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ActiveGard will protect your hearing with the BW900

I’m surprised it never dawned on me — I haven’t had to remove my headset because of some crazy-loud fax modem screaming in my ear at all since I’ve had my BW900 wireless headset system. I know the sound quality is by far the best of any wireless headset I’ve used, and I have noticed that the sound is always pretty even across the board. Here are some questions Sennheiser answered for TMCnet regarding the ActiveGard technology on this wireless headset that will protect your hearing as it has protected mine. Special thanks to TMCnet for posting this article!

As the third article of a four part series dedicated to uncovering the benefits of the BW900 headset, TMCnet asked Sennheiser some specifics about ActiveGard and its inclusion in the BW900.

1. What is ActiveGard?

ActiveGard is an amazing technology that protects headset users from exposure to sudden, high-amplitude (volume) acoustical energy (Acoustic Shock). Basically, it is a hearing protection technology that safeguards headset users from damaging in-call volume.

2. How important is the inclusion of ActiveGard in the BW900?

The inclusion of ActiveGard in the BW900 was a no-brainer for us. As each and every wired telephone headset we made included ActiveGard, it was necessary to include the technology in a wireless device where there is even less control over incoming call volume.

Most other-brand wireless headset devices utilize a volume control for protection, however by the time users reach for it, the damage has been done- the loud acoustical energy that has caught users by surprise and caused them to move the earpiece away from their head has already exposed them to the potential for hearing damage. The BW900’s inclusion of ActiveGard protects the user at all times, even when their hands are tied and is present in both our wired and wireless headsets.

3.What are some of the advantages BW900 users receive thanks to the inclusion of ActiveGard?

The first, of course, is a wide-reaching blanket of safety. Because the limiter kicks in before the signal ever reaches the ear, and does not let up until the signal is below the threshold of activation, the user is always protected below the OSHA limit. Rather than cut off the volume level at the OSHA recommended level, we do so below it, to guarantee safety against Acoustic Shock. The second is clarity. The ActiveGard system can limit the volume level without distortion from the earcap speaker, meaning that the volume level is clear and consistent without artifacts and distortion that can ruin an important conversation. When company dollars are on the line, every second is critical and the integrity of the call quality must remain perfect. Lastly, we provide peace of mind– being able to take any call with confidence is only going to enhance productivity.

4. How does ActiveGard work to offer protection?

The ActiveGard system is so effective, yet transparent, that you won’t hear it working because you are never exposed to dangerous volume levels any longer. It utilizes a fast-acting limiter to remove the energy from a high-amplitude acoustic burst. The limiter sustains action until the source signal drops below the activation threshold. As stated before, it does this without adding distortion.

5. How great is the risk of hearing damage for unprotected headset users?

Without a wired or wireless headset with ActiveGard, the user is exposed to Acoustic Shock every second of every call—it can happen at any time for any reason, in any circumstance.  

6. Is it important for wireless headsets to include protection for user’s ears?

Protecting an office or contact center employee’s hearing is as important as protecting any other company asset- in fact, the employee is the most important asset a company has. Headsets without ActiveGard compromise the employees’ fundamental ability to communicate, and thus, there is no communication.

7. How common is acoustic shock, and is the risk higher for mobile users?

Acoustic Shock has always been around; however it was never prevalent in the spotlight of any institution until now. Today, with greater emphasis on employee health and working conditions, Acoustic Shock is quickly becoming as common as any other work-related illness.
The increasing number of calls handled on a mobile certainly increases the exposure, especially when these calls are managed on a headset without ActiveGard.

8. How does ActiveGard recognize the safe volume for the user, before switching back into surveillance mode?

A complex series of measurement circuits determine the on and off threshold of the limiter. These circuits are always listening and sustain the limiter until the signal dips below the threshold. By using volume level to determine when the limiter should kick in, the chance that the ActiveGard limiter misses an acoustic shock is eliminated.

9. Has Sennheiser received positive response for headsets their headsets that include the ActiveGard technology?

Overwhelmingly positive…If you are in charge of your company’s headsets, ask yourself this question: how important are the ears of your employees? We have asked this question and received the answer in the form of a thank you by providing safe headset solutions for entire corporations.

