Kinivo BTH240 Bluetooth Headphones (Black, On-Ear, Wireless Music, Hands-Free Calling, Built-in Mic, Foldable, Travel Bag)

I bought these headphones for my laptop because I was afraid I'd break the cord on my nice ones. My older bose earphones (IE2) fit so well, I would forget I was wearing them and walk off, pulling the headphones out of my ears or the cord out of the computer. I didn't want to break these, so I decided to look for some wireless ones.I read the reviews on these, and I am glad I purchased the Kinivo brand headphones over some of the others. There are other sellers, but what they are selling are the same as the inferior Kinivo BTH220 headphones. Some of them even have 240 in the name, but they're the same design as the Kinivo BTH 220. The Kinivo BTH240 headphones have better buttons on the right earpiece. They have less travel, and they feel higher quality.Pros:1.)Light- I can wear them all day.2.)Great battery life! I get at least 10 hours of constant music playback. If there isn't constant audio, they last much longer. Basically, you get 10 hours of constant audio playback. If you aren't playing audio but they're still on, they last longer.3.)Excellent sound quality! I have been using Bose IE2 headphones, which I consider relatively good quality. There is NO noticeable decrease in sound quality with these headphones over the Bose ones. The bass is excellent, and they don't sound remotely cheap. I thought for the price, there might be some static hiss like there was with a pair of Sony Bluetooth headphones. There is no background noise whatsoever! I would have to take my Sony headphones off when I wasn't listening to something because the hissing would gradually drive me crazy. These surprisingly are completely silent. The Sony Bluetooth headphones also costed more than twice as much.4.)Design and functionality: These "on-ear" headphones are relatively comfortable. When you are sitting or lying down, they aren't very noticeable. If you try to lean your head on something, they can be uncomfortable. I elaborate on this more in the cons. The headphones themselves look fine. They are plastic, but they're not cheap looking or feeling. All of the buttons (next, previous, volume up/down, and the middle button) work great with my computer and phone. The center "other" button held to turn them on and off, and pressed once to pause/resume audio/video and take calls. All of these buttons are on the right headphone. They are big, and I learned their placement very quickly. They also don't require much force, so you don't have to press very hard and put pressure on your ears. Another design feature that I LOVE is that they charge via MicroUSB! This means I don't have to carry a special cable. The cable for my android phone and tablet also works with my headphones! Sony could learn something in this department! They include a USB cable to charge them from a USB port on a computer. I just use the one for my phone. They are full in a few hours too, so it doesn't hog the charger.5.)Fantastic value! I paid $25 for these headphones with a $5.00 amazon discount coupon. For $25, I wasn't expecting anything close to my Bose in ear headphones. I honestly cannot tell the difference. Obviously the form factor is different, but the level of audio detail is amazing. When comparing my Bose earphones to the old apple ones, I would notice little things in the music I had never heard before. These headphones have as much audio detail as my Bose ones do. If you are familiar with the old apple headphones and thought they were alright, these Bluetooth headphones will be a serious upgrade. For high quality headphone users, these certainly aren't a noticeable downgrade. If I had to guess a price for these just based on sound quality, I would put them in the $75-$100 range. These are seriously on par or better than the Sony Bluetooth headphones that are in that price range. The fact that they cost $25-30 amazes me.Cons:1.) It isn't easy to lay down with these on. If you try to lay on your back, the band that goes around the back of your head gets moved, pushing the headphones forward about a quarter inch. In this position, they are uncomfortable. A pillow minimizes this effect. You also can't lay on your side unless you want the headphones pushing against your ears. Again, a pillow minimizes this.2.)Constantly blinking LED. While in use, they have a bright blue LED that flashes every 7 seconds or so. It is bright enough that I can see the light blink on my shoulder if I'm in the dark. This is a minor annoyance, and can easily be solved with a well placed piece of duct tape, or a permanent marker if you just want to make it less bright.3.) They are relatively loud to people not wearing them. If you are in a quiet room and listening to music, the people around you can also faintly hear the music. It isn't very loud. For comparison, my old apple earbuds are louder when they're taken out of my ears. This is just a minor annoyance because I might want my voice calls to be