Plantronics Cordless Headset Phone (CT14)

The sound quality is great. The noise-canceling does the job. The headset works with regular and cordless phone. My home office has many wireless devices. The phone doesn't interfere with any.

If you work from home and you have kids, this is the one to get.

Plantronics Cordless Headset Phone (CT14)

Phone sounds better than the first two cordless phones I bought. Feels like it is well made, more durable feeling buttons than other phones. Headseat sounds good and is comfortable. I like that I was able to pickup a spare battery to swap out, although this is a bit more difficult than I would like. I like how small it is, I carry it around in my robe pocket.

I am enjoying my new phone. This is my second plantronics head-set phone and I love the improvements. The keypad is easy to see and use, it has caller ID, and an end button instead of just talk. I use it at home and when I am out in the yard.

After trying to use headsets with typical wired desk phones, i tried to Plantronics CT14 and i love it. I didnt need a lot of fancy features, just a basic phone that I could use comfortably during multi-hour conference calls. I just love being able to join a call and slip the unit into my pocket. This is a keeper for the work-at-home'ers.

I've been using the Plantronics CT10 since that model came out quite a few years ago. The battery was finally starting to die; the expense of replacing the battery was about half the cost of the new CT14 so I figured I'd just get the new phone. The CT14 has some significant improvements to the earlier version.

1) The big improvement is in sound quality. With the CT10, if you left the dial pad in the dock while on the phone, you'd hear clicking - something related to the charging circuit. This was particularly annoying because if the battery ran out during a long conference call, you had no choice but to leave the phone in the dock. With the CT14, there's no noise whether the dial pad is in the dock or not.

2) The touchpad itself is improved. With the CT10, pushing a button sometimes resulted in a touchtone, but sometimes not. The CT14's dialpad is markedly improved. You still need very small fingers, so those with large fingers may have trouble pushing individual buttons. There's a screen on the CT14 dialpad too, another improvement, and it's backlit so as to be easily read in darkened environments.

3) There is a choice of various ringtones and volumes, another nice improvement.

4) The mute setting on the CT10 left you listening to a repetitive beeping sound. That was very annoying since muting usually means that you're trying to have another conversation during a conference call. Listening to beeping then isn't what you want. The CT14 doesn't have the beeps; rather you simply have a note on the screen telling you that you're muted. Excellent.

5) The phone blinks to advise you that you have messages - this works well with a VoIP system. I use Vonage and the CT14 tells me if I have messages waiting.

Range, comfort, etc., are all very good. It would be nice if we could eventually lose the wire between the headset and the dial pad since I'm always catching the wire on doorknobs and other items as I walk about while on the phone. It was definitely worth upgrading from the earlier model.

I've had this about a month. It is simple to use, smaller and lighter than my BlackBerry, headset sound is clear and even has three tone settings to choose from. No speed dial but I can dial the handful of people I call regularly in three clicks (address book button, first letter of person, dial). Very happy with is so far.

I used the previous version of this phone every day for about five years. The convenience is hard to beat. Slip the receiver in your shirt pocket (or clip it to your belt), slip on the head phone and you almost forget you're wearing a phone. I've used it for 4-5 hours at a time with no unpleasant feeling. I don't know what else to say, for me this is the perfect phone. This model seems to reach further and is less susceptible to interference from nearby electronics (in my case the microwave caused crackling in the previous model)

I needed this for conference calls I take from home. On the plus side: great sound, lightweight, excellent batter life. On the delta side, I was surprised to see it does not have speaker. I guess I could have found that by reading the list of features more closely. I was a bit let down by the construction; as many reviewers noted, it has a cheap plastic look. Even so, I like it overall - I did not buy it for the looks :-)

This phone would not program and their technicians could not help me. Said to return it for a new one. I bought a regular cordless phone at Radio Shack and can get a headset to go with it if I wish. I would only buy Plantronics headsets not this combo!

