Customer Reviews

Plantronics Explorer 320 Bluetooth Headset

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(29)
2 star:		(25)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

My last Bluetooth headset, a Cardo Scala 500 featured great sound, wonderful battery life but a poor, floppy fit and very crummy construction. The poor thing literally fell apart after three months.

I replaced the Cardo today with a Plantronics Explorer 320 and I'm pretty satisfied. First, recognize that there is no such thing as a perfect all-around headset for all phones and all users. It's pretty important that you buy from a source, like Amazon, where you can try things and return them if not satisfied. EBay may have great prices on stuff, but unless you know you'll like something, I wouldn't suggest buying a BT Headset there... way too hard to return.

The Plantronics 320 is a budget version of their upper end headsets, but it is hard to see where they scrimped. The fit and finish of the product is excellent. The power connector is solid and snapped in and charged the unit quickly. It paired up to my Treo 650 on the first try and was identified correctly by name.

Using the 320, I made several calls to automated numbers. All connected quickly, except the one where my phone automatically follows a script to punch in passwords. In that call, there was a considerable delay before the 320 took the audio signal from my phone. My old Cardo had the same delay, so I think this is a function of the phone.

The fit of the headset is great for me. The unit has a small portion that inserts gently in my ear, and the wrap-around portion holds the device closely to my ear without any pressure or discomfort. I've been wearing it all day and it is light and very comfortable. Your mileage may vary.

So what's not perfect? The sound quality isn't quite there. I pick up some static between the device and my Treo and it gets worse when the phone is on the other side of my body or when I move more than five feet away. It's not horrible, but it's there in my setup. Again, your mileage may vary.

About two weeks ago, I purchased the Plantronics 320 from a local cell phone store. I had been working at a location that did not have phone service and needed to free up my hands.

I did absolutely no research on Bluetooth headsets, and wound up buying this unit because it was the least expensive. I had to choose from the Plantronics 320 and several Motorola headsets that cost nearly twice as much.

This is one of those rare times when I decided not to spend more money to buy the more established brand and I am actually satisfied with the purchase. I have had no problems setting it up and using it. My only gripe is at times the sound quality is not as good as I would like it to be. I do get some occasional static, which is why I have given it four stars. But that could also come from my cellular provider, Verizon. It's also all plastic, but for the price, I cannot complain.

If you are looking for an inexpensive Bluetooth headset to use with your cell phone, I would recommend the Plantronics 320.

I recently bought a new cell phone (Sony Ericsson Z520a) with Bluetooth. I spent a few days researching the various headsets out there, and soon discovered that only a handful appeared to be worth buying -- and all were between $100 and $150, which I did not want to spend. I came across these by accident, and couldn't find any of the negative comments common with headsets in this price range. Granted they're only Bluetooth v1.2, but they're light, have a built-in rechargable battery, are quite comfortable to wear, and have very good sound quality. In addition, the pairing process is quite simple.

If your priorities are quality sound, comfort, built-in battery, and reasonable price, these will be hard to beat. I like it so much I bought a second one for my wife.

First, a little background. I don't spend hours each day on my cell, I only make a few calls in a day. Also, this is my first Bluetooth headset, so I don't have much to compare it with. However, I have been quite satisfied with its performance. It paired up immediately with my Nokia 6102. It is comfortable in my ear, and I like the fact that the earpiece extends slightly into the ear canal giving it a more secure feel. The "one button does all" feature is easy to use. Battery life seems excellent. Sound clarity is also very good. The range on it is somewhat limiting, more than a few feet from the phone and I start hearing some static, but since I normally have the phone in my pocket that's rarely an issue.
People tell me that the sound quality on their end is also very good. It does pick up some ambient noise, but no worse than cord devices.
I didn't want to spend a lot of money for my first Bluetooth earpiece, and this Plantronics product is an excellent deal. I highly recommend it.

I can't quite give this one a 5, but only because the voice dialing is a little hit and miss. This may be more a reflection on my SE 520a than on the headset though. Otherwise, sounds great! I don't even keep it turned all the way up, because that is TOO loud. I do notice a little bit of crack/hiss if I am near a wifi transmitter, but only if I am within about 15 feet of it.

Comfort is fine for me, but I have not worn it for more than 3 hours continuously yet. I wear glasses, and this headeset is fitting just fine.

I think it feels very secure on my ear, and, unlike my old headset, I have never once had an urge to make a phantom grab at what feels like a slipping headset.

Battery life is slightly less then stated specs, but close enough that I can't complain.

Windy conditions are so-so, but I don't think any headset is going to work well through the Great Lake gusts we get here, so I can't complain about that.

For the price, I am extremely happy with this headset.

