Отзывы о Гарнитура Plantronics CS530 (86305-02)

Использую эту модель...

1.Был отзыв, с описание проблемы с WiFi.У меня такой не наблюдается, на работу WiFi наушники...

Доказано не точно, но на Macbook Pro 13 в режиме работы 802.11g wifi практически перестает работать!...

Купил не пожалел. Отличный звук для своей категории. Но как ниже писали, не хватает...

Купил...

Good sound, and of course wireless which is the reason I got it. I've been using Plantronics Gamecom1 headsets for a long time, they are excellent but the cord kept getting twisted too much. Why doesn't anyone make a cord detangler for headset cords? I've looked everywhere.This unit was a bit tight and I have an average size head. I solved it by holding them upside down, with the top center of the headpiece above a burner on my stove for a minute til it got a little soft then held them right where I wanted them for about a minute or so til they cooled off in that position. Problem solved easily! If you do this right (meaning do NOT hold them over the heat too long) it works perfectly.I didn't care for the smooth pads on the earpieces or the squareness that covers up my ears completely, they just felt too restricting. Fortunately they slip right off. I took some of the nice felt pads from a broken GameCom1 set, and used some contact cement and glued those on in place of the square ones. They still look stylish and the soft felt pads are PERFECT and feel really good.Sound quality is great, these won't win any contests for booming music but I only use them for voice anyhow so they sound excellent. Tested the mic with several people I called they all say I sounded great, so quality is as good as the Gamecom's have always been.Two big cons. First, the unit almost NEVER turns on or off with the first press on the power. It's like the switch inside refuses to contact good. I have to press it twice or even three times before it responds to turn off or on. And sometimes when I press the off, instead of going off it starts flashing blue fast, as if it's trying to pair up with the transmitter, even though I JUST was talking on it and it was connected perfectly. When it does that I have to mess with it and hit/hold the button several times before it will power off.Second con: Battery doesn't live up to the time claimed. More like 5 hours not 6. I made sure it was completely charged before using it first day. Second day I talked for maybe 4-5 hours and it died. The manual says initial charge should take an hour and subsequent full charge 3 hours. This thing took ALMOST SIX HOURS to charge fully after it died within 4-5 hours. That's pretty much false advertising. Yes I'm using USB 2.0 and yes it kicks out as much power as possible. The stupid unit doesn't charge sufficiently in the time the MFR said it does.Still, overall it's probably the best wireless you can get in the price range...but it's still too damn much for this button and battery quirkiness. I wouldn't waste my money on other way-overpriced wireless headsets as the reviews on all of them indicate frustration and issues galore. It's like...if it says "wireless" then mfr's charge 50% more for something. I think it's a big ripoff cuz they are paying the same or very close to make these as the wired sets.EDIT 9/13/2012: As of today this is still only working for 5 hours, not 6. Also, I have had it charging for TEN HOURS now and it still isn't charged. Yesterday it took over 5 hours to charge. Their documentation claims 3 hours. 10 hours is completely unacceptable and false advertising. The unit is either defective or a piece of junk. I emailed Plantronics support, so we shall see. I cannot recommend buying this unit with these flaws. DON'T BUY IF YOU WANT SOMETHING THAT WORKS FOR MORE THAN 3 DAYS.EDIT 9/20/2012: Holding charge for 4 hours. 10 hrs to charge up! Plantroncs CS told me it's a bad battery and I should return it to the seller. Returned it to Amazon for a replacement. I will only do a single replacement then I will refund. PLANTRONICS DO YOU READ THESE REVIEWS?? YOUR UNIT IS JUNK, FIX THE BATTERY POWER AND STOP THE FALSE ADVERTISEMENT.UPDATE 12/10/2012: The one I had replaced has stopped holding a charge within less than 3 months. It was replaced on 9/24. UNACCEPTABLE PIECE OF JUNK. DO NOT BUY THIS ITEM. YOU WILL HAVE TO WARRANTY CLAIM IT. And then there goes your great price when you have to pay the shipping on the damn thing. I cannot believe that a company with a fairly good rep like this one would make such UNADULTERATED TRASH AND PUSH IT ONTO CUSTOMERS. I AM THOROUGHLY PEEVED ABOUT THIS.UPDATE 1/04/13: They received the bad unit on 12/20. I received a REFURB replacement on 01/03. Seems a long time to send me a replacement. I will post more when I find out if this REFURB for NEW replacement works. They have already insulted me by replacing a NEW unit with a USED, REPAIRED UNIT. Maybe they fixed the battery problem with the refurb. I am not hopeful.UPDATE 2/1: The refurb went bad too, wouldn't hold a charge for more than 2 hours. After a discussion with Plantronics and telling them I just want my money back or a replacement that is NOT this model again, I decided to have them replace it with a comparable corded headset that was a bit more expensive, not going to get one of these again, they are pure junk. To their credit, they did offer me much more

