Plantronics Headset for S10, T10 and T20

Amazon shipped the T10 Single Line Headset Phone ($66.99) via UPS Ground from Lexington, Kentucky to N.Virginia, with free delivery. It arrived yesterday, less than two days after ordered.

Several earlier reviews are negative enough to discourage someone from buying the unit. So I'll post right away, to clarify the complaints as I see them. These reviews are for three different headset models, the S10, T10 and T20. That's unfortunate. Potential problems in one model may never occur in another model.

The Headset Cord is over 6 ft. long, a plus. It plugs into the Headset Jack on the base of the T10. (The Oct 17, 2002 review complaining that it is only 3 ft. long is outdated and misleading, and should be removed.)

The unit does not make a humming noise while in use, as some reported experiencing. This was a major concern prior to purchase. I now suspect that the humming--and its possible fix--only occurs with other models, those using a power transformer. (I have a DSL Internet connection for my computer, so I needed to plug the Line Cord into a DSL adapter, which plugs into the wall phone jack.)

The complaints about the Mute and On/Off buttons on the base being too close together? Yes, they are close. But they are also big, and they are labeled. The Mute button is 1¼ in. wide, and On/Off is 1¾ in. wide. Unless you are Bigfoot, they may be selected with ease.

About the base jiggling around, when pressing numbers in the top row. That happened when I placed the phone was way back on the table, and had to reach. I was dialing from a much lower angle than usual. Normally, the phone is nearby. I tap the numbers from a higher angle, and the unit remains stable.

I prefer using the headset, rather than an earhook. The headset feels quite light and comfortable, and the headband is very expandable. Although my head is rather large, I did not need to bend the metal headband wider, as suggested.

I made a few calls. Adjusting Volume for incoming speech made it loud enough, and a little fine tuning with Tone was helpful. But my own voice was too loud. So I moved the Voice Boom tip two inches further away from my mouth (and may have spoken a little more softly without realizing it). Perfecto! The person I called still heard me loudly enough. Incoming and outgoing loudness were balanced for my ear.

I plan to use the T10 for any calls expected to last over 10 minutes. Especially, for tech phone help calls. My worst call to India took 4 hours! My plan:

1) Make the call on the nearby cordless speakerphone.

2) Hands free, talk into the speaker to make menu choices. Listen to the speaker while resuming work, and wait, wait, wait, for up to 30 minutes!

3) When a live person answers, ask them to wait a moment, press the speakerphone hold button, put the T10 headset on my head, and turn on the T10.

My work has me on long telcons but won't pay for headsets. Not wanting to shell out for the full system, I thought that since the S10 headset has a RJ11 plug, I could just swap out the handset on the phone for the headset and not bother with buying the full system. It worked...kind of.

The good: the headset was comfortable and I could hear just as well as if using the handset. It also allowed me to type on the computer, take notes, or whatever without getting a neck ache from squeezing the handset between my head and shoulder.

The bad: The mike boom only extended down to my cheek and wasn't very close to my mouth so I got people on the other end saying I was coming in soft and I had to talk louder (which then started to annoyed my office mates). I guess that's why you need the amp unit (I'm speculating that the amp is for both input/output). Additionally, since I swapped out the handset but still needed the disconnected handset to hang up the phone my phone calls were 1) slip headset on if it wasn't already on, 2) pick up the handset, 3) have phone conversation, 4) hand up handset, 5) take of headset if I was leaving desk. I'm a get up and walk around type of guy so I'm constantly putting on and taking off the headset. Also, at first, there was a few times I picked up the disconnected handset and started to answer the call, but I quickly got over than problem.

In the end, I decided that I like the headset concept and needed to buy the whole system (the S12 or S22 replaced/is replacing the S10). The S12 headset's boom is longer so it's closer to the mouth and since you plug the handset into the amp unit, you can easily switch between the two w/out having to unplug anything. Still, if you going on the cheap, this may be the solution for you.

Buy Plantronics Headset for S10, T10 and T20 Now

I love this headset. I bought one to use with the desk phone at my office (a Nortel VOIP phone) so that I can go hands-free for long conference calls.

It works just fine, even with no separate "amplifier" aside from what's built in to the phone. I can hear everyone, and they can hear me just fine, and I'm using it for like an hour every day.

Read Best Reviews of Plantronics Headset for S10, T10 and T20 Here

I purchased this for use with a ShoreTel IP 230 phone. I could hear other people just fine, but everybody kept saying they could barely hear me (unless I almost yelled or held the mic against my mouth, which defeats the purpose of a "hands free" headset). It was comfortable to wear and seemed to be built with quality materials, but it did not work for me. Maybe it needs a phone with an amplifier? I'm going to try another brand of headset and see if I have the same problem.

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I work from home using my VOIP phone for long periods of time supporting inventory systems for auto parts recyclers. I have a Plantronics T20rA phone and found there are few headsets designed with a RJ11 connector, most having a mini phone jack to plug directly into a computer. I needed a backup headset since I tend to run my cord over with my chair and have dropped my headset enough times that the boom cracked away from the earpiece mounting. While easily fixed with some super glue, I started to consider what if I did move damage to it where I could not repair it. Since I am happy enough with my original set, purchasing the same for backup made sense. Made by the same manufacturer as the phone, I knew it would plug right in and work without any tweaking. Though not cheap, they work for me.

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