The Creative CB2530 is powered with a total of three AAA batteries: one in the Bluetooth transmitter and two more in the headphone’s left ear cup. Creative quotes a 7-hour life expectancy when using alkaline batteries, and we found that claim to be fairly accurate. Just be aware that you’ll have to change batteries often; a rechargeable model would have been better in this case. The Bluetooth transmitter isn’t a whole lot bigger than its battery and comes with a 7-inch-long cable, terminating with a 3.5mm gold-plated miniplug; we were disappointed to find Creative doesn’t include a 6.3mm home adapter. The cable was too long for our tastes, plus it just dangles there, leaving us wondering where to put the transmitter after we plugged the cable into our iPod or MP3 player. The CB2530 uses Bluetooth 1.2 technology; its range is quoted as 32 feet, but our sample conked out around 20 feet.

To use the Creative CB2530, you must first pair the Bluetooth transmitter to the headphones. It’s a simple enough procedure: just hold down the transmitter’s power button until its blue LED indicator lights up, then flick on the headphones’ power switch. The headphones’ red LED illuminates, followed by the Bluetooth’s blue LED, then the sound comes on. Or at least it’s supposed to–there were times when we had to repeat the steps a few times before we got sound. When you’re finished listening, simply turn off the headphones, and the transmitter automatically shuts itself off.

The audio performance of the headphones themselves was also top notch, with quality bass and high tones that came through the 40mm driver unit strongly. According to creative, the frequency response for the headphones is 20Hz to 20KHz. It also offered higher volumes than many other wireless headphones, although the audio became decidedly muddy at high volume.

The headphones are not flawless, however. The design looks quite nice, in stylish black and with readily accessible volume dial, but the smallish cups will tend to sit on your ears rather than around them. The headphones aren’t heavy (203g with batteries), and the pressure on the ear isn’t great, but extended use might turn out to be uncomfortable for those with sensitive ears, especially given the relatively thin padding on the cups.

The Creative CB2530s are closed-back headphones that come complete with a Bluetooth 1.2 base station, powered by a single AAA battery. Plug the 3.5mm audio jack into your audio source, switch on the headphones (powered by a further two AAA cells), and then simply press the Connect button. The headphones themselves sound good rather than great, although there’s no apparent interference or distortion. The bass is controlled and there’s a reasonably clear high-end – they’re also fairly comfortable, if a little heavy at 203g. The range is enough to cover a room, or about 10m line of sight. You’ll be fine watching TV from the sofa, or on a trip from your desk to the photocopier, but sitting at the end of the garden will be a push. We can’t see many advantages to using the CB2530s routinely, but there is one major disadvantage: battery life. We matched Creative’s claim of eight hours, but it’s not long enough to stop even rechargeable batteries soon becoming tiresome. So while the CB2530s may come into their own occasionally, watching the clock rather spoils that new-found sense of freedom.