I hate being tangled up in wires while listening to music; I often jumble up the chord of headphones, sometimes even managing to create knots and eventually, tearing the chord. I have been longing for quite some time to move to wire-free audio nirvana but the prices of those made by big names (such as Bose, Sony and the likes) are prohibitively expensive. Also, I don’t really aspire to fancy, noise-cancelling headsets that cut you off from your surroundings.
In the past few months, some less illustrious but well-loved brands have helped me with the rite of passage to an unwired world. Blaupunkt, nearly a century-old German company with a two-decade presence in India, launched BH-21 for people like me.
There is an interesting bit of history behind the name of this company. Initially named “Ideal” when it was founded in Berlin in 1924, it manufactured radios. Each one was carefully tested by technicians and labelled with a seal for quality — the blue dot. Instead of asking for the radios by name, customers simply asked for “blaupunkt”, German for blue dot. By 1959, the company had sold its millionth car radio and spread its wings across the world with a diversified folio of audio products.
BH-21 has a subtext EQz (stands for equalizer mode) meaning you can easily enhance your music, toggling between thumping bass and clear vocal, thanks to its high precision drivers. Each of these modes gives you better reproduction of music and greater clarity.
The over-the-ear design lets the phones sit comfortably for long listening sessions. The soft material doesn’t let the earphones slip off or tire your years. The design is cool and the material so flexible that you can fold headphone and keep it in your pocket. The 300 mAH battery can be charged in a jiffy and take you comfortably through the day.
Though much ambient noise does not seep through, if you increase the volume sound spills over. That is actually good for your ears and auditory nerves. In other words, listening at high volume is discouraged. The wireless connectivity is impeccable; you also have smart buttons in the ear cup for answering calls and adjusting volume. The BH-21 is pretty easy to set up via Bluetooth, you don’t need an app on your phone to connect. Those not allergic to wires have the option of attaching the auxiliary cable in the box and use it as a wired headphone.
On the downside, do not expose it to even a drizzle. It’s not waterproof and can’t handle humidity. But perhaps that should not be expected at this price. As long is the music listening experience is cool, one must not fret about minor shortfalls.
