Plantronics S12 Corded Telephone Headset System 64703-03

Excellent phone for the corporate workplace. We use the Avaya 2410 multi-line phones and the S12 works very well. I was a bit curious because it sounded like the phone was only compatible with 1 and 2-line phones. Mine is a 6-line system, though, and it trucks right along. The instructions are ok but it illustrates that you have to plug the phone's handset into the headset's base, which you don't. You "can" but if you leave the handset as-is, you can use the headset, handset and speaker, whichever you prefer. If you plug the handset into the base, you can no longer use the handset. To use the S12 with an Avaya 2410 phone: 1. Plug in the power, connect the headset to the base, etc. 2. Plug the base into the headset jack on the side of the phone (by the handset jack). You do not have to plug the handset into the base. 3. Set the Compatibility slider to 1. 4. Click the "Headset" button on the phone and you're good to go. Naturally you will need to adjust the speaking volume (top of the base) and your listening volume (side of the base). Beyond that, the audio was good for me and my caller. I would definitely purchase this phone again and have already recommended it to my colleagues.

Honestly, I bought the Plantronics S12 for the looks and for the price. Now that I am using it, I have discovered that it is much better than the higher priced units that are being used around my office. On the left hand side of the unit there is a sliding switch so that you can modulate the headset to your telephone. This worked for me out of the box. Depending on your telephone, you may have some hiss on the line, but I have none. On the right hand side there is a switch to set the microphone between high and low gain, and there is a dial to fine tune it within each of the settings. Out of the box, I sounded very loud in the ear piece and people could hear me typing. I set it to low gain, and moved the dial to the lowest setting. People can still hear me fine, I cannot hear myself in the speaker, and no one can hear me typing. This is fantastic! My previous headset could not turn down the gain this low, now I can use the mute button less! The headset flashes a red light when you are on the phone. People will now know that they can interrupt even if you have your headset on, they just need to check for the flashing light. There will be a learning curve for this in my office, but it is a great idea. And finally, the amplifier bas has a holder for the headset, a simple but wonderful idea that does not work so well with the over the head configuration, but it still works. The only problem is that the Plantronics S12 has no battery backup. But if the power is out at the office, there is only so much you can do on the phone anyway and you don't need a headset then since you cannot type on your computer anyway.

I have two of these headsets - one at the work office and one at the home office... It is close to being a great headset with one key design flaw that causes BUZZING.... After using it at my home office I noticed it was highly susceptible to an annoying buzzing sound when the base unit is too close to other electronic devices (my home office desk is much more cluttered with electronics than my work office desk)... It also seems that the power cord itself can cause the buzzing sound if it touches the headset cord. The buzzing sound is due to electromagnetic interference and is a result of the inadequate shielding on the headset cable that plugs in to the base (right next to the power cord). The headset cord is a very thin straight cable with very little shielding.... thus the design flaw. If you can keep this device away from other electronics, and route its power cable away from the headset cable, you should be able to avoid the buzzing (it doesn't buzz on my work office desk unless I deliberately move it close to other electronics). If it weren't for the buzzing, I would love this thing... It is very comfortable and easy to use. (Dear Plantronics - BTW... I'd pay the extra $5 for a more beefy shielding on the headset cable... just saying)

I am on the phone for 6 hours a day on my workdays, making appointments for people and typing constantly on the computer. This system has really saved my neck!!!! I have had the product for about a month. I would have given this 5 stars, but do not like the optional over the ear piece that comes with it (I have really small ears), so I have to use the over the head type. The ease of following the directions to install and making that first test call were right-on. I have it set on the lowest audible setting and talking volume and have no problems hearing. Luckily, I also have volume control on my phone, so I am able to adjust it just right, otherwise, it may be too loud. As for taking up too much room, well, comes with the territory, since I have to use the phone that my company provides for the transfer and hold buttons as well as voicemail, but, once I have the headset on, I push the base and the handset from the phone out of the way. I also saw someone mention that it is flimsy when kids play with it, well, duh, most electronic devices do not hold up well with kids, talk to their parents or correct them yourself, you have that right to protect yourself!!! UPDATE: January, 2008. I am still using my headset about 6 hours a day. It has really increased my productivity, without killing my neck and shoulders. My company would not reimburse me, but I figure, I will just take it with me when we move. The only drawback is that the cord to the headset tangles and it does not have a break away feature, but you get what you pay for. We are not allowed to have wireless for patient confidentiality reasons. So, overall, for the price I would definately recommend this product to others, and have to others at my company without reservations. Update: November 2010: Still using product. Every so often, I get an echo as previously mentioned, but not anything I can't deal with. I have changed jobs, and the device works on the phones at my new job as well, just had to slide the thing over on the side so it would be compatible. I would still recommend this product!