I really wanted this headset to work out because it is being sold at such a good price relative to most others. Well, it prooved to me that you often get what you pay for. Let's consider the following in why I am returning this headset: pairing, sound quality, ease of use, and comfort.

Pairing - this really belongs with ease of use, but it is really your first experience with a headset other than charging it. It was hard to figure out if I was holding the multifunction button down long enough to get the headset in paring mode. After 4 attempts, I got it right. My LG VX-9800(see my review)was able to pair with it easily after this. However, it shouldn't take 4 attempts just to get a headset into pairing mode.

Sound Quality - this is actually the area where the headset does the best in my opinion. With the speaker resting inside my ear, I didn't have to have the volume turned all the way up in order to hear the people I called. My wife reported that she could hear me clearly with one exception. When I had the AC fan speed in my car set to 3 (out of 4), she said that it sounded like I was in a wind tunnel. Kicking the AC down to 2 fixed the problem, but once we hit the Texas summer that could be a problem.

Ease of Use - I think that Plantronics' attempt to make this headset easy to use backfired. I would go to turn on the headset, but I would always have to check my phone to see if it was connected. Initiating voice commands also required multiple attempts before I would hear the familiar "Please say a command" from my phone. However, what really drove me nuts was trying to turn it off. I would hold down the multifunction button for what I thought was the amount of time specified in the instructions, but I kept getting "Please say a command". Compare this to the Motorola HS850(see my review) where on/off is controlled by the folding boom while the multifunction button simply handles pairing, voice commands, and call connecting. I consider my self to have technology savvy and able to fight through things to make them work, but this headset *still* frustrated me. If you like things to work simply, this headset isn't for you.

Comfort - I was willing to put up with the flaky operation of the headset because of the cost; however, I realized after two days that I was not going to be able to stand to wear it for any extended period of time. The speaker pipes its volume into a rather hard earpiece that fits inside your ear. It is not removable, and try as I might to adjust it, I could not find a comfortable position. The ear hook is also fairly rigid. These two things combined made for an unpleasant comfort experience.

I have to consider this headset to be a failure. On the box, it touts "Comfort" and "Ease of Use". As you can see from my results, it doesn't deliver on either of these. It's a shame because it does deliver good sound quality at a reasonable price. Unless you have the ear it was modeled after, though, I would not buy it.

for the price you are paying, this is a graet buy.
easy to use with no problems. maybe people that complain
don't have a good phone to use it with? I have a Samsung A900 with no problem using this bluetooth. I've seen this selling for $69.99. a review with 5 stars

This headset replaced a Motorola one that I had been using for about half a year, which had the annoying problem of sitting loosely upon my ear. In noisy environments, it was difficult to hear with it too. When I got this Plantronics headset, I was pleased to find that it not only hooks around your ear lobe, but also "anchors" itself into your ear canal. As a result, it is quite resilient to movement, and can be comfortable worn and secured with my sunglasses, which used to literally push the Motorola headset off my ear.

I also love the single button that controls everything. Very slick. You can turn the headset on and off, raise and lower volume, and answer/make calls using just one button.

The armature that hooks itself into your ear canal also does a better job of channeling audio into your ear. I have seldom needed to maintain the headset at its highest volume setting, unlike my Motorola headset which didn't sit well on my ear, and permitted lots of ambient noise to interrupt my conversation. One slight downside of course, is that your ability to listen to your surroundings is slightly attenuated while using the headset. I typically have to unhook it from my ear when talking to people face-to-face.

Unfortunately, this Plantronics headset seems to suffer from inferior reception. There is noticeable white noise when I carry my phone in my left pocket, and hook the headset to my right ear. This is easily fixed by placing both items on the same side of my body. In short, a "direct line of sight" configuration is needed to acheive optimal reception... or maybe I'm just too fat. :)

Pros: Snug, secure fit. Single button control. Good audio channeling ability that helps you hear better.
Cons: Apparently weak reception requires "line of sight" placement of transmitter (cellphone) and headset

This is my first experience with using a bluetooth headset. I've had my 320 now for 2 weeks and I don't like it. I love the idea of handsfree wireless, but I have to keep the phone so close to my headset that its almost pointless. While driving, I have to put the phone on my door's armrest or I'll lose signal. In my home office, I leave my phone on the desk, but if I move away, say to the printer 8 feet from my desk, I get really bad break up.

I'm considering a return and perhaps replacing it. Meanwhile, I've started carrying my jabra wired headset and using it instead.

Headset works great. Only draw back that it needs somewhat of a clear view from headset to cellphone. Besides that the battery life is great, recharge time is incredibly fast. Great headset for under 100 bucks definately worth it.