Review of Gennum?s nx6000 Noise-Cancellation Bluetooth Headset

Gennum nx6000 noise cancellation Bluetooth headset

Bluetooth headsets are a dime a dozen these days. Some are big, some are small, some are in-ear and some are hook-based. But, no matter what form-factor best suits you, Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and noise-reduction technologies are pretty much a necessity these days. Have you ever tried to carry on a conversation in a noisy coffee house with a regular (without noise reduction) Bluetooth headset? It makes it hard to hear on either end of the convo - and yelling into thin air is an embarrassing (and annoying) prospect.

The Gennum nx6000 packs in some serious circuitry into a package that’s slightly bigger than the Samsung WEP200 headset (which is about as small as headsets get) - measuring 1.75×0.8×0.5 in. and tips the scales at a slight 0.38 oz. The circuitry we’re talking about here is the Gennum-developed DSP technology that automatically filters out extraneous noise by processing 120 million instructions per second (MIPS) - faster than most other DSP processors. The nx6000 has a minimalist, non-descript design with a smooth, black finish. The in-ear design helps ensure a snug fit and helps to passively cancel background noise (there are three ear-plug sizes to choose from), and an optional ear-hook (it comes in two sizes) helps keep the nx6000 in place. Three buttons line the outer rim of the headset, two for volume control and one for multiple functions (answering/ending calls, pairing, on/off).

Read on for the full review.

Performance

Needless to say, DSP is an amazing feature - but Gennum has really done well with their DSP noise-reduction system. With a dual-microphone setup and the FRONTWAVE Extreme digital signal processing, the Gennum nx6000 isolates and amplifies your voice. The user’s voice can be heard clearly even in the loudest of environments. We tested the nx6000 on a busy street, coffee house in rush hour, Jamba Juice (if you’ve ever been there, you know how loud all those blenders can get), on the freeway with windows down (in a car, obviously) - no problem. Short of trying to carry on a conversation next to jet engine or sticking your head out of the car window at 40 mph (we tried), you can be sure the listener will be able to hear you perfectly. A slight amount of background noise is still present, but very little - compared to non-DSP models, it’s light-years better.

So, the listener can hear you just fine, but if you can’t hear the other person, then it doesn’t even matter. Well, the same dual-microphone array that helps to isolate your voice can also detect increasing ambient noise and automatically amplify the incoming audio. The in-ear design of the nx6000 also helps to block out ambient noise, making it easier to hear the incoming audio.

Aesthetics

The sleek, minimalist design of the nx6000 makes it an incredibly unobtrusive headset. The clean lines and black finish make it almost unnoticeable while on the ear. It obviously still visible (there’s not cloaking feature, yet), but it doesn’t scream “look at the ugly headset on my ear!” It fits perfectly on the ear - there are no extended booms or bulges. In fact, the Gennum nx6000 is so slick that we were somewhat taken aback, not used to the completely smooth and unmarred finish (no buttons, no logos, no model name, nothing). After some getting used to, we realized that the clean design is the way to go - it’s clearly a beautiful design.

Usability

Here is the only downside to this headset. The buttons take some getting used to. They are flush with the casing, keeping with the overall smooth and minimalist design of the headset, but they take a bit of force to push. The buttons have some texture so you know what you’re pushing without looking at it, but it’s just the stiffness of the buttons that bothers us.

Pairing is a breeze and after your initial setup, you should have no problem just turning on your headset and immediately pairing it with your phone.

Another problem is the ear-hook design. Neither of the two hooks really fit our ears all that well. One was a bit to snug, the other was way too loose - we needed one that was just right. But, the hook is optional and removable (or attachable, depending on how you look at it), so it’s not that big of a deal.

The included earplugs fit perfectly, but we could have swapped them out for a different size, if we needed to. They’re soft and comfortable, and still snug and fit. We couldn’t ask for a better in-ear design. Compared to the Samsung WEP200’s “plug and twist” design, we much prefer the Gennum nx6000.

In the box you’ll find everything you need for the nx6000. You get two ear-hooks, multiple earplugs of varying sizes, car charger, and wall charger. The USB-to-miniUSB cable can be used with either the car adaptor or wall adaptor interchangeably. We like the fact that the charging cable can be detached from the car and wall adaptor - making the charging adaptors small and compact, just like the nx6000.

Conclusion

We love the Gennum nx6000. It’s compact, easy to use (although the controls take some getting used to), and still packs an incredible punch. Dual microphones supplemented with the Gennum DSP FRONTWAVE technology makes the conversation easy to hear and easily heard - Gennum’s 30 years of experience in audio technology really shows through in the nx6000. The noise-cancellation technology itself is worth the entry price of $129.99 - the stylishly small package makes it that much better. Highly recommended.

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