This has changed my life. I record astrological readings that I do on the phone every day. Before this system, I would put the listener on speakerphone and then turn on two digital voice recorders (one as a back-up just in case). Then I would download the recordings into my computer. This was a stressful method because I had to speak fairly loudly due to the speakerphone and everyone else in the offices could hear me, less than ideal for sensitive information. Also takes a lot of energy to speak with a lot of volume all day long. I had to buy an amplifier to make this system work, which I also got on Amazon. The amplifier plugs into the phone and it has an input cord for this headset system and an output cord that I use to plug into one of my digital voice recorders or directly into my computer. When I am ready to start a reading, I put on the headset, make sure the output cord is plugged into the DVR, remove the handset, and dial. When the client answers, I turn on the record button. I have tried many, well maybe 7 different types, of DVR's and my favorite is the Sony ICD-UX81 as it generates an MP3, makes a crisp recording and is very easy to use. The only drawback is that it only uses batteries. Oh, and the only drawback to the Plantronics system is that you have to put on the head set every time you make or answer a call or use the speakerphone.

Yet further update. After buying yet more earclips, we found that the ear piece started making unbelievable crackling noise. We at first thought it was the ear-piece itself. It wasn't. We found out just by luck that it was the wire from the ear-piece to the unit. We just rubbed out hand over the wire and the crackling would start, or it would stop. We snapped open the ear-piece and could see there are four conductors in that wire. Red Black Green and White. They looked OK inside the ear-piece. However, then we looked at a section of the wire itself that produced the most crackling. Removing the insullation we then noted that the insulation on each of the conductors inside was all but broken down into particles. The wire's plastic insulations appeared to be reacting with each other. Evidently some ultra-poor quality wire as produced in China was used for the unit. Other people with the S12 unit and who hear crackling in the ear-piece when on the phone, that is the problem, the wire from the ear-piece to the unit. As like many other posts this S-12 unit is very shoddy goods unfortunately. We will be looking for another company's product as this unit is essentially useless now. Avoid the Plaintronics S12 unit as you would a plague, in our view. Earlier update. More parts are shoddy with respect to the ear piece. The ring that the ear clips connects to is some kind of rubber and does not last. Cracks and makes ear piece useless. Plaintronics sells replacement non-electronic parts but they are expensive for what you get. Also the "new" unit listed for sale by Amazon as being model 64703-03, is not the current model. The current new model is #65145-01. It is unknown, unless you order it as new from Amazon, whether you are getting a new unit 65145-01 or a previous discontinued unit. Plaintronics does not list the model number Amazon is offering. No indication as to what the differences are. Not an OK unit ear clips are junk. Wire from Ear-Piece to unit is very shoddy. We've had to buy replacement earclips such as the following. We don't use the useless spring headband. Now we are giving up on the unit completely. Have changed the rating to the lowest rating possible. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000U0NW7S/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_10

We have an expensive phone system at work. The headsets from our provider are hundreds of dollars. The bosses wouldn't buy us headsets for that reason. So I took matters into my own hands and tried this set out ( and hoped I didn't melt our phones and get fired). I have been using this for about 4 years and it works great. Actually, the headset itself works in our phones, and most of the time it suffices. However, there are some calls that the amplifier base is needed for the other parties to hear us. I am now outfitting everyone in my department with this set at about a quarter of the cost of the recommended headset. the fact that I can talk on the phone and use both hands to work on our CAD software is awesome! They probably pay for themselves in a week.The calls are clear. I never use the adjustments on the base after they are set the first time. They are reliable, comfortable, affordable and allow me to be more productive.

Its around $200 to get this configuration direct through plantronics site (getting a headset and amp together, about $80 separately at the cheapest), didn't look up exact same model# but I couldn't find anything on their website that would match amazon's price for both a headset and amp. I went through 2 other headsets to find the right one. 1st one (about $15, over the head, one ear) was simply a headset to connect to the headset port on the phone, volume was way too low, both ways; especially on my end. 2nd (about $30, over the ear piece) was also headset port connected, same thing. They were cheap yes, but you get what you pay for. They simply were insufficient. This one is superior. Instructions are easy, all I did was follow the pictures. I can hear the caller, and they can hear me, it's easy to adjust volume if they're too loud or too low or if I'm too low or if I don't want them to hear my background noise. Worth the price. The headset cord is long enough for me to stand up and move around w/o tugging everything off the desk and it doesn't coil/tangle. The ear piece is comfortable (I use it on average, 12 hours a day, 5 days a week). The mouth piece flashes red when there's activity on the phone so a person trying to talk to you in the room will know when you're on a call. It seems to blink when it picks up sound in general though, even when there is no call, except when you have the mute button on. It would be nice to have a binaural headset (but they are uber expensive, the nice ones), but since the volume can be adjusted it's no big deal. With one ear piece, at least I can hear what's going on around me just in case of an emergency or something. I hear no static, no fuzz. The plugs (w/the exception of the AC adapter) looks like a mini RJ-45/phone plug. It's the same plug that the receiver on a corded phone plugs into. The headset itself has the same "mini phone plug" which plugs into the adapter, obviously. But because of these types of plugs, it's held into the outlets of the phone and amp securely. So there's no jiggling around that can happen, which usually happens to the plugs on typical headphones/headsets (the 2.5mm kind, etc). I would highly recommend this product. I had also gotten the phone that was suggested to get with this, but it was purchased several months before getting this headset system. They work great together. http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-KX-TS105B-Corded-Speakerphone-Black/dp/B000090WE9/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_b