This is a review of Don Scorpio DP-H1 Smart BT wireless headphones/receiver. DONSCORPIO DP-H1 and from Penonaudio in their ebay store: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Donscorpio-...23188290?pt=US_Headphones&hash=item58b6c07542
Every time I post a new review of wireless headphones, it always ends up generating a lot of attention. Wireless headphones give us a freedom of cutting the "umbilical" cord attached to our phones so we can move without worrying about pulling the headphone wires or enjoy outside activities with a phone out of sight. That is a reason why so many wireless headphones I reviewed were geared up toward active lifestyle where a sound quality is not the highest priority. Usually it's not an issue with a bass since most of these headphones are bass-heavy to get you pumping during the workout. The problem comes up with clarity of mids and treble without being able to hear details of vocals and other instruments. Unfortunately, that's where most of these wireless headphones fall short and require some heavy EQing. You can certainly correct a lot of sound problems with EQ, but it also becomes annoying to keep adjusting the sound when you switch to another pair of headphones or want to listen to your phones built-in speaker. That is a reason I'm constantly on look up to discover and to test new wireless headphone options. The new one from Don Scorpio just raised a bar pretty high! Let's take a closer look at what I found.
For those familiar with my Don Scorpio Dolphins review, you already know how much I was impressed with a design and a sound quality of those "fun" headphones. So naturally when I heard they released a new product, it got my attention. This wireless headphone/receiver combo arrived in a nice little package with a clear all around display presentation. Though the box has only Chinese text, I was pleased to find a set of bi-lingual instructions included with accessories. In addition, they also included 4 sets of replaceable eartips and usb to micro-usb charging cable. Of course, the star of this package was DP-H1 unit which consists of two parts. You have a wireless BT4.0 receiver and a set of headphones with a short 0.6m cable. The whole idea of this smart gadget it to be able to use included combo as a wireless headphone set or to unplug included headphones and attach any of your own headphones turning them into wireless. As a bonus, Penonaudio includes a free extension 3.5mm cable ($10 value) which is actually a high quality OFC cable.
The wireless receiver itself is shaped like a pack of gum, only 3" in length. It's made out of plastic and has a very solid build. As I mentioned before, it has a clip on the back to attach to your cloth, if necessary. At the top there is 3.5mm headphone jack to plug in any pair of headphones. On one side you have skip next/prev, play/pause, and a power buttons - those are clearly shaped and easy to id even without looking at it, just by touch. The other side has micro-usb charging port and volume up/down buttons with up button having a little raised bump to id without looking at it as well. On the front side you have a round "call" button with Don Scorpio signature shape and also a little speaker opening. YES, it has a tiny speaker!
When you pair it up, it connects both to your phone and media audio. Bluetooth connection was seamless and you get a guided voice to confirm pair up. I also tested the connection over 30m distance without any problem. When you receive a call and use attached headphones, you push the Call button and speak into the unit (where mic is located) while listening to conversation through headphones. But if the headphones are not plugged in, you just bring it up to your ear and use it like a portable wireless headset where you can hear the other person from that tiny speaker which is actually loud enough when you bring it close to your ear. I never seen such flexibility in any of the devices I've tested before! The sound was very clear on both sides of the connection.
We are typically not as critical when talking on the phone, as long as we can hear the other side loud and clear without interruption or background noise. But when it comes to critical audio listening, just a basic wireless connection is not enough. So how do these sound playing music? First of all let me start by mentioning that Don Scorpio included a set of high quality headphones with an evenly balanced smooth sound. They do look like Don Scorpio Bass Color in-ear headphones, but it's just a resemblance of outer shell. These are not bass heavy at all. Paired up with a receiver, these headphones sound really good with excellent level of clarity and details across entire frequency spectrum, and the bass was not as boomy, but rather had a nice punch with some sub-bass texture support. What is great, I was also able to unplug these headphones and compare how they sound wired when plugged directly into my phone.
You don't get this chance with other wireless headphones where receiver is permanently attached and you have to accept the sound as is. In addition, I was also able to plug in a number of my other hi-fi multi-driver headphones, turning them into wireless headsets and being able to compare how they sound wired versus wireless with DP-H1. To my pleasant surprise, they retained almost an identical sound signature from mid-bass to mid-treble. The only difference I noticed was a lesser quantity in sub-bass and some upper treble roll off when used wirelessly. That was expected considering wireless transmission compresses the sound, but I didn't expect how little the sound going to be degraded, only affected at the bottom of low end and the top of high end. I have tested a few similar BT receivers in the past, and found sound to be butchered where all the details of high frequencies were gone and low end sounded muddy. With DP-H1 the best part of the sound was preserved!
Overall, I was impressed with this wireless receiver, or I should probably call it "transceiver" since it's not just a one way receiver for the audio but also a transmitter which allows you to control playback of your music (play/pause/skip) and to use its mic for phone calls. It has a flexible functionality to turn any attached headphone or a speaker into wireless, or turning a speaker into a speakerphone. You can even use it standalone without headphones to pickup a call and hear the other person thanks to a tiny built in speaker. Included headphones are great, though with a short cable you can use it only plugged into DP-H1 or use an included free extension cable otherwise (only offered from Penonaudio). But the most important feature of DP-H1: it doesn't degrade a sound too much, preserving most of the details when receiving audio wireless from your phone. For under $40, this is definitely a bargain!
