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Sound Quality
 Plantronics Discovery 655 package reads, "Bluetooth Headset with Digitally Enhanced Sound for Clear Conversations," and with the digital signal processing technology the company employs with the device, it delivers such clarity to its user. It didn't matter where I was, at top volume the headset brought clear and concise voices from the people on the other side of the line to my ears. In fact, I can say with certainty that I have not heard better sound quality from a Bluetooth device.
Unfortunately, the device fails to send its users' voices clearly in the other direction. Why Plantronics did not use the noise-canceling microphone in the Discovery 655 that works so well in its other devices is beyond me. This sound-quality issue arose most often when I was driving or when I was preparing dinner in the kitchen, the two circumstances that require a headset more than any other in my life. The technology that brought my friends voices so clearly to me, failed to deliver the same clarity to them. I struggled with this problem. About 40 percent to 50 percent of the time, my friends actually said, "take off that piece of &^#* so I can hear you." Once I switched over to my mobile phone, their immediate comment was, "Ah, that's better."
Range
Another baffling issue with the Discovery 655 is its range, especially considering the excellent range of other Plantronics headsets we've tested. Sound quality - for me - was best when my mobile phone was in my pocket as I was using the device. If I walked five feet away from my phone, the headset's sound quality quickly deteriorated with severe static. At 15 feet, the Discovery 655 simply ended my call, even though Plantronics says the device should work up to 33-feet away.
Conclusion
Plantronics needs to employ a noise-canceling microphone in the next version of this device and consider reducing the number of attachments that come with it. The company also should consider redesigning the way components attach to each other, as well as the way the charger connects to it. The Discovery 655 is usable, but it isn't Plantronics' finest Bluetooth headset.
Pros
- Small size
- Ease of use
- Sound quality for the user (digital signal processing)
- Easy to use functions (buttons)
- Look of device on the ear
Cons
- Sound quality for the person on the other end of the phone
- Numerous, cumbersome and superfluous adapters and attachments
- Attachments fall apart
- Not comfortable with ear loop
- Look of the device when attached to shirt pocket
By Andrew J. Manuse, of "For the Eyes of the Beholder," a Manuse Media Company Web site.
Posted October 19, 2006 by BlueTomorrow.com Editorial Staff
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