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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 496 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
610 of 631 found the following review helpful:
 Good Sound; short sighted design Dec 05, 2010
By Robert J. Pankratz
This is a very specific review to help others figure out if this product will fill a specific need. I couldn't find this info when I was making my purchasing decision so I'm leaving this review to help others.
In my case I purchased these headphones specifically for use with a desktop computer to use with skype and general music listening. The idea was to use these for 8 hours a day to listen to music and take 10-30 phone calls that come in on skype a day. This has worked great forever with plantronics wired headsets but I would like to be free of the wires.
What the specs and the other reviews I have seen don't point out is a very important design element in this headset, this headset doesn't support Multipoint. Which means The 903+ is essentially two discrete products in one. First there is a Mono Headset that provides mono sound through both ear pieces and has dual microphones. Second there is an excellent Stereo Headphone that has no Microphone function.
These two modes are completely separate. At any given time only the Headset function or the Headphone function can be active but not both. Therefore there is no way to combine the microphone and the stereo audio function. This has two implications: (1) You can't pair the headset with a phone; and the headphones with a separate physical media player at the same time. (2) Any device you connect can only actively be using either the headphone or the headset but not both at the same time. A single physical device would have to switch modes on the fly to use both.
On a cellphone with the latest bluetooth profiles these two modes will work great; you can listen to music in full stereo and when a call comes in the headphones mode shuts down and the headset function fires up. You need the latest in cellphone but it does work nicely.
However if you want to use them with desktop computer, then you can in practice use them only in a single fixed mode. They are either going to be just bluetooth stereo headphones or a bluetooth headset. Desktop computers aren't expecting the dual mode device and will see the headset as two separate devices at the audio layer and there will be no indication to the computer that both can't be used at the same time. So the computer will try to access both simultaneously if you are playing music and try to take a phone call. The net result is conflicts and lockups.
Until desktop bluetooth functions catch up with cellphones; or plantronics adds multipoint to this family of head sets; you will need to look else where if you want a dual mode bluetooth headset/headphone for your desktop computer.
157 of 159 found the following review helpful:
 highly recommended Oct 12, 2010
By Lombard Street
Also own a Backbeat 906. When I decided to buy a second headset, I chose this 903+ without second thoughts even though there wasn't any price discounts for this newly released product. The sound quality, when listening to stereo music, is excellent.
A new and neat feature is that, after you turn on this headset, a female voice announces/whispers to you the approximate operating time left so that you know when you may need to charge the headset. The 906 instead uses LED light pattern (blink 1, 2, or 3 times) to indicate approximate battery life.
update: the microphone volume seems to be too weak. you may want to get a traditional headset for making calls. The 906 doesn't have this problem (but picks up much more background noise than the 903+, which has great noise-cancelling feature).
102 of 106 found the following review helpful:
Good sound quality, cumbersome design Dec 16, 2010
By Adam Wood
Giving it a rating of "It's OK" for me is due almost entirely to the ergonomics of the design. The performance is quite good.
For starters, the sound quality on these headphones is great. Music on these surprised and impressed me, and hearing people during phone calls is easy. The size, feel, and button use of these, though, are not something that I like. Below are some details.
Music (+)
- To me, music sounds full and engaging. I was very pleasantly surprised by the amount of bass - as well as the quality of it. They sound good and not just boomy. Music performance is the biggest plus to this headset, IMO, and they do a good job with it.
Phone Calls (Neutral)
- On phone calls, people's voices come through clearly. I have no trouble at all hearing people on these.
- When I spoke through these, my brother indicated that I sounded just like my other bluetooth headsets. So, no better, but no worse.
- It was weird for me, though, talking with both ears plugged by these. The ear pieces fit in and partially block the ear canal. So, great for music, but it's like talking with your fingers partially covering your ears. I got used to and it's not a big complaint, but I prefer talking with my single-ear headset.
Ergonomics (-)
- IMO, the behind-the-ear portions are big and not comfortable to wear with glasses. Some of you won't be bothered by them, but I'm rating them lower because I don't find them very comfortable.
- The buttons aren't easy to use. Perhaps they will be with more practice, but I'm not sure. Pushing some of the buttons isn't very easy because pushing them puts force on the ear piece in a direction that tends to move it off my ear. I have trouble pushing them just sitting around, let alone when I'm moving. Also, the buttons have different functions depending on how many times you push them or how long you hold them. I feel older just typing this next part, but...I'll never remember all of them.
So, I commend the performance but don't like the ergonomics. If you have a chance to try these on at a store, I recommend that. If you like how they feel, these might just be the solution for you (provided that working the buttons isn't an issue for you).
33 of 33 found the following review helpful:
 Not worth the money...even at Amazon's prices. May 09, 2011
By PookiePrancer
Most of the pros and cons of these headsets have already been mentioned in other reviews, so I won't beat a dead horse. I did, however, want to confirm that the 903+ is NOT moisture-resistant, and will consequently fail. Just one day after my return window, my 903+ started acting up during a workout. I was listening to music from my phone through its bluetooth connection, when the 903 started beeping as if I were pressing any of its function buttons (except I wasn't). Then, my phone's bluetooth voice dialer application started opening and closing, at times dialing what it THOUGHT it was hearing through the 903. Some of the 903's buttons stopped responding to my inputs, and eventually, they all did. Then the music stopped.
When I got back to my room, I examined the headset, shaking it a bit to see if any sweat had gotten in them. It had, and started dripping out of nearly every joint and crevice on the device. I shook as much of it out as I could, and after letting them dry out overnight, most of the buttons work again, and I can hear music again. However, the "phone call" button still doesn't work, and the left ear speaker sounds blown out and distorted. Needless to say, my only recourse at this point is to return them to Plantronics for warranty work.
Bottom line: the 903+ sounds and works great when it's bone dry, but if you plan to use them for any sort of workout where you might get sweaty, it's just a matter of time before you have issues. Had I known they were so easily susceptible to moisture intrusion, I would have saved my money and stuck with my wired set.
34 of 36 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent product when used correctly! Follow these tips..... Apr 28, 2011
By Dan
I called Plantronics a couple of days before my product arrived because I was concerned about my sweat shorting it out while I used it at the gym. All bluetooth headsets are susceptible to shorting out with sweat so for those that claim the Motorola Rokr's or any other brand are sweat proof they are NOT. My friend shorted out 3 Rokr headsets by sweating in them. The tech support guy gave me some helpful tips.
1. If sweating excessively try to wipe ears down with a towel occasionally.
2. Gently towel off the unit after your workout and don't store it next to sweaty t-shirts or wet towels in your gym bag.
3. And most importantly.....NEVER charge your 903+ headset immediately after a workout. Give the unit several hours to dry (preferably overnight) before attempting to charge the unit if you have worked out with them on.
Another helpful tip I learned was that the actual bluetooth antennae is located inside the left earpiece. That means you'll have less skipping or cutting out of your music if you keep your phone inside your left front or left rear pocket instead of on the right side of your body. I don't understand why they did this since most people are right handed but it is not a big deal.
I've had them for a few days so far and I love them. They are very light and don't make my ears stick out at all. The sound is excellent. They are plenty loud enough and for those who say they are not loud enough remember that you have to turn up the volume on your phone as well as on the headset. We'll see how they hold up over time but as far as music at the gym and occasional phone calls the 903+ can't be beat. Noise canceling is not the best on these but in a normal setting it's more than sufficient to handle phone calls with. Adjust the silicone ear buds to the correct angle for your ears and the comfort of the unit gets better and better as you get used to them.
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