BlueAnt Z9i .vs. Plantronics 520 .vs. Motorola H715

[Bonzai]

Hey there gang,

So I'm on a mission for a bluetooth and took a lot of the suggestions you all provided. I went out and actually bought 3 devices. I figured I'd cover the spectrum of quality and prices, so they fall like this ...

1. BlueAnt Z9i - $89.00
2. Plantronics Voyager 520 $69.00
3. Motorola H715 $49.00 ($10 coupon)

These are local prices and of course on-line prices will vary, but this review I did is not about price points.

My testing consisted of standing out in the parking lot and making one call each to a voice mailbox I have setup that forwards V/M's to me in the form of a .wav file. Nothing really to scientific but at least it's a level playing field to judge quality.

Setup - HTC Touch Pro used. (A given)

Samples of all three can be found here ...

BlueAnt Z91 - http://www.digitalsplendor.com/bt_sa...lueAnt_Z9i.wav
Plantronics Voyager 520 - http://www.digitalsplendor.com/bt_sa...ronics_520.wav
Motorola H715 - http://www.digitalsplendor.com/bt_sa...orola_H715.wav

What I think ...

BlueAnt Z9i
It's a nice device. doing the firmware upgrade was a bit weird and semi-complicated.
Ear insert fits fine/secured, comes with a small one too.
Buttons have a good solid "click" feel to it.
Does NOT make any beeping when a outgoing call is started.
Sound quality to me was crisp and clear.
Sound quality to other seems to have high peaks that sound crackly.
Paired first time, no problem. Skip entering "0000" just hit "next".
Re-paired fine each startup.

Plantronics Voyager 520
Button has a good feel, it's one button to rule them all. Longer but skinnier.
Ear insert fits fine, one size for all. Not round, but pointed / directional.
Adjusting volume and start/stop calls requires bit more pressure. (Lady friendly?)
DOES make the beeping sound when call invoked.
Sound quality to me was a match for the BlueAnt Z9i. Very good.
Sound quality to others still had some sharp cracks at peak like the Z9i, but not as bad.
Paired like a charm, first try. Enter the "0000" then click next.
(Disregard the plane flying overhead in the sample, the others did not have that.)

Motorola H715
Buttons layout/feel is good. Device in general is bulky.
The "boom" operation is nice for on/off operation, quick gettup and go.
Sound quality to me was riddled with a constant static, not mater who i called or where I stood.
Sound quality to others sounded "muted" to me, a bit dull, lacking crispness/clarity.
Pairing was a nightmare. First two days it would not pair at all. It only worked last night and somehow today.
Re-pairing was problematic as well. Even on the Treo 700WX it would never see the device when I opened the boom, I had to go into setup, refresh, then it would see it.

Conclusion ...
I think I'm gonna give my wife the Plantronics 520 since it has no problems on both phones, has multipoint and is easier to slap onto the ear a bit. Came with Car and AC charger.

I'm going to keep the BlueAnt Z9i for myself and learn to not talk as loud, lol. The BlueAnt seems to have better voice pickup with the dual mic setup, almost toooooo good. It takes me a bit longer to get the unit secured in my ear, but that's ok.

Let me know what you think of my semi-good almost sucky testing method, lol.

Are these findings in line with what most of you would expect, or have seen?

Thanks,

-Dean

[thesfactor]

You deserve a thanks just for writing up that huge review...

[gator352]

I have the sprint TP, my wife has a sanyo 8400scp, and my dad has the AT&T Diamond. WE all have the Motorola H690 and all work absolutely perfect.

My first BT was the Samsung WEP200 (59.00).
Paired easy to both the sanyo 8400 and my TP but volume was low and had static on both phones. Useless for me.

My second was the Motorola H560 (49.00).
Paired easy to both phones and volume was LOUD! and no static. But to other people, you sound muffled and garbled. Useless to me as well.

My third is the Motorola H690 (59.00) and currently use.
Paired easy to both phones, volume is good, no static, and other people say I sound great!

Yes all Motorola's have a series of beeps upon connecting but that lets you know your connected to the phone. I prefer that especially in loud environments.

