Genius HS-935BT Review

Introduction & Closer Look

Today I will be taking a look at one of the latest Bluetooth enabled headsets from Genius, the HS-935BT. One interesting thing about the HS-935BT headset is that it not only supports Bluetooth 4.1 enabled devices such as smartphones, tablets and compatible PC’s but if you don’t have Bluetooth available, you can simply connect it via the included 3.5mm audio cable.

The Genius HS-935BT Bluetooth 4.1 enabled headset is available in 3 different colours; red, white and black. Genius sent us in their red version which has a very vibrant finish and in my opinion, does look pretty good. The 935BT has silver plates on each of the earcups, with one featuring a control panel and the other brandishing a Genius logo.

The main material used throughout the entirety of the headset is plastic and although this may be off-putting to some, it’s pretty standard for headsets of this type. The headband is adjustable and features a plastic slider which allows you to adjust the HS-935BT to the size of your head; thus, maximising comfort. The headband also features pleather plush padding to further add to the comfort element. This particular headset also features a built-in microphone which is useful for making/accepting phone calls on the go, or when used with a PC and its various communication software options.

On the ear cups, Genius have supplied the HS-935BT with luscious amounts of padding. Although the actual cups are pretty small, they should be very comfortable indeed.

As previously mentioned, the left-hand side ear cup features a control panel. This allows users to accept phone calls (top button) when on the go, without having to retrieve your phone from your pocket; you can hang up by pressing this button too! Also featured is 2 skip track buttons which allow you to, well skip audio tracks on compatible devices. The last button which is featured at the bottom is for pausing and playing.

This ear cup also features a port for charging the built-in Lithium Ion battery and a singular 3.5mm audio jack which means you can use this headset on non-Bluetooth enabled devices.

Also on the left ear cup is a simple sliding on and off switch…

Included with the Genius HS-935BT headset are a nice cloth carry bag, a 3.5mm audio jack and a USB charging cable for when the juice on the battery finally runs out.

Before we discuss the performance of the Genius HS-935BT headset, let’s first get accustomed to the specifications.

Specifications

Features:
– Bluetooth 4.1
– Profile Supported: HSP1.2, HFP1.6, A2DP1.2 and AVRCP1.4.
– adjustable and foldable headband
– Built-in rechargeable Lithium Ion battery
– Built-in Microphone
– Play/Pause, Volume+/-, Forward/Backward, call answer button
– 3.5 audio jack enables wired audio input
– micro USB charging interface

Specifications:
Headphone:
– Driver unit dimensions: 40mm
– Frequency response: 160Hz ~ 20KHz
– Impedance: 32 ohm±15%
– Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 82±2dB

Microphone:
– Sensitivity: -42±3 dB
– Directivity: Omni-direction
– Frequency response: 100Hz~18KHz
– up to 20 hours continuous usage
– charging time: 3 hours
– Lithium ion accu, 450 mAh
– Bluetooth 4.1 + EDR / A2DP
– Bluetooth profile: HSP1.2, HFP1.6, A2DP1.2 und AVRCP1.4
– wireless range: 30 meters

Performance

To make a point here, the Genius HS-935BT isn’t really what I would consider to be a gaming-grade headset, so I have completely omitted any form of game testing. I have focused more on overall audio quality with testing comprising of music via Spotify on the Play3r test rig and via my Samsung Galaxy Note 4. This also includes a voice call which was made from the aforementioned smartphone.

Music

I have a very eclectic taste when it comes to music from metal to dubstep, some classical all the way to hard dance! When loading up my main Spotify playlist, I must have listened to around 5 or 6 songs from different genres before I got the lowdown on the quality of the HS-935BT. The best array of songs came in the form of Ram Jam’s Black Betty as I found the HS-935BT to be a little low on bass, but pretty good in terms of highs. Any song with a big low end and a small top end sounded pretty bad in all honesty, but with not many songs just being all about the bass (unless it’s just boom boom), then you’re not going to struggle to find something good for this headset.

Voice

Voice and communication are probably the bread and butter of the Genius HS-935BT headset. As in the above music testing, the headset features strong high-end performance which means that voice does sound pretty good. It can get quite ‘tinny’, but for a headset of this calibre, that can be forgiven. When using via the Play3r test PC and the Samsung Note 4, the Genius HS-935BT did sound pretty good in my humble opinion.

Conclusion

My experience with the Genius HS-935BT Bluetooth headset has been quite fruitful in all honesty and if it was readily available in the UK, I would expect to pay between £35 and £45 for a set. The big problem here is of course I haven’t been able to find a single retailer for this particular model and although CCL are a stockist of Genius products in the UK, I have failed to locate the HS-935BT on their site.

Availability aside, the Genius HS-935BT offers pretty decent audio performance as well as a fairly good quality built-in microphone. The low end ranged sound might not be very fulfilling, but the mid and highs do sound pretty decent for a headset of this calibre. The only aspect of the headset I don’t actually like is the build quality. Although it remained intact through the testing period of around 2 weeks, the headsets construction is virtually all plastic; it’s not exactly the most robust of headsets, it does have to be said. If you shake the HS-935BT, it does rattle a little bit and although it might be limited to this specific sample, it’s probably just plastic hitting plastic somewhere. The general look and colour availability of the headset are good however and for those wanting a nice stylish looking set of Bluetooth headphones on a budget, these should certainly be considered.

Overall I do believe the Genius HS-935BT does warrant some merit for the sound quality and battery life; 15hours is a long time and with just a 3-hour charge needed to put the juice back up to full, it has to be said that this is decent, in my opinion of course. I would have liked to have given the HS-935BT our silver award, but without a definite UK/US price and without high availability, this headset can only muster a bronze award today; it’s not a bogey prize, it just means that certain aspects are missing…a price is a massive aspect to be missing from ANY product review.

If you can find a set of Genius HS-935BT for cheaper than £45/$45, then they should be considered if you’re looking for a set of course, if not, then I would probably look for another alternative as that’s the price point I would expect to pay based on the overall quality.

Huge thanks to Genius for sending the HS-935BT Bluetooth headset in for review.