sjjones

Mine has the blue pluse every 3 secs when ON, like Jesserpi.

JesseRPI

Well, to follow up in a last installment to my other posts about the Cardo Scala-500... I've now had the opportunity to use it for six days. During this period, I charged the headset only once (on the first day). I was able to get almost exactly 9 hours of talk time, and that is in addition to all the periods of standby during the last six days. I would say that this kind of battery life is not too shabby at all! Regarding wind noise, the performance is outstanding. Although the Scala-500 doesn't completely cancel out noise like the Aliph bone *zapping* (hehe) headset, it significantly reduces it. I've tested this feature several times by walking 15 minutes from my office to a restaurant during some very windy afternoons. Wind speed was at about 15 MPH, blowing directly into the headset (I was facing the wind). While in a conversation, the other party said that she could hear some background noise, but my voice still came in very clear above that noise. I did not have to shout, but just spoke at a normal volume. Another coincidental test was when I was in my car - an 18-wheeler passed me on the highway (actually almost ran me off the road), and the person on the other end of the line could not even hear the rumbling of the truck. I gotta admit though, what makes me really know that I have the best headset is that when I'm speaking to one of my friends, and then say something like, "Can you hear me alright? I'm using a wireless headset," and the friend answers something like, "You're using a wireless headset?! You're kidding!" Just wish I had found this one before I spent a few frustrated weeks going from headset to headset, thinking that the problem must be the Treo 650! Well, hopefully you guys won't have to do that now. Enjoy!

KRamsauer

Thanks Jesse. I'm eagerly awaiting mine. :-)

YoungTurk

Jesse:

Compare the Scala's volume to other headsets. I've used the Jabra 250, Moto 810, 850, SE HBH 300 and 65. I've returned or sold all but the SE HBH 65, but I have an 660 on order, all because of too low volume.

YoungTurk

sjjones

Btwn using BT Mute patch and the Scala 810/820 30-40% softer HBH 35 25%softer.

Just guessing, what do you think Jesse??

JesseRPI

I have used all the headsets you mentioned with the exception of the SE ones with the Treo 650, and I can tell you from experience that the Scala-500 is by far much louder than any of them. In fact, I find that at the highest volume setting the volume can be almost too high! What I found works great is to set the volume to max on the Treo, and two notches below the highest setting on the headset. This way, the volume is comfortable in quiet environments, and automatically boosts itself in noisy environments. It's amazing really... like one of those speed sensitive car radios that adjusts the volume depending on the speed of your car to make up for road noise. The Scala-500 actually adjusts for the noise itself, so it's especially useful!

SailRace

I just received today, my new HBH 660. What an amazing imporvement over the Jabra 250. Although i haven't had a chance to really test the volume in a noisy environment, i will do so on my way home today, and update everyone tomorrow. I can say this, the sound quality is head and shoulders above the Jabra unit. I can walk across my office ~15 feet, and have no loss of sound or static breakup. I couldn't walk more than 2 feet away with the Jabra before it started getting staticy on both ends.

Love having hte LCD readout as well, so i can keep the Treo in my pocket now.

JesseRPI

On the HBH 660, does the LCD readout display the incoming phone number when paired with the Treo 650? If so, that's pretty amazing... I didn't know if the Treo 650 supported that functionality.

SailRace

The 660 does indeed show the incoming phone number with the 650. I wish it was able to show the name of the contact from the contacts list, but the number is good enough. So far it is working flawlessly.

JesseRPI

Wow... very interesting. Now, how about wind noise/background noise - how is the performance? Is the volume high enough? And one last one... have you compared it against the Scala-500? Thanks!

YoungTurk

Jesse - even though I am very happy with my 65, and my 660 is in transit, on the strength of your exuberance over the Scala, I ordered mine today from eCost, but went with the 'free' ground delivery.

YoungTurk

JesseRPI

Great, you will undoubtedly enjoy it! However, I am also very interested in learning more about how the SE HBH-660 compares. If it is at least as good as the Scala-500 in terms of performance/audio, then it could be a viable contender for the title of "BEST BLUETOOTH HEADSET FOR THE TREO 650".

Woof

ok broke down and ordered one too.

YoungTurk

Judging by the testimonials and recommendations from this thread, these 2 are the highest rated - at least for the Treo 650.

YoungTurk

JesseRPI

Haha... It's funny how we just can't resist. I bet if it were more expensive even more people would be shouting out as to how good it is. Sometimes it can be hard to admit you have one of the cheapest headsets around.

JesseRPI

Btw, any brick-and-mortar stores selling the SE HBH-660 so I could go try it?

YoungTurk

Not that I know of - I did a 'buy it now' off eBay - about $80 as I recall.

YoungTurk

SailRace

I don't think the 660 is available in stores yet. I am leaving the office now and will reports on wind noise, car noise, volume, etc.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

hall316

my hbh 660 is charging now. got it off ebay for $75 and it was from someone local so I just met up with him today and paid him the cash. Saved money for no shipping and saved him a little on paypal charge. Can't wait to try is out.

SailRace

Report for my drive home and windy conditions. The microphone is phenomenal. Walking into the wind and speaking to someone in the bahamas, i was told i sounded just like i was on any other phone. No complaints whatsoever.

Whilst int he car, there is still some issue with the speaker not being quite as loud as i'd like. It was a rainy windy drive home, and the rain on the windshield (plus i own a Jeep, which isn't know for soundproofing) made it a little hard to hear, but overall, i was very impressed. I think i'll be keeping this one.

Well done Sony-Ericson (or whoever built this thing)