Update 1/17/13: I found out mid-December that this product is not approved for advance replacement, so I needed to send my unit back in for replacement before getting a new one. Their process is still completely confusing since "denied" doesn't sound like "send it back to us first". Fedex shipping cost just over $10 and the unit arrived at their facility 1/11/13. I hadn't heard anything back from them this entire week so I just called customer service. They didn't seem to have any info under my claim number since the representative was still asking me to send the unit back. I told him I already had and it had arrived at their facility. He asked for the Fedex shipping number and said he would send a new unit out and it should arrive by 1/22/13.Update 12/13/12: After an email to customer support 2 days ago (with a response saying to expect a response within 24 hours) I have received nothing back. Still no idea why my amazon.com invoice was not accepted or how to return the product!Update 12/11/12:In the process of putting the headphones on this morning the headband snapped and broke. I went on Plantronics website and submitted for a warranty replacement and uploaded my amazon.com invoice as a proof of purchase - seemed easy enough. I have since received this message from Plantronics:The Proof of Purchase you uploaded was not accepted.Product: .Audio 995Claim Number: Claimed Quantity: 1Claim Status: Proof of Purchase RejectedNext Step: You must return to your Customer Account Dashboard and upload a valid Proof of Purchase before this Claim can be processed.You can check your claim status at any time by logging in to Plantronics.com and clicking Account Dashboard.For questions, please contact us via email service.center@plantronics.com or call the toll-free number at 1-800-544-4660 option 5 ext 4055.Thank you,Plantronics Service Center--------------------------------------------After 6 years of using a pair of Sony 900MHz wireless headphones I decided I was tired of the analog static and wanted something with digital transmission for a crisper, cleaner sound. Based on a few reviews here I decided to give this headset a try. While not totally impressed, I have so far stuck with my decision as I adjust to this new headset. Coming from a previous wireless headset, these are items worth noting:- The on/off button is somewhat annoying. My previous headset had a band over the top that when pressed would cause it to automatically turn on when placed on my head. Now I have to push a button, for longer than a click but not too long to put it into pairing mode, to get it to turn on. I also now have to remember to turn it off, though connecting it back to the USB cord automatically turns it off and starts charging it. As others mentioned the power button does feel somewhat cheap and prone to failure if pressed to hard too.- Speaking of charging, it would be awesome if these had a charging dock. Yes I know I could pay more and get such features.- The audio is crystal clear, but in my opinion has way too much bass and very weak treble. I haven't found any way to access an equalizer through the sound config panel for this device anywhere in Windows 7. If this could be fixed I would be much happier. Distance-wise I've gone about 20-25 feet from my desk with them on, and sound remains clear unless someone walks directly between the transmitter and the headset.- The headset is fairly comfortable. Not as comfortable as my Sony headset, but reasonable. It fits fairly comfortably over my ears, but also is tighter than my old headphones. The padding is OK, but definitely not as soft either.- Volume buttons are OK. They actually control the Windows digital volume on the computer, instead of just an internal volume on the headset itself. There is also plenty of headroom. 15 - 20% is adequately loud enough to not hear others talking around me.Overall a reasonable digital alternative to other wireless headsets without being overpriced. I feel they probably won't last as long as the Sony headset I've had for 6 years that still works perfectly fine, but for $50 if they last a year or two that is reasonable to me.

This is a review for the Plantronics audio.995 wireless headphones.I've read some reviews on Amazon.com stating that Plantronics audio. 995 will not work with Windows 7. So far I find this is not an issue for me; my experience is that it works just fine on Windows 7. I have a Gateway desktop that is one year old and it runs Windows 7 with no issues. I also have an ASUS laptop that is just under one year old, and it also runs Windows 7 with no issues. I also have an older Gateway computer that is running Windows XP, and I have experienced no issues on this computer with these wireless headphones.I've also read several comments about these headphones interfering with the laptop computers ability to connect to a wireless router. I'm also found that this is not the case for me, my desktop is wireless, my laptop is wireless and my old computer is connected to the router with an Ethernet cable. My printer is wireless plus I have a TV that is also wireless through my DVD player. I have not experienced any problems with any of my wireless connections. Let me also add that both my Desktops are running off one monitor one wireless keyboard and one wireless mouse, I do this with a KVM switch. All of my wireless equipment is working fine with no interferences from one another or the Plantronics audio.995 wireless headphones.My main reasons for buying these headphones were, I did not like the wired ones connected to my computer as the wires were always getting tangled and caught on objects and twisted, this was somewhat of a nuisance. Wireless seemed to be the best way to go. After reading several good reviews about how well the Plantronics audio.995 worked with Dragon NaturallySpeaking, I decided to purchase a set. So far they've exceeded my expectations, the voice recognition is phenomenal. I'm writing this review with both these products and it only had one word that it could not recognize and that was because I had a hard time pronouncing it. These headphones work very well with many of my e-mail programs, such as, Gmail, roadrunner, and AOL. I have also used the Plantronics audio 995 with "Skype", and it works just fine.Another benefit of these wireless headphones is they work very well with iTunes, Creative Zen, and Microsoft media player. As I already have high quality wired headphones for my music listening, I was not too concerned how the music would sound on these head phones. All I can say is, what a pleasant surprise I had on the sound quality of these head phones, they approached the sound quality of several of my wired headphones, and they work with all my computers music files that run on iTunes, Creative Zen, and Microsoft media player, again a plus. Another issue I read about in the reviews was that the charging cable was too short. That may be true but that is not an issue for me as I have several cables in my collection that will work with these headsets and they are 6 to 12 feet long. I can also charge these head phones with my two cell phone charger, my Kindle and my Apple iPod chargers. My Epson printer which I leave turned on all the time also has a charging USB port on the front which turns out to be very convenient for charging these headphones.Here is a summarization of my experience with the Plantronics audio.995 wireless headphones.1. Set up was ridiculously easy. All I had to do was charge the headset and pair the USB device and the headset.2. The equipment worked immediately and correctly.3. Every app that I could either talk to or listen, and input data to, work just fine.4. The sound of the music is great.5. I would highly recommend the Plantronics audio.995 wireless headphones to anyone who is on the fence and desires to purchase a wireless headphone with microphone. I don't think you would regret your purchase.Improvements I would like to see.1. A light and audio sound to let the user know when the battery is getting low.2. Be able to continue using the headset while it is being charged.I hope this is review is helpful to some of you.William Torzsa

I've owned 2 of these that I purchased from Amazon. I'm not a gamer but I work from home frequently and use this headset with my PC for extended conference calls. The ease of setup is quite easy - just plug in the USB stick and it automatically connects to the headset. The battery life is great with the device, as is the sound quality. When I started using it, I could consistently get about 20-25 feet of range in my home which would allow me to answer the door while I was on a call or even step into the kitchen to grab a drink. I absolutely loved the headset.One of my favorite features was the boom mic. No more fumbling through numerous open windows on my PC to find the window to mute and unmute or worry whether or not you're muted. The boom mic is always visible in your peripheral vision and it's just a great, easy to use feature. There's a tiny sheathed wire that runs from the earpiece down through the boom mic. After a few months of consistent use, the continual swinging up and swinging down, the sheath on the wire wore thin and a tiny piece of the copper was exposed. This led to the mic not working at all in some positions and providing electronic static (popping, crackling, and hissing) in other positions. Prior to every call I would have to tweak the position of the mic to ensure that it was working properly and then leave it stationary for the entire call.To Plantronics' credit, they replaced the first one I had this issue with. They shipped a replacement out immediately and upon receipt of the replacement, I shipped them the defective unit. The new unit worked great. For a few months. I then started experiencing the same issue again. Close inspection of the hinge on the boom revealed the same tell tale fraying on the sheath. I liked the unit so much I bought another from Amazon but again it started failing. Plantronics was unwilling to ship another replacement so I'm currently seeking to purchase an alternative.What I liked:Boom mic up to mute, down to talk featureSound qualityComfortBattery lifeRangeEase of setupWhat I didn't like:Failure of boom micLack of low battery indication - headset just goes deadI believe this would be a great headset if you don't plan to frequently use the boom mic. If not for that failure, I'd give this 5 stars easy but given the failure I've seen now on multiple headsets, I have to give it 2 stars.

