Jabra is best known for its mono Bluetooth headsets, though it's proven that it can make capable stereo headphones as well, like the excellent Jabra Move Wireless. The company tries to have it both ways with the $79.99 Halo Smart, a pair of Bluetooth earphones that focus on call quality as much as music. While the well-designed, wind-protected microphone lets your voice come through clearly on phone calls, the earphones lack the bass presence and high-end clarity to offer a truly compelling musical experience.

Design

The headset consists of a U-shaped neckband, from which the two earphones extend on short cables. The earphones themselves are mounted on small P-shaped plastic extensions with built-in magnets that let them stick together or connect loosely to magnets in the neckband when not in use, to reduce dangling. The earpieces lack any sort of stabilizing earfin or hook, but they sat comfortably and securely in my ears without any adjustment.

The right arm of the neckband holds three buttons for volume and playback control. The side buttons adjust volume level when tapped and rewind/skip forward when held down. The center button plays and pauses music, and answers calls. The left arm holds a single Voice button that activates your smartphone's voice assistant (Siri on iOS, Google Now on Android), or mutes the microphone when on a voice call. The microphone also sits at the end of the left arm. A micro USB port for charging sits behind a small rubber door at the bottom of the back of the neckband.

Jabra estimates that the Halo Smart can last up to 15 hours when playing music, or up to 17 hours of call time, which is roughly double what we typically see. Besides a short micro USB cable and three additional pairs of differently sized eartips, the Halo Smart doesn't come with any accessories.

Voice Calls and Music

Jabra built the Halo Smart primarily with voice communication in mind, and it hands calls extremely well. Thanks to the microphone array on the neckband (which is larger than the mic you'll find in the inline remotes of most earphones) and capable noise cancellation, my voice came through clearly, even for calls made on a fairly busy city street during testing. If you want a stereo alternative to the traditional mono Bluetooth headset, the Halo Smart is worth considering.

It doesn't fare quite so well with music, but its performance is solid considering its price; most Bluetooth earphones are $100 or more, and the sub-$100 models we've tested, like the Plantronics BackBeat GO 3, offer similar or slightly inferior music playback (and lack the Halo Smart's excellent call quality).

Our bass test track, The Knife's "Silent Shout," sounds underpowered on the Halo Smart. The bass synth notes and kick drum hits don't distort at maximum volume, but they also don't provide a very compelling sense of low-end thump.

If your music doesn't focus entirely on booming bass, however, the Halo Smart sounds pretty good for most genres. The mids and high-mids get a bit of sculpting, as you can hear in The Stranglers' "No More Heroes." The vocals stand squarely in the front of the mix, while the higher register psychedelic guitar licks and snare drum hits sit slightly behind them when they ordinarily share the spotlight or stand out.

Miles Davis' "So What" also sounds decent, though the lack of powerful low-end is more noticeable. The upright bass notes come through, but lack the sense of resonance they get on headphones with better bass response. The piano, horn, and cymbals sound clear, but not quite bright enough to properly shine through the mix. It isn't a bad sound, and it doesn't get remotely muddy, but it lacks a high-frequency crispness that would have really helped give its sound poppiness and presence.

Conclusions
If you want a stereo Bluetooth headset you can count on for voice calls, the Jabra Halo Smart is a very good option. You can do a lot better on the music side by spending just a bit more, though; the Editors' Choice JBL Reflect Mini BT offers much better audio quality, though its inline mic isn't quite as impressive. You can also get excellent sound for much less if you go for a wired option, like the RHA S500i or the SOL Republic Relays Sport. You can also split the difference by picking up an inexpensive mono headset for calls, like the Plantronics Explorer 500, to use alongside a pair of wired earphones for music.