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 Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Plantronics Foldable USB Stereo Headset (Optimized for Laptop Use) (Audio 470 USB)
Customer Review: Too fragile for regular use.
Summary: 2 Stars
Sound quality, sensitivity, fit, ease of use and compatibility with Skype are all great worthy of lots of stars.
I was worried that the cheap plastic feeling headphones would break at the mechanical joints, but careful handling has mitigated that concern. Light weight and the ability to be folded into a small space are not the only issues related to a travel optimized product, the ability to survive being jammed into a bag with other items is important too. I haven't tested that function until the headset finally achieved its unreliable state. For the sake of this review I decided to test this ability and I am delightfully surprised at its resiliency.
Why the product gets only two stars is that after four months of desk use where I treat the whole apparatus as fragile as it appears, I find that the connecting wires are the real weak link.
For the life of me, I can't figure out why Plantronics provides this lengthy run of wire for a travel related item. I don't plan on standing ten feet away from the notebook computer (what else would one take when travelling?), yet the wires are so cheap and thin that a third of a year of wearing and standard desk head movements (no acrobatics or vigourous activity) results in intermittent operation in the ear piece. Shaking the wire restores sound in both ears until the first breeze from the fan, or the slightest head movement. If the earpiece goes out, I can assume that the microphone wire will suffer the same fate.
Sadly, it appears that all consumer grade manufacturers of these kinds of devices have conspired to make all their devices fail due to crappy wiring - so I am going to a rechargable bluetooth headset and junking traditional wired versions.
My recommendation for manufacturers is to do what Philips did with their noise suppressing earbuds - they encased all of the wiring in a fabric sheath that absorbs the stress of simple everyday desk bound wearing. Several years later and all is well.
Customer Review: What can I say?
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my third of fourth Plantronics item that I have bought over the last 5 or 6 years. The only reason I had to replace the previous headset, is that it did not work so well with the newer, post Tiger, OS. This, optimised for laptop, set works very well most of the time. I'm surprised, tho', that Plantronics didn't think to work with Apple and/or Skype, to make their superb product an impeccable one.
Some people have remarked about the folding fragility. Well, I treat the headset as I do any other similar objects, whether a laptop or iPod, etc. These things are not made of glass, but given a modicum of care, they will last. And last.
One point re customer care: yup, they're in Asia. The people are super nice, their accented English is easy to understand, but the scope of what they can do is limited. In Plantronics's case, if those super nice people cannot help you, ask for a US C/S rep. A hint of attitude comes with the latter, but they are VERY helpful. If you email them, the follow up is faboo. Not just once, but sometimes even 3 times. By the last time, if you don't respond and haven't fixed the problem, don't blame them. They REALLY try.
The only negative thing: the price. Yes, Plantronics is VERY reliable and, presently, my number one choice, but the price is just a tad too expensive. If the tag on their cordless set doesn't come down to an affordable level, I'll have to consider competition. Perfect quality is a very good thing, but a little noise in the background during a chat on Skype is not of paramount importance.
Other than that, Plantronics rules!
Customer Review: My favorite Gamers Headset
Summary: 5 Stars
Finally had to replace my old Plantronics Gamers headset after almost five years of daily use, and was not happy about trying to find anything half as good. Imagine my surprise and delight that the company was still making this model!
Four reasons to love this headset:
1) 'over the head' light-weight soft ear covers I can wear for 3-4 hours without noticing anything but the quality gaming sounds (don't use them for music, so couldn't speak to that for you Bose fans),
2) a swing down boom mike that filters out background household noises (like hallway conversations between my sons as to who gets the shower first) while letting my own voice be heard clearly by my team mates,
3) an easy access volume control & mike mute buttons on a collar clip approx one foot down the headset wires,
4) the fold-up design to fit into a 5"x2"x2" pouch that fits into a corner of your briefcase or purse for those of us who travel.
USB wired versus battery operated cordless mice/headsets are an on-going debate in our house, and amounts to personal preference, in my opinion. I've seen too many disasters in-game when batteries go out and one loses control of their game at a critical point, so yes...I like wired, tyVm.
Since my old Plantronics headset lasted almost five years, compared to the annual replacements my sons go through (they prefer not to have over the head types), I do believe I'll be content for quite some time. Thanks Plantronics!
Customer 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!
Customer Review: Excellent microphone for speech recognition software
Summary: 5 Stars
I just got this new Plantronics 470 microphone with a USB adapter to replace two old Plantronics headset/microphones that I have been using for the past 2 1/2 years. I use the microphone primarily for speech recognition, using Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 8.0 professional.
The first thing that I've noticed using this microphone is that the recognition accuracy increased tremendously! The playback is also loud and crystal clear. I could barely hear the playback on the older Plantronics microphones, but the playback volume and voice quality on the new Plantronics 470 microphone was about 10 times better! I have tested the Plantronics 470 on my IBM laptop and work desktop computer using the USB adapter, and the volume and quality appears to be the same on both machines. In the past, I usually get worse recognition accuracy with my laptop than my desktop computer.
The superior quality of this microphone is due to the external USB soundcard and adapter that comes with it. This external soundcard appears to minimize electrical interference and noise that plague the internal soundcards. I am glad I bought this new microphone, because I don't have to make as many corrections in my dictation anymore!
The only problem I have with this headset is when I put it all my neck and bring it back to my head, I would lose a few strands of hair which are trapped by the top folding mechanism.