Sennheiser VMX 100

Avoid driving fines

With the boys in blue now having the power to issue £60 fines and deduct three points from your licence for using your mobile while driving, handsfree kits are becoming increasingly important to drivers and, let's be honest, the poseurs among us.

Revolutionary technology

As a result, the market for handsfree devices, and in particular Bluetooth headsets, is becoming fierce. German company Sennheiser has raised the bar by producing the VMX 100, the first Bluetooth headset designed with the revolutionary VoiceMax dual microphone technology. VoiceMax is the first of its kind in that it uses two microphones and advanced Digital Signal Processing to distinguish between speech and other unwanted noise, such as wind, traffic or machinery. VoiceMax effectively learns from its environment and adjusts the amount of noise it cancels out accordingly.

Sound quality

By filtering out background noise, the sound quality at both ends of the conversation should be of the utmost quality on the VMX 100. However, we found that although the quality of the performance was high, background noise was still heard by the other party when we tested the device walking down a busy street. Results may be better when the VMX 100 is used in a car.

Light headset

At 15g, there are lighter headsets available, such as the Plantronics Discovery 665, at a mere 9g, yet the VMX 100 is designed in such a way that it hooks around your ear in a comfortable and secure fashion. It's also fitted with a unique 3D ball joint that adds to the device's comfort, no matter what odd shape your lugholes might be. And with its dual microphone design, the VMX 100 can be worn on either ear, which means that you can change ears if you wish.

Bluetooth Pairing

Pairing the VMX 100 to your headset is straightforward enough; it does this automatically. But it did take about three attempts to finally pair the device to our Sony Ericsson P1i, though.The positioning of the buttons on the headset makes for ease of use, allowing easy access to both the volume adjusters and the answer (or reject - by simply holding it down) key. By folding the mouthpiece back into itself, the VMX 100 automatically switches off and fits into a neat compact device. To switch it back on, simply open up the mouthpiece.

Average battery life

With up to 300 minutes of talktime and 100 hours' standby time, the battery life of the VMX 100 is again nothing more than average. As well as coming with a USB charging cable, the VMX 100 comes with a wall adapter and car charger, therefore allowing you to charge the phone at your convenience.

VMX 100 overall

With the VMX 100 Sennheiser has produced a top-of-the-range Bluetooth headset. Yet Mobile Choice can't help but feel there is still a little room for improvement.