Plantronics Savi 740 Wireless Headset System for Unified Communication

After swapping out a battery for a newer one, this unit is awesome.

The product description makes it sound like this thing would be complicated to set up and use.That's not the case if all you want to do us plug it into a telephone jack, and also use it with your cell phone. I was up and running in under five minutes, and I didn't read anything other than how to set up Bluetooth (hint: push the button with the Bluetooth icon, and then it works just like every other Bluetooth gadget out there).Your cell phone and the Savi's base station remain on your desk, while you roam around your home/office with the headphones the same way you would with any other cordless, DECT handset. The Savi is much smarter than an ordinary handset, however, because it "understands" how to deal with up to three input streams.I'm using mine with a Nexus 5, and the two devices pair up and connect quickly and reliably. Shockingly so, in fact.If you work from home, get this thing and put your Bluetooth earbud back in your car where it belongs. Really.Update 3 Feb 2014: Turns out, you can't ACTUALLY plug the phone jack from this thing directly into a phone jack in a wall. It's not even a "jack" per se, but rather a connection that allows it to sit between a phone base and corded handset (using the services of an "EHS cable", sold separately). So my wording above is inaccurate, but I'll let it stand in the interest of journalistic integrity. :-)Update 5 Feb 2014: You CAN plug this device directly into a single-line, household-style phone jack. And I'm an idiot, AND Plantronics customer support is apparently too polite to tell me that. The one time I get a truly professional CSA, ...Anyhow, the Savi 740 I ordered comes with a "generic" EHS cable, which I had set aside and forgotten about. That cable has a 4-conductor RJ plug on one end, an 8-conductor RJ plug on the other, and a little blob in the middle with a stencil of a phone handset right next to a 4-conductor RJ socket. You merely put the thing right between the handset and base of your analog phone, or between the handset and wall jack if your phone's handset and dialpad are integrated into a single unit. I just tested this with the digital "phone" service of my cable modem, and it worked first time. (The little switch in the Savi base remains in the "A" position.)For future reference, the first four pins of the 8-conductor plug on the EHS cable are one-to-one with the four pins of the 4-conductor plug at the other end of the cable, and I suspect that the other four pins go directly to the 4-conductor socket. So if you are a little handy, you can build your own cable if you want to: it's just a simple "splice" into the analog phone line.I did that, actually, because I let Google Voice do all my dialing and ringing. I don't have a dialpad or traditional telephone handset on my desk.The Savi doesn't have a ringer circuit, however, so you won't know you've got an incoming call if it's the only thing hooked to the line. That's just fine in my case.

MSRP on these are in the 450 ballpark. New, in many places, is still in the 250 ~ 300 ball park, so to get a refurb/used unit in as clean a condition and serviceable as this, for 100 dollars?!? AWESOME!Its not to say its perfect, the actual ear piece when resting in the cradle is sometimes not perfectly aligned and can, if you haven't caught it, leave you with a dead headset because its not making good contact to charge. There is a replacement side piece (about 50 bucks) that adapts for secondary battery charging and includes a battery.I bought these to replace the company provided *wired* head set that simply didn't have the ability to operate well because they were not amplified (also did not have noise cancellation). I've been using headsets for the better part of 22 years in tech support, where plantronics is the defacto standard.Headsets vary and can be subjective in many cases. So too, when you purchase a set that doesn't work out of the box, or fails prematurely, while others have no problems to report (quality of product/longevity/etc).Hence for me, this headset has been perfect out of the box, with except to the charging issue mentioned above, which is a common problem I've dealt with before, by changing my behavior to be very aware if the charge light doesn't come on, and the range as mentioned below, but it is an acceptable trade off.The base unit provides volume wheels to separately amplify the earpiece or the mic. Additional options are set with a slider to enable compatibility with different handset phones. The base works either inline with a handset or can operate in the "headset out" port if your phone has one.The range is not as good as plantronics would have you believe. In an upright/on the low-walled cubical ledge, I'm sure you can get open room distances in the 300ft range, but, in a home office, or office building with lots of walls, your signal will not make it that far usually.The benefit of having a wireless headset is just that .. no wires from phone to head. I've seen, and had one or two myself, nasty soda and coffee spills happen because the drink and the wire don't agree with each other .. so going wireless is the only answer.Having a base unit that can do Bluetooth, the Headset, or attach to a PC/USB? Those are the options that make this, as a good refurb experience, into an Excellent Buy!Service received from KC Phone Guys has been top notch! Including they shipped the headset nearly immediately, and shipped the USB cable separate because they were out at the moment.They included a printed copy of a quick reference guide (they could have saved a little paper by printing double sided) included new ear gels and headband. Excellent shipping, communication, and product. Thank you KC Phone Guys!!