These headphones are built with a very high quality. They, of course, are not up to the standards of a $400 set of cans, but they do approach the quality of many $200-$250 ones I have seen, and even surpass some of those in quality. The fit around the ear was important to me, and these are pretty good in that respect, but they cans are a little bit small for me. Either way it's not a problem.I love the action on the microphone boom. It's swings down to unmute, and then swings up out of the way to auto mute. There is actually a tacticle clicky switch in the body of the left side cup that the microphone boom touches to mute the mic when you swing it up. The range is great, better than the $70 Logitechs that I returned after owning them for 4 days. I haven't yet been able to sit at my computer long enough to run the battery charge down to failing level, so the only thing I can claim about that is that it will last for, at least, 4 hours. The battery is, I believe, claimed to have a life of 5 to 6 hours but I suspect it could go a little longer. These headphones were much less complicated/buggy to pair and actually start playing sound from my Windows XP amchine, as well as both of my W7 m,achines, and even a Linux box, than the Logitechs I returned to buy these were. They pair and start playing sound, in most cases, without having to restart a video, or close itunes and re open it, and etc. All of the leather-like vinyl on the headphones is perforated, which gives it a higher quality feel than if it were just plain. Each ear cup tilts, vertically, about 3 or 4 degrees each way of center, for a better fit/seal.My only copmplaint is that the USB stick that transmits and recieves to and from the headphones is a full size, as big as a sadisk cruzer flash drive, USB dongle. The Logitechs that cost $20 more do come with a very small USB dongle (small enough to leave it plugged into a mobile device all the time). The thing about that is, though, that the Logitechs had problems pairing and actually doing the job of transmitting and receiving, and they had poor range, so maybe that is one reason the Plantronics dongle is much larger. I wouldn't like to have a smaller dongle, but not at the cost of a lot of hassle and trouble getting the headphones to work and having to sty very close to keep them in range.

After years of blowing out headsets due to faulty cords I finally decided to go wireless and I'm glad I did.This headset has served me well for about 9 months now which is just about the time where my old wired ones would start to blow out. This headset's battery still runs for about 5-6 hours. The only thing I have to remember is to charge it before I go on my several hours long gaming binges. Unfortunately the cord the give you is really short and you can't use it while it is charging. It can be a real pain when it dies two hours into my voice chat and I have to switch to my internal mic. If you don't like the length of the cord then you might want to go out to radioshack and buy a longer one.From what I've read the battery isn't replaceable. This, coupled with the inability to use the headset while charging is going to lead to the eventual death of this headset when the battery finally gives out.I'm not an audiophile but the incoming sound seems pretty decent to me. Occasionally you'll have a hiccup from the USB dongle that interrupts the sound. But these hiccups don't happen often and clear up after a second. I've heard some spotty things about my outgoing voice. I use skype and it's fine. I use mumble and it occasionally gets crappy. The incoming audio is fine the entire time. I have no idea what's going on but I figured I should report on it.The range of the headset is about 30-40 feet as advertised. You'll hear a little beep when it connects/disconnects so you'll know when you are back in range.Ear space is a teensy bit cramped for me. My ears brush up against the side which eventually leads to discomfort late into my long binges. It's otherwise rather comfortable.There are some audio control buttons on the side of the headset. They work and I use them when I'm not at my computer. What I don't understand is that while there is a next song button there is no back option. I've lost a couple songs when I accidentally hit the wrong button and can't go back. It's an annoyance at best.I'm a little nervous about the USB dongle and my laptop. It uses 2.4GHz wireless technology. So I have to use the USB dongle which sticks out the side of my laptop. I'm worried about accidentally hitting something and destroying the dongle.It's not the perfect headset but it gets the job done.

When the sound is working, it sounds really good. However, maybe 3% of the time there is some distortion of the sound for seconds at a time, even in the same room. I live in a small apartment, but it has a lot of small rooms/lots of walls, so I can't listen to the headphones in the kitchen.The price was right, and it looked like the best product within my price range, and now that I own them I'm pretty sure I made the right choice. I love the volume control/ff/rw controls on the headset. When you first put the headset on, the earcups feel nice and soft, and it's not too heavy. It does, however, tend to hurt the tops of your ears if you wear it for hours at a time. This may or may not be because I wear glasses.In summary: very good sound with a few hiccups, don't try to listen through walls or you may be disappointed, price is good, and the headset is very comfortable for the first few hours I wear it.ETA: About a month after I purchased the headset, the next and pause/play buttons stopped working. I could handle that okay, so I didn't bother to send it back. About a month and a half after that, though, the whole thing went kaput. I'd charge it, and I could listen to something for about fifteen seconds, then it would die on me. I used the things maybe an hour or so average a day, so I know I didn't wear out the battery that fast.They were good while they worked. I sent them back to Amazon (less than two weeks after the returns window had closed) requesting an exchange, outlining what was wrong with them. I would have been happy to give the product another try. However, Amazon didn't reply to the note I sent along with the headphones; instead I got a rote reply email explaining my refund.They took $10 out for restocking (on a non-functioning item) and refunded me the rest, including the amount I paid to ship the headphones back to them, so I suppose the refund was reasonable.I don't recommend these headphones for purchase... unless you're looking to simply rent a pair of headphones for a month or two, ha.