I have had no problems connecting any motorola BT's to my phones. My dad liked it so much, he bought one (H690)! Maybe you had a bad device. I can't comment on the Z9i or the plantronics as I have never used them. I have read that some phones like some BT's better than others and it's a hit and miss type deal. Gotta get that perfect combo for it to work just the way you like it. ALthough, the price you pay for a good BT, it should work great on any phone out of the box. I have learned that the hard way!

Just my 2 cents....well 3 cents (added inflation)

[Bonzai]

Originally Posted by gator352

Yes all Motorola's have a series of beeps upon connecting but that lets you know your connected to the phone. I prefer that especially in loud environments.

Although, the price you pay for a good BT, it should work great on any phone out of the box. I have learned that the hard way!

I agree, I myself like the beep when it connects to the phone, and also the multiple beeps when starting an outgoing call. Sometimes I catch myself looking at the phone during that "silent" period while the phone and BlueAnt start to make the call.

The H715 is going back tonight, I've gotten burned by two motorola's now, once on my Treo 700wx and now this TP. I think I even noticed that the H715 is not even listed as compatible on teh Moto website for the Touch Pro.

How can any device that says it's 1.x or 2.x compliant not work on any other device that is 1.x or 2.x.

I mean ... USB 2.0 works on anything USB 2.0 compliant right? lol.

-D

[Bonzai]

Originally Posted by thesfactor

You deserve a thanks just for writing up that huge review...

shucks, wasn't too bad, only took like 10 minutes of calling in the parking lot, 5 minutes upload and link the samples, 10 minutes to fix my spelling errors.

You guys are worth it!

[IFMISM]

i just got the blueant v1. this thing is great. the noise reduction is almost on par with the jawbone. on top of that i love the voice features on the headset like not having to push the button to answer just have to say answer. i am still getting use to it, but having vc built into the headset and into the phone is always a bonus

[gator352]

It should be compatible. No reason why it shouldn't. What was up with your other motorola? I myself came sooooo close to getting the Z9i (was on sale at newegg for 59.00) but I had success with the H690 so I bought that instead.

I'm not a moto fan whatsoever, but the cost to performance ratio of the H690 was (for me) to good to pass up. Heck if it goes on sale again, I might get the blueant to see if it is better. But for now I'm happy. happy like a camper.

[Bonzai]

Originally Posted by gator352

It should be compatible. No reason why it shouldn't. What was up with your other motorola? I myself came sooooo close to getting the Z9i (was on sale at newegg for 59.00) but I had success with the H690 so I bought that instead.

I'm not a moto fan whatsoever, but the cost to performance ratio of the H690 was (for me) to good to pass up. Heck if it goes on sale again, I might get the blueant to see if it is better. But for now I'm happy. happy like a camper.

when I was on the TReo700wx I had problems with a Motorola H700 I think it was. I liked the flip-boom-mic thingy for on/off, but the H700 was just all over the board on quality, never consistent, and fell in-and-out of love (pairing) with the phone all the time.

That's when I saw the H715 acting up on the HTC TP I knew the first one wasn't a fluke.

I'm having fun with the BLueAnt Z9i, it pairs with 5 devices (only two phones) so it has become VERY portable for me, like office headset etc ...

I did osme sample runs with the same three units but this tiem to my work email. I skipped the V/M system that converted messages to .WAV's and emailed them.

On my work voicemail system the results were the same except for one thing. The "pops" (at peak voice volume) I heard on the BlueAnt Z9i and Plantronics 520 went away. Crystal clear. The H715 still sounded muted like I was speaking through a napkin. Clear and stable but muted compared to the others.

[Bonzai]

NewEgg has the Black Blueant Z9i on sale for -43.00 off ... $56.99 total plus free shipping.

The red Z9i is another 5 bucks cheaper.

Hint : You can take the cover off the red Z9i and paint it with any good flat black paint, and it looks just like the black. but for 5.00 bucks get the black, the paint costs tha tmuch if you dont have it laying around.

[riironman]

i am still having trouble with people hearing me with my blueant V1. the blueant people gave me a beta firmware upgrade but still have tons of static. i am beggining to think its the touch pros bluetooth giving all the problems.