10. Have those purchasing the BW900 specifically sought protection for their hearing when making the choice for that headset?

The BW900 has had two particular buyers- those looking for the best in noise reduction technology and those looking for safety without sacrificing multi-connectivity. The BW900 exceeds the requirements of both of these needs.

 TMCnet is a great source of info for technology and I frequent their site for new information all the time. Thanks for letting us use these questions!

June 24th, 2008 Posted by | Uncategorized | no comments

BW900 wireless bluetooth headset system FAQ’s

Q: What is the range for the BW900 bluetooth headset?

A: Up to 300 feet from your landline phone, 33 feet from your cellphone

Q: What is Class 1 bluetooth technology?

A: Class 1 bluetooth technology is a longer-range bluetooth frequency that offers more range for bluetooth headsets. The technology for the BW900 is in the base, not the headset–which is why the headset only has a 33 foot range when used with a cellphone

Q: Does the BW900 bluetooth headset system work with any phone?

A: The BW900 wireless/bluetooth headset system works with 98% of corded office phones. The bluetooth headset will pair with any bluetooth enabled cellphone

Q: Do I need the handset lifter?

A: The handset lifter for the BW900 (called the HSL-10) would be very handy indeed. It sits on your phone base and allows you to answer and end calls while away from the desk. It will send a beep to your headset when your phone rings and you can then answer the call by hitting a button on the headset itself. Since the BW900 headset has the longest range of any wireless headset I’ve used in our office, I find my handset lifter very necessary.

 Submit your questions as comments and I’ll answer them for you here with accurate information on the BW900 wireless/bluetooth headset system.

June 20th, 2008 Posted by | Uncategorized | no comments

What is “bluetooth”, anyway?

Ericcson initiated the Bluetooth Technology movement in 1994 in an attempt to eliminate wire clutter in homes and offices. Bluetooth was originally designed to bring together computer devices and telecommunications. Thus, Bluetooth creators thought it quite fitting to name the technology after the Danish King Harald “Bluetooth” Blåtand–the Viking leader is known for uniting the warring factions of Denmark and Norway.

How Stuff Works - How Bluetooth Works

What is Bluetooth?

Setup of Bluetooth Accessories

1. How do I set up a Bluetooth headset?Follow these steps:
   1. Charge the headset completely before beginning
   2. Power up the device
   3. Put the device in Pairing Mode
      • Check your user manual to find how to do this with your device
   4. Put the Headset in Pairing or Sync Mode
      
      • Check the headset user manual to find how to do this with your headset
   5. The device and headset must be in Pairing mode at the same time
      • They normally search for approximately 60 seconds
   6. Device will scan for all Bluetooth Devices
   7. Highlight device (headset) that you wish to pair with your device, press OK
      • You may be prompted for a PIN code; the default code is typically “0000”.

June 17th, 2008 Posted by | Uncategorized | no comments

What are the differences between the Voyager 510s from Plantronics and this BW900?

For quite some time, the Voyager 510 bluetooth headset system from Plantronics was, in my opinion, our best option to offer Customers looking for a bluetooth headset that works with both office phones and cell phones. It uses one of my favorite bluetooth headsets, after all - the Voyager 510. Comfort, reliability, and the Plantronics brand name distinguish this headset among the mass array of bluetooth headsets available from manufacturers these days that perform multiple tasks simultaneously, much like their users.

Enter the Sennheiser BW900 bluetooth headset system into the arena, and the obvious question arises:  how does it compare? Sennheiser has been known for wireless technology in the industry since the 1980s, while Plantronics is the father of the industry, the headsets Neil Armstrong used on the moon, the tried and true American blue headset company that everyone’s heard of and trusts.