When I first got these headphones I was psyched since they were replacing a pair that were quite old and they were getting uncomfortable. The quality of the sound is pretty good, the ability to have wireless while I move around my room talking with my friends on Skype is great as well, definitely a step up from what I had. The only issue I have with this that's enough to take off a star is they're not that comfortable. The "pillow soft" cushions around the ear holes actually hurt when worn for more than 4 hours and I wear them for 9 or 10. They ear pieces are too small to completely fit over your ears, so they kind of just over them. Since they're quite new, they hug my head (maybe I have a big head, I don't know) quite snugly and if you wear glasses, that makes them hurt more. If you want to know an estimate of how big the ear holes are, take your thumb and your middle finger, touch the tips and make a circle. That's equivalent to how large the hole of the ear pieces are. I've just dealt with them being uncomfortable because the wireless is extremely nice to have.UPDATE AS OF FEBRUARY 22 2013I purchased these headphones on November 3rd of 2012. As of a few days ago, the headphones have cracked at the area where you can adjust the length to better fit your head. There is a split in the headband that keeps the headphones connected. I also noticed on the opposite side, same area, the plastic is showing signs of weakness like that side may also crack. After 4 months of use, they've already shown extensive wear. I'm in the process of cementing the crack with a bonding glue, I may have to use a specific plastic bonding agent. I will update when I'm finished with the process.Again, these headphones have cracked where you can adjust the headband after only 4 months of use. There has been no sound or mic quality change since it's purely in the adjustment band, but if they continue to wear out faster than expected, I will not be able to recommend getting this product.

I bought this item on Amazon nearly a year ago, and I'm very pleased with it. I decided to wait a year to see whether it would hold up after all this time, and so far, it's performed exceptionally well.I use this primarily when I'm placing phone calls or playing games on my PC. The range for this headset has been between 20-40 feet, depending on where the adapter is plugged in. (if you have an open USB slot on the front of your computer, that seems to allow you to get closer to the maximum range that's advertised) Battery life has not really been a problem. On average, the battery lasts between 6-8 hours of use after a full charge, and so far, it has maintained that in the year I've had it. Voice quality online or when placing phone calls is pretty clear, as well. The auto-mute function is pretty useful. Some reviewers have noted a the problem of the microphone not turning on in the extended position, or intermittently cutting out, but I've never had this problem, myself. As far as the controls for music on the side of the headset, I've only used them sparingly, but those times that I have, they've worked as I would expect them to. The headset is also fairly easy to turn on and off, though if you hold the power button too long, it will start searching for the adapter signal, and then you'll have to hold it a lot longer to terminate the search and turn it off. This has only happened a handful of times, so it doesn't really bother me.I only had two minor problems: the first was the really short charging cable it is supplied with, but fortunately, it's a common mini-USB connector, and I had a spare 4 ft. USB to miniUSB cable that I could use for charging that worked out well. If you've got one of those lying around, ditch the supplied charging cable, and get something that allows for easier storage when charging. (I hang the headset on a little hook under my desk when it's charging or not in use) The second is that the headset cannot be used while it is plugged into the charging cable, so if you've been using the headset a while and it cuts out, you'll have to wait about 30 minutes before using it again. It is a minor annoyance, but as long as you charge your headset regularly, it shouldn't be a problem.I got these for $50 when I bought them, and seeing how similar headsets retail for upwards of $100, these have been a great deal. I've been very happy with this product, and will probably buy it again, even if my current headset happens to fail me sometime in the next month or so.

I'm writing this because, for some reason, there don't seem to be any reviews that directly address compatibility of this (and other) wireless headsets with Dragon Naturally Speaking (DNS11.5). I have 11.5 Premium and when my wired headset failed I wanted to replace it with a wireless set. I checked around and ordered the Logitech H800 wireless/Bluetooth set. Despite descriptions to the contrary it would NOT set up for Bluetooth use with my Win 7 64 bit i5 8 gig memory laptop with built-in bluetooth. It wasn't much good with the wireless protocol either. The wireless protocol gave me many errors with recognition using DNS11.5 and lots of extraneous words when there should have been silence. I contacted Logitech support who took 2 days to get back to me. The news was that it only supports telephone protocols for Bluetooth and wasn't compatible with DNS11.5 so I returned it and did another round of research. The Dragon site has a short list of compatible headsets and many of them were made by Plantronics. Many of those were on the high-priced side. With additional poking around I discovered the 995 which wasn't on the compatible list but seemed like it should be compatible. I contacted Plantronics who told me that it "should" work with DNS11.5. I did still a bit more research and found some British websites that "mentioned" using the 995 with DNS11.5 so I returned the H800 995 (to Amazon) and ordered thePlantronics 995. The 995 works like a charm. It's cost (currently) is $20.00 less than the H800. The 995 is heavier than the H800 and the sound for music is boxier but those differences are not important to me as I didn't buy it for music. If you want good compatibility in a stereo wireless headset for use with DNS11.5 at a very reasonable cost the Plantronics 995 is it.

I have owned my plantronics device for almost 2 years now. I use this for work conference calls, browsing the internet and gaming. I love this headset and the freedom it's allowed me to utilize when using the computer. I get almost 8 hours of straight usage out of a full charge. I can get almost complete coverage around my 3 story home and can almost make it to the mailbox out in the driveway before losing my signal. The isolation padding does a pretty good job of blocking outside noises and helps focus the audio only to the wearer, unless you've cranked your volume up to eardrum bursting amplitude.The cons of this device: In warmer weather the nice headphones, which cover your ears with comfortable padding, can make you feel a bit warm due to lack of airflow. Make sure you keep it charged before use! I suggest that you use a standard phone charger USB cord (not the 'skinny' usb) to charge it when not in use or your computer is turned off. The last thing you want to do is need this headset and it be low on power because you can not use this while it is charging. Knowing this, I've rarely ever left mine uncharged.Do be careful not to MASH the on/off button. It only takes a gentle press to turn the headset on and off.

I bought these for my birthday and was super excited to get them. Upon arrival, the USB connector was bent and broken. I had to return the headset the day after I got them! I had it replaced, thinking it was just my luck to get a bum product. The sound quality is great, the microphone quality is great and it syncs great with I-tunes right away. However, the usb connector is very cheap and flimsy. It looks it, feels it and is easily damaged. Recently, I lightly tapped the USB and it flung right out of my PC port and broke into pieces. It's literally two pieces of cheap plastic around the connector! I called amazon and will be getting a total refund instead of a replacement. I'm going with a different brand.Although the sound and mic quality was great, it was not worth keeping to have to replace it every month by the littlest touch. Also, you can not use them while they're charging.I was extremely disappointed in this product and I would not recommend buying it unless you want to replace it every month.

