These high-end headsets offer great sound without any of the hassle from wires. Which headset will reign supreme, and which will fall flat?
Review summary of the Plantronics Pulsar 590a:
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Full review of the Plantronics Pulsar 590a:
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Round 1: Design
Etymotic's Ety8 earbuds take an early lead in the style department. Its diminutive rectangular form factor was simple yet sleek, and most importantly lightweight at just 0.7 ounces. As a result, the Ety8 was easy to wear for long periods of time, and felt very stable during our tests, even when we vigorously shook our head. Size did matter for the Plantronics Pulsar 590a earbuds, which were rather large and clunky. The headset looks like your run-of-mill pair of over-the-ear headphones, dressed in generic sliver and black. The 590a tips the scales at 3.3 ounces, making long-term wear uncomfortable.
Winner: Etymotic Ety8
Round 2: Sound
You might think that this was a no-brainer category for the Ety8 headphones, which serve up amazing sound, with crisp, bright tones and a strong bass kick. However, they disappointingly don't include a microphone for taking calls -- after all, the Ety8's are aimed more at iPod users than cell chatters. So that leaves the door open for the Pulsar 590a headset, which supports all three Bluetooth profiles including hands-free, headset and stereo. But the Pulsar stumbles with its so-so sound quality; both calls and music sounded muffled to our ears, a far cry from the crystal-clear audio from the Etymotic headset. The final nail in the 590a's coffin is the on-the-ear design of its headphones, which allowed outside noise to leak in; the in-ear Etymotic headphones kept ambient sounds at bay.
Winner: Etymotic Ety8
Round 3: Setup and connectivity
Both headsets paired easily with our Samsung MM-A900, and each comes with a multi-colored LED indicator that clearly lets you know what mode you're in through colors and not flashing speeds. Etymotic offers an iPod adaptor that connects to the bottom of the music player -- nice, but it'll cost you $100 extra. Plantronics steals the category by bundling (at no extra cost) a Bluetooth adapter that connects to any device with a 3.5mm headphone jack, which includes all iPods (like the Shuffle), and just about any other MP3 player out there (such as the just-reviewed Samsung YP-K5).
Winner: Plantronics Pulsar 590a
And the winner is…
Though the Plantronics Pulsar 590a headset put up a good fight when in came to setup, it was no match for the Etymotic Ety8 earbuds in the design and sound departments. Overall, the 590a was quite bulky and heavy making them uncomfortable. The headset's sound was just about average. Though the Ety8 doesn't include a microphone for handling calls, we feel that its crystal clear sound will draw true audiophiles who are looking at stereo Bluetooth devices for their music capabilities.
Champion: Etymotic Ety8
Related products:
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Plantronics Pulsar 590a
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Score: 74% When: December 2006 Worth: $250
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This headset boasts the ability to connect with your iPod or any other music player with a standard 3.5mm jack. Will the 590a have you singing its praises or crying foul?
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Read »
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Etymotic Ety8
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Score: 79% When: December 2006 Worth: $200 - $300
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Designed by the venerable high-end headphone maker, this Bluetooth headset costs a bundle and won’t handle your voice calls. But the Ety8 has an ace up its sleeve. Read our review for the scoop.
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