Plantronics Discovery 975
Manufacturer: Plantronics, Inc. Part number: 81640-01
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- Despite its finicky controls, the Plantronics Discovery 975 is a stylish headset with a comfortable fit, a great feature set, and excellent call quality.
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CNET editors' review
Plantronics Discovery 975 price range: $48.09 - $78.94
- Reviewed by: Nicole Lee
- Reviewed on: 08/20/2009
- Released on: 08/20/2009
The good: The Plantronics Discovery 975 is a unique Bluetooth headset that features multipoint, voice prompts, and fantastic audio quality with good noise-canceling and wind-noise resistance. It has a much improved charging case with a battery status indicator.
The bad: The Plantronics Discovery 975 has a hard-to-press multifunction button and the volume key is tiny.
The bottom line: Despite its finicky controls, the Plantronics Discovery 975 is a stylish headset with a comfortable fit, a great feature set, and excellent call quality.
The Plantronics Voyager Pro earned our Editor's Choice award earlier this year for having the best sound quality of any Bluetooth headset we've tried. However, the Voyager Pro was marred by its slightly bulky and unfashionable appearance. The new Plantronics Discovery 975, on the other hand, is a much more stylish Bluetooth headset. It is similar in appearance to its predecessor, the Discovery 925, but features the same noise-canceling properties as the Voyager Pro. It's not quite as comfortable as the Voyager Pro and the buttons are not as easy to use, but the call quality is incredibly good and it comes with a handy charging case that extends its battery life threefold. The Plantronics Discovery 975 is available for $129 retail.
Like the Plantronics Discovery 925, the Discovery 975 looks a lot like a giant hair pin. It also has a square-diamond top like the Discovery 925, but the 975 has faux leather covering on the front. From that square diamond is a long and skinny boom mic, which we think is more stylish than the triangular boom on the 925. Measuring 2.7 inches long by 0.8 inch wide by 0.5 inch thick, the Discovery 975 appears almost like a piece of jewelry when worn. That said, the design may not be for everyone.
At the base of the boom mic, in the middle of the square diamond, is the multifunction call button. On top of it is a very thin LED indicator line that glows white when it is powered up. Since the button is part of the overall boom mic, it requires a bit of pressure to push, which we found annoying. On the top left of the headset is a single volume key. To change the volume, you have to cycle through a few volume levels, instead of being able to increase and decrease like on a normal volume rocker. Not only is the volume button tiny, we would prefer a real volume rocker rather than a single button. The charger jack is on the top right.
Flip the headset around and you'll find an earpiece similar in style to the Discovery 925. It has a nice ear tip gel cover, with a square loop that lets the earpiece sit snugly within the folds of the ear without the use of an ear hook. The Discovery 975 comes with a couple of other ear tip gel sizes for different-size ears. It was incredibly easy to put on and take off, which makes the Discovery 975 great for intermittent use. Do be sure to maneuver it so that the boom mic points toward the mouth for the best performance.
The Discovery 975 has the normal headset features, like answering, ending, and rejecting calls, plus it has voice-dial support, last number redial, call mute, and the capability to transfer calls from the headset to the phone and vice versa. It also has multipoint, which lets you connect up to two different headsets simultaneously. The Discovery 975 also features voice prompts that let you know when you've enabled or disabled call mute, the battery status, plus the Bluetooth connection status. The latter is especially handy when you wander outside your handset's Bluetooth range; the headset will automatically let you know that you've lost the connection.
We also quite like the portable leather charging case that comes with the Discovery 975. It looks a lot like a lipstick case, just as the one for the Discovery 925 did, but this one has an LCD screen that lets you know the battery life of the case and the headset. It also has a Bluetooth icon to show if the headset is connected. We like that it snaps into place securely, and that there's a lever you can press to take it out again. If you like, there's also a clip strap for the case, in case you want to attach it to your purse.
We tested the Plantronics Discovery 975 Bluetooth headset with the Apple iPhone 3G. The pairing process went quite smoothly, and we didn't even need to enter the PIN code (though this may vary depending on your phone). We have to say we were amazed with the call quality. We tested the Discovery 975 in a variety of environments: in a quiet office, in a moving vehicle, and in front of a desk fan blowing at normal speed. In all of the above situations, we heard our callers without much issue. There was a bit of static noise at times, even in the quietest scenario. We detected a low hum occasionally, as well. Still, callers' voices came through loud and clear.
Our callers said we sounded great. Our voices sounded natural, with plenty of volume in all three situations. When we were in the moving vehicle, they couldn't hear the road or engine noise at all, and didn't know we were in the car. They did detect a bit of radio music in the background, but it was quite faint.
