Budget sound Part 2: Wireless headset

Bluetooth headphones are more popular than ever even before Apple started to push for wireless audio by the exclusion of the headphone jack on iPhone 7, a trend surely to be followed by other manufacturers in the near future.

In this second part of my “Budget sound” series (read part 1), I’m going to introduce a Bluetooth headset that’s great for day to day use at mainly indoor. There are times when you want great sound, but what I find myself needing for general use is something light, with balanced sound and great battery life suitable for using when I’m doing some chores at home or watch stuff on my projector. Sony DR-BTN200M ticks all those checkboxes.

Weighting only at 160grames and packing an incredible 30-35 hours charge (Sony claims it at 40hrs), it is one of the best general use Bluetooth headphones I’ve found. It comes with Bluetooth 3.0, NFC and Multipoint connectivity as well if that’s something that picks your interest.

It is an all plastic design so it doesn’t exactly feel premium, yet the end result is the lightness that makes it possible to wear it for hours without even noticing it’s there. The cushions are soft but neither big nor deep enough to provide the comfort you get from higher end headsets, but the weight again saves the day as there’s not much pressure on your ears to begins with.

There are controls for music and volume as well as answering calls on the cans. I don’t find myself using them much and the placement isn’t that great except for the music control featuring a 3 way next, previous and pause play design that works great when connected to your phone as in Windows it becomes hit and miss depending on the application.

Not being an audiophile, I find the sound full, crisp, balanced and way better than what I was expecting at this price point. There is sound bleed on very high volume as expected from such design.

I purchased mine over a year ago and never had any issues, however, here is where it gets a little tricky. This headphone is priced around £50 in Amazon which is borderlining the definition of “budget”, but it goes on sale once in a while and I got mine around £30. I think at £50 is still worth it but you can find it cheaper if you are willing to wait!