Customer Reviews

Panasonic KX-TCA98 Headset with Dual Wear Options

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I was looking for a convienent way to speak with colleagues and clients from my home office without being tied down to my desk. I have a Panasonic cordless phone and decided to stick with the same brand.

This KX-TCA98 seemed to fit the bill. Unfortunately, the over-the-ear option does not allow for use of the enclosed padded "ear muff" - instead, a plastic ring fits behind your ear and a hard plastic speaker enclosure sits directly against your ear ... it's the only way it works, trust me. This arrangement is OK but isn't very comfortable. Also, when used like this, the sound volume is much lower than listening through the telephone itself (yes, even with the volume on headset and phone both up).

The headband wear option utilizes the "ear muff" and offers acceptable sound quality, loudness, and comfort against the ear. Unfortunately again, a compromise in the headband option reveals itself in the mirror ... one side lays flat and snug against your head while the speaker and microphone side push the headband out and away from your head so far that it looks absolutely ridiculous! (Hopefully you work alone)

The in-line volume and mute features work well.

In hindsight, I should have bought a headset-only model which probably fits better, has a better ear muff, sounds better and looks less hodgepodge. Just to top it off - the packaging is sooo difficult to open (even when carefully cut) that it is destroyed in the process - negating any possibility for exchange!

The morale: Don't try to be everything to everyone, just be really good at something.

You would think that Panasonic Cordless phone and Panasonic Hands-Free Headset would work well together, being that they are sold by the same company. Well, that is clearly not the case. I bought this headset specifically for the reason that it is sold by Panasonic to work with their cordless phones. I've tried it a few times and each time I get the same response from the person I'm talking to. They say I sound too far away, that they can barely hear me. This product is clearly not worth it.

I have tried using this headset with 2 different Panasonic cordless phones, one 900MHz and the other 5.8GHz. For both phones, on a variety of calls, the other party has trouble hearing me and says that I sound as if I am very far away. I had been using an old Uniden headset on the same phones and it worked fine, but then the plastic head-band broke and I bought the Panasonic TCA-98. What a waste of money.

I constantly get complaints that the person at the other end of the line can't hear me because the sound of my voice is so low. Otherwise, it is a great headset. Comfortable, good headphone, sunds clear and loud. Just the micraphone seems to have trouble. So I'm not using it.

I have not had any trouble at all with this headset. I like the in-line mute switch because my phone does not have a mute button.

By the way, this is almost exactly the same headset as the Plantronics M175 -- but $5 cheaper. The difference is that the Panasonic does not have a microphone gain adjustment switch.

I have found this product to be totally unusable. The earpiece does not fit well. This maybe an individual problem. However, I do not think so.

The microphone appears to be totally inoperable. I was able to be heard only when using an extemily loud voice.

I believe this is a manufacturer's problem. I concider this a very poor quality product, certainly not what I expect from Panasonic.

Headset is comfortable, easy to use, voices very clear...a great hands-free device at a good price.

This product was basically unusable to me... a complete waste of money! It fit my phone just fine, and I could hear the caller pretty well, but the caller could hardly hear me at all. I had the volume on my phone turned up full blast, and the volume on the headset turned up full blast, and I was basically shouting into the mouth piece that was as close to my mouth as possible. The person calling said that I sounded like I was shouting to him through a wind tunnel. I had to repeat myself several times before he understood me. I ended up immediately removing it from my phone just so I could finish the conversation.

Shortly after the call was over, the headset went into my trash bin. NOT GOOD.

I got this several months ago, works great and good sound quality. NOW, WHAT I NEED is the same thing but with a 3.5mm plug that will fit my iPhone, this one comes with a 2.5mm plug that fits most hands-free portable phones, the plug on the iPhone is bigger. I hate the flimsy earbuds Apple has. I've tried finding a converter (2.5mm female to 3.5mm male) but they are hard to find and poorly rated. The one I got at Radio Shack cuts the power so I have to yell to be heard---not good. So, if anyone knows where to get this with a 3.5mm plug, please give me a shout. (but it that's not your problem, this is a great phone headset mic combo.)

I can't hear a thing with this headset..I turned every thing up..the headset, the phone, I guess I'm deafer than I thought. If you have any hearing issues at all this is not the headset to get folks. It is a nice looking set and easy to use but "what did you say?" seemed about all I could say.