Wonder no more, my friends, I have prepared for you the differences between these two bluetooth headset systems:

1. Range.

   The 510s headset offers a 33ft range from both the deskphone as well as the cellphone. The BW900 has wicked-cool Class 1 bluetooth technology in the charging stand, so you can get up to 300 feet from the phone base (still up to 33 feet from your cellphone) before hearing your “out-of-range” beeps. Okay, I tried to walk as far away as I could and I realized that no matter how far I walked I wasn’t getting any beeps in the headset. The method of “out-of-range” indication Sennheiser uses for this headset is a little LED light on the headset that flashes blue if you are straying too far from your phone base. This is inconvenient if you’re already on a call–you can’t really see your ear as you walk. Besides that, I’m used to a headset that beeps at me if I near the end of my wireless range–who’s going to notice a tiny blue LED light while they’re on a call and moving about the office? I didn’t. Oh well, I can live without the out-of-range indication since the range is more than sufficient for my office of about 10,000 square feet.

2. Talk-time.

   The Voyager 510s can operate for 6 hours before needing charged (it takes 3 hours to fully charge) and the Sennheiser BW900 can go for 5 hours. Pretty similar here, except for the fact that the BW900 has a back-up battery slot right in the charging stand. You can switch out the batteries in mid-call so you’re never cutting anyone short on a conversation. The sound will cut out during the time it takes you to switch out the battery but you won’t lose the call. Actually, while we’re on the subject of talk-time, the 510s headset can be charged with the Voyager wall charger, USB charger and car charger, all from Plantronics, allowing you to take the headset out and about with you for longer periods of usage. The BW900 bluetooth headset can only be recharged in the charging stand that connects to your office phone. It needs 4 hours in the charging cradle to charge completely, so I would certainly recommend a back-up battery to anyone interested in a BW900 wireless headset system.

3. Noise-canceling microphone.

   The Sennheiser BW900 microphone filters out 60-70% of the background noise from your callers. The Voyager 510s has “windsmart” technology that reduces wind noise, but doesn’t actively cancel out background sounds. Overall, the BW900 has better microphone sound quality. Honestly, it has probably the best sound quality of any wireless or bluetooth headset I’ve used. And I’ve used quite a few headsets in my day.

4. Incoming call beeps.

    If you have the HSL-10 handset lifter accessory with the BW900 wireless headset system attached to your landline telephone, you’ll be alerted to incoming calls with a beeping in your headset, unless you’re already on a call. The 510 will beep in both cases, but also requires a handset lifter for call alerts from a landline phone.

5. Size.

   I never thought a bluetooth headset could be such a monster! Although I use the BW900 throughout the day in the office, I couldn’t see myself walking down the street with this headset on my ear unless I was expecting to be receiving a very important phone call. Then it wouldn’t matter how I looked and I’d go with the best sounding headset I had on me at the time, and that would be my BW900 any day I had it on me. The Voyager 510 has never been the cutest or sleekest headset around, but it’s half the size of the BW900 and more suitable for public places-unless you want people to mistake you for a head coach of some sports team or a spaceship pilot preparing for flight.

Choosing between these headsets will require you to select the most important features of the headset you’ll use in your office. If you really need a long-range bluetooth headset more than you need a headset that’s easier to take with you on-the-go, I’d recommend going with the BW900. If you want something small and inexpensive, I’d say the Plantronics 510s is a better bet.

As always, feel free to let us know if you have any questions about these headsets and we’ll be happy to help.

May 15th, 2008 Posted by | Features | no comments

Wearing the BW900 headset over your head

There is now a headband released for the BW900 headset so you can choose to wear this over-the-head style instead of trusting and hoping the headset will stay on your ear (it does). Although personally, I love that I can finally wear a comfortable on-the-ear headset, I know there are many of you out there that just plain like headbands. I know, they are cute and they give you some neat headset-hair that makes you look like a pilot or something. So, for you there is a headband, complete with leatherette cushioning for comfort. You can, of course, find this at Headsets.com.

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May 13th, 2008 Posted by | Features | no comments

How To Use the BW900 With Your Computer

Here at Headsets.com, we frequently test the limits and capabilities of the headsets we carry. With the BW900 Bluetooth Headset System, we’re testing a way to connect it to your PC. It’s essentially the same way we set up any Plantronics or GN Netcom wireless headset system to a computer–with the MX10 amplifier from Plantronics. We should be able to connect the BW900 charging stand to the MX10, then connect the MX10 to the handset/headset jack on my phone base. The MX10 has a cord that connects to the sound card on my PC. Although Sennheiser could have something in place to prevent this set up from working, our Plantronics wireless headsets work great when set up this way so theoretically it should work. I’ll let you know how this works for us and give you the 411 in our next post.

