The SOYO is best known as a manufacturer of designer motherboards with its line of high-performance DRAGON mother boards.
INTRODUCTION
Here are highlights of the SOYO FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth stereo headphones and transceiver specifications:
WHAT’S HOT
- Support for Bluetooth version 1.2
- Support for Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP)
- Support for Bluetooth Audio Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP)
- Support for Bluetooth Head Set Profile (HSP)
- Support for Bluetooth Hands Free Profile (HFP)
- Up to 6 hours of play time
- Both ear pieces weigh 1.3 ounces
The SOYO FreeStyler HS11 kit comes with everything you need to support a wireless sound experience even if you do not own a Bluetooth enabled device.
SETUP
The SOYO FreeStyler HS11 retail package.
The SOYO FreeStyler HS11 kit includes the Bluetooth stereo headphones with a case, a Bluetooth transceiver, mini phono plug to RCA cable, a mini USB power cable with a 110-240V USB power cube, an extra set of ear pads and a manual.
The pairing process uses the de-facto standard of holding down the power button for 7 seconds until an intermittent red and blue LED flashes. The pairing process is completed when the LED flashes blue.
The Windows Mobile 5.0 pairing process consists of placing the FreeStyler HS11 stereo headphones in pairing mode and creating a new partnership with the Bluetooth utility. The FreeStyler HS11 requires a Passkey of "0000" to establish a secure Bluetooth connection.
The partnership settings displays the Hands Free (HFP) profile to support the phone functions and the Wireless Stereo (A2DP) to support the streaming of stereophonic audio content to the headphones.
The FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth Stereo headphones successfully paired with my T-Mobile MDA.
The SOYO FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth stereo headphones are light and compact.
PRODUCT FEATURES
The FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth stereo headphones stored in the included case. There is no case for the Bluetooth transceiver
The FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth stereo headphones with my T-Mobile MDA. The MDA must be loaded with the latest T-Mobile ROM version 2.26 (AKU 2.3) to support the Bluetooth A2DP and AVCRP profiles. The FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth stereo headphones are not equalized for the Windows Mobile Bluetooth stack making them sound very tinny. I also tried the headphones with a Dell Axim X51v and although the highs were not as pronounced, the sound was still tinny.
The T-Mobile MDA using the FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth transceiver The sound quality is excellent using this setup, however the stereo headphones’ Bluetooth AVCRP profile remote control capability is not usable. The FreeStyler HS11 transceiver comes with a 3.5mm phono plug which needs to be converted to 2.5mm for the T-Mobile MDA. This conversion can be accomplished using a PocketPCTechs adapter cable.
The FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth stereo headphones and transceiver connected to an iPod. The sound quality is excellent, however however the stereo headphones’ Bluetooth AVCRP profile remote control capability is not usable.
The right ear piece contains the power and remote control buttons. The play/pause/stop/answer in the center also supports the power on/off and pairing functions. The buttons are flush and close to each other. They do not provide good tactile feedback. The microphone is on the inside of the right ear piece, its sound quality was good.
I was concerned about comfort with the over the ear design and no headband, but I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable and light they were. The over the ear band is adjustable which simplifies putting them on and off.
The FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth stereo headphones on my ear fit very comfortably. My only concern is the durability of the interconnection wire between the two ear pieces.
The FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth stereo headphones can also be used with a Bluetooth enabled PC to listen to music and make VOIP calls with applications such as Skype and Live Messenger.
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The SOYO support page can be found here. The SOYO FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth stereo headphones will work with any Bluetooth device which supports the A2DP profile or a non Bluetooth device with the included transceiver. The phone capabilities of the FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth stereo headphones requires support for the Bluetooth HSP or HFP profiles. Windows Mobile 2003 SE drivers which support the FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth stereo headphones can be found here. The FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth stereo headphones do not seem to be designed for use with Windows Mobile 5.0. The sound is not properly equalized and the voice dial capability does not trigger any function. My wish is that SOYO adapt the FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth stereo headphones with the Windows Mobile 5.0 Microsoft Bluetooth stack. The SOYO FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth stereo headphones and transceiver retails for $179.00. They are not currently available on the SOYO website. type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
The sound quality of the FreeStyler HS11 Bluetooth stereo headphones was excellent when used in conjunction with the FreeStyler HS11 transceiver and they were very comfortable to wear. I am concerned about the durability of the interconnecting wire, but with some extra care you can benefit from the compact size of these headphones. Once on your ear, the buttons are hard to distinguish, although with a little practice they work. In a quiet environment, the phone capability worked well and persons on the other end of calls could understand me clearly. Unfortunately I was unable to test voice dial with my Windows Mobile Pocket PC phone. As a Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC phone user I cannot recommend their use with the Microsoft Bluetooth stack. They do not work as well as the Motorola HT820 Bluetooth stereo headphones. The Motorola HT820 are almost half the retail price, sound excellent with my T-Mobile MDA and work with voice dial. Back
HELP SUPPORT
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
BUGS AND WISHES
PURCHASING
PROS
Lightweight
Compact
Good cell phone microphone sound
CONS
Not equalized for Windows Mobile 5.0 A2DP
Ear piece interconnection wire
Remote control buttons do not provide good tactile response
Value
Ease
of Use 
Features
Overall
OVERALL IMPRESSION
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