Customer Reviews

Plantronics .Audio 645 USB Behind the Head Headset

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I needed a headset that had a microphone to be able to communicate both on Skype and several video games that require that easier communication.

Right away I was impressed by the ease at which my computer handled it and in less then 20 seconds it was fully operational. The quality of the sound was amazing and the easy access volume control is just icing on the cake. The microphone has great sound quality and there has never been a problem with anyone not being able to hear me or getting overwhelmed by background noise.

Now, there is a few issues. Firstly the cheap plastic tabs that held right earpiece in place broke after a fall of only a foot. Second, the behind the ear design is uncomfortable with the way the headset secures itself. Add in a pair of glasses and the entire rig crosses over into painful until you become accustomed to it.

Overall this is a headset with amazing sound quality both incoming and outgoing though wearing it takes quite a bit of getting used to.

3 1/2 stars.

I have always like the behind the head headsets better than the over the top kind. The other ones have typically lasted me about a year before the pads wear out or something just gives up and breaks. This headset fits well, sounds great, and the option of USB or .3mm makes it even better. I wanted to try out USB, but also wanted to be sure to be using my X-FI card (which is only used with the 3mm). Anyway, now I am strictly USB.

Nice job on this headset Plantronics! From other experiences with Plantronics, I have found their customer service to be very good and they tend to stand behind their products. This means a lot to me.

One thing I learned was that a USB headset when plugged in, will automatically switch the volume and mic to the headset from the speakers. In the past with 3mm I always had to have a switch and I know many have to unplug the other by climbing under the desk.

This is a good, basic headset. It takes a little while to get used to the behind-the-neck headband, but it doesn't muss your hair! The earpieces are NOT foam, so they won't fall apart after a period of time. Getting a comfortable fit and getting the mic in the right place took some time. For the price, this is a great value since the audio to USB adapter will work with any mic/headset combination. You can configure it as a second audio card.

Behind the neck headsets are one of my favorite types. I highly enjoy the comfort, and it almost seems like there not even there after hours of gameplay. It has a sound control feature on the cord which can clip to your shirt, and you can instantly plug it into your computer, for instant use.

Tho i make mark this as my current favorite headset, it comes with 1 MAJOR flaw.....its durablity. Most gamers who have gone through several headsets understand that when buying a headset it usually comes down to a loss of comfort for durablity, or the otherway around, im almost sure that is entirerely true with this headset.

I have now owned 4 pairs of this headset up untill now. If you were to use this headset on an everyday use, you could expect several parts to break down.

--The FIrst part might break down about 2-3 months in. The ear peices will becomes deteched from the headset(this is a part that ive had happened on all 3), they will of course still work as they dangle from the cord( i used superglue to put them back, which seems to work fine.). Even tho i was able to make a temporary fix for that problem, at one point shortly before or after that(sometimes both), you may find a rattleing noise inside the earpiece, as if a piece of plastic had gotten detatched from something.

--The Second part might be the USB port. I have mine pluged into the front of my computer and a common problem i have, and sometimes forget, is to watch out for it when i get up to leave my computer. Simply knocking this in a foul direction and it will easily break apart. Having several animals and children around the house who dont know any better it tends to happen often. I have however been able to continue to use most of them as long as they havnt broken all the way....many just crack open but are still perfectly fine....cept for the fact i have to worry about it everytime someone comes into the room.

--The Third and Final part to breakwill be the coord. This here is a headset killer. The cord of this headset is extremely delicate, simply folding a part of it break the cord. You probably ask yourself, "Why would i do that", well when i mention it, i do so in a way, that simply running over it or accidently stepping on it is very bad. This has only happened once to me and i was clearly able to avoid this particularly after. However another Coord problem that happens with this headset, is right around where the sound adjuster hangs. 1 problem with it first is that with constant self Muting, you will eventually become permenetly muted and this headset might be gardage after that. From what i know, the mute device doesnt work in the way that it simply tells your computers sound to go on mute, Instead it temporarly stop electrical currents in the cord from travelling into the computer. Turned off and on over a corse of hundreds of times, it will cut the cord, and be nothing more then headpones. Another and final part of the coord problem is the coord dangling out of the sound adjuster, eventually the coord becomes pulled enough on simple the weight of the headset and occasionally pulkling the clip off your shirt over a course of several months, the coord slowly reveals the wires, and when it does, the entire hheadset will cease to function.

many people who have reveiwed this on other sites mention the microphone breaking. Though i have been there a couple sets now i have never had the microphone break at any point. I however did not tamper with the microphone more then i needed to. In fact, i must have adjusted it the first time i used it untill it was perfect, and maybe some slight adjustments everyone once in awhile after that. But i have never had a problem with the microphone , or the microphone peice. I find that it is very adjustable and many people can hear my clearing in chat problems.

Though i doubt many people will get to read this portion of my review, i do want to say that as my favorite headset, and my 4th one, ive comes down to try to keep it from breaking before it does so. Superglue is very helpful. I easily Superglues all parts that normally break before thhey actually broke, i believe this to place several months on the headsets lifeline. i hope my reveiw helped many of you, i will continue to buy this product untill something similiar with more durablity becomes available.