Bought this phone as a Christmas gift for my mother. She loves it, and wears it all day so that she can continue with household chores while talking on the phone.

This is a great little phone. The only thing it is missing from the old model is the 10 one-touch dialing numbers feature, which I miss.

Love this phone. Only one minor problem, the ringer isn't very loud but it will do. Other than that the phone works great and everyone tells us that it sounds great!

The main thing I want is a cordless headset that sounds good. This one sounds good.

As an iPhone user, it's a little crazy to pick up a device that's a total pain to use. Of course, it's easy to hit talk and dial a number. But with such a tiny display, it's a bit tricky to program speed dial names and numbers (but not impossible).

The whopping three-line display seems as if Plantronics filled a windowless conference room with people who actually tried to choose the most useless possible information to display. When you're not talking, it reads:
12:00A [Battery level]
Handset #1
New CID:11.

1) I don't want to program another clock, especially one that requires dozens of button pushes.
2) I only have have one handset.
3) Why not just say, "X new calls"? CID... okay, I guess that's Caller I.D. But who the hell calls it CID?

Again, this phone does its basic function well - which is very important. But it makes me sad to spend money on a product that's so badly designed.

I work from home, and I am on the phone 7-9 hours a day. My previous cordless phone worked well except for the fact that the battery would die about 3/4 of the way through my work day. I read the reviews of the CT14, and noted that the manufacturer's specs said that the battery life was ~10 hours. I was dubious, but having had good experiences with Plantronics in previous workplaces, I gave it a try.

The phone itself is wonderfully lightweight and small, which allows me to dispense with the included belt clip and just put it in my pocket. The display is bright and easy to read, and operating it is simple and straightforward. The included headset can double as over-the-head or on-ear, and does so very simply.

After the initial setup and testing, I sat it on the charger overnight. The next day, I spent my usual +/- 8 hours on the phone, and then spent an additional 2 hours talking with a friend while we gamed online. The battery indicator NEVER dropped below full, and there was no practical indication -- like less range or gradual worsening of sound quality -- that the battery was anything but fully charged and at 100% strength. To this day, I have yet to see it fall to half-strength, even after a full 12 hours of use.

The only drawbacks to the phone are the small keypad, which takes fat-fingered people like me a bit of getting used to, and the display doesn't add any sort of separators to the entered phone numbers, so if you want to see 1-213-555-1212, you're going to be disappointed when you see 12135551212.

We bought two of these and they are the best! Very clear conversations from everywhere in the house, so light and comfortable you forget you're wearing it, long battery life and no interferance from the microwave!

We just bought two CT-14's to replace a pair of Plantronics CT-12's that had started to fizzle after 4 or 5 years. Perhaps replacing the batteries (again - they last about 2 yrs) would have helped, but the volume started to peter out on the old units and people complained they couldn't hear me. After reading the reviews, and that the CT-14 had solved the annoying interferance from the microwave oven, I decided to jump in and buy the new version. The new model has larger (though still small) buttons, better display contrast (still nothing fancy), and otherwise is nearly the same externally as the CT-12. Also they have cleaned up a few usability issues and I find it more intuitive to use the speed dial and manage caller ID numbers. I especially like that you can press "*" to add a "1" to the front of a caller ID number when you want to call someone back; the lack of a "1" on the front forced me to write down and rekey numbers so this is a welcome improvement.

DETIALS FOR MULTIPLE CT-14'S

My wife and I both like these headset phones so much that we have two of them - so we can have one upstairs and the other downstairs (though the range is good enough to use them everywhere) - and so we can both jump on a call at the same time.

There is no interferance between the two phones. However I was curious about some of the product literature about how the phones can interact; here's what I was able to piece together:

- Multiple handsets can share a base unit, OR,
- A handset can be keyed to more than one base unit, but the handset has to explicitly connect to a base unit, it's not like a cell phone switching dynamically to the nearest base unit
- You can't have multiple handsets units floating among multiple base units as I had imagined or hoped

Thus I ended up just having each phone operate independently. This works fine, but left me wondering why they bothered including the multi-phone/multi-base features.

