Plantronics Foldable USB Stereo Headset (Optimized for Laptop Use) (Audio 470 USB) by Plantronics
|
Our Price: $129.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
|---|
Digital camera reviews of Plantronics Foldable USB Stereo Headset (Optimized for Laptop Use) (Audio 470 USB)
Digital camera Review: Great Quality for the Price - for any price
Summary: 5 Stars
Having gone through 2 other headsets, and returning them both because of either poor fit or poor sound quality, I turned to the ever-reliable Amazon products reviews to aid in my search for a quality headset at a great price. I don't do audio recording or anything like that - my primary uses for the headset are Skype and listening to iTunes. The voice and sound quality are more than adequate for these purposes. In addition, I wear the headset for long periods of time, so comfort is key. The light-weight feel of the headset is great, and the ear pieces cover just enough to drown out excess office noise w/o making me completely unaware of my surroundings. Finally, several reviewers commented on the folding mechanism and size. Yes, they could be more compact once folded, but it does the trick, and they fit just fine in my laptop case. When unfolded, they hold their shape just fine. The only thing that would be of great improvement would be a carrying case. In any case, this is a great purchase for the quality and price.Digital camera Review: Great Skype-ing Headset
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm currently in Afghanistan and while my laptop has built-in mic, the quality in my room sounded like I was far away so I wanted to try a headset. I bought these for skyping with my family back in North Carolina and (contrary to some reviews) I LOVE the VERY long cord, it aloows me to move around and talk at the same time.
Now for the 4-star portion. They are comfortable and I realize that when wearing a collapsable headphone, there is going to be some loss, and for me, it's the tightness at which they hug my ears. The inline volume wheel is AWESOME, but I find that if I press them a little tighter to my head, I acn hear soo much better. Now, I wont discount the fact that I just turned 40 having SOME impact on it :) but a little more snugness would be great. But as far as the quality goes, I could NOT be happier!
One addition that WOULD be nice...a small carrying bag and tie wrap (ok that's two additions) to help with ensuring the ginormous cable doesnt get entangled in my travel backpack, cause you know us geeks...well prepared and cables/gadgets galore in our trusty backpacks.
Great job Plantronics!
Digital camera Review: Great Sound, but will it break easily?
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this headset for my HP Mini which has a combined jack for mic and headphones -- you can only use one of those devices at a time ! So, the only way I could find to use a separate headset was to buy a USB model. Having used Plantronics products for years, I anticipated a quality unit. The audio quality from both the headphones and microphone is excellent. Listening to music is a pleasure with quite good bass response and what my ears consider to be a good range of frequency response. Using the headset on Skype, the reports from those I have called are good.
My only real concern is the durability of the headset. It is plastic and there are a lot of joints to deal with. With care, it should last. When folded it fits nicely into a larger size soft-side sunglasses case which may offer some protection in my briefcase. Time will tell. Another minor issue is the length of the cord. It is about 9' long and simply WAY too long for use while traveling. I ended up bundling and tie-wrapping about 5' of the cord neatly to keep it out of the way.
As usual, Amazon shipped it reaonably quickly in a box but with minimal packing material. Thankfully Plantronics packaged it well enough that it didn't get destroyed enroute. Come on Amazon, learn to pack things properly ! ! !
Overall, if this headset doesn't self-destruct, I'll be a very happy buyer.
Digital camera Review: Great Value
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this headset to use with Dragon NaturallySpeaking and Windows speech recognition. I've been using it for over a month with great success. Although I'm glad it comes with a USB adapter, I don't use it with any of my computers since it works great with all of the built-in jacks I've tried. I've transported a number of times and it's quite nice that faults up into a very small bundle not much larger than a mouse. This fold ability sometimes leads to a sloppy fit and some slipping, but once I get it positioned properly I can go for hours without adjusting it. It would be nice if the headset came with a small bag like my Logitech Bluetooth mouse. The size of the headset as well as the left-hand boom are adjustable enough but I imagine it would work for most people. My head is larger than average and I find it quite comfortable. It is incredibly light weight which is important if you intend to wear it for extended periods of time. The cord runs about 9 feet which is good since it allows for the option of limited movement and seating within a few feet. The in cord volume control and mute switch are handy, although I don't use them that frequently since I find it more convenient to disable my speech recognition via voice. I feel that this product is of sufficient quality that I should be able to get many years of use out of it and I highly recommend it.Digital camera Review: Great Value
Summary: 4 Stars
The headset works well. Sound quality is better than expected. The only complaint is the fold up design tends to grab things, like hair - which I have little to spare. Otherwise this is great headset for using VOIP.