Not a Pain in My Neck Anymore! (Plantronics DECT Headset CS60)

Member Name: TheChocolateLady

Product:	Plantronics DECT Headset CS60
Date:	13/07/08 (133 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Comfortable, easy to use, great sound

Disadvantages: Not the VOIP version, still a bit expensive

I've been using the Plantronics CS-60 wireless headset for almost two years now and thought it was about time I reviewed it for you. My boss travels a great deal and sometimes he can't get to the internet to see his emails. That means he calls me and I type up his replies while we talk. After finding out that holding the regular phone's handset and typing was causing me problems with my neck, and could have resulted in getting a pinched nerve, we went looking for a good headset for me to use. The first model we found by Dasan Electronics (now discontinued) proved to have really bad sound quality and then we bought this Plantronics model.

This particular model is made to be used with a corded phone, and connecting it is a true breeze. Just plug the handset of your corded phone into the bottom of this, then plug the machine into the place where the handset was previously, and finally plug this into the electricity and basically, you're ready to go. Of course you'll need to put the headpiece in the cradle first and let that charge up, but even when it isn't fully charged and I had it straight out of the box, this worked well. When I first got it, I let it charge overnight and by morning it was fully charged. There is some other fiddling you'll have to do with this to make sure it has the right channels for your phone, but a few quick experiments and following the very simple instruction book will have you receiving and sending calls after only a minute or two.

The most important thing about any headset is the sound quality. I'm very pleased to say that this is just perfect in that area. When I have it on, even if there's lots of background noise, I can still hear the people talking to me - even if they're calling from a noisy place or using a cell phone. What's more, since the headset is cordless, I can move around the office and still talk to whoever is on the phone with me. That's invaluable when my boss calls and says there's something inside his office he needs me to get or look at. Moreover, with very few exceptions, people have heard me beautifully on this and admittedly, those exceptions were only when my boss was in the USA using a Bluetooth hands-free set in a rented car, with me sitting here in Israel. Even so, I could hear most of what he was saying, and he could mostly hear me as well - it just wasn't as clear as a bell. But since that's communicating from half way around the world and with less than optimal conditions for hearing someone in the same city, so you've got to admit this is pretty good indeed. Comparing this with my old headset is like night and day. Plus, once I got the volume to the way I like it, I've never had to fiddle with those controls again. With my old headset I was constantly trying to find a better volume and nothing I did ever seemed to help things, and often made things worse.

Another problem I had with my old headset was that the headpiece was terribly uncomfortable. I have a very small head and no matter how I tried to adjust it this just hurt me, since it sat too low over my other ear. Moreover, I couldn't get the earpiece to fit on instead of the over-the-head piece, and so I couldn't ever get it to feel good. With the CS-60, I started out using just piece that goes over your ear, but found it to be a touch big for my little ears. Changing it to the over-the-head part was very easy - it just clipped off the ear part and onto the head part and that was that. While most people will find this over-the-head bit to go about three-quarters over their heads, with me, even at its shortest position, the end pad lands just above my other ear, but just enough above it to not hurt me. Also, this has a nice, soft pad with leather covering that goes against your ear, which is so nice I've found I can wear this for hours on end without any discomfort. What's more, the mouthpiece here looks very professional and cool, and is substantial enough in size that you won't feel like you have to shout to be heard. Also, it can be used on either ear because it turns a full 360 degrees, which also means you can flip it up out of the way when you aren't talking but still have it on your head.

Finally, I really like how this works. With my old machine, when I wanted to transfer between the handset and the headset I could only do this by flipping a special switch and then moving the handset to the correct position. With the CS-60, I can use either one at any time, and the only thing I have to do to use the headset is make sure the handset is off the hook. Then, when I answer the phone from the CS-60, I just press the speaker button on my phone and the button on my earpiece. If I want to go back to using the handset, all I do is pick it up. Now, there is an optional bit you can buy which will pick the handset up for you, but while this would be convenient, I really don't have a problem with pressing a button or two to use the headset, so we didn't bother with the extra expense. Still, if you think its too much trouble to press two things to get your calls, the optional lifter might be a good idea for you.

As far as I'm concerned, this is a very good product. Its comfortable on my head and ear, nicely designed, easy to hook up, is easy to use, charges up quickly for using immediately, is versatile in that you can have it over-the-ear or over-the-head, its lasted me almost two years now so its durable, and most importantly, the sound quality is great. While these will set you back no small amount (ours cost around US$220), I think its well worth the money - especially when it comes to my health. So I'm giving this a full five stars and highly recommending it to anyone who often finds they need to be on the phone while doing things on the computer at the same time.

Thanks for reading!

Davida Chazan © July, 2008

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Technical Stuff:

The official webpage for this product can be found at http://tinyurl.com/5tuzkc and you can buy this from places like www.cordless-phones.uk.com for about £130 where the handset lifter will only cost you an additional £10. By the way, they now make a version of this which has a USB connection for using it with VOIP, but I haven't got that yet at work (due to firewall problems) so I can't say how that works.
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Summary: Plantronics convertable wireless headset for corded phones.