I bought this headset over a year ago, to replace a Logitech that I managed to destroy [too much tripping over the USB cable]. Let me tell you, "wireless" part of this unit is a great feature! No more tripping, no more tugging on the cable, etc. The wireless has a higher-than-expected range. I can leave my room and roam my house freely while still participating in a Windows Live call. I was originally wary of its operation on the 2.4 Ghz band. However, I have experienced no interference with other devices, such as wifi and bluetooth, while using this unit. When new, the battery life is more than respectable- about 8 hours, just as advertised. Be aware, though, that this is a lithium-ion rechargeable battery, so you'll have to take care of it. Whether you do or not, the battery life will degrade over time, indefinitely. When the battery reaches the age that it is no longer able to hold a useful charge, you'll have to trash [or fix] this unit, because you cannot use it while charging via USB. Also, the size of the dongle itself is a burden- if used on a laptop, it juts out the side [or front or rear, wherever your ports are], and is very prone to getting broken off. Yes folks, if you break the dongle itself off the port, I'm afraid your headset will be dead from then on.In terms of sound- It's better than cheapos, that's for sure. The amateur audiophile in me says that the mids and highs come out well through the 40 mm drivers. There is a full response in the bass range, but I find the bass a bit less powerful than I'd like [I have bose in-ear headphones to compare them to].Overall, I was more than satisfied with the ~$100 I spent on this unit, until...I plugged in the dongle to my desktop one day... Instead of the normal, slow pulsing of the blue light to indicate disconnection or the steady glow to indicate operation, I was greeted with a rapid flashing. My computer identified a new device, labeled as "Avnera audio", as opposed to its original identification as "Plantronics Wireless Audio", and it failed to pair with the headset in any way. I tried all manner of plugging, unplugging, and messing around with it, and I still could not get it to work. The next day, I try again, and... to my surprise, it paired up and functioned normally as if nothing had happened. After that, the dongle would fail intermittently and unpredictably, sometimes even in the middle of an audio call/ other application. I have a [figurative] little bag of tricks to get the dongle to work when I need it.I tried to contact Plantronics support for it. No response. Seems they might be aware of the issue with the dongle and they don't care. Or, my problems with it are an isolated incident, and they don't care about one customer's issues. Either way, I don't like.Pros-Wireless. Nothing to trip over, respectable range, minimal interference with other 2.4Ghz products [such as bluetooth and wifi]-Good battery life when new, approximately 8 hours. Deteriorates predictably with age.-Simple controls on the left earpiece. [Play/ pause, skip, volume up and down]-Plug and play usability.Cons-Dongle is large, and very failure prone.-After about 2 hours, the tightness of the unit makes your ears sore. Taking the headset off for a few minutes relieves this.Woulda given four stars, had it not been for the problems I've had with the dongle.--edit--My dongle has died. Nothing I do or try works. Apparently there's no way to acquire another without purchasing a new headset. It was great while it lasted...

Some reviews I read prior to purchasing the Plantronics 995 warned that device could not be used while plugged in.Do not ignore this warning! However, the reviews did not couple this with short battery life.This combination renders this device mostly irrelevant and I find myself using the wired set I bought for $5 more often than not.1. battery dies quickly2. can not be used unless battery is charged3. no way to know how much or how little battery is left4. dies few minutes into use - frustratingwhen battery is fully charged, device works well, but even then then charge does not last long.another issue that if device is not used for period of few days, battery is either dead and requires time to charge or dies after few seconds of use (same - requires time to charge) so might as well have a wired headset.this device is only good if you plan ahead. Say to yourself, I will need wireless headset for 30 minutes in two hours so I better charge my Plantronics Audio 995. Most items I have bought over the years from Plantronics have been terrific.Not this one. Waste of money. Be warned!

While I had bought the Sony 7.1 wireless headphones I wanted to keep that solely for the PS3 and after searching online for a good quality headphone for a reasonable price I bought these and have never regretted the choice. The biggest approval of the headphones is the quality of sound coming the headphones as you listen to either music or watch movies on your computer, there are no hiccups or pauses or static as the audio is sent to the headphones via the usb dongle on your computer. The next biggest approval is the distance you can go and still listen to the crystal clarity of the audio from as far as fifty feet away(At least that's how far I got with my headphones) before you get any kind of buzzing or static interference. I can't say how the mic works quality wise as I have really no plans on using that function as I rarely chat online, the headphone is very comfortable and while I am used to headphones where the speakers cup the entire ear rather then on them the cushioning for the speakers makes it forgivable. The box comes with a usb charge cable so you can charge the headphones on your computer or if you're like me and have a PS3 or Xbox 360 controller charger from either Dreamgear or Nyko either of these charge stations have two usb ports do you can hookup the headphones usb charge cable to this as well. So for those looking for a great deal on wireless headphones to play games online or just looking for a great pair to listen to music and watch movies on your computer without the hassle of wired headphones here's a great choice and at a very affordable price as well...11-30-2011A little update, a friend and a few others who have shown interest in the headphones had one question I forgot to inform on and that is does the headphones show their current charge to let you know if they need to be charged. Sadly no all you can really do is make assumptions on when they need to be charged, meaning if you've used them for at least six hours you should turn them off and start charging the headphones regardless if you feel they need them or not to save yourself the risk of having them fade out of power when you're using them either playing online games or just listening to music or watching movies. Another question was do these work on the Xbox 360 slim. Sadly with my attempts it looks like the Xbox 360 won't recognize them as an audio device, if someone has succeeded in hooking these up to the Xbox 360 slim correctly it would be appreciated and helpful if they could post on how they did it.

I now own two pair of these, one for home and one for work.The headphones are very comfortable, because they don't press on your ears or your head, I can wear them almost the entire day (and then at home some).I use the headset a lot for Skype calls and the microphone has a good quality I have been told - and it is handy that it will automatically mute when pushed upwards.However using this with Skype also brings me to one of the drawbacks of this headset. While there are buttons to increase or decrease the volume, start/stop playback of music (which won't always work unfortunately with vlc) and skip to the next track, there is no button to accept a Skype call remotely. While this might not be important for everybody (and I bought a second pair despite of this even), it is a minor nuissance for me from time to time. I walk around the house with the headset, listening to music or audio books while cleaning the house - and it would be nice to be able to accept incoming calls without having to dash back to my computer.The distance that these headset will work away from the computer seems very good to me. Kitchens and batchrooms seem the only problem so far. Other than that I can comfortably go upstairs or downstairs and to the other side of our (small) house without loosing connection or audio quality.The batteries last about one and a half working days or permanent use, which means you have to charge them often. A charging station would have been more comfortable than the USB cable for this, but at least the USB cable is just a standard USB and not some proprietary connector.Unfortunately, you cannot use your headphones while they are charging - there is no "cabled" mode so to speak. So you cannot just get a very long USB cable and use them cabled while they charge.So if you forgot to charge the phones overnight, you will not be able to listen to music or make calls until you have charged them. This happens to me a lot, but thankfully, they charge rather quickly.The headset is adjustable to multiple head sizes like most headsets. My head is rather small, but they work comfortably for me. They also fit our 5 year old, with not too much wiggle room.PRO:sound quality, comfortable, distanceCON:buttons don't always work (vlc needs focus), no programmable buttons, no Skype "Accept Call" button, no cabled mode while chargingIf one of my two pair breaks, I will get one with a nice charging station instead though - I run into the empty batteries problem too often because I keep forgetting to connect the USB cable before going home from work regularly.

