Sennheiser MM 550 Travel Bluetooth Wireless Headphone with Noisegard and Talk Through Function

I originally bought these bluetooth headphones for medium-intensity work/home use, including making bluetooth calls via my iphone 3GS, making calls on my bluetooth compatible landline, for skype calls, and for listening to music and movies via my laptop and iphone. I already have Sennheiser TR120s and PXC250s so am no stranger to the company and although I would not consider myself an audiophile, the different parts of my home stereo were not made by the same company.

Bluetooth
When connected to my 3GS operation is about 95% perfect. Connection is usually flawless and quick but about 5% of the time the first connection attempt fails, succeeding on the second attempt. Once connected, the connection is stable with only a few very occasional fluctuations. The headphones have some difficulty in changing sources, and it seems that if they think they should be attached to one source they will reject any other that is trying to connect. Several times I have had to reset the headset or delete the headset pairing from my PC or iphone before I can persuade them to connect. Connection with my laptop (Sony VAIO Z) was (and remains) problematic. No drivers are included with the headset and my PC reported that I should visit the manufacturer's website to get the necessary drivers. Connection via Windows 7 was very complicated and instead I reverted to the third party Bluesoleil bluetooth management software (at extra cost) to make the headphones work with my PC. After installing this, use was a little smoother but connection occasionally completely fails, and switching between a headphone profile and a headset profile is occasionally troublesome. In summary, the bluetooth relationship using my iphone 3GS was a positive experience but use with my PC was somewhat frustrating and problematic. Connecting to my gigaset landline has been pleasantly straightforward.

Noise cancelling
By far the most disappointing aspect of this headset. The headphones sit tight to your head so they insulate pretty well from the offset. Switching noise cancelling on induces a notable noise reduction but it is nowhere as significant as my PXC250s. On a recent long haul flight I compared them to the airline business-class noise cancelling headphones. The airline's headphones were monumentally better than the MM550s. The MM550s only reduce a small component of low frequency noise. Using the MM550s to watch a movie on board or to listen to music, I am frequently aware of engine hum and people talking, even when running the headphones at a loud-ish volume. In summary, it appears that noise cancelling was not added to these headphones as a serious function.

Controls
You get the hang of these after a while but Sennheiser have traded functionality for the "wow factor". Unfortunately, once this has passed only frustration remains. The fancy on/off/pair/start call button soon becomes irritating as it gives you limited feedback on what it is selecting. You need to hold it in for x seconds, depending on what function you require. A simple sliding on/off switch would have made it monumentally more user friendly. If pairing fails, you need to take the headphones off, hold the button in for 4 seconds to switch it off, release, hold it in for four seconds to turn it on, then continue holding it in for a few seconds more until it goes into pairing mode. The next/previous track buttons and volume buttons work well with the iphone but can be tricky at first to find when the headphones are on your head.
Operating the talk through function (which performs well) and noise cancelling (for what it is worth) is easy.

Comfort
As mentioned by other reviewers, these get a little sweaty if you're not in an air conditioned environment. They grip your head reasonably tightly but without pressure points. During a telephone call I have to remove one cup from my ear as both together muffles my voice too much to talk comfortably. The headphones collapse into a sort of convenient package but they are still too big to fit into a pocket.

Sound
Mixed feelings for using these with skype, as the headset connects at an extremely low mono sound quality (telephone quality).
When using with music/movies in an environment with no background noise, sound quality is simply excellent (with PC or iphone). Clear, tight and focused sound, dancing tirelessly along without pause and without loss of focus - simply very, very good. Completely intolerant of poor recordings (and shame on you for even trying). During phone calls (with no background noise) the person on the other end can hear me adequately but they occasionally complain that I sound far away. Calls made with high background noise are almost impossible to make, with the other person commenting on it almost immediately. Hearing the person on the other end of the line has always been easy. Calls made using my iphone and landline have generally been a positive experience.

Construction quality
Good but certainly nothing special. The "leather" on the headband feels and looks cheap as does the button panel (the part you have to touch). The remaining components are of good quality. The carrying pouch is too large for the folded headphones and is of an insultingly low quality (probably time you took the hint Sennheiser, this is getting kind of recurrently embarrassing for your loyal customer-base).

Bluetooth range and battery
The straight line range (no obstacles) between the headphones and my iphones was at least 15 metres, falling to 10 metres with my PC. If you add in a corner wall the PC starts to fail almost immediately but the iphone copes slightly better as a source. Do not plan to use these headphones with the Bluetooth source in another room. Battery life is okay but not impressive. I need to recharge these every day. The cost of a spare battery is a rip-off £30-40. The `phones can be used with the supplied cable when the battery is dead. The battery is recharged with another cable which has a regular USB connection on one end and a strange flatter-than-usual mini USB on the other, meaning that I have an additional cable to carry every time I travel.

Summary: if you like the Sennheiser sound and do not travel a lot then you will probably love these headphones. Also, (if like me) you want one solution to meet a number of needs and are thus prepared to compromise on all aspects then you will probably be satisfied. However, as these phones do not do anything to the level at which I think should class them as a "flagship model" (especially the noise cancelling), nor does their performance/quality justify the 300+GPB price tag, I do not think that they represent good value for money. Basically they deliver on all fronts but do everything to a mediocre degree (with the exception of noise cancelling which is poor and sound quality which is excellent (with no background noise)). Hence the three stars.

I've been using this headset for a few days now with my iPhone 3GS and have to say it's absolutely fantastic. The Bluetooth pairing couldn't be easier. The difference in sound quality with Bluetooth compared to the audio cable is imperceptible and I'm just using the iPhone's standard Bluetooth radio as opposed to the Sennheiser BTD 300I Bluetooth Wireless Stereo Audio Transmitter for iPod/iPhone.

The noise cancelling feature works well and doesn't create the uncomfortable sense of pressure I've experienced while testing some Bose headsets. The TalkThrough feature is very useful but I've found little use for the SRS feature because the default sound experience is outstanding without the need to be enhanced. In fact the sound quality has given my existing collection a complete new dimension. It's like hearing some tracks for the first time because there is so much new detail.

I've read a review where somebody complained about the status lights bothering fellow passengers. This is completely unfounded. When paired correctly, all lights turn off a few seconds after using the controls.

So far the only feature which could do with a slight improvement is the tactile feel of the controls. Other than that ... It's just about perfect.

Update after a few weeks:
* Found no audio delay or sync issues when viewing movies. (Used with iPhone and iPad.)
* Good battery life.
* Voice control of iPhone works very well. Select playlists or call a contact with one button press.
* Call quality with iPhone is excellent.

What a fantastic set of headphones! I have been using the Sennheiser 350 PXCs for a number of years now and thought they were very good - until I stepped on and broke them! I need some good noise canceling headphones as I use them on the tube in London to and from work - which is far too noisy to listen to anything without them. I agonised for ages before deciding to buy these - but am so glad I did. The bluetooth is so easy to use and the controls on the headphones work to adjust the volume and skip tracks on my phone. The noise cancelling is not 100%, but is still very good indeed. The fact that it is not 100% makes them sound so much better and more natural than the Bose phones for example. It is nice to have the wired option in case the battery runs out and the talkthrough feature is very useful if you need to talk to someone - it pauses your music and lets you hear them well. All I can say is if you're thinking about it, just do it - you won't regret it!!