Sound Quality Depends on the Cell Phone

I rarely leave reviews but am compelled to point out why there are often such divergent views on the sound quality of many of the bluetooth headsets reviewed on Amazon. The cellphone itself is usually a part of the problem. Sure, bluetooth is a set transmission standard with respect to the carrier signal, but the digital sound signal over that carrier is often garbled or distorted by cheap components used in a particular cell phone (usually over a year old). I work in the cell phone industry and have tried dozens of headsets. Even the more expensive ones will sound bad if paired with a particular phone. It would be helpful for the reviewers to leave their respective equipment list (cell phone model) so others could see what phone it was paired with. Alternatively, if your phone is newer or has the bluetooth 2.0 protocol then you can probably rest easy that most headsets will sound good. By the way I got this one for my kids as it was cheap at BestBuy before Christmas ($29). Works just fine with the new Nokia 6133 for T-Mobile. Regards

MM

I am not one who usually takes time to write a review, but feel compelled to do so in this case. I am actually returning to Amazon to buy my father a Plantronics Voyager 510 headset for Christmas. Before buying my own Voyager 510, I purchased the LG HBM-300 from a local retailer. Before purchasing, however, I checked the Amazon review. At that time, there was only one--very favorable--review, and I purchased on that basis. BIG MISTAKE. The echo and static were intolerable. Additionally, the headset was VERY uncomfortable. I almost gave up on Bluetooth based on that very negative experience. Fortunately, I talked to an associate who used the Voyager and read some of the HUNDREDS of favorable reviews on Amazon. On that basis, I purchased a Voyager 510 about 4 months ago and have been as pleased with it as I was dissatisfied with the LG. By the way, I bought the LG because I had an LG phone (VX 8300). I had heard that it was best to match manufacturers to maximize performance. That was definitely not true in my case. My advice: buy the Voyager.

A Torture to Use and Wear

Let me preface this review by saying I almost never leave a bad review on a product. I prefer to leave positive reviews about products that really work and offer true value. That said, this my first negative Amazon review. In fact this is the only product that I ever returned to Amazon in the 10 plus years I have made purchases from this site. This is my second bluetooth headset and it's really terrible. It was on sale for $20 and now I can see why. I bought the LG as a replacement for a Logitech headset that I managed to lose. The Logitech was a great unit. The sound quality on this unit was fair. Several of the people I called with it said it sounded worse than my old Logitech. Sound quality aside, this unit is VERY uncomfortable to wear. It has an a plastic ear bud that fits inside the ear and a over-the-ear clip which holds the headset in place. Oddly enough the earbud is made out of hard plastic (no skin friendly silicone) and doesn't come with a soft foam cover.I found the inside the ear piece immediately uncomfortable and couldn't wear the headset for more than 20 minutes at a time. However what made this device unusable was the fact that the call button is located on the side of the headset. When you press the call button you are actually forcing the earbud deeper into your ear. Making and ending calls was torture with this headset. I suppose you could take the headset off to press the button, but this really defeats the whole purpose of wearing one in the first place. I don't think I have small ears as I am over 6 feet tall. I cannot imagine a more uncomfortable fitting headset. After 1 day of use I am sending this back to Amazon.