» Plantronics Pulsar 590A Bluetooth Headset and Analog Adapter

Plantronics Pulsar 590A Bluetooth Headset and Analog Adapter Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: blue light annoying
Comment: I have bought 3 now in the last year. I need it, because I have a hearing aid, and this is the only way to use a GSM mobile hands free. But it is a little strange to act as a blue light. I needed 3, because the mechanical quality is very poor.
I even was once stopped, driving in my car, by a police officer, that said the use of a flasshing blue light while driving was against the law.
That is the reason I am now searching for a better one, of a competitor I presume

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great to finally have the whole package
Comment: A couple of years ago I ordered the Pulsar Plantronics 590E set from another website and while their product description indicated I would recieve all of the accessories (the same info was used for the 590A) I didn't get them. Even without those accessories these headphones have been the best bluetooth wireless investment I've made so far. The sound quality is excellent and the controls are easy to learn. Pairing with various bluetooth enabled devices has been a breeze. The additional accessories the the 590A comes with just added icing to the cake. I'd reccomend these wireless headphones to anyone. As a matter if fact I bought this set for my fiancee to use with her Samsung Rumor and her iPod Nano and she loves them.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Plantronics Pulsar 590A- Good Product
Comment: After my last headset purchase disaster, I wanted to give this headset a good going over before writing the review. I give this a passing grade.

Pros- Decent sound, Cell conversations come out both speakers, Good range of distance from Bluetooth source, Short boom mic actually works very well, easy pairing, included adaptor and carrying case.

Cons- The blasted flashing blue light. No, this thing is like a flash light in the dark.

I read other's complaints about this light. So before I bought, I considered: I'll just put a piece of black tape on the LED. Uhmm no. This light comes from around the whole circumference of the headset controls. I think the only fix will be to size and glue a rubber O-ring around the edge to block the very annoying light. Not so much for the wearer but for the poor passenger in a car sitting to your right!

Given my hearing loss having a cell conversation in both ears really helps. I was concerned about the little short boom mic (tube), but my wife gave it the best compliment when she says she can't tell the difference between direct phone conversation or via the headset.

I find I use the included Bluetooth adaptor quite a bit on my computer. When a call comes in while listening to music or such on the headset, the sound is automaticaly muted and the phone gets priority and takes control until the end of the call. I've also found that when my Moto Q9H phone chimes to let me know an Email or text msg has arrived, the sound source from the dongle mutes then too, then comes back on.

The headset does have a mute button for the mic and there is a reminder beep every couple of minutes letting you know that you are on mute. (not bad) The other controls include a Phone Function Button, Vol up/down and Trk Fwd/Trk Bkw function for supported MP3 Players.

The charger connections are a bit odd and care must be taken to insure a firm and proper connection. The charger has two leads so the dongle and the headset can both charge simultaneously.

The headset utilizes the new: Bluetooth Advanced Audio Profile so if you want to use the advanced features make sure your Bluetooth device supports this new profile, else you'll need to use the included Bluetooth adaptor.

Note: the 590A includes the carrying case, dongle, spare mic tube, charging stand and charger, in-flight cable (disables the Bluetooth and goes wired) and universal 3.5mm cable. The 590E only comes with the charger. So decide if the extras are worth the extra price. For my money they are.

Thus far I've had no problems with anything breaking as others have reported and I'm not extra gentle with them.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Love it, but...
Comment: Pros:
-great sound in BT mode. It's actually not perfect, but you won't notice after a minute.
-can connect like a regular headphone, without power, using included cable. Sound is even better than wireless.
-full charge lasts a long time.
-sound delay is not as bad as it seems. I velcro'd my puck to the back of a PSP and it works fine.
-With some effort, you can safely pop off the foam ear pads and wash them.
-Can pair with multiple devices.
-stops audio if a call comes in.
-comes with a USB power connector, so you don't have to carry the brick.

Cons:
-tight fit, but it's ok if you stretch it a few times and don't use the charging base.
-the prorietary Plantronics power adapter is GARBAGE. I'm about to solder in a USB connector because their design is so flaky.
-early units would occasionally fry and not charge (despite being spec'd for worldwide use). Props to Plantronics for replacing them for free.
-volume controls are left/right; track controls are up/down. How does that make sense?

Note:
If you are new to BT profiles, you'll have to get used to the fact that there are two "profiles" in use for these devices: Headset and A/V. Headset is for phone calls, uses the mic, and is phone quality audio. A/V is for high-quality audio and does not use the mic. They are mutually exclusive profiles. This is complicated by the fact that most software implementation is hardly intuitive, so setting up can be confusing.
Be sure to turn off the BT of other devices you have paired with (phone, puck, computer) when connecting with one particular device, otherwise your audio will be a wreck.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good, not great
Comment: Easy to link to both computer and telephone simultaneously. Computer audio cuts out when the phone rings. Works well with Skype. Comfortable to wear for extended periods. Audio adapter works very well with iPod. Sounds great.

Not good at noise canceling on telephone calls in a car. Lots of background noise.

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