Nokia 
“Wow!”
That was the first thing people said when I showed them the BH-604.The guys at Nokia were awesome enough to send me a Nokia BH-604 bluetooth stereo headset to review, via WomWorld.
I had no idea what to expect out of them, because my experience with bluetooth headphones have never been great. Or stereo for that matter. The BH-604 totally changed that.
Lets begin with the Nokia Bh-604 specs. You can find them at this specs page over at Nokia’s official website.
Battery :
Yeah thats right. Just an hour and a half of charge and the thing lasts close to 19 hours ! And I usually take the official battery specs with a grain of salt, but they werent kidding around this time. The BH-604 really does last very long. In the two weeks that I’ve had it so far, I’ve listened to music on it for about an hour or two everyday, and I’ve only charged it for about 30 mins twice in between. And only because I was paranoid lol.
The Nokia site’s overview of the BH-604 says this :
Slip this DJ style headset over your ears and immerse yourself in music. The Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-604 features clear Hi-Fi sound, from deep bass to lively treble. Smart music and call control buttons let you make calls or listen to music, and the headset can be used with a wide range of mobile phones and other compatible Bluetooth devices.
With a Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-604 you can:
- connect to your device wirelessly with this comfortable DJ style Bluetooth headset
- hear your music as it was meant to be heard – in clear Hi-Fi sound
- play your tunes with smart music controls: play, pause, stop, forward, next track, rewind, and previous track
- take and make calls with practical call controls: answer, end, and reject calls, voice dial, redial, and mute
- go from grooves to incoming calls in an instant with auto
matic switching from music to call mode- use the headset with your phone, PDA, PC, music player, or other compatible Bluetooth devices
- charge up fast! Get up to 18 hours of talk time from less than 1,5 hours of charging
- listen to music longer with up to 19 hours of music time and up to 2 weeks standby
All the pictures in this review have been taken in high resolution. You can view the high res images by clicking on the image, which will take you to the Share on Ovi site, where you can click on the image again there to see the full high res version.
The Box :
Because I know some of y’all just need to see the box ! It got a little beaten up on the journey here though.
I love how its large like a phone box. Kinda makes you feel like you’re buying a phone. Cheap thrills, eh ?
The Sales Package :
The sales package includes the following :-
* The Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-604
* A Nokia Compact Travel Charger AC-5
* A cloth carrying pouch
* A user instruction booklet
Style, Design and Build Quality :
Like I said earlier, I was a firm believer that Bluetooth headsets are the most ridiculous looking things anybody could wear. But Nokia’s DJ-like headphones have me completely on the flip side after the week I’ve spent with them.
When you first look at it, the BH-604 looks like a regular set of headphones encased in black leather and silver trim. On closer inspection you’ll notice that they’re wireless and you’ll notice the flashing blue LED on the right side of the headphones.
The BH-604 though has a very peculiar design. While most normal headphones are shaped to the contour of your head,the BH-604 sticks out around the headphone part, making it very odd. Its not really a bad thing but it just took me by suprise when I put them on and had a look at it. They fit amazingly, thanks to the padded band which lies on your head, and the very cushion-y earcups.
I should say though, that the EarCups are massive. This really help to make them comfortable for extended periods of time but it does take a hit in the portability factor.
The build quality is good. The ear pieces are soft and the padding is very well made and stitched. It gives it that look and feel of an expensive product that will probably last a while. And unlike the recent grease magnets that have been released by Nokia ( Looking at my N82 here), there are no shiny surfaces to keep cleaning or show greasy fingerprints.
Syncing and controls :
I used my Nokia N82 as my companion for the BH-604. Once you sync them together, they will automatically sync fro
m the next time you switch on your N82‘s bluetooth and the BH-604. All the controls are placed on the right ear-cup. It includes the ‘next track’ button on the front of the right earcup, the ‘previous track’ on the back, volume control on the bottom and the call button right under the ‘play/pause’ button.
Turning on the headphones is easy but its advisable to read the instructions atleast once before you try it.
You have to click and hold the call button for about 8 seconds to switch it on directly to bluetooth pairing mode, where the LED light flashes blue rapidly. If you hold it down for a period less than that, say 5 seconds, it switches on to normal mode and automatically tried to pair with whatever devices it was earlier paired with.
To switch it off, you have to hold down the call button again for about 10 seconds where the LED emits a brief red glow. If you press and hold it down for any period shorter than that, say 5 seconds again, it activates the device’s voice-dialing feature where it listens for your to say the name of a contact, which it will then try to dial.
Response time is pretty fast when you need to pause or play a song, answer a call, or flip through tracks.
( Note : On the N82, I did notice that when switching between tracks, the first 2 seconds of the track would essentially be “cut out”, but that is probably a problem with the firmware, since I did not experience the same thing when i used the BH-604 with other devices)
The volume button has a push-forward-or-back kind of switch. Pushing it forward, pumps up the volume while pushing it back does the opposite.
