Plantronics/Poly CS540 Wireless Headset

Plantronics CS540 Wireless Headset

The CS540 comes with multiple wearing styles and is good for either over-the-head or over-the-ear users, however, it's only compatible with your desk phone. On the positive side, though, it's lightweight, stylish, and comfortable - and it has established a reputation as one of more popular headsets.

As with all wireless headsets, if you're looking to answer calls away from your desk, you'll need a remote answering device (RAD). For Plantronics, this will be a HL10 handset lifter, or an Electronic Hook Switch, depending on the phone you have (call our staff for assistance or simply add the headset to cart and follow the prompts). A lifter is a device that sticks to your telephone base and lifts the hand piece up or down when you push a button on your headset, letting you answer and hang up calls from anywhere in the office. The EHS does the same job but with no moving parts - it's a cable that runs from the phone to the base unit of the headset. If you don't get one of these, you will need to be at your desk and press a button on your phone (or, even worse, have to pick up the handset). Not such a huge deal if you're at your desk anyway but if you need to be mobile, you'll get significantly more work done every day with a RAD.

So, let's start by reviewing the Plantronics CS540...

The Good

The Plantronics CS540 looks great. Its design is modern and Plantronics claim that it is the lightest DECT headset available in the market. What we like is that it allows both over-the-ear and over-the-head. It is much more comfortable than the previous CS60 for over-the-ear wearing and the headband complements the design, to make over-the-head wearing a breeze. This means that it will suit virtually every user and you won't have to buy different models for different staff, which is important. The sound quality in all the new CS500 series headsets is very good and incorporates their Enhanced Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology, which is said to deliver more natural voice sounds. We don't dispute it but we think you'd have to be in a lab or have canine hearing to pick the difference. They have also, cleverly, incorporated a new Voice-Dedicated DECT™ technology, which means that it eliminates interference from wireless networks you may have in the office. As more and more devices go wireless, this is very important.

The CS540 also offers a noise-cancelling microphone. This cuts down much of the background noise (for your client) and really is a must in any busy office environment to give a professional impression of your company and not make you sound like you're in a crowded call centre. If you have a very loud environment, you should look for an "ultra" noise-cancelling headset. The Plantronics CS540 also allows you the ability to conference in other headset users (up to 3). This is a brilliant feature of most modern headsets and really useful in most offices & call centres for training, call disputes and conference calls.

Plantronics has also given the CS540 (and their other models in the new line-up) a very intelligent adaptive power system that increases or reduces power consumption, based on your distance from the base station. This extends battery life and gives you up to 7 hours talk time. Other headsets offer longer talk time and the compromise is because of the lightweight design, as the battery has to be smaller than normal. If you are on the phone all day, do consider other brands, or look at the CS510 and CS520 and enjoy the opportunity to buy an extra long-life battery to go with it.

The CS540 wireless headset also features SoundGuard technology. This protects phone users from loud, potentially harmful noises. These 'acoustic shocks' are transmitted down phone lines, as a result of dangerous customers yelling, blowing whistles, electricity spikes, weather conditions, transmission faults and the like. Without this feature, you could potentially suffer from temporary/permanent hearing loss. Plantronics SoundGuard means you'll be protected whenever you are using your headset. All modern headsets have this technology and brand it in their own way. We recently had such an issue at Simply Headsets - on a conference call with Plantronics we experienced an odd, intermittent (and very loud!) high-pitched beep on the line, which just wouldn't go away. This wasn't an issue for Sophie, who was wearing a modern headset (Sennheiser DW Pro 1 if you're interested) but Kim had still been clinging to the past with an old CS351N and had to hold the ear cushion so far away from her head to avoid the searing pain the beep caused that she couldn't hear most of the conversation. This was the tipping point for her and she now has a lovely new headset that also protects her hearing.

The Not-So-Good

The main downfall of all office-only wireless headsets like the Plantronics CS540 is that they don't work with your computer too. The future of headsets is moving towards voice and computer convergence. This simply means that more people will start to use their headsets for softphone IP applications, VoIP (like Skype) and voice recognition software like Dragon Speak 11 and MacSpeech. Products like the CS540 and the other 500 series models are all for the office phone only. Plantronics have recognised this and brought out a cable that replaces the base-to-phone technology with a base to USB cable, so you can use the CS500 series with computers. However, this cable makes the headset significantly more expensive than just purchasing a headset that connects to both devices anyway (and lets you easily toggle between the two).

More & more businesses use mobile phones as well as desk phones, so they're always contactable. Again, the CS540 just won't work with a mobile (and there's currently no way it ever will, as it's a DECT wireless headset, not Bluetooth). If you need this functionality, check out other models, such as the Jabra Pro 925, to add this convenience. Of course, you can also get Tri-fecta headsets that work with desk phone, computer and mobile. Please, we implore you - think about what your future might hold. It works out MUCH more cost-effective to get one headset to do everything, rather than just getting another headset for PC or mobile down the track - not to mention the added convenience of just one headset that lets you easily flick between devices.

Due to the modular nature of the headset, there is a bit of a design flaw that is MOST unlike Plantronics. If you wear the CS540 in the headband-style and like to flip the microphone up out of your way, this is quite stiff and you need two hands to manage it, plus it can fall out of the headband - clearly not ideal. You can get around this, just be super careful when moving the microphone boom out of your way. If you're not the careful type and already know you want a headband-style, take a look at the super comfy CS510, or Jabra Pro 920.

The Verdict

For office-only phone applications, the Plantronics CS540 is a genuinely good headset. It ticks the boxes for about 90% of buyers who will only ever use a headset with a landline. The only real detractors are the talk time (if you are busy on the phone all day it may not be up to the task) and the headband issue.

Alternatives To The Plantronics CS540 Wireless Headset

You must look at the Sennheiser D10. It's their offering in the budget-friendly range and absolutely worth the very little extra for the additional features - particularly if you're on the phone a lot. It also comes with 2 wearing styles in the box.  If you like Plantronics, the Poly Savi 7200 Series offer other wearing styles

Most people are buying multi-use headsets to keep their options open. If convergence is in your future, it's a good idea to pay a little more to cover your bases now, rather than having to replace your headset down the track. For just a little more, you can look at products such as the Jabra Engage 65 series. and the truly awesome Sennheiser DW Pro 1. If you're looking for mobile phone connectivity, as well as office and computer, then this is also offered by the Poly Savi 8200 Office series Poly Savi 8200 Office Headsets, and the beautifully intuitive  Jabra Engage 75s.