If you’re looking for a comfortable, wireless headset that integrates seamlessly with just about any office phone, then the Plantronics CS70N might be just what you’re looking for. The CS70N labels itself as a Wireless Office Headset System and comes with a headset, base, and an assortment of eartips that easily snap into the headset for customizing the fit of the headset to the user.
Setup of the device couldn’t be easier. You unplug your traditional handset from the phone and plug that into the base of the CS70N. Then you plug the cord from the base into the jack that normally takes your handset on your phone. You then plug the base adapter into an electrical outlet and place the headset into the docking portion of the base for charging.
Once setup is complete, you make a call by taking your traditional handset off of the base and then pressing the call control button on the headset.
The call quality is superb, and so is the range, thanks to it operating at a radio frequency of 1.9GHz DECT. For my tests, I used it in my relatively quiet office and then walked around my house (the handset has a range of 300 feet) and into a room where a vacuum was running. The caller on the other end could still hear me, but it was more difficult the closer I got to the vacuum. The CS70N features a noise-canceling microphone, so you can get pretty close to any noise. I can only imagine how well it would work in a noisy office environment.
The biggest selling point of the CS70N, however, is in its optional Handset Lifter. Once installed on a traditional phone, pressing the call control button will raise the handset to begin or answer a call. Pressing the call control button a second time will end the call. This way you don’t have to be near the phone in order to pick up a call.
In my tests, the Handset Lifter worked as expected. The only issues I had with it were the ringer microphone and the positioning of the lifter. If the telephone speaker isn’t directly under the handset, then you can use a ringer microphone, which you can place on the telephone’s speaker. I positioned mine and took the paper off the adhesive only to find that I hadn’t placed it in the right place. When I tried to remove it, I removed the cover completely off of the ringer microphone. Thankfully, the Handset Lifter still worked without issue, even without the ringer microphone attached. As for the lifter, because of the style of my phone, sometimes when the Lifter lowers the handset, it misses putting the handset completely back in the cradle. It doesn’t happen often enough for me to not use the lifter, though; not to mention, it’s really designed for office phones, and I’m using it on some junky phone I had lying around.
The CS70N also features a number of other additions, including volume control and mute on the headset, and an overall volume adjustment on the base itself, in case the headset isn’t loud enough even at its max level. There are also a variety of status lights, which let you know when the headset is engaged.
Speaking of the headset, Plantronics designed it to be worn all day, and I have to say that in my tests that claims holds true. After a while, I forgot I was wearing it.
The only drawbacks I found to the CS70N are its price and the fact that the Handset Lifter is optional. You can find a combo of both the CS70N and the Handset Lifter online for as low as US$245, which is more palatable, but the MSRP of the CS70N alone is $329.95. If Plantronics lowered the MSRP, then this headset combo could appeal to the home office worker, too.
Read more about the Plantronics CS70N at Plantronics.com.
