ewjax
05-19-2007, 11:58 PM
I have both the Plantronics 510 Voyager and Plantronics 655 Discovery Bluetooth headset, and use both with my Samsung A900M phone. I thought others might benefit from my thoughts, so here goes.....
RANGE:
The main reason I have two headsets is because I wasn't happy with the range I could get with the first headset I bought (the 510 Voyager). If the phone was in my pocket, or on the opposite side of my body from the earpiece, I would get annoying "crackling" sounds. I knew it was either the headset or the phone, so I just decided to buy a new high quality headset and see if the problem got better. Short answer = it did, but only a very little bit. If I'm using the 510 and the phone is in either pants pocket, performance is too degraded to use the earpiece. With the 655, I can sometimes get away with having the phone in the pocket on the same side as the earpiece. Not always, but sometimes. I'm left to conclude that the transmit power on my Samsung A900M is just very low, too low in my opinion, and that problem is not solvable with a headset. I actually think the range on both my headsets is pretty good, it's just the phone itself that is weak.
However, this problem is solvable, by not positioning the phone in a pocket or across my body. Setting it on the desk, or in the console area of the car, works fine, and in that position both headsets work fine. It's not ideal, but it works. In a clear, unobstructed-by-anything environment, I can probably get the stated range of 10m out of my system.
VOICE TRANSMISSION QUALITY:
Both headsets work well. When I am using the 510 Voyager, people often cannot tell I'm using a headset at all. However, people can tell when I'm using the 655 Voyager. The 655 voice quality is more "hollow", like a voice in an empty room, and you can tell. It's not a real problem, it doesn't hinder understanding at all, but you can tell. The voice quality on the 510 is just richer and warmer.
SOUND RECEPTION QUALITY:
Again, both headsets work well. Oddly, I think that voice quality I hear in my ear is slightly better with the 655, the voices seem richer and warmer, however conversely, the ringing I hear when I dial someone before they pick up is very harsh and tinny on the 655. The 510 works well with both ranges of sounds. So we have:
510 = good reception of voice and "ring" noise
655 = perhaps slightly better voice, but tinny "ring" noises
COMFORT:
I don't mind wearing either. The 655 is definitely the smaller, lighter of the two. I use the optional over-the-ear hook on the 655, but if it rides snugly in your ear without it, you don't have to use that. By comparison to the 655 the 510 looks large and clumsy, but it's really not at all. The 655 wins here just because it is so much lighter, but neither is uncomfortable to wear.
PAIRING:
Trivial with both headsets.
CHARGING OPTIONS:
The 510 comes with a wall charger. The 655 comes with a wall charger, a USB charger, and even a AAA battery charger. If you are on the road a lot, the 655 is going to give you more options.
FEATURES:
1. Noise reduction - I know the 510 is not really usable outside on a windy day, as the wind just overwhelms the mike. I've not yet used the 655 on a windy day. The 655 comes with something called "AudioIQ" that might make that better, but I've not tested it so can't really comment.
2. Bluetooth Version - The 655 uses Bluetooth 2.0, and the 510 uses 1.2 (I think). Not that it really matters to me, as I'm pretty sure my phone is 1.2.
3. Connectivity - both are good, but the 510 does occasionally lose sync during calls for 30 seconds or so, then it will reconnect on its own. This is annoying when it happens, as you have to flip open your handset real quick to keep up the conversation, however it only ever seems to happen once, then not again during that call. I've not had that happen yet with the 655 after a few days of use.
CRITICISMS:
1. Both headsets attempt to communicate status to you by a combination of blue and red (and maybe purple) light flashes, at varying pulse frequencies, and high and low beeps. Slow flashing red means one thing, rapid flashing purple another, alternating rapid blue and red something else, and so on. It's very confusing. It's worse that the two models don't use the same system either. The headsets need a Power, Connected, and Battery indicator that is clear and easy to understand.
2. They each need a way to tell you the battery status. The 510 has no way at all. The 655 supposedly has a way (you count red flashes after it is removed from the charger, or some such scheme), but I don't think it works - I spent some time playing with it, with the manual open in front of me, and couldn't get it to reliably work.
3. The volume control buttons on the 510 are kinda hard to find and push, and they are VERY hard to push on the 655. Thank goodness you don't need to do this frequently, unless you think you want to use the mute feature (see below).
4. Both headsets need a better MUTE button. The 655 is muted/unmuted by simultaneously pushing both volume up/down buttons, which is all but impossible. The 510 is muted some other way I can never remember 20 minutes after I read it in the manual. (I just looked it up again - the 510 is muted by short-pressing the power button, which is not easily done, since a) it's hard to find, b) it's hard to depress, and c) it provides no tactile feedback when depressed, so a short-press can turn into a long-press and you may not know it. And 20 minutes from now I will have forgotten this sequence...). An easy-to-use mute button is a feature I really want/need, as I'm often attending phone conferences while driving, and want to mute the road noise away from the rest of the participants.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. The BT range on my Samsung A900M phone is annoyingly short.
2. In spite of my criticisms, I like both these headsets and would recommend them to anyone.
3. I like the 655 a LITTLE better than the 510. For me, the slightly better range, and the charging options are enough to outweigh the slight reduction in transmitted voice quality and the impossible mute feature. But if you already have a 510, I don't think the 655 gives you a compelling reason to upgrade.