May 12th, 2008 Posted by | Uncategorized | 3 comments

Using the Sennheiser BW900 headset with Dragon Naturally Speaking

For the highest accuracy when using the Sennheiser BW900 wireless headset in Dragon Naturally Speaking, you’ll need make a new user profile. When creating the profile:

- Choose “Bluetooth Microphone” from the drop down list.

- Then under “Vocabulary” click the “Advanced” button.

- Under “Speech Model” choose “Bluetooth 8kHz.”

We’ve noticed that when we don’t use those settings, poor dictation is a result. These settings are recommended as the best options for using your BW900 wireless headset with Dragon Naturally Speaking.

 Have a question about the Sennheiser BW900 wireless/bluetooth headset system?  Write a comment and we’ll respond within 2 business hours.

Click here for the BW900 Wireless Headset User Manual

April 17th, 2008 Posted by | BW900 Headset Support | 2 comments

Pairing your BW900 bluetooth headset to your cellphone

Ready to multi-task by answering your cellphone and office phone calls?

Here are the steps to pair your BW900 bluetooth headset to your cellphone:

1) Simultaneously press and hold down the headset hook button and the multi-switch until the headset LED flashes red and blue.

2) Start a search for Bluetooth devices on your mobile phone (following the steps in your cellphone manual

3) If your cellphone prompts you for a passkey, enter four zeros (0000).

If no connection is established within 60 seconds, the headset automatically returns to standby mode.

April 4th, 2008 Posted by | BW900 Headset Support | 6 comments

Teaching your HSL10 Handset Lifter 2 Unique Ring Tones

Do you have your office phone programmed with two different ringtones? If you do, and you’ve used handset lifter accessories by Plantronics or GN Netcom, you may have had a difficult time getting alerted that you actually have a call coming in.

Handset lifters generate a signal when the phone rings, letting you know there’s an incoming call. This signal is generated by a “ring detector”, basically a small microphone that comes with the lifter. Some ringtones are easier for these microphones to “hear” than others, and the HSL10 has a great workaround for this. You can actually record your ringtone using the microphone, so that it’s recognized by the HSL10 every time! With earlier lifters, you were stuck with only one ringtone that would consistently work- usually a long ringtone, lower in pitch. For those that have distinct ringers for external and internal calls, or an “emergency” ringer for the boss, that has been a limitation. The HSL10’s capability to record two separate ringtones means that you can retain more functions from your phone and still enjoy wireless freedom!

You can set up two distinct ringtones in the HSL10 as detailed below.

Teaching ring tone 1:
1) Set your telephone to ring tone 1. Make sure that ring tone 1 differs from the ring tones of other telephones in the vicinity.
2) Adjust the ring tone level to comfort.
3) Press and hold the “P1” button until the LED flashes blue.
4) The LED will flash twice if the recording was successful.

Teaching ring tone 2:
1) Set your telephone to ring tone 2. Make sure that ring tone 2 differs from the ring tones of other telephones in the vicinity.
2) Adjust the ring tone level to comfort.
3) Press and hold the “P1” button until the LED flashes blue.
4) The LED will flash twice if the recording was successful.

You’ll hear a ring tone when the HSL 10 recognizes ring tone 1 or 2. We’ve tested this out and you’ll hear the same signal in your headset no matter who calls your phone. The only potential confusion is that both ringtones will generate the same signal in your headset, so use your “nice” voice for that emergency boss hotline every time just to be sure!

April 2nd, 2008 Posted by | BW900 Headset Support | 2 comments

Never-ending battery life along with adaptive technology

Here are a couple more features of the BW900 wireless headset:

The battery that powers the BW900 will run for 5 hours before needing a recharge. For those of you who really, really like to talk or take the headset straight from your office phone to your cell, