FREETALK Wireless (2nd Gen) in the house! Literally.

Along with a couple other little gadgets, the FREETALK Wireless headset arrived in the mail from InStoreSolutions (ISS). This product – before even getting into it – holds a special place in my heart, as it uses a chipset from Avnera that I helped design and target at precisely this usage model. That all started six years ago... but amazingly enough this is the first 2nd Generation model to emerge from one of the chipset's adopters. The other first generation products from Logitech, Plantronics, and Creative are still out there, and going strong (save for Creative's which is hard to come by... unfortunately because their mic boom was h-o-t).

Cracking the box open, plugging it in... all worked without a hitch. Devices were paired out of the box, so no setup, and plugging it into the MacBookPro was seamless. Plug and Play, as usual, painless.

The high points

Compared to the first generation FREETALK, the new model is more comfortable, sports a folding design, and comes with a protective and compact carrying case. Definite improvements. The mic boom is the same variety that Creative used, and so it is awesome in feel and manipulation, however the mic tip itself is kinda chunky and blah.

While heating my dinner in the microwave, there was slight interference, but no interruptions... just some warbling and slightly chirpy distortion which is a result of the error concealment algorithms employed by Avnera. To further make life difficult for the FREETALK, there was WiFi active in the same room, as well as one other AvneraAudio device sending audio within my home-theater space. Basically, it's nice to see after a couple years, the wireless audio chipset holds up to even some pretty insane usage stress.

Range performance was particularly good on the model I received. I easily had 45 feet through two walls. Slightly better than the Plantronics .Audio 995 I usually use, and where my head position can cause drop outs when I am on the other end of the my space. Nothing of the sort with the FREETALK. I'm sure the manufacturer has taken their learnings from building the first generation model which always helps maintain RF performance and consistency. It's not unusual for a high level of variability to plague wireless performance on one piece versus the next. It's maddening for makers, and more important those poor users who get stuck with one... just make sure you save your receipts for a day or two.

Switzerland

A few points to note regarding this model that I am fairly neutral about. This second generation FREETALK Wireless has a proper dongle without the wire tethered "puck" of the the first generation model. I guess I like it for cleanliness sake, but it also bugs a little me because I am always worried I will wrench it while plugged into my MacBook Pro.

I noticed the addition of microphone sidetone added into the headphone audio – something the Logitech had, and I personally could care less about.

The other aspect of this model I could take or leave is the new style.   The design has a very generic industrial design on the cups, and if I had to sound negative here in Switzerland, the silkscreening was a bit garish and clumsy looking.

My one (real) disappointment

Where this particular model really fell short of its pioneering predecessors was in the sound quality – both in tonal aspects, and in audible noise level.

To my ear, the 2nd Gen FREETALK sounds a little tinny and less precise than the Logitech and Plantronics models, and perhaps even less forgivably, worse than the 1st Gen FREETALK (which trumped them all to be frank).  I am disappointed that ISS didn't follow through on the most stealthy, audio value device in this space.

The second issue is noise. When there is nothing playing through, there is an audible amount of noise to be heard. A shame, and a blemish on what could be a much better SNR given the core system employed. I admit I'm a little more critical than most, and it's really only noticeable when music isn't playing... but as a hint to technical folks associated with this product, the noise I am hearing does not change with the volume level of the headphone DAC which (I think) means that the audio is coupling into the speakers themselves directly from the circuit itself.

Again, all three models I've used extensively before this did not exhibit this noise problem, which to me is a factor of the maker and product development decisions made while bringing this product to market.

Hopefully some tweaks improve this as production moves forward, or perhaps I had a bad unit in some respect.

Overall

For US$79.99, this product is a considerably good value for the features and experience it provides.  It's no secret my personal favorite Avnera-based headset is the Plantronics .Audio 995, but considering the latest FREETALK gets better range, is more compact and carry-friendly, and assuming they can fix the one needling audio quality issue, I would say it's a toss up between these two models.

Many users stand to be very satisfied. It's also great that ISS has stepped up their support levels and so much user frustration from the early days of the first model will be addressed in a better manner going forward.

Six out of nine.

As I do from time to time... I search "wireless speakers" at bestbuy.com.  I was happy to see that 6 out of 9 result items were products Avnera enabled.  Aw shucks.  Read all about them here at wirelessaudioblog.

The leader of the pack (imo).