The Plantronics Discovery 975 has the same WindSmart technology as is in the Voyager Pro, and it shows. We were surprised that our callers could still hear us when we were talking right in front of the fan. They said our voice sounded the same, and even though they could hear some wind (saying it sounded like it was raining on a metal roof), they could hear us just fine. Overall, we were incredibly impressed by the noise-canceling and wind-noise resistance on the Discovery 975.
The Plantronics Discovery 975 has a rated battery life of 5 hours talk time and 7 days standby time. The charging case adds an extra 10 hours of talk time.
User reviews
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Top notch product; works exactly as advertised
by wase4711 on August 26, 2009
Pros: Great quality on every part of this package; great sound, easy pairing, very cool charging case, and all my phones paired easily with it
Cons: A bit expensive, but, worth it!
Summary: I have had dozens of BT headsets over the years, and, at this point, this one is the best..Got rid of a Bang and Olufsen for this one, as ...
Summary: I have had dozens of BT headsets over the years, and, at this point, this one is the best..Got rid of a Bang and Olufsen for this one, as its truly better, at 1/3rd the price..and, to JawBone owners, THIS is the one you should have bought!
Take that Jawbone back and get this one, as you wont be sorry!10 out of 11 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Fantastic headset, but...
by clmbikski on October 2, 2009
Pros: Fit, comfort, ease of use, design, carrying case/charger, performance (for the most part)
Cons: caller hear themselves, volume control, ear gel installation, getting to work with Microsoft XP
Summary: This is a fantastic BT headset -- a BIG improvement over my previous Jawbone Ver1. I have been using this headset for 2 weeks now and I am very impressed ...
Summary: This is a fantastic BT headset -- a BIG improvement over my previous Jawbone Ver1. I have been using this headset for 2 weeks now and I am very impressed with Pros mentioned above. However, there is one major performance issue that might end up causing me to return it.
First the PROs...
FIT -- The light weight and small size of the 975 combined with the gel tabs make the fit comfortable and rock solid. There is no ear loop to fumble with so putting it on/removing it is quick. (Note on comfort: I only use it ~<30 min/day)
EASE OF USE -- Easy to pair, easy to learn and use.
DESIGN -- IMO, the biggest plus of the design is what they were able to design OUT: the ear loop! The buttons are easy to access and use.
CARRYING CASE/CHARGER -- The hard case with the built in recharger is great! It keeps the earpiece safe, and it's battery charged. So far, I've spent my entire 2 weeks on a single case charge.
PERFORMANCE -- As far as I'm concerned, the headset performance is great. It is plenty loud enough so I can always hear the caller, even in somewhat noisy environments. Those I call have never complained that they cannot hear me, even when I'm in a noisy place -- kudos to the noise cancellation! So good so far. Now the one wart on the prom queen...
CONs
PERFORMANCE (Major) -- While I (the user) have no complaints about the 975 performance, the people that I call have consistently complained of hearing themselves with about a one second delay. It may not sound like much of a problem, but I have experienced it a couple of times on Skype and it is ANNOYING. I assume this is simply caused by the earpiece speaker sound being picked up by the boom mike.
I have tried to minimize this by keeping the volume as low as possible and making sure that the fit is good. So far I have not had much luck.
VOLUME CONTROL (Minor) -- There seems to be only 3 volume settings Off-Med-High.
EAR GEL INSTALLATION (Minor) -- If you have to swap out the default ear gel (med), be ready for some frustration.
GETTING TO WORK WITH MICROSOFT WIN XP (Minor) -- I had quite a bit of trouble getting the 975 to work with my ~2005 laptop. (to use with Skype) I finally managed to do it, but it wasn't easy. NOTE: This could be due to my laptop, but I would think that the Plantronics website would document or provide drivers to make it easy.
Overall, I think this is a great headset and I will continue to try and work with it to solve the one major issue -- callers hearing themselves. If I cannot solve it on this unit, I will return it and try another one in the hopes that the problem is specific to this unit. (Believe me, it's a positive testimonial for me to give a product a 2nd, 3rd chance). I really hope I'm able to solve this one issue b/c besides this one issue, this headset is perfect.8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Worth every penny!
by TWolfe5574 on November 7, 2009
Pros: The most comfortable BT headset ever, great call quality and noise suppression. Long battery life from the portable charger and great at keeping the headset safe when not in use. The leather insert on the body of the headset is a really nice touch.
Cons: Really can't think of anything so far.
Summary: I've owned several headsets, from older Motorola models to the Aliph Jawbone Original and Jawbone 2 (the latter of which bit the dust when it fell out of my ...