This is a good headset for all purposes.Likes:1) The range of actually pretty good.2) Battery seems to be good. I charged it once fully & have run for already ~4 hours. Seems fine.3) Installation is easy , no headache.Dislikes: I choose to give it 4 as it has some annoying things1) Switch off : As many ppl before me have suggested, swictching off this is quite a problem. It takes its own sweet time. You are not even sure whether it is switching off or doing something. A kind of switch to shutdown the headset would have really handy.2) The size of the headset is not very ideal. Many may disagree with me here. There is scope to increase the size , but not reduce it which is understandable. In that case, it would have better to make the headset bit more smaller & give room to increase the size (which is already there )

I bought this headset to replace my falling apart Asus H1000W set, which I really loved, but it was a little fragile and only lasted about two years. The H1000W was better suited for travel. It folded up nicely into a travel case. It had about 8 hours battery time and had a nice on/off switch. The Plantronics Audio 995 (PA 995) doesn't fold up, nor did it come with a case, or much else for documentation. Both use USB dongle for the wireless transceiver. I thought I saw somewhere that the Plantronics uses Bluetooth, but if so, I think I'd rather use the built in Bluetooth in my laptop than another USB device. Both charge via a standard USB-mini connection. I use an old cell phone charger.Even with the reservations I had regarding the lack of documentation, inability to power off the PA 995, I still like it. The audio quality is great. It is sturdy, but comfortable to wear. It has decent range (typical Bluetooth range). The mike boom auto mutes when you fold it up. Battery life seems okay. I've had the headset for a couple months now, and haven't ran out of battery during any calls. I keep it connected to power when not in use. Note that, unlike the H1000W, you can't use the PA 995 while being charged. Both the H1000W and the PA995 were about the same price on Amazon, which was surprising. I went with the PA 995 because of the Plantronics name and expected to pay more.Overall, I'm still happy with my purchase. The Plantronics Audio 995 is a decent headset with great audio. I would have given it 5/5 stars if I knew more about it (how to power it off, connect it to Bluetooth...), charge while using it, if it folded for travel...

The good news is that the headset is comfortable and clear on calls.The not so good news: - The USB dongle is quite large, and easily bent, if it is broken or lost it is NOT replaceable, you need to buy a complete new headset. I now have a six month old dead headset with no way to fix/replace it. - The headset charge lasts a long time, however, there is no indication of battery charge, and if charge runs out the headphones just turn off, I have had this happen many times in the middle of business calls. - You cannot use the headset whilst charging them, meaning if you are low on charge there is nothing you can do. - When I am charging the headset I get a constant warning from my laptop that the USB device is not recognized.Personally, I tried this headset, but will now be looking for a similar item from another brand, one with a smaller, replaceable USB dongle for starters.

This seems an interestingly polarizing product; I picked it up based on the price and the generally favorable reviews. My experience has not been nearly as pleasant.Pros: Wireless headset! Fine sound (though see note on interference below). Based on others' reports, good microphone quality. When it works--a fine experience.Cons: Wireless interference causes a terrible experience. Cannot use while charging. Not comfortable (but not as bad as others say). When it doesn't work, it's not just annoying--it's unusable. *And it spends a nontrivial amount of its time not working.*-Wireless interference: when it happens, the sound distorts and ultimately the signal drops and it must reconnect. I am using it two feet from the transmitter (which is plugged into the side of my monitor). It probably has to do with my nearby wireless router or or neighbor's movie streaming, but once it's in a bad mood, I can pretty much guarantee that the rest of this usage session will be compromised or impossible.-Cannot use when charging: I can't overstate how frustrating this is when it happens. What it means is that if your battery dies, you either use a fallback speaker/microphone combo (at which point, why did you upgrade to this?) or you stop whatever you were were using it for. The problem here is not that the "risk" of battery failure is great, nor that the battery does not last long enough. The problem is that the punishment for running out of juice is complete.-Comfort: it's not particularly comfortable. Here I'm referring to the hard pads and small cups (into which no adult's ears would fit). Others have made much of how tight this is and how it clamps to your head. This is easy to fix--just stretch it out to flex the plastic. I did it once and it's worked fine.Summary: If you have no options, make sure you keep a backup headset plugged in. In principle, there should be other options at this price range--I suggest exploring them. Two stars because I typically reserve one for products that are offensive or simply don't work. This one works most of the time.

I had to return a Bluetooth wireless headset, as I only had problems connecting the Bluetooth with my Windows 7 PC and then attempting to use Skype! I could get it to install and connect once, but after that I had to delete everything, and start over. It wasn't just the Skype! application that wouldn't work again. However, Amazon accepted the return and game me a credit. Bluetooth headsets seem to be only for cellular phones. I then ordered the Plantronics 995. The Skype! audio test sound quality is the best I have ever heard. Negatives at this point (1) not able to replace battery - the manual says it is good for 500 charge cycles (2) cannot use the headset while it is charging, it turns off if the USB cable is connected for charging. (3) the USB dongle is a bit wide and doesn't fit well when another USB cable is plugged in next to it.(this is not the only device that has this problem). Haven't tried yet with a USB hub. Have only had it for a couple of weeks, but so far, so good.