The Plantronics take on Avnera's first gen AudioMagic chips seems to capture the yellow jersey.  Logitech, Creative, and Freetalk may very well still be selling at a strong clip, but the feature set and execution of the .Audio 995 seems to resonate with consumers more than the others – who admittedly are getting long in the tooth.

Just ran across these user reviews over at Amazon, and they made my day, and so I think they are worth reading...

From Chris Zee Shutterbug:

Let me start with something that amazed me. I plugged the USB dongle into the computer, started Itunes, hit play and music started coming from the headphones!!! I did not have to configure a single thing. [...] That level of ease of operation has to be commended.

From Jennifer:

I love these headphones. I got them for my teenage son, but when he told me to listen to the great sound they became mine! The sound quality is incredible. [...] My son used them for World of Warcraft and he said the sound was awesome. He wants them back...but I've found a great hiding place and I am keeping them!

From CR Swanson:

I've reviewed three different headphones for Amazon Vine, including the three-hundered dollar Monster Beats, and this is, by far, the best of the bunch. They're comfy, they have great sound quality and the wireless mode just can't be beat!

From P Colin McGraw (with a gripe for balance):

I usually use wired headsets, and it feels freeing to be able to walk around the room listening to music, not having to navigate to iTunes with my mouse to fast forward as I get tangled in a headphone's cord. In fact, I'd actually use this headset even if I didn't need a microphone for just the awesome wireless headphone capabilities!

If I had to dig deep for a negative, I guess it would be the comfort. [...] the pads on your ears are designed to go ON TOP of your ears instead of AROUND them. It basically smooshes your ears to the side of your head, which you don't mind at first with the soft pads, but it gets uncomfortable after awhile.

Overall, it's hard to find a flaw with these and I'd wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone looking for a headset with or without a mic! It would be hard to design this headset any better and it's a great value!

There is another review, that gave 2 out of 5 stars (when 4/5 is the average over 8 reviews) – feel free to check it out – but from what I know of our technology, he is experiencing a busted antenna, probably a maunfacturing defect...  No other reason why he'd be getting garbagey sound while he moves.  Also, the output power of the headset compared to a 2.4GHz cordless telephone is not even close!  So if he is looking for a source for his wireless-G woes.. he should direct his attention elsewhere.  That's the spectrum monster.  Also he should switch to Skype and junk the 20th century technology.

Gotta love Plantronics' distribution too...

I failed to mention, the .Audio 995 is available for ordering now at:

• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Tiger Direct
• for all you SMB buyers out there... a whole host of distributors

Go get one. Please. Thanks.

The Plantronics .Audio 995 Digital Wireless Stereo Headset is here.

Plantronics .Audio 995A little late to the show, but never more welcome.  If Skype, Logitech, Creative, and Acoustic Research weren't enough for you, there is a new kid on the plug & play wireless USB headset block.  Plantronics has recently launched their .Audio 995. From their site...

Trade up and experience the freedom of wireless. Enjoy up to 40 feet of roaming away from the PC, and full range performance of digital stereo sound for all your PC audio needs – music, Internet calls, podcasts, DVDs, games and more And with features like convenient on-ear music controls and Fast Mic Mute™ you can stay in control even when you’re away from your desk. The pillow-soft, swivel-mounted ear cushions and lightweight design enable all-day wearing comfort for an enjoyable wireless digital experience.

But, in a word.  Awesome.  At $109.95, the .Audio 995 is one of the nicest looking devices in the space.

Man, when almost every brand of headset maker in the PC accessory market has their horse, it's a damn sure sign of a product category that's here to stay.  While to many this isn't a sexy product space, let me offer this... try to think about what other devices come to mind that let you enjoy so many of the things you love to do – music, movies, talking to friends and family, games – and do so while rendering zero-compromise in audio quality, resting squarely (and comfortably) on your skull and sensitive ears, and while picking up and relaying your every word. That's a serious chunk of human interaction! So we're fine with some geeky cynics who say "ho-hum" and cry "commodity!"... in the meantime we'll be blissfully enjoying what everyone will soon take for granted.

What's my point?  Well, I'm proud to have been a part of making this product category a reality, and it's something all those at Avnera and these first OEMs should be similarly proud of.  These are the small successes in consumer electronics that people rarely talk about.  No it's not Apple and their iPhone, or Palm and their Pre, or Nintendo and their Wii... but it's born of countless innovations, creative thinking, worn-out roller-bags, and sleepless nights in every time-zone that make these things happen.

It's nice to think there are many more good ideas being crafted even as the economic news of the day would make you think otherwise.