Summary: I've owned several headsets, from older Motorola models to the Aliph Jawbone Original and Jawbone 2 (the latter of which bit the dust when it fell out of my pocket and I ran it over, hilarious and sad at the same time). After reading the reviews on CNet, while I was happy with the call quality, looks and functionality of the Aliphs and was ready to get a Jawbone Prime, the Plantronics caught my attention. Nice look (it has such a slim profile I think it actually looks better than any of the Jawbones), NO EAR LOOP needed and great reviews on call quality and usability, both for the 975 and its predecessors. The portable charging case looked interesting, but thought it might be a little gimmicky - I was wrong; it really helps to extend the battery life of the headset for several weeks. The call quality, loudness, usability and features equal or exceed the Jawbone - mostly what I like is how comfortable it is to wear (the great weakness of the Jawbone, in my opinion), it channels the Blackberry voice dial flawlessly and has an easy to use redial function. What also sealed the deal was this - I drive a convertible and when I've called called with the top down, the person on the other end said they could hear me just fine, loud and clear with very little background noise. I highly recommend this headset!
5 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great Product for the Money
by lazybeef on August 22, 2009
Pros: -Small, charging holster, great battery life, easy to operate.
Cons: -Uncomfortable at first, overly simplistic, the volume button either makes it too quiet or too loud, expensive.
Summary: This is my second bluetooth device(had an LG for years until it died in a cup of soda) and I can say I am duly impressed. Plantronics integrated many ...
Summary: This is my second bluetooth device(had an LG for years until it died in a cup of soda) and I can say I am duly impressed. Plantronics integrated many great features into this device and is a pleasure to use. The noise cancellation is a very useful feature, especially when in a car, and It's compact nature allows it to be turned on and used without distracting one from the road. My only complaint is the rather steep price tag and the ear piece is slightly uncomfortable. It seems to wedge in your ear but the natural positioning of it points it too far away from my mouth so in twisting it, it becomes slightly uncomfortable if left in for long periods of time. It does come with several different ear pieces but the problem persists. It does not come with a car charger as other Plantronics products that I looked at do but the holster is capable of charging the headset two or three times fully so there should be no sudden emergency. If you have the money and want a great headset for driving or talking in busy places then I highly recommend this device.
5 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Plantonics does it again
by Jonathan2521 on September 17, 2009
Pros: great voice quality BOTH from mic and speaker
Cons: seriously nothing
Summary: I have had many headsets. The Plantronics 520 although not stylish was the best until this one. quality is excellent. I thought the little charge box was stupid at first ...
Summary: I have had many headsets. The Plantronics 520 although not stylish was the best until this one. quality is excellent. I thought the little charge box was stupid at first until i used it. You can get 2 to 3 charges out of it. So that means if you charge everything up, use the headset, you can charge it from the box at lease 2 more times before having to plug in. pretty cool. People dont know im using a cell phone. Noise canceling is very good. Speaker quality on receiving end is great. I can not stand headsets that makes people sound like they are talking into tin cans.
5 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
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The best ever bluetooth after voyager pro
by Johnny_Tung on November 19, 2009
Pros: Like Voyager pro, You can talk and hear clearly next to the wall which Jawbone could not do it, It also give a clear conversation even your handphone signal is weak, Which Jawbone fail to do it. It is magic
Cons: Call Button is a bit hard to press but it is ok for me
Summary: I have try more than 10 brand of bluetooh, So far 975, Voyager Pro and 510 is the best. I also have try jawbone and 925, It is not bad ...
Summary: I have try more than 10 brand of bluetooh, So far 975, Voyager Pro and 510 is the best. I also have try jawbone and 925, It is not bad but still not the best because it can't give you a good conversation if your handphone signal is weak
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Nice Style - Poor fit, Uncertain control logic
by Yolovegolf on November 3, 2009
Pros: Slim, nice carrying case, battery life seems good/excellent, a lot of promise!
Cons: Gel ear piece fits tight at first, becomes very uncomfortable within an hour or so - enough that my ear became sore and I could not use anymore. The controls seem easy enough on the instruction sheet, but don't seem to convey confidence ...
Summary: Sylish, long battery life, promise of good voice quality (for the short duration I used the phone the voice quality seemed quite good). However, the poor fitting ear piece and ...
Summary: Sylish, long battery life, promise of good voice quality (for the short duration I used the phone the voice quality seemed quite good). However, the poor fitting ear piece and the eventual sore ear meant this was a short lived product in my household. I tried each of the ear buds and several positions, but each either were too tight, too loose or just plain painful to wear. Too bad, the 975 was growing on me ... a bit.
Lastly, the controls (which could be over looked and learned over time and usage) were a bit difficult to understand and use at first, set up was a breeze once I mastered where the control bar was vs the volume button (I know, user issue - hence my view that the controls will be learned with time).
So, lots of promise - but just plain uncomfortable to wear and ultimately use.3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Excellent style but fails at noise-reduction
by Road_Warrior on September 4, 2009
Pros: Excellent style and comfortable fit. Easy to use with main on/off and volume/mute buttons. The extended battery case is also much appreciated and easy to carry, offering a portable charging station for those constantly on the go.