Here are the pictures.
Every time I post a new review of wireless headphones, it always ends up generating a lot of attention. Wireless headphones give us a freedom of cutting the "umbilical" cord attached to our phones so we can move without worrying about pulling the headphone wires or enjoy outside activities with a phone out of sight. That is a reason why so many wireless headphones I reviewed were geared up toward active lifestyle where a sound quality is not the highest priority. Usually it's not an issue with a bass since most of these headphones are bass-heavy to get you pumping during the workout. The problem comes up with clarity of mids and treble without being able to hear details of vocals and other instruments. Unfortunately, that's where most of these wireless headphones fall short and require some heavy EQing. You can certainly correct a lot of sound problems with EQ, but it also becomes annoying to keep adjusting the sound when you switch to another pair of headphones or want to listen to your phones built-in speaker. That is a reason I'm constantly on look up to discover and to test new wireless headphone options. The new one from Don Scorpio just raised a bar pretty high! Let's take a closer look at what I found.
For those familiar with my Don Scorpio Dolphins review, you already know how much I was impressed with a design and a sound quality of those "fun" headphones. So naturally when I heard they released a new product, it got my attention. This wireless headphone/receiver combo arrived in a nice little package with a clear all around display presentation. Though the box has only Chinese text, I was pleased to find a set of bi-lingual instructions included with accessories. In addition, they also included 4 sets of replaceable eartips and usb to micro-usb charging cable. Of course, the star of this package was DP-H1 unit which consists of two parts. You have a wireless BT4.0 receiver and a set of headphones with a short 0.6m cable. The whole idea of this smart gadget it to be able to use included combo as a wireless headphone set or to unplug included headphones and attach any of your own headphones turning them into wireless. As a bonus, Penonaudio includes a free extension 3.5mm cable ($10 value) which is actually a high quality OFC cable.
The wireless receiver itself is shaped like a pack of gum, only 3" in length. It's made out of plastic and has a very solid build. As I mentioned before, it has a clip on the back to attach to your cloth, if necessary. At the top there is 3.5mm headphone jack to plug in any pair of headphones. On one side you have skip next/prev, play/pause, and a power buttons - those are clearly shaped and easy to id even without looking at it, just by touch. The other side has micro-usb charging port and volume up/down buttons with up button having a little raised bump to id without looking at it as well. On the front side you have a round "call" button with Don Scorpio signature shape and also a little speaker opening. YES, it has a tiny speaker!
When you pair it up, it connects both to your phone and media audio. Bluetooth connection was seamless and you get a guided voice to confirm pair up. I also tested the connection over 30m distance without any problem. When you receive a call and use attached headphones, you push the Call button and speak into the unit (where mic is located) while listening to conversation through headphones. But if the headphones are not plugged in, you just bring it up to your ear and use it like a portable wireless headset where you can hear the other person from that tiny speaker which is actually loud enough when you bring it close to your ear. I never seen such flexibility in any of the devices I've tested before! The sound was very clear on both sides of the connection.
We are typically not as critical when talking on the phone, as long as we can hear the other side loud and clear without interruption or background noise. But when it comes to critical audio listening, just a basic wireless connection is not enough. So how do these sound playing music? First of all let me start by mentioning that Don Scorpio included a set of high quality headphones with an evenly balanced smooth sound. They do look like Don Scorpio Bass Color in-ear headphones, but it's just a resemblance of outer shell. These are not bass heavy at all. Paired up with a receiver, these headphones sound really good with excellent level of clarity and details across entire frequency spectrum, and the bass was not as boomy, but rather had a nice punch with some sub-bass texture support. What is great, I was also able to unplug these headphones and compare how they sound wired when plugged directly into my phone.
You don't get this chance with other wireless headphones where receiver is permanently attached and you have to accept the sound as is. In addition, I was also able to plug in a number of my other hi-fi multi-driver headphones, turning them into wireless headsets and being able to compare how they sound wired versus wireless with DP-H1. To my pleasant surprise, they retained almost an identical sound signature from mid-bass to mid-treble. The only difference I noticed was a lesser quantity in sub-bass and some upper treble roll off when used wirelessly. That was expected considering wireless transmission compresses the sound, but I didn't expect how little the sound going to be degraded, only affected at the bottom of low end and the top of high end. I have tested a few similar BT receivers in the past, and found sound to be butchered where all the details of high frequencies were gone and low end sounded muddy. With DP-H1 the best part of the sound was preserved!
Overall, I was impressed with this wireless receiver, or I should probably call it "transceiver" since it's not just a one way receiver for the audio but also a transmitter which allows you to control playback of your music (play/pause/skip) and to use its mic for phone calls. It has a flexible functionality to turn any attached headphone or a speaker into wireless, or turning a speaker into a speakerphone. You can even use it standalone without headphones to pickup a call and hear the other person thanks to a tiny built in speaker. Included headphones are great, though with a short cable you can use it only plugged into DP-H1 or use an included free extension cable otherwise (only offered from Penonaudio). But the most important feature of DP-H1: it doesn't degrade a sound too much, preserving most of the details when receiving audio wireless from your phone. For under $40, this is definitely a bargain!
Here are the pictures.