Plantronics made its name in communications headsets. For instance, Plantronics products were the headsets of choice in NASA's space program in the 1960s and 70s, in spacecraft, spacesuits and ground control and tracking facilities. They invented the small, lightweight headset and virtually owned the market through those decades, also being the choice of telephone companies and air traffic controllers. But while Plantronics is great for voice communications, high fidelity audio has never been their strength.

A case in point is the 645 headset. Like classic Plantronics corded headsets, they're light and comfortable. But the sound quality leaves much to be desired. Low-end frequency response is terrible. There seems to be significant roll-off below about 200Hz. In other words, there's almost no bass. You won't want to listen to music on these. Microphone quality is not great, either. This has a long, flexible microphone boom that you bend, twist and pivot to position directly in front of your mouth. On voice-over-IP like Skype, other people say it sounds fine. But speech recognition software is much pickier. MacSpeech's Dictate gives it only 2 out of 5 stars, and it prefers 3 or higher. Swiveling the boom up out of the way when you're not using it isn't very neat. The long boom sticks out from your head. You can bend it inward, but then you'd have to bend it back out when you need to use it. The leatherette ear cushions are comfortable enough, although the more swoopy headband can rub the ears the wrong way until you find the right position (tilting the band up and down) for your head.

I prefer the Logitech Premium Notebook Headset. The Logitech has better sound quality, making it usable for music. The microphone boom is shorter but gives higher quality, garnering 4 stars on Dictate. When swiveled up to the headband, the boom is completely out of the way. Its straighter headband that doesn't swoop down behind the ears is more comfortable, although the supra-aural drivers that rest directly on the ears with only thin foam as cushioning isn't quite as comfortable after a few hours. Another aspect of the Plantronics that I don't like is the USB adapter dongle, which sticks out straight from the USB port. Combined with the analog headphone and microphone plugs, it requires at least four inches of clearance on that side of the computer. That also makes the dongle (and/or your USB port) more vulnerable to damage if you accidentally knock up against it. Logitech did it right, with a short cable leading to the adapter, so it needs less clearance and can't be damaged as easily. It's a better all-purpose USB headset.

For an inexpensive voice-over-IP headset, the Plantronics 645 is fine. If you want to listen to music or movies as well, look to one of the companies known for their music headphones, like Sennheiser, Sony, Etymotics, Shure or Koss. For speech recognition, I recommend the Logitech mentioned above.

Because of the sound quality for both the headphones and the mic, plus the convenient volume control, I will buy a new pair if I cannot repair my last pair. The first incident involved the entire left earpiece falling off and hanging by their wires. I found no way to put it back together so I had to superglue it back on instead. I had no further problems for a year when the mic quit working. I opened it up and found one of the two mic wires pulled free from the solder joint. What happens is if you rotate the mic boom completely around the mic wires get wrapped around the post that connects the boom to the headset, rotate too far and they will break. This is a design flaw in that you should be prevented from being able to do this. However that break didnt happen until 1.5 years of owning it and I had easily put 500+ hours of usage into them. Also if using the USB connection instead of the analog one, you will need to use a "boost mic gain" option in the software if available. Im an avid gamer and when using USB had to boost the gain, didnt have to when using analog...boosting on analog caused too much distortion. Although when using USB I was told the sound was clearer, jsut harder to hear when it wasnt boosted....not all software has a gain boosting feature.

BTW i used these right away out of box either USB or analog without any problems on Windows XP 64. I have not tried them on any other version but hear they work with Vista 32 and 64.

I just needed a simple replacement for my VOIP headset for work.
Simply put, this was more than I bargained for... the fit leaves a LITTLE to be desired but otherwise, PERFECT!
The sound quality is better than the last plantronics headset I had and the Seller had it to me BEFORE promised.

I purchased this set for my husband, who is an online gamer. Since he is also a leader in a gaming clan, he needed something with quality sound, volumne control, and comfortable fit, while being affordable. We found all of these with this headset. The soft ear pads are very comfortable, and improve sound quality for the user while maintaining external silence. The inline volume control is very easy to control, the microphone is adjustable, and most important, the behind the neck fit is very comfortable for my husband who wears glasses. This is the second set of these I've bought for him. The first pair simply wore out where the wire connects to the headset. After purchasing other headsets locally, however, I ordered this set again for his birthday. He was thrilled. There really is no comparison for the cost. Very satisfied.

I have had this headset now for about 3 years and love it. It is comfortable, lightweight and the USB sound card is a nice addition. I have a sound card in my computer, but I use the included USB adapter for convenience. I have had the ear pad fall off before, and it is a little difficult to put back on, but this has only happened a couple of times. I have used this headset with Ventrilo without any issues. All in all I would highly recommend this headset.

Not as small as I had hoped for, but quality is good. Volume and mute control are great features.