Cons: The headset fails at noise reduction/processing. Under quiet conditions, the reception and sound quality of both receiver and speaker is fine. But those on the other end complain of ambient and wind (e.g., common outdoor conditions) noise.
Summary: I upgraded from a first-generation Jawbone thinking that the Plantronics brand and reputation for this new device would fulfill some of the Jawbone's shortcomings. Unfortunately, the first-gen still outperforms ...
Summary: I upgraded from a first-generation Jawbone thinking that the Plantronics brand and reputation for this new device would fulfill some of the Jawbone's shortcomings. Unfortunately, the first-gen still outperforms the 975 with superior noise-reduction features---an absolute must for those that travel a lot and must chat in busy airports. I was excited to receive this 975 headset today but I must also return it for a full-refund. I will likely choose Aliph's latest Jawbone product.
3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Returning for refund - second unit.
by 1consumer on August 20, 2010
Pros: comfortable and good noise cancellation.
Cons: Two units failed with exactly the same issue within 60 days. Return process much longer than it should be.
Summary: Bought this in March and it failed by the end of May. It took a month to get a replacement, not the one day turn around that they advertise on ...
Summary: Bought this in March and it failed by the end of May. It took a month to get a replacement, not the one day turn around that they advertise on the website. Second unit failed exactly the same way "Paired but not connected." within another 60 days. I do not have time to play this game every 60 days and be without a unti for 30. Called AMEX and they are working the process of refund for me. I will buy another brand next time. Poor quality product.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Pricey, but worth it
by usnis0922 on September 28, 2009
Pros: Very slim and stylish, EXCELLENT CALL QUALITY, the take with you charge station is genious eliminating the need to buy a car charger.
Cons: Expensive, but if you want the best, you gotta pay.
Summary: I just upgraded from the Plantronics 230 model which was a piece of junk. I was going to go with the Jawbone but for the same price you can get ...
Summary: I just upgraded from the Plantronics 230 model which was a piece of junk. I was going to go with the Jawbone but for the same price you can get this beauty. I personally have no problem pressing the multifunction button, and my Iphone can control the bluetooth volume level from the phone with the volume keys when you are in a call so this will never be a factor for me (the small button that is). This is my first day with it and when I used it for the first time I could hear the difference from the lower model and personally I am able to hear better than with the Iphone regular earphone. A plus is the 3 different sized ear pieces that come with it in case you have out of the ordinary size. The one that comes on was ok for me but then I went to the biggest one which has worked great. I can feel it in my ear but its not uncomfortable and stays in place very well, it also isolates the sound more so I normally cant have it above half volume otherwise its pretty loud. All in all, very happy with it.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Plantronics, Inc.
- Part number: 81640-01
- Description: The ingeniously simple Discovery 975 offers a custom blend of elegance and advanced technologies to keep you connected clearly, comfortably, and easily. A striking, minimalist design offers the simplicity of one-touch controls, while dual-mic AudioIQ and WindSmart technologies keep your conversations clear, even in harsh conditions.
General
- Product Type - Bluetooth 2.1,
Headset - Weight 0.3 oz
- Recommended Use Cellular phone
- Additional Features Voice Activated Dialing (VAD),
WindSmart,
Multipoint technology,
Built-in DSP,
Volume control,
Answer/end button,
Mute button,
AudioIQ,
QuickPair,
Last number re-dial Headphones
- Headphones Type Headphone - Monaural
- Headphones Form Factor In-ear ear-bud
- Connectivity Technology Wireless - Bluetooth 2.1
- Bluetooth Profiles Secure Simple Pairing (SSP),
Hands Free Profile (HFP),
Headset Profile (HSP) - Sound Output Mode Mono
- Diaphragm 0.4 in
- In-Cord Volume Control Included
Microphone
- Type Built-in,
Boom - Microphone Operation Mode Omni-directional
Remote Control
- Type None
Wireless Link
- Transmission Range 33 ft
Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories 3 ear tips,
Charging cradle - Compliant Standards ETL,
IC,
C-Tick,
WEEE,
FCC,
BQB,
RoHS Power
- Power Device Power adapter - External
- Voltage Required AC 120/230 V
- Battery Headset battery - Rechargeable - Lithium polymer
- Capacity 85 mAh
- Run Time (Up To) 5 hour(s)
- Standby Time 168 hour(s)
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 1 year
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Plantronics, Inc. products on Shopper.com
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- Manufacturer:Plantronics, Inc.
- Address:
345 Encinal Street
Santa Cruz, California 95060 - Phone: 1-831-426-5858
- Fax: 831-426-6098