I bought this headset for gaming as I'd gone through several wired headsets and was tired of replacing them. This headset appealed to me because it was wireless and rechargeable.I have owned this headset for 14 months and, while it has worked fairly well (will get to that in a minute), woe if you damage or lose the wireless dongle. I had two instances where I misplaced the dongle (both small child related, unfortunately). The first time I wrote to Plantronics customer service they said they were out of stock and couldn't replace the item. (I found the dongle shortly after receiving that message, thankfully) The second time I asked to purchase a replacement for the headset dongle was just a few days ago. They wrote me back within 24 hours to tell me they don't make replacement dongles for this headset. So, basically, I've got a headset I can't use and I'm out $100.As to the device itself, it's not bad.ComfortThe ear pads will hurt your ears after about an hour's use. I often have to wear mine with one earphone off because they ear pads are so uncomfortable.DurabilityI've never had any issues with the durability of this headset. It's very solid. Nothing's ever broken or even come loose during the 14 months I've owned it. It was still also holding a charge like a champ, too.Range/ReceptionThe range on these are pretty good. I can walk from my computer to the kitchen (with several walls in between myself and the wireless dongle) and it still receives perfectly with little to no interruption in signal (about 20 feet). I have even tried going up to our third floor (40 feet) but the signal does start to cut out, mostly because I think there's too much in the way of the signal. I will, however, sometimes get interference (the sound cuts/blinks in and out) while I'm sitting right next to the dongle.Sound qualityThey're good for telephony or, in my case, an internet voice-chat program (ventrilo and skype) but they're not all that great for listening to music or even the audio of video games. The music sounds tinny and somewhat far away. They are intended for internet-telephone use so that's really not so much a complaint as it is an observation.DriversThe drivers for this headset are rather temperamental with Windows 7. Sometimes the headset goes to default sound when plugged in, most times they won't. I've uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers many, many times and, as I said, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. I am unsure if it's a Windows 7 thing or what.SummaryOverall, if they were a bit more comfortable and if they'd make replacement dongles for this headset, I probably would've given it a better rating. I think for the price, it's kind of silly not to offer a replacement part for the dongle. If you're okay with that and are pretty sure you won't misplace the USB dongle, they're a decent headset for gaming or Skype.Update:After submitting a request for the USB dongle replacement on Plantronic's website and subsequently being told no, they don't make them, I submitted a complaint to their customer care division. Two months later and without any notification, a small brown padded envelope showed up in the mail. Lo and behold, inside was a new dongle. I tried it out and it does work with the headset. I have amended my original rating to an overall of 3 stars - it's still getting docked two stars for hurting my ears - to reflect the replacement being shipped free of charge.

I just received my Plantronics Audio 995 Wireless Stereo Headset tonight, and hooked it up to my computer to use with my Dragon Naturally speaking system. I could hear fine with the headphones, and they have excellent sound quality, but when I tried the microphone Dragon kept saying. "Can you repeat that?" I finally figured out that it was an issue with Dragon, not the Plantronics Mic. In order to use it with Dragon, when you also have your wired set connected, you have to go into Test Microphone Option then choose the Plantronics as the one you are using. Once I did that Dragon had no problem understanding ever word I said, which was not always the case with the wired set that came with Dragon. I highly recommend these, and think anyone who buys them will not be disappointed. The only reason I didn't give them 5 stars is that they are fairly loose fitting on my head, and have a tendency to slide around. I suspect when I'm up moving around a lot, or bending, they will most likely be trying to fall off. I guess I'll need to find a way to pin, or velcro them to my head then all will be perfect.

Initially I was pleased with the sturdiness of the product and I appreciated the option to swing the mic up to mute. However in less than a year the product would drop off dramatically in output volume. I returned the product to Plantronics for replacement. Of course I had to pay for shipping. About a week later when I had not heard anything I called the company and they sent the replacement a few days later.The 'replacement' worked for about an hour and then did the same thing as before. I again replaced the product, again paying for shipping. I also included a letter letting Plantronics know that if their replacement did not last another six months minimum then I would no longer purchase their products as I had higher quality standards.This time they were much faster in replacing the product. The product worked great for a little over two months and then would experience the same drop off in mic volume after using it for 30 - 60 minutes. If I had to guess I would say that it is a battery issue but the design of this product does not allow for battery replacement.I have trashed the unit and will find a more reliable manufacturer in the future.

I have been looking for a wireless stereo headset that is fully compatible with Dragon Dictate 2.5 voice recognition for Mac, which does not accept Bluetooth based input (most wireless headsets use Bluetooth, and the USB headsets typically are not stereo). Happy to report that the Plantronics 995 is truly USB-based and works perfectly with Dictate. Voice-recognition quality is very good, recognition with background noise is surprisingly good, and the battery lasts plenty long enough for me (although I have not tried it for longer than a few hours in one stretch). Operation is easy to catch on to, and the fold-up microphone is a very handy feature. At first the headphones seemed a bit tight, but having used them now for several weeks I don't notice it anymore. When I'm not dictating e-mails or documents, with one click on the headphone controls I can listen to iTunes in stereo without disturbing others in the room. And getting back to the reason for this purchase in the first place, not having to deal with wires when dictating emails and docs is simply wonderful!24 Sept Update:Nuance has just released Dragon Dictate 3.0 which apparently does accept Bluetooth-based input. This should open up the range of compatible headsets. However, if you have 2.x, you will need USB-based audio input.

I've owned these headphones for about 16months at the time of this review. In that time I've used them on an average 15-20hrs per week for an approximate total of 1000hrs of personal use. I'm on a VoIP line often for my job and that's where the majority of those 1000 hours were spent.. Incoming voice quality is quite good with the binaural cups providing a lot of isolation and sound concentration. As for my outgoing voice quality, I've never had a client tell me they were having trouble hearing me.I'm no audiophile but I think music sounds very nice through these headphones and I use them often for that purpose. Movies also sound nice which works great since I don't own a TV and watch all my movies and TV shows through my computer.The only real problem I've had with this headset is the size of the bluetooth dongle. It's as big as a usb thumb drive (slightly less than 2in) and is very easy to bump and even bend depending upon where your usb port is located. I know this from experience having bent my dongle while using it with a laptop. The dongle has remained functional though it occasionally needs a little jiggle, presumably because there's a loose connection inside. This is why I only gave it 4 stars.For the price it's a fantastic piece of equipment and it's very likely I'll be buying another one when I need to replace my current unit.

