Nokia WH-500 Review

Introduction and Design:

What we’ll be looking at in this review is the Nokia WH-500 – a new stereo headset by the Finnish manufacturer. It can be used for both handling your handsfree calls and listening to music.  This headband-style headset has decent dimensions and it will hopefully perform well in the upcoming tests.

The device has an over-the-ear design, and is available only in black color. It is very comfortable to wear because of the light materials used in making it, comprised mostly of nice-feeling plastic. The swiveling ear-cups gently touch your ears, and in the same time cling firmly enough onto them. The wire from the ear-cups ends in a 3.5mm audio jack, and a 2.5mm adapter is also available, adding compatibility with devices, featuring that port. The headset has a hands-free microphone and easily accessible controls, which are located on a module on the wire. The module features six buttons in all: a volume rocker, play/pause and track selection keys and a call key. It should be noted that this particular headset works best with Nokia phones, since the buttons do not function when connected to other manufacturers’ phones, although it still produces high-quality sound with some. With others though, the sound is just terrible, so you might want to test how the WH-500 works with your device before buying it.

Performance:

The Nokia WH-500 is great for listening to music. As a whole the headset is loud enough and we were pleased with its performance. It creates a deep sound that handles bass well. At regular volume settings the playback is really nice, although at full volume level there is some noise, and then the normally decent sounding bass takes over the mid-range tones. We tested many different types of music and found no noticeable difference in audio quality.



We also conducted some call quality tests with the WH-500. The headset handled calls adequately, but not admirably. On our side there was a bit more to be desired, as voices were somewhat muted, and we wish they were a little louder; however, they sounded pretty real too, with no metallic noises to spoil the experience. On the other end of the line everything was fine - the volume was acceptable, with sharp, yet intelligible sound.
 

Conclusion:

As we mentioned earlier, the headset doesn’t function well with other phones than with Nokia’s own devices, but if you are a Nokia user and you want a decent pair of headphones, then these are for you. The design of the Nokia WH-500, complimented by the black color is pretty standard, and is nothing to write home about. However, the comfort, lightness and overall ease of use left us satisfied with Nokia’s headphones. The audio playback is not perfect, but in general is of good quality. If only they came with a bit lower price tag…