 Excellent headset |
| Review Date: January 9, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Will Rose, |
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. |
Better than I expected
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| Review Date: March 7, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Q, AZ United States |
| 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. |
Does what's expected but only barely
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| Review Date: November 19, 2009 |
| Reviewer: A. Dent, Minas Anor, GD |
The GN9350e is a wireless DECT (not Bluetooth) headset that supports both traditional 'phone' calls and computer VoIP communications. Instead of announcing the verdict upfront, I will discuss and rate specific aspects and features and will produce a final score at the end of this review.
COMFORT (ERGONOMICS)
Out of the box, the set supports 3 ways to wearing the headset via the 3 included attachments: headband, neckband and earhook. The headset itself can snap in and out of either of the three and, with sufficient care, nothing will break. The headband and the earhook can be worn on either ear but the neckband supports the right ear only.
The headset size is enormous by today's standards - about 5 inches from end to end - and not exactly featherweight. It has an on/off/clear audio button and a volume/mute button. I could not find a comfortable way of wearing the headset probably because of its size/weight but also because the designs of the headband and neckband are not optimal as far as I am concerned (large head, considerable hair) and wearing the earhook was mission impossible. I can tolerate the headset when attached to the headband for fairly long stretches of time but the pressure it applies to the top of my head and to the ear make me continuously aware of its presence. The neckband is not an option for me because I can't tolerate the headset on my right ear and the earhook is way to large and heavy.
Absent add-ons, When attached to a headset-ready phone, calls are initiated by pressing the 'Headset' button and dialing the number. Calls are answered in the same way. On a 'traditional' phone, the handset plugs into the GN9350e's base and calls are initiated/answered by lifting the phone's handset. Connections via a regular cordless phone are not possible.
The headset does no react to an incoming call - the call must first be answered as described above - which makes the 400 ft. claimed range not a huge convenience since the user must first run to the wired phone to answer a call IF he/she was close enough to actually hear the phone ringing.
The quality of sound should be about average. I would not call it crystal-clear but I haven't noticed a an unusual amount of background noise either. The base allows the user to control the outgoing volume and the pitch and a knob on the headset sets the incoming volume.
Overall, this set scores 'below expectations' when it comes to 'comfort' or ergonomics. I would not recommend it to anyone who is on the phone for hours at a time. The convenience expected from extended DECT range is almost completely erased by the need to be 'at the phone' when answering or placing a call. On Amazon's 1-5 stars scale, this set gets a 2 (I don't like it) rating.
SETUP, FEATURES AND VERSATILITY
Installation is relatively easy. It can be as simple as attaching the headset to either the headband, neckband or earhook, plugging in the AC adapter and connecting the base to either or both a phone and a computer with the supplied cables. The headset will fully charge in about 3 hours and, if properly connected you are ready to go.
I was happy to see that it's easy to switch from 'phone' to a 'computer' connection by simply tapping the corresponding buttons on the base - and you don't hang up the phone when you switch to 'computer'. On the other hand, I was disappointed but not surprised that it's not possible to connect the GN9350e directly to a phone jack. The manual states that it's possible to register the GN9350e to a GAP-enabled DECT phone but, it turns out, my Uniden set is not GAP-enabled so I can't comment on this feature.
When paired with my office Nortel digital phone, I must press the 'Headset' button before making a call but certain phones that come with EHS (electronic hookswitch support) will allow the user to initiate and end calls by simply tapping the headset 'talk' button.
It is also possible to select the proper protection level (loudest volume allowed), the sound mode (treble normal or bass) and the range power.
On the computer connection side, this product is expected to work with Microsoft's Office Communicator and, indeed it does. I have not tested it with any other VoIP services.
Interestingly, the range claims of up to 400 ft. are somewhat exaggerated. My testing shows that one can talk from as far as 150-200 ft. away from the base but ONLY in an open office. The connection tends to break at very short distances if walls, floors or ceilings interfere.
I am giving the GN9300e 3 stars in this section, barely. 3 stars means "It's Okay", nothing more.
DOCUMENTATION, USER SUPPORT
The GN9350e comes with a trilingual (English/French/Spanish) Quick Start Guide where the 7 easy steps are illustrated and explained. I found the trilingual layout where 3 columns of text point to illustrations whose captions are this time stacked one over the other instead of side-by side confusing and bordering to annoying. The 'User Manual' is better, with the 3 languages segregated in separate sections and provides useful information. To add to the confusion, both manuals cover THREE distinct products: GN9350e, GN9330e and GN9330e USB. For a product this expensive, a well-written manual printed on good quality paper and dealing with the SPECIFIC product would be expected.
When calling for tech support - yes, I needed it - I found it very difficult to speak to a human. After several menu selections, when finally pushing the number indicating that I needed 'technical support' a recorded voice would give me the company's Web site URL and then hang up - very frustrating because the answer to my question was not at there or I could not find it. Eventually, I selected 'sales' and a nice sales person connected me to a nice and competent tech support person who answered my question within seconds - but it didn't have to be that hard to get there.
This is a 1 star. I don't like manuals covering 3 distinct products in three languages and I just hate it when the 'support' line tells you to go to some Web site and then hags up.
PACKAGING, QUALITY OF BUILD AND DESIGN
For a product THIS expensive I found the quality and looks rather cheap and the design at least 5 years behind the times.
Both the base and the headset are built of cheap plastic that does not appear to be as durable as such an expensive item would call for. The plastic cover for the base is not easy to remove and I must be very careful when removing it because certain corners can get stuck and they could break if not afforded the proper attention. The headset attachment/separation to/from the headband/neckband/earhook is performed by pushing it in or pulling it out. Nothing cracked yet but I am not confident that, if I keep taking it in and out it won't happen some day.
As for the design - it's strangely similar to that of a headset a co-worker has. It's a 5 year old one. The headset is not only uncomfortable way too big and rather hard on the eyes - probably okay from a wired headset one wears in a cube but not what I expected for something that it's supposed to travel up to 400 ft. from one's office.
This is a 3 stars, meaning "It's Okay", only because I will not proclaim myself a judge of good design.
OVERALL RATING
I must rate this as a 2-star. It would probably be a 3-star (Okay) if it sold for less but a lot more is expected from a supposedly high-end product. A 2-star rating means "I don't like it". This product does what's expected but only barely and, therefore, I don't like it. If it was me paying for it, rather than my employer, I would have probably hated it.
By the way, Jabra CAN make good products. My wife is currently using a Jabra Bluetooth headset with her cell phone. She is very happy with it. |
Okay
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| Review Date: July 20, 2010 |
| Reviewer: C. M., |
| 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. |
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