RANGE:
The main reason I have two headsets is because I wasn't happy with the range I could get with the first headset I bought (the 510 Voyager). If the phone was in my pocket, or on the opposite side of my body from the earpiece, I would get annoying "crackling" sounds. I knew it was either the headset or the phone, so I just decided to buy a new high quality headset and see if the problem got better. Short answer = it did, but only a very little bit. If I'm using the 510 and the phone is in either pants pocket, performance is too degraded to use the earpiece. With the 655, I can sometimes get away with having the phone in the pocket on the same side as the earpiece. Not always, but sometimes. I'm left to conclude that the transmit power on my Samsung A900M is just very low, too low in my opinion, and that problem is not solvable with a headset. I actually think the range on both my headsets is pretty good, it's just the phone itself that is weak.
However, this problem is solvable, by not positioning the phone in a pocket or across my body. Setting it on the desk, or in the console area of the car, works fine, and in that position both headsets work fine. It's not ideal, but it works. In a clear, unobstructed-by-anything environment, I can probably get the stated range of 10m out of my system.
VOICE TRANSMISSION QUALITY:
Both headsets work well. When I am using the 510 Voyager, people often cannot tell I'm using a headset at all. However, people can tell when I'm using the 655 Voyager. The 655 voice quality is more "hollow", like a voice in an empty room, and you can tell. It's not a real problem, it doesn't hinder understanding at all, but you can tell. The voice quality on the 510 is just richer and warmer.
SOUND RECEPTION QUALITY:
Again, both headsets work well. Oddly, I think that voice quality I hear in my ear is slightly better with the 655, the voices seem richer and warmer, however conversely, the ringing I hear when I dial someone before they pick up is very harsh and tinny on the 655. The 510 works well with both ranges of sounds. So we have:
510 = good reception of voice and "ring" noise
655 = perhaps slightly better voice, but tinny "ring" noises
COMFORT:
I don't mind wearing either. The 655 is definitely the smaller, lighter of the two. I use the optional over-the-ear hook on the 655, but if it rides snugly in your ear without it, you don't have to use that. By comparison to the 655 the 510 looks large and clumsy, but it's really not at all. The 655 wins here just because it is so much lighter, but neither is uncomfortable to wear.
PAIRING:
Trivial with both headsets.
CHARGING OPTIONS:
The 510 comes with a wall charger. The 655 comes with a wall charger, a USB charger, and even a AAA battery charger. If you are on the road a lot, the 655 is going to give you more options.
FEATURES:
1. Noise reduction - I know the 510 is not really usable outside on a windy day, as the wind just overwhelms the mike. I've not yet used the 655 on a windy day. The 655 comes with something called "AudioIQ" that might make that better, but I've not tested it so can't really comment.
2. Bluetooth Version - The 655 uses Bluetooth 2.0, and the 510 uses 1.2 (I think). Not that it really matters to me, as I'm pretty sure my phone is 1.2.
3. Connectivity - both are good, but the 510 does occasionally lose sync during calls for 30 seconds or so, then it will reconnect on its own. This is annoying when it happens, as you have to flip open your handset real quick to keep up the conversation, however it only ever seems to happen once, then not again during that call. I've not had that happen yet with the 655 after a few days of use.
CRITICISMS:
1. Both headsets attempt to communicate status to you by a combination of blue and red (and maybe purple) light flashes, at varying pulse frequencies, and high and low beeps. Slow flashing red means one thing, rapid flashing purple another, alternating rapid blue and red something else, and so on. It's very confusing. It's worse that the two models don't use the same system either. The headsets need a Power, Connected, and Battery indicator that is clear and easy to understand.
2. They each need a way to tell you the battery status. The 510 has no way at all. The 655 supposedly has a way (you count red flashes after it is removed from the charger, or some such scheme), but I don't think it works - I spent some time playing with it, with the manual open in front of me, and couldn't get it to reliably work.
3. The volume control buttons on the 510 are kinda hard to find and push, and they are VERY hard to push on the 655. Thank goodness you don't need to do this frequently, unless you think you want to use the mute feature (see below).
4. Both headsets need a better MUTE button. The 655 is muted/unmuted by simultaneously pushing both volume up/down buttons, which is all but impossible. The 510 is muted some other way I can never remember 20 minutes after I read it in the manual. (I just looked it up again - the 510 is muted by short-pressing the power button, which is not easily done, since a) it's hard to find, b) it's hard to depress, and c) it provides no tactile feedback when depressed, so a short-press can turn into a long-press and you may not know it. And 20 minutes from now I will have forgotten this sequence...). An easy-to-use mute button is a feature I really want/need, as I'm often attending phone conferences while driving, and want to mute the road noise away from the rest of the participants.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. The BT range on my Samsung A900M phone is annoyingly short.
2. In spite of my criticisms, I like both these headsets and would recommend them to anyone.
3. I like the 655 a LITTLE better than the 510. For me, the slightly better range, and the charging options are enough to outweigh the slight reduction in transmitted voice quality and the impossible mute feature. But if you already have a 510, I don't think the 655 gives you a compelling reason to upgrade.