| Build and Construction:
Build quality appears to be excellent with a solid feel though I
would worry about the longevity of the ear clips. It does
come with an extra one. The plastic used feels expensive
with switches, connectors and buttons all feeling solid. The
appearance color is silver and black. The connector
for power is along the back of the unit (two metal strips) and
mates with a small set of contacts in the holster/cradle used with
the wall charging adaptor. The user manual is a PDF file on
the CD and illustrates clearly the various connections (see
below).
Comfort: Comfort is
always subjective and I must admit that I am biased toward ease of
use with glasses since I am always taking them off or putting them
on. This headset uses an rubberized ear loop and a soft
rubber cushion for the ear insert. The
first time I wore it, it hurt like the dickens.
For some reason the ear loop was putting too much pressure
on the back of my ear and also putting pressure on the ear
cartilage. The piece
that is supposed to sit in the ear is soft and shouldn’t hurt
but it did. I have
used it once more since and as I play with it I think I can find a
way to put it on that will not be painful but I need more time to
get used to how to put it on and adjust it for comfort.
Unlike the Plantronics, it was not comfortable for me at
the get-go. After a while I found a way to put it on
and wear it without pain but I never felt it was truly comfortable
like the Plantronics or even the AX2 that can take a little
getting used to.
Connectivity: Pairing
is easy. You put the unit into pairing mode by turning it on
and then pressing the main button and holding it down until the
status LED flashes blue and green. You then use the
code of 0000 in your phone device to establish the pairing.
I had no problem pairing it to a Moto Q. I have been using
it for about a 2 weeks and I have not experienced any pairing
issues or disconnects. I have not had it drop a connection
while in use and I found in my distance test it had a reasonable
range. I have not noticed static whether placed on the same
or opposite side from the handset.
Sound Quality:
Incoming sound quality is good with the SLC** turned off and not
quite as good with it on; however, because they use the same noise
cancellation technology for incoming sound it becomes very poor as
the noise level increases. It is not in the same class as
either the Plantronics V510, D640 or the AX-2 Pro. I had
problems hearing the other party in noisy environments
Outgoing sound quality depended heavily on the environment but
even in a quiet environment it isn't quite as good as some analog
headsets. In addition to the recordings posted here, I tried
conducting phone calls with prior testers to get their subjective
impression. The comment I received as that it sounded low in
volume, the noise cancellation appeared to be working while the
noise level was low but then I became unintelligible as the noise
level increased and they kept asking me to repeat myself. I
was experiencing a similar phenomenon on my end as no amount of
increase in volume level could make the other party intelligible
as the noise level increased and I found myself practically
yelling to be heard.
**SPEECH
LEVEL CONTROL (SLC) FEATURES:
The level controller
in your EVOQ constantly monitors
the level of noise in your surroundings, to compensate
for any changing background noise. It then adjusts the volume
control automatically. Simply set the initial volume level to suit
your hearing in a quiet environment – and let your EVOQ do the
rest. The SLC process has low delay, no impact on the quality of
speech, fast convergence time and a capped maximum volume level to
reduce the risk of damage to your hearing.
Quiet Sound Tests using Moto Q:
Qstik
walking around test1
Qstik
with SLC off
JX-10
with software update
JX-10
outside with Moto Q
JX-10
with Moto Q Outside test 2
nXZEN
5500
Sony
Ericsson HBH-610
Flamingo
AX-2
Pro
Nokia
BH-800 quiet with Moto Q
Nokia
BH-800 BB 8700 Quiet
Noise Cancellation:
Noise cancellation suffers in the same way as every digital unit I
have tested to date in becoming very choppy and unintelligible as
the noise volume increases. The D510 was clearly superior in
this category. I did not test in windy conditions due to the
poor performance.
Noise Tests using Moto Q:
Qstik
with SLC On
Qstik
in car test driving
JX-10
in car with 8700
JX-10
in Car after Software Update
Plantronics
M3000
nXZEN
5500
Sony
Ericsson HBH-610
Flamingo
Plantronics
D640 in Car
AX2-Pro
driving compared to JX-10
Nokia
BH-800 using Moto Q in car
Ease of Use: The
unit is easy to use with just three buttons, one being a multi
function button for connecting, disconnecting, and powering on
& off. The two rear switches are for volume. One thing I
really don’t like is the method for activating voice dialing.
If I could get them to change anything, that would be it.
To activate a voice dial you have to press both the volume
up and volume down at the same time and hold them down for 2
seconds. Try doing
that while you are driving. You
will be an accident looking to happen.
It should have been activated from the main round button.
I find it hard to do and not very practical. You
cannot control volume from the handset, only from the buttons on
the headset and I find those too hard to press.
Other Comments: If
the ideas expressed in the sales literature had been realized and
the size reduced so it wasn't so strange looking (my subjective
view) it might have been a worthy headset. However, for me
it is all about the sound quality and this headset just didn't
make it in that department. |