One thing I liked was the ability to enter a custom "label" to the phone display. So one phone displays "Upstairs" and the other "Downstairs" on the LCD display... makes it easy to remember which phone goes where when it's time to recharge.

Overall a big recommendation for this handset phone!

Simply put, it's the best phone I've bought. I work from home and spend many hours on the phone. I can talk and be effective on the computer as well as hold lengthy meetings while walking around the office. I had bought some cordless phone and headsets from big box stores, but the end result was never very good; I was muddled, quiet, or rife with background. Plantronics clearly has focused on the proper mating of a cordless phone and a headset with the C14. The build quality, call quality, and appearance are all superb and I would gladly recommend this phone to a friend or family member.

After reading several reviews, and trying everything from GE (good, but a little flimsy) to AT&T (the headset could have been used for medieval torture) I decided to give this one a try. I had used commercial versions in past lives and been satisfied.

It was a good choice. The battery life is phenomenal. It takes a full day to charge at start-up, but I've never used it to the point of having less than 30% battery life in a full day+ of talking.

Being able to adjust the sound for my very bass voice significantly improved my conversations.

There are numerous little features that are convenient but the important things are that it works, people can understand me and the battery won't drop you in the middle of a key call

Small compact headset that is priced right and performs well. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a cordless headset that won't break the bank.

I've been working a lot from home, with my office downstairs and family members upstairs. This phone is perfect for wearing all over the house and even out in the backyard. Great sound quality and range. Easy to wear and when I keep it clipped on my shirt or belt, I can't lose it. Having this phone has saved me a lot of steps, either up the stairs to find a phone or down the stairs to find a phone.

If this is the first time you have used a product like this, it will be a pleasure to free yourself from being tied to one spot or having your hands tied to the side of your head. Young moms or dads will find it an amazing product. Those of you who are replacing their product with this newer and "improved" model will be very disappointed. The build quality is much lower. The sound quality is just adequate.

I imagine the only "improved" part of this is the profit margin for Plantronics. The price is lower than it was before but it feels and sounds like it.

To summarize, it is good enough but not as good as it was before. You may be happy with it, but don't expect to be blown away.

Bought this phone to replace a dying Radio Shack cordless headset phone, which was the best of this type of phone I have ever owned. The Radio Shack ET-3906 had all the features I wanted in a phone, but was discontinued a long while ago.

I tried this Plantronics phone based on all the good reviews, and it is a good phone with much better technology than the Radio Shack phone, however, it lacks two key features for me.

The reason I need a cordless headset phone is so I can be mobile while talking. I need to have both my hands free, and be able to make and receive calls while moving throughout my home.

This phone lacks a speed-dial, 10 key memory dialing feature. I had programmed all 10 keys of the Radio Shack to handle my multiple bank accounts information. This was so helpful to me to be able to simply press the numbered keypads on the phone to enter the lengthy account information. If I had realized this phone lacked such a common feature, I would not have bought it. It is critically important for me to have this feature, and many if not most phones today give you that feature.

This phone also lacks a flip-up waist clip, so as it is clipped to your waistband, it is upside-down. If I need to access the keypad for any reason, (make another call, access the call waiting feature, ending a call, muting the phone, etc.) I have to remove it to do so. This is stupid. The Radio Shack phone had a flip-up face, and while it was on your waistband, when you looked down at it, the phone's dial pad was facing you, so you could clearly use the keypad of the phone.

I understand the Plantronics Calisto Pro offers both a speed-dial and flip-up waist clip, but at a very steep price. My Radio Shack phone offered me all these features and more, for under $50.00.

