Digital Trends

Plantronics .audio 480 September 18th, 2007 | by Jason Tomczak

Skype Test

I set up the .Audio 480 headphones in Skype and made a few calls, left a few voice mails, etc. In all my tests, the .Audio 480 headphones sounded great - both incoming and outbound sounds were as good as or better than land line or cell calls. The tonal quality of voices was excellent. Even background noise seemed to disappear, which was a great benefit.

Music Test

I used the .Audio 480 headphones with iTunes and an iPod to test the audio quality. All songs were either 128kbps from the iTunes store or 256kbps VBR files from my own CD collection. In every case, the sound through the tiny rubbery ear buds was nothing short of disappointing. There was virtually no bass at all. Mids were barely audible, and the only sounds clearly emanating from the headphones were highs. Familiar with using the EQ to adjust for proper levels with varying devices, I increased bass tracks. This produced a noticeable change, but the final output was strained, unpleasant and unnatural. The memory foam ear buds worked much better for me than the rubberized ear buds, but the improvement was negligible The only way I was able to get half-way acceptable bass was to shove the ear buds far into my ear canals, making the solution worse than the benefit. Sorry folks. 

Conclusion:

The Plantronics .Audio 480 headset is a fantastic looking headset and a marvel in minimalist design. It is great for Skype use and even better for video chats because of the super thin boom mic. Unfortunately, Plantronics is also marketing the .Audio 480 as a headset for listening to music, something it kind of stinks at.

If you're looking for a headset that you can use to rock out and enjoy your CD or iTunes collection, look elsewhere.

If you're looking for a VoIP headset, a portable solution for recording audio for podcasts, audio tutorials, etc., the Plantronics .Audio 480 headset is a truly excellent option.

At a suggested retail price of $89.95 USD, the .Audio 480 seems to be a bit pricey. The good news is that the .Audio 480 can be found through numerous retailers for roughly $55 USD.


Pros:

• Great for Skype & video chat
• Futuristic, impressive design
• Super compact, easy to carry
• USB and analog connectors

Cons:

• Tiny and weak for music
• Ear buds can be uncomfortable for some users