
Thanks to the increased size, JBL headphones sit more securely in the ear and do not strive to slip out when tilting and turning the head.
The earbuds have side markings in the form of embossed large Latin letters R and L, indicating the sides.
They are not very clearly visible on a white background, but this is not a problem, since it is much more convenient to use another type of designation that these headphones have – these are colored dots inside the holes, which are made on the inside of the driver itself.
The right side is red and the left is blue. This method turned out to be the most convenient and frequently used for me.
The headphones themselves are of a composite design. They consist of 3 parts.
The first is the inner elongated part that fits in the ear. It is made of matte plastic, pleasant to the touch.
The middle part looks like a plastic ring made of a material similar to aluminum, but it is painted plastic. It looks good and pretty smart.
And the third part is the outer side, where the cable outlet is located, as well as the expansion hole.
The sound guide is protected by a metal mesh, which acts as a sulfur filter.
Whether it will clog up is difficult to say, but for several days nothing happened to her, so the fact that the headphones are earbuds, not plugs, and the scenario of use, and, I'm sorry, the cleanliness of that who will use them.
Ergonomics are ok. When I first took these headphones in my hands, it seemed to me that it would be inconvenient to wear them, that they would pull and interfere, due to the fact that they look massive.
But no, this is not happening. Despite their rather large size, they weigh very little and are practically not felt in the ears. As for the shape, which, as I said, strongly resembles EarPods, for me it turned out to be more comfortable than headphones Apple.
At first I regretted that this headset did not have ear braces, as, for example, in the Samsung Level U headset.
But, as practice has shown, this is not required, since the shape itself is quite successful and, I repeat, thanks to the size, the headphones fit very well in the ear.
This is how they look in the ear. Actually, there is nothing to explain here.
A closer inspection did not reveal any burrs, sloppy seams, crooked joints. Everything is done well, the plastic is quite dense, of high quality, there is no feeling of cheapness. All cable connections and docking points are made with high quality and accuracy.
Headset mode
Despite the declared noise cancellation during a conversation (this is not active noise cancellation, but filtering noise during a conversation), the interlocutors immediately understood that I was speaking through the headset. The main complaints were about the muffled and at the same time metallic sound. This was especially common in noisy places and outdoors in windy weather. Therefore, I put three out of five for the headset mode.
Battery
The battery life in the playback mode ranged from almost six hours at medium volume and without talking to five hours at maximum volume and about half an hour of talks. The headset is charged for 1.5 hours.
It's hard to say a lot or a little, since I'm already used to fully wireless headphones in 3-4 hours. But for such a form factor, I would like more autonomy.
And now, according to tradition, about the sound quality.
Sound
Speaking about sound, you need to understand that the headset belongs rather to the low price segment and costs about 2,000 rubles on average, which means that there is no AptX or AAC codec here.
Here is the good old SBC codec, which produces a decent sound picture.
So the headset sounds good. This is the most appropriate word to describe the sound of the T205BT.
She does not have enough stars from heaven, but for such a price you cannot expect this from her.
The sound is fairly smooth.
But what you would not expect from such a form factor and for such a price is pronounced very good bass. And he is here. Moreover, if we compare it with the notorious headphones Apple, we can say that it sounds deeper.
Lovers of simple electronic, as well as popular music can be congratulated. These are the very styles for which the headset will work best.
However, as practice has shown, the quantity and quality of this very bass largely depends on the fit and on the listener's ears. Thus, the more comfortable and deeper the headset sits in the ear, the better and more expressive the bass, which is not surprising if you remember the principle of sound propagation.
The mids are a little worse than we would like. The headset is a little lacking in detail, a little lacking in cleanliness.
It gives a rather narrow stereo panorama, that is, it feels like the musicians and the singer are sitting in a small room practically in front of you and singing right in your face.
At high volumes, the sound tends to get mushy.
The treble is cut off and you can feel it.
In general, if we try to describe the sound of this headset in a nutshell, we can say that it sounds almost the same as the EarPods, only gives a little more bass.
Conclusion
The headset for its money makes a good impression, and if you are not a music lover and not a fan of concert sound, then you can safely consider it for purchase. The advantages include a convenient form, as well as the fact that these are not plugs, but inserts, which in itself is a rarity today.
In addition, this is still a wireless headset, which means that you don't have to get tangled up in wires and worry about the safety of the plug.