Friday, 29 April 2011
Telephone Headset - wireless headset, computer headset
This is probably the best wireless headset available now. Excellent sound quality, great range, many controls over audio tone and loudness in the earpiece. There are only two minor problems with this headset: It's a little finicky to put back in the cradle, and you get just the slightest echo of your own voice in the earpiece. (Very slight, and can be ignored easily, but the Plantronics does not have these problems.)
The unit has excellent range, and I suffered no loss of audio quality at all when moving anywhere in my house, even with a WiFi network active.
Compared to the Plantronics CS50/CS55, the Jabra GN9350e comes out on top, for the following reasons:
-Jabra has better more natural sounding audio quality when you speak, with better frequency response. Plantronics headsets make your voice sound somewhat tinny and muffled by comparison.
-Jabra has a MUCH better speaker in the earpiece than Plantronics. The Jabra earpiece has pretty good audio quality; not as good as a wired headset, but pretty good. The sound quality you hear in the Plantronics headset is just bad.
-This unit will work with both a PC and a DECT cordless phone. The Plantronics CS50 is PC only, but the CS55 can do DECT.
-If you don't have a DECT phone, this unit can also hook into any standard phone that has a corded handset. Plantronics can't do that.
Audio quality when using it with a normal phone is basically perfect.
Some nitpicks: I didn't find the leatherette ear cushion comfortable. You'll want to swap it out for a foam one. Also the included cord for hooking it to your phone necessitates it being right next to the phone. Also, the USB cable is short and mini-USB on the base-unit end, so if you need a longer cable you'll need to find one elsewhere. It would be nice if they included more "over-the-ear" earpieces like Plantronics does, but I find them uncomfortable and use the over-the-head ban anyway.
One last thing: Although this unit works great with normal phone and Skype, both this unit and the Plantronics have degraded audio quality when using Teamspeak. After extensive testing, I can definitely tell you it's a Teamspeak specific issue; a wired headset will give you much better speaking-audio quality with TS (But with Skype/Googletalk/Phone these units are great). The Jabra is usable with TS, but your friends will prefer you use the wired headset. The Plantronics is basically unusable with Teamspeak because the bad quality of the Plantronics speaker, coupled with the lackluster audio reproduction of TS, makes it difficult to understand your friends when using TS with the Plantronics. With the Jabra you can still hear clearly on TS, even if your own voice is somewhat degraded.
All in all, I'm pretty happy with this headset. The Plantronics FEELS like a sturdier, better made unit, and is more ergonomic, but ultimately the audio quality differences overcome that and put the Jabra on top. Jabra GN9350 DECT 6.0 Wireless Dual-Functional Office/VoIP Headset System with DSP Technology (9326-607-405)
I opened the box and had this working with my Cisco IP phone in a matter of minutes with out reading the instructions. I also was able to plug it into my PC and use it with Skype and other applications without cracking the inclosed instructions. This product works just as advertised and as good range around the office. I have used other products from this manufacturer and have been please with them as well.
The sound quality is pretty good, as is the range. I can get up an walk across the office floor (50 - 60 ft) and keep connectivity with no problem or noticeable depredation in voice quality. It works just fine with our Cisco 7900 series phones, but it took a little tweaking to figure out the right setting to get it to work. It also works fine with our Cisco Softphone software and with Skype. I've had problems with me headset all of a sudden cutting out if I use it for 45 or more minutes at a time. We purchased about 15 and I haven't heard complaints from anyone else on the team, so it may just be a problem on my particular set. The battery shows a charge, so I don't think it's the battery draining. If I put it back on the base and start a new call, it usually works just fine...So in general it's a good headset, with some issues.
I use a magic jack and an AT&T 993 desk phone and this unit works seamlessly between the two. I also have two corded headsets from Plantronics and AT&T, and I always get complaints that my voice isn't loud enough (I'm soft-spoken), but I come across "crystal clear" over this headset. I can also walk through my entire house and yard (2500sq.ft+) without losing quality or freedom. I have to agree with the other reviewer about the earpiece being very uncomfortable, but the headband works fine. I'm very pleased with this headset and I'd buy it again.
Be advised that this headset does not work with DECT or old-style corded phones. Maybe it works with IP, but it says that it works with any corded phone and with DECT phones, and that's what I needed it for. I couldn't get it to work, so I contacted Jabra support, and they couldn't tell me of ANY corded or DECT phones that it will work with.
I work in sales, so I'm on the phone 90% of the time I'm at work. This gives me at least an extra 30 minutes a day, just by being able to walk around the office to the copy machine/fax machine and other tasks that I used to have to wait for a free minute to accomplish. The has excellent range and great style. A number of people at my office have the plantronics headsets and while they seem to work as well I wanted something a little different, I love the look of this one and the charging station. It was very easy to set up to a cisco 7960 series phone and I did buy the headset lifter (GN1000) which is a must have if you are planning on using this with a phone line. I also love this headset because it's compatible out of the box for use with a pc and voip, so I see it as more versatile than a lot of the plantronics ones. - Computer Headset - Wireless Headset - Dect - Jabra'
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