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