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Creative sound
[December 20, 2012]

Creative sound


Dec 21, 2012 (Khaleej Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- ENJOY YOUR MUSIC -- and count sheep -- with the WP-450 headphones Music really has a two-pronged effect on me: it gives me solace -- even if it's death metal, as long as I like the song -- and makes me unproductive, meaning I don't want to do anything while I'm singing along to my favourite tunes.



Which is exactly the effect the Creative WP-450 Bluetooth headphones had on me. It's also a perfect complement to counting sheep while trying to get some sleep.

\ FORM It has an ergonomic design that is foldable, making it easy to stow away, especially when walking around or travelling. The pads are squishy and comfy on your ears, and it's quite easy to adjust to your head size. Thumbs-up for design.


Save for the mini-USB connector on the left pad, everything else is on the right side: the power/call and play/pause buttons are up front on the right ear pad, and the volume buttons and the next/ previous/rewind/forward slider are on the left side.

Thing is, I'm not that fond of that slider; it's a bit stiff when you use it. Furthermore, its location isn't the best place; being above the volume buttons, the user's tendency, for convenience's sake, will be to switch from your thumb (to slide it down) and your index finger (to push it up). And that really ticks me off. Interchanging these two controls will probably give full control of the slider to the thumb and the volume to the index. Better still if they were touch functions. And how about an additional wired connection option PERFORMANCE As with any other standard Bluetooth sound device, the usual protocol to connect it to another device is to give a good, long press to the power button and wait until the LCD turns blue. The WP-450 pairs up pretty fast and, after pairing, connects to your device blazingly quick when you start it up. It also charges much faster than other headphones I've tried, in more or less an hour.

And as for sound quality, I'd give it a very good verdict, although it won't be that deep and detailed like those up-above-there headphones. Also, even if you shoot up the volumes of both the headphones and your device, the sound won't leak, so you have your music all to yourself without annoying other people.

It also has this ClearSpeech Engine incorporated into it, meant to cancel out noise and rev up your voice, although I'm not 100 per cent convinced. A handful of the people I spoke on my phone with the WP-450 connected told me that my voice was a bit choppy, although they were getting to me loud and clear. Hmm, something needs to be tinkered with; maybe with its built-in 'invisible mic' AND SO...

Good deal here, although it still needs some improvements. I get easily convinced with music-belching products like these, although I can also be very critical with the misses.

THE LOWDOWN Connectivity Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR Range Up to 10m/33ft Playback/Talk time 8hr/9hr Charging time Approx 1hr Weight 114g Goody Free travel pouch Optionals Wireless transmitters: BT-D1 for PC/Mac; BT-D5 for iPhone/iPad Price Dh449 PROS Good design, fast connection, clear sound CONS Choppy voice to the other line, bad placement of slider EDITOR RATING 7/10 [email protected] ___ (c)2012 the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) Visit the Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) at www.khaleejtimes.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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