Plantronics PULSAR 590A Headphones

Stereo or Skype, Take your pick!

By Phillip  Dec 5, 2005 | 8 out of 9 found this Plantronics PULSAR 590A review helpful

Pros: Easy to configure, Great accessories

Cons: Sound quality in headset (mic) mode is lacking

I was given the Plantronics Pulsar 590a headset as an early gift this year. A friend and I have been using Skype more and more (rather than our cell phones) so she bought these for me as a gift. In the box: Pulsar 590A Headset, Hardshell transport c...ase, Charging base with AC adaptor, USB Charging adaptor, 3.5mm audio ford (for use in flight), Bluetooth Adaptor (for use with non-bluetooth equipment). The accessories are great. The hardshell case is an absolute MUSt if you plan on traveling with these. the USB charging cable is also a definate plus as it fits inside the case with the headphones, adaptor, and audio cable. Pairing the headset with my Dell Latitude X1 laptop was simplicity itself. Once paired, I was able to get crystal clear music that sounded as if I had physically plugged in to my computer. Unfortunately, the mic did not appear to work. A little playing around with the Bluetooth settings on my computer revealed that the headset actually has two modes of operation. Audio Sink and Headset. In Audio Sink mode (what I defaulted to, sound quality was perfect, but the mic did not work. In headset mode (I had to manually configure the pairing for this) I found that the sound quality was not nearly as good as in Audio Sink mode. This could be due to the capabilities of my laptop's Bletooth configuration, but I don't know for sure. Making calls from Skype, was simple. Once the headset is connected (configured in headset mode) You need to enter the Options dialog and change your Audio In/Out settings to point to your Bluetooth Device. There are no virtual place holders, so once you disconnect the headset, the computer will default back to the "Windows Default Device" setting. After that it was smooth sailing. My friend said that the quality of the microphone was great, she was able to hear quite clearly without issue. The earpieces are similar in size to standard headphones and are pretty comfortable. The headset itself though has a tendency to squeeze rather tightly on your head. A little careful bending will remedy the majority of the tightness and make the fit comfortable. The cost of the Pulsar 590A is similar to that of the Creative CB2530 Bluetooth stereo headset, but with the added capability of the microphone and the accessories, I would say that the Pulsar 590A is the better deal. (I own both, but if I had to keep only one, these would win hands down). I gave the headset a slightly lower mark on support because of the apparent lack of Knowledge base information available on the website. Nowhere is it mentioned that the heaset can be configured in 2 modes, onr does it provide any real information from what I was able to see. Thus the hit. Overall, an excellent headset, well recommended, and well worth the price. Multiple capabilities, great accessories. Read more Less