Plantronics Foldable USB Stereo Headset (Optimized for Laptop Use) (Audio 470 USB) by Plantronics
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Our Price: $129.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $49.99 (click here) Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Plantronics Foldable USB Stereo Headset (Optimized for Laptop Use) (Audio 470 USB)
Digital camera Review: Foldable headset
Summary: 5 Stars
I have used this set several times and communicated with others who use this same Plantronics unit. It performs entirely satisfactory- audio clarity via the mic and earphones is quite good. It is comfortable to use. Folding makes packing or carrying it while traveling convenient. I use mine without the USB (~$10 add-on) connector which adds convenience if one can't get at the computer jacks easily. All in all, an excellent value.Digital camera Review: Good Mic, good USB adapter, ok headphones, might have a Vista issue
Summary: 4 Stars
I used these for screencasting some software training sessions. The mic quality was pretty good using XP (though a little limited in the higher frequency ranges). The headphones were acceptable for music, but not nearly as good in the area of bass as a lower-cost full ear-cup model from Plantronics designed for gaming (HS-1). I tried using this 470 headset for screencasting on a new Vista Notebook (High-end Sony running Home Premium, all updates + SP1), but I got a really bad hum from the mic when recording with them. I tried troubleshooting the issue but no luck. I then took my my HS1 headset and plugged them into the 470's USB adapter and the recording hum disappeared, which leads me to believe that there might be an issue with the mic on this 470 with the Vista O/S, which would be a shame, since the portability of these, along with the overall useability (in XP anyway) make them a nice solution for the notebook bag. - Recommended, with reservations/concerns for Vista use.Digital camera Review: Good Product , but durability is a concern
Summary: 3 Stars
Bought this product because I needed a headset the I could fold up and take with me from home to the office and on business trips. First time I opened up the package and tried to unfold, I snapped the head set in two because I didn't carefully look how to unfold it. My Bad.
Got the same headset as a replacement. The sound quality is good all around. When I travel, I wrap the long cord around the folded headset. This worked great for a while. Then I started to lose sound in the left ear piece. Turned out the wire in the mute/volume switch came lose probably from constantly wrapping/unwrapping. This could not be fixed. Now I am deciding if I want to replace with the same or try something new.
Digital camera Review: Good Product! USB adapter troublesome...
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased this headset for the intended purpose of using it for vent server/game play, VoIP, etc...
I cannot say I am disappointed. The product seems really stable, unlike other users comments about it appearing flimsy. I cannot say that. I really love how small it folds down - very compact.
I have only experienced some problems connecting the USB part of the device. I think this is due to my power requirements off the USB hub. But even when I plugged it in directly, it appeared to not work properly. Maybe I need to work on it or tweak it a little more? But you shouldn't have to right? There are no instructions or otherwise that tells you HOW to go about configuring the device. When I try to use the USB device as my sound manager, it doesnt seem to work properly at all...
Without the USB adapter, however, the headset and mic work flawlessly! The sound quality, is good, and clear,. The microphone pickup is great as well... I have to plug the headset into the back of my machine, so the EXTREMELY long cord is great as well! Though it can become tangled easily. More is always better than less I say!
Overall, I was expecting a little more from the USB part of the headset, because I was interested in getting my gameplay and music from the desktop speakers and using the headset and microphone for my online chats, vent server, etc...
Hopefully I can figure it out soon and i will give a better review of that.
Hope this helped!
Digital camera Review: Good but bulky
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a great product that functions as advertised. I use them with Skype primarily, although they work great as headphones as well. The sound quality is good and those who I speak with through Skype have told me I sound great - just like I was on a normal land line.
My complaints -
1. The wire is way too long; I had not considered this factor when purchasing. Because I use this exclusively on my laptop, I only need about 3 feet of wire at the most, but the wire is probably around 8 feet long.
2. I use this on the road, so I have to pack it up and carry it every day. The headphones do collapse, but with the 8 feet of wire and the collapsed size they are still fairly bulky. Even when collapsed they are a fairly rigid unit, making it difficult to stow and also making me concerned about them breaking in transit.
I would recommend this to anyone who does not have to move the headset very often. Otherwise you might want to find something a little more compact.