Basically, the controls are very simple to use and you wont attract attention using them.
Also, the BH-604 can be connected to almost any Bluetooth device which supports A2DP (advanced audio distribution profile). I used them with my pal, Kosmo‘s laptop and they were rawkin ! Same with my N82 and various other devices I tried it with.
To disconnect the BH-604 from your device, simply turn off the headset.
Portability :
The headset is pretty bulky, I’ve got to say. I carried them around in my backpack in the punch that came with the headphones. The ear pieces fold down flat to streamline them a bit but its not something that you’d want to cram into your pant pocket or your jacket.
Sound Quality, Music and Range :
Sound quality on the BH-604 was amazing. Everything was crisp and clear.With them on, I hardly heard any background sounds at all. Both on my N82 and when I attached the BH-604 to my friend’s Laptop via bluetooth.
Bass was very rich and pretty top-notch but not quite there. The treble was pretty good. There were no hisses, although I heard reports about it with this particular headset. I was amazed that this was all done wirelessly.
I walked from one end of my house to the other. I’d say the range is about 30-40 ft. Inside that, the sound quality does not deteriorate at all.
The BH-604 as a headset, making calls :
Making calls using the BH-604 is as easy as pushing a button. If you want to answer an incoming call, your music automatically fades out and is paused and your ringtone starts playing. To answer your call, you just have to press the call button. This remains the same until you end the conversation by clicking the call button again. After that your music gets automatically unpaused and fades in.
( Note : One thing that I noticed though, was that sometimes ,very rarely, the music would unpause at maximum volume and then return to the volume you were listening to it at. I’m pretty sure this is yet another bug in the N82 Firmware. )
Sound quality was still clear in calls. Again to about 30-40 feet. Anything after that and the clarity on the other end starts to crackle and break up.
The caller during my test had no difficulty hearing me, and since the headphones do a great job of sealing off my ears from the rest of the world, I had no difficulty hearing him.
As i said earlier, if you press and hold down the call button for about 5 seconds, it activates the device’s voice-dialing feature where it listens for your to say the name of a contact, which it will then try to dial.
Battery Life :
Battery life on the BH-604 was surprising. I couldnt believe it, to be honest. I’ve been playing music through the headphones for about 12 hours (roughly 2 to 3 hours everyday) and they’re still chugging along. Theoretically, if I didnt charge my N82, they would have died long before the BH-604s did.
Nokia is boasting 19 hours of playback on the BH-604‘s 500mAh battery. So far I’m inclined to believe it. Talk time is pretty much the same at a whopping 18 hours. I never got to actually hit that mark, me being the paranoid always-charge-everything-once-everday type that I am, but I wouldn’t doubt that number. Recharging the batteries takes about an hour and a half. Sadly, the batteries are not replacable and are sealed in, but thats honestly not a problem to me.I’m sure they’ll last a long long time. A single charge should leave you with roughly two weeks of standby.
Price :
While very rare to find in India, and believe me I’ve tried, the BH-604 goes for about $135 (Rs 5900) elsewhere. It definitely is a tad bit on the expensive side. But music lovers with the dough to spend, will definitely want to pick these up. That being said, if it were going for about Rs 3000-3500 ish, I’d definitely pick one up. Otherwise the price is still out of my comfort zone.
Conclusion :
The BH-604 is definitely one of the best sounding headphones (wired or wireless) I’ve ever had the pleasure of using. Nokia really hit the mark with this one. I really cant think of any changes to make it better, except for maybe making it a little more smaller and compact ?
I’d think the BH-604 would add style to my geeky everyday life. Although, people might probably think you’re some kind of a DJ when you’re on a call, walking around.
Nokia’s done a great job with the BH-604 headphones. I’ve gotten so used to them after just a week of use, that I think I’m really going to miss them when I send it back to WomWorld.
I am very impressed !
- Teh Cj
Clinton is currently based in New Delhi, India and is executive editor for UnleashThePhones. He is responsible for all editorial decisions, and covers all forms of Mobile and mobile-related accessories.
Cj is addicted to caffeine, social media, and technology. Always up for a good conversation, you can reach him through the contact form, his website, on Google Plus 
or on Facebook or Twitter: Follow @clintonjeff
Great detailed review ZOMG, well done, you have just convinced me to buy a pair. I too have had nothing but bad experiences with bluetooth headsets in the past, from poor fitting, to poor sound quality. These BH-604 fit the bill in every way, and are ideal for what im looking for.By the way, I have added you as a contact on OVI, im known as GSi-R on there my friend.Keep up the good work.Micky
whoooahhhh ... thats act kick ass man. restecp for the info.... tis well written as usual.... now to raise teh cash to get 1 =)
Good in depth review...! A must read for everyone.
This headphone is awesome!! i have tried it out myself thanks to Cj (well you do feel your an alien for a min coz of its huge size) but the sound is just mind blowing!!!
Hey Mickyfin ! Thanks alot ! See you on Ovi :)
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