35% off Dell's Most Popular Laptops
- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 9 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
-
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Outperforms devices costing 2-3 times more"
Pros: Angular retro design, more features than you know what to do with, lightweight/comfortable, very strong speaker, decent noise reduction, quick pairng, speed dial
Cons: slight hissing noise when in use (common issue with bluetooth devices), wearing device without the earhook feels unsecure
Summary: I ordered this device on a whim because I have been disappointed with some of the more common brands out there. I've been looking for a device that has decent noise cancellation as my car is rather loud. Up until very recently, I have never heard of Cardo devices and was basically limiting myself to brands that could be purchased in a store (in case I needed to return them). I went through a Jawbone which had excellent noise suppression, but a horrible fit (and it was too bulky). After that, I tried a Jabra JX10. The 'looks' were there but the noise suppression and sound quality were a joke. Next, a Jabra BT8040. Once again, a very slick and comfortable device. Easily outperformed the JX10 but still lacked the voice and noise cancelling quality I was looking for. The device has pairing issues and outgoing call quality was inconsistent. I gave up on Jabra and moved to a Plantronics 520. This was an excellent device. Decent noise cancellation, the most comfortable (of the 4) to wear, and the best sound quality of the ones I had tested. However, as comfortable as the earhook was, it was rather thick and interfered with my glasses. It has a poor range from the phone; anything over 5 ft causes a snap, crackle, and pop. It is also rather ugly in my opinion ? the carbon fiber strip just irks me. For a $90 premium (price+tax), these were issues I could not look past.
This bring me to the s-800. Price wise, $35 online made me skeptical, especially after seeing it's feature set. I was pleasantly surprised after using it for the first time. Incoming call quality is just a hair below the Plantronics 520, and vastly superior to the other models I tested. Outgoing calls are loud and clear. Noise cancelling are on par with the 520 (though it cannot touch the Jawbone). It is smaller and very lightweight. It has a decent range (from the phone) ? about 15 feet before it even starts to degraded. Some people have complained that the earhook looks like a coat hanger. It does, but it works very well (and surprisingly comfortable). This unit can be worn without the ear hook, though I would recommend against it being that it isn't the most secure fit. I love the Multi-function wheel on the back side. I wish more devices were setup like this. Aside from the standard functions (Redial, reject, call waiting, conference, transfer), this device also has a plethora of additional options including Hot Dial (you can choose from the first 3 speed dial contacts on your phone), location buzzer (in case you misplace it), auto-answer, button lock, callback. You can even turn that stupid blue blinking light off. All of this for $35?!! The only downside to this device I've already listed. It would have been nice to have different sized ear pads to make a more secure fit (without the hook). And the hissing noise is there, though it isn't too bad. For the price, I can deal with that. Now, what I really want is a bluetooth that has Jawbones noise cancellation, Jabra JX10 styling, BT8040 ear gels, with the Plantronics call quality, and the Cardo's feature set. Is that so much to ask for?
Where to buy
Cardo S-800 Bluetooth headset:
$14.99
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Amazon.com Marketplace
|
$14.99 | Yes |
|