private. If you're in a car however, a person in the seat next to you can't hear the conversation over the noise of the vehicle.All things considered, these headphones are an unbelievable deal! I wasn't expecting this level quality, both sound and design, in a pair of headphones for under $30. Beware of other companies that are selling a similar product (cough cough SoundBot cough). They say they're the 240 model number, but they actually correspond to the Kinvio BHT220 headphones. The BHT220 headphones had some problems that are fixed in this model (BHT240). They are all made by the same factory, but I haven't seen any of the other nameless brands selling this model of headphone.If you want to chance it with the other nameless brands, fine. As far as I can tell though, they're all selling what is equivalent to the Kinivo BHT240 Bluetooth headphones. If you find another brand with this model of headphones for less than $25, I'd like to know. At the time of writing this review, I can't find this model of headphones from any other brand. Maybe Kinivo is just the first to release them.I will be recommending these to all my friends. I like that I can listen to audiobooks and music almost anywhere in the house. It is a serious convenience that you can't fully appreciate until you've experienced it.UPDATE 2/12/2014:I have been using these wireless headphones for a while, and I absolutely love them. I want to mention another feature I hadn't really acknowledged. They reconnect to my computer super easily! I just turn them on, and they connect within 20 seconds. My computer speakers are muted and the sound is directed through the wireless headphones. I forgot to mention this because it is so seamless. The more I use these headphones, the more I love them.

Update 5/16/16: These headphones are still doing the trick at the gym. I haven't noticed the cutting out happening lately, but I did swap to an iPhone SE. Maybe they talk better together. Either way, more consistent music is better. There has been no visible wear to the unit, despite repeated cleaning (and perspiration). I have had to tighten the hinges with a screwdriver a few times, but once secured, they work smoothly again. For all this, I'm bumping the rating up to a full 5 stars. They really are a great buy for the price.This is a good a time as any to review these headphones, more so since I'm wearing them now. I got them to replace semi-in-ear bluetooth headphones which conked out. They wrap around the back of your head, but not tightly, and there's no adjustment. What holds them on is the ear hook design. Remember those earpieces? It's similar, but integrated into the frame of the headphones. The back sits midair about an inch from my head, at least for me (not especially large head).Comfort: I can wear them for a while without problem, but I do find myself lifting them off my ears for a second or two when they dig too deeply. I wear them when running, and it's the same. For an on-ear set, I'd say these are about as comfortable you'll get, especially for the price. I might also get a BT in-ear pair so I can have one ear on, one off (these are clumsy to do so). However, I wanted to use on-ear at the gym to avoid damaging my hearing with loud noises piped straight through the ear canal.Sound quality: Much better than my old set and standard Apple earphones, but not studio quality. They get loud without distortion. Lows are lacking, but I'm pinning that more to them not being in-ear (and small units). Mids and highs are solid for a low-priced set. For a casual exercise, the quality is good. For a Dark Side of the Moon session, you'll want better. But in 99% of your other situations, these are your go-to pair.Ambient noise: Since they're on-ear, they block only a small amount of outside noise. I can have a normal volume conversation when them on (and music playing at a low volume). Turn them up, and you'll drown out most other interruptions. Don't wear them when driving!Battery: It feels like forever. Maybe 15 hours or so? Seriously, it's really good. Since I charge them after each use, no worries here.Signal strength: This is why it only gets 4 stars. When paired to my computer (2010 MBP), they work flawlessly at the normal ranges (10 m). When paired to my iPhone 5 or iPad Air at home, same. No skipping at all. However, for some reason, when I'm at the gym with my iPhone, they skip for about a second every minute or so. I wear the phone on an armband, so range isn't the issue. Maybe it's interference with lots of other bluetooth devices.Durability: We will see. No issues as of yet (had them for about 2 months). I see no obvious failure points. I make sure to wipe off any sweat after running, and the cushioned ear pads look good as new.Conclusion: If you want a fairly-priced set of bluetooth headphones that don't stick into your ears, this is your pick. The cheaper version of these has a much brighter blue LED (annoyingly so) and uses mini-USB to charge, instead of the ubiquitous micro-USB. Get these.