I have mixed feelings about the Plantronics headset. This set that I'm using right now to dictate this review is the second headset which replaced the first one I ordered because the first one was defective.First let me say that the Plantronics headset is working great and I am glad that I got it. My primary use of this headset is for Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition software. In fact, I am presently dictating this review using the headset and Dragon NaturallySpeaking together.I plugged in the USB receiver and turned on the headset and then manually paired the two as per instructions. The instructions say that the headset and the receiver should pair automatically but they did not. That wasn't a big deal because pairing it manually was pretty easy.The headphones themselves fit completely around the ear which is something I really don't care for. That's because in my case, I don't plan to do a whole lot of listening and therefore prefer 'less headphone'. I don't find the headset heavy and even more importantly I find that the microphone requires no wind screen or pop screen.Music and other sounds through the headset sound great but again, I don't typically use this headset in that manner but for casual music or voice listening, it seemed to do the job just fine. I strongly recommend this headset for speech recognition software. The freedom to walk around as I speak is invaluable and I'm quite sure that I will likely never go back to the wired headset.One more thing, the headset I am presently using is a replacement set because the first one that came to my door was defective. Of course I did not know this and chose to believe that I was just doing something wrong and so fought with it for five days. I have had experience with Plantronics customer service so I didn't bother calling them.Finally, I surrendered to the fact that the headset was either a piece of crap or defective. Choosing the latter, I went ahead and ordered a replacement from Amazon. I'm mentioning this because anyone who orders this headset, plugs the receiver into the USB port of their computer, manually pairs the USB receiver to the headset as per instructions, and does not get an instantaneous connection should immediately consider sending the headset back and have it replaced. When this headset works, it works well so if you find yourself pairing and re-pairing then it's likely to be defective, (providing you have fully charged it first). It works especially well with speech recognition software. I tested the range as best I could inside my home moving away from the USB receiver by about 30 feet and it worked great. I strongly recommend this headset.

I bought a pair of Logitech H800 about a year ago and was very happy with the comfort and quality (still in good condition but I gave them to my brother). I also liked the fact that it had a USB dongle for a direct connection and the ability to connect via bluetooth. I took it for granted that these would have bluetooth functionality but they don't (you can only connect via the USB dongle). I also don't find the Plantronics as comfortable as the Logitech headsets. I'm not a big maven in sound but I find the sound on the Logitechs to be better as well. These are a bit cheaper but I would spend a few more dollars and get the Logitechs. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

I am frequently participating in VoIP and telephone conferences and was seeking a semi-professional wireless headset for use when on travel or abroad.Let's start with the Good:The headset appears to be sturdy enough, sits comfortably on your head, and installs like a charm - even on a MacBook. It works right away without any driver issues or configuration. The quality of the transmitted speech is very good and the reception is pretty okay (see constraint in later section). The range is also pretty good - 10 meters and beyond did work and even the closed balcony door did not cause issues.The Bad:I am totally aware of exaggerations in advertisement and this headset is no exception: no way it can give you eight hours of talk, not even four regardless of being fully charged. Another big minus is that as soon as you connect it to be charged it goes into sleep mode, so an emergency charge while in talk is impossible. Another minor minus is the USB dongle itself: Honestly, in the time of micro transmitters, it is really necessary to design that thing in excess of two inches? Another practical shortcoming is the mute functionality: at first I thought it is pretty neat to simply put up the mic for muting but I would also appreciate a visual signal for that - maybe the blue LED on the transmitter dongle turning red or something easy like that. A propos muting: I like to walk around when being in long talks and I sometimes go to my patio. In winter, I put a light jacket on but the mic is picking up a rubbing sound from the jackets collar. The "natural" solution was to put the moveable mic slightly up - but beware, it shuts to mute when it is not very close to the max down position.The Ugly:My headset *frequently* relays distortions into an active VoIP call, even when the microphone is muted. Furthermore, the reception is also frequently distorted for a couple of seconds causing the voices to come across as white noise. At first I thought this is a rare incident but after a week of intensive usage I can conclude that it happens frequently (at least twice in a 10 minute periode). That behavior pretty much disqualifies this product for any serious use and limits it to a typical let's call Grandma every now and then scenario.

has better than expected battery life, i can plug it in over night and expect it to be ready for hours of use the next day if i need it.very simply to use, it doesn't take very long to set up/install at all. just a few mins.the sound quality is great and really loud, i don't bring the volume above 50% most of the timeand its very comfortable and the microphone works great as wellthis headset is well worth the moneythe only con i have with it is that it can be weird trying to turn it on or offto turn it on its simple i just hold the power button, but to turn it off it have to like tap the power button three times.or at least thats the way i have found most effective so far.

These are great for making phone calls from home. Being part of the new generation of people without home phones, this combined with Google Voice or Skype validates my decision to not have a home phone. I always just use it until the battery runs out and recharge, so every once in a while I may need to take a call or two with my cell phone instead.I went with Plantronics because before I started working from home I used this brand at two other jobs so I trusted it. The sound quality is great, you can increase the volume right from the unit and also mute it by lifting up the mouthpiece. The people on the other end can also hear me very clearly. Range could be longer. It starts to cut out of you get too far away so don't expect to use this for anything too far away from desks or on the other side of a door or wall. For what it saves on phone bills though it's worth it!

I like this unit a lot I was able to listen to it the entire range my house without cords unfortunately there was some intermittent problem which caused to cut out at least once a minute for like two – 3 seconds at a time since there is no way To adjust the frequency channel or anything like that since there's no software and nothing on the unit that can really be adjusted I was forced to send them back I tried everything I tried adjusting my router all 10 of the USB ports on my computer and nothing would clear up the interference and no choice but to not use the product it's a nice product and sounds great and it works other than the intermittent way out it was great you think with such a nice product did make a way to adjust the frequency but they don't gather works or doesn't and if it doesn't you don't have a choice

Clarity and usability of this headset, alone with a great price (relative to others I've tried), make this a good buy. The only problem I've had is that its battery charge doesn't last very long. I bought the wired version as well so that if I'm going to be on a headset for more than 2 hours I don't have to worry about dropping out in the middle of a call.The voice and sound quality is outstanding. I use it for phone calls and even recording. Love being untethered from the computer. The large ear muffs keep sounds out and cover big ears, such as mine. Again, this is a winner on every level except the battery life, which is under 2 hours of use. It can be shut off but I don't find that useful - sometimes it goes into a pairing loop instead of shutting off further draining the battery.