Is it common for bluetooth wireless headphones to produce a faint click?

October 21, 2013 9:41 AM

I bought a pair of Kinivo BTH240, and they've been great, but every once in awhile they'll start clicking and popping over the audio. When I notice it, I can close the audio-producing app, reopen it, and the clicking is gone. Has anyone else experienced this with bluetooth headphones?

FWIW, I'm running on Mac Air, 10.8.4, and I'm only about two feet away from the computer. The clicking isn't isolated to any particular type of sound; I get it on soft music, music with heavy bass, or talking podcasts.

posted by bjork24 to Technology (4 answers total)

I recently returned that exact pair of headphones after purchasing them from Amazon. I was using them with a Mac and with an iPhone. I would experience problems when my phone was in my pocket -- which didn't seem like that great of a distance. The audio would get very spotty. It wasn't exactly a click, but more sporadic dropping in and out quickly.

For what it's worth, I switched to the Tenqa REMXD and have been much happier.

For either pair, odd audio problems would occur more frequently as the battery waned.

Also, I have found that neither of them are that great for making phone calls, at least accordign to the people on the other end.
posted by This_Will_Be_Good at 9:53 AM on October 21, 2013

I have a pair of Logitech bluetooth headphones for my PC and I've noticed this sort of behavior when the battery starts to get low.
posted by BrianJ at 10:18 AM on October 21, 2013

I have the same ones, and I haven't noticed a click or pop. It does tend to lose signal for just a moment when my phone is in my pants pocket, that shows up as a cut-out.
posted by joedanger at 10:44 AM on October 21, 2013

The "clicking" is very likely the switches on the side rattling. It's a common complaint about Kinovo BTs if you read the Amazon reviews. It's why they cost $30. (The switches are loosely seated so they move and click when you move your head, or if there's a lot of bass in the music. People put tape on them to stop it.)
posted by spitbull at 11:44 AM on October 21, 2013