Lastly, the Plantronics phone is not shielded, so when my husband's cell phone is about to receive an incoming call, my Plantronics phone makes a horrid buzzing sound in my ear, totally disrupting my call. The Radio Shack phone never did this. For two people who work out of the home as my husband and I do, this interference is extremely annoying.

So while I like this phone for the hands-free feature, as far as I can tell, there are no other options out there. Plantronics seems to be the only company making this type of phone now. A cordless headset phone should be available from all manufacturers. Once you use this type of phone, you can never go back to one that has to be hand held, or wedged into the area between your ear and shoulder.

I think Plantronics could do better with this phone. I hope they make some improvements to this model. I refuse to pay the enormous price they want for the Calisto Pro. Plus, it is not a shielded phone either, so the interference issue would continue.

This is my 2nd of these phones because of the compact design, nice headset and features -mute button, favorites, redial list, etc. They do have issues with the battery not lasting very long and not being able to hang up after a couple years.

I work from home and spend at least 6 hours a day on conference calls. I couldn't work without my Plantronics cordless headset phone. I recently replaced my several year old CT12 model due to frustrations with battery life. Even with replacement batteries in the CT12 they just weren't lasting. The CT14 does everything my CT12 did while giving me longer talk time. No more battery failure mid conference call. My only complaint is they moved the mute button and it took me about 3 days to get used to the new location. Highly recommended product for those who spend a lot of time on the phone and don't want to be tied to their desk.

I have had my little phone for quite sometime. I love the mobility and the range of tasks I can do both in and out of the house. Fits into a pocket or clips on easily.
Great performance for such a little phone. It fits my life style perfectly.
Aleta
North Carolina

This is a great little phone, especially the fact that it's hands-free. I suffer from hand pain, and it seems that Plantronics is the only company still making a hands-free phone. I hope they always do.

I already have the CT11 model, made a few years ago. The CT14 is basically the same design, but they have made improvements over the CT11. The buttons are a little larger, and the paint contrast on them makes the lettering much easier to see. The screen is larger, and also easier to read. I need a magnifying glass to read the CT11 screen. Really.

The new feature I like the best is the Over-The-Ear headset. It's always been awkward putting a regular headset on quickly enough to answer the phone while it's ringing. The over-the ear headset is so simple and fast to use, I just slip it on my ear and talk.

The new DECT 6.0 is true to its claims that there is no interference. If I turn the microwave oven on while using the CT11, I have to leave the kitchen because of interference. The CT14 has no such problem. I haven't tested its 300 ft range, yet.

One thing odd about this phone is the `tin can' sound of caller's voices. I can hear them clearly, they just sort of sound like they are talking in a tin can. It's not so bad that I can't get used to it, though.

The first phone I received was defective, and amazon was very helpful in coordinating a replacement phone. The problem with it was that the ringer volume (set on High) was so low, I had to be within 2-3 feet to hear it. My replacement phone is a little better, but not a whole bunch. I still need to be within about 10 feet to hear it. I don't know if this is the trend with newer phones, but with an aging baby boomer population, I think they should reconsider their design. I'm not hard of hearing, but if I've got the TV on, it takes a couple of rings before I realize that the little ringing sound is coming from my phone!

Even with the couple of issues with this phone, I think it deserves five stars. I want to make sure Plantronics doesn't stop making these headset phones!

They put all their effort into creating a phone (without a mouthpiece) and added a really cheap headset onto it. If you want a lot of dialing features to carry around the house with you (caller ID, auto dialing, etc) then the phone part of this is okay (my portable phones all do these things, and are only a bit heavier). But I wanted really good sound, and this doesn't have it. It has one of those mikes that doesn't make it all the way to your mouth, and the "volume control" is in the phone with only 3 levels - not enough to help.

I followed another reviewer's idea and called into my voicemail from this phone, and from several others in the same call. Then I listened on different phones. This one is slightly better than the $20 headset I was trying to replace, but worlds worse than just talking into a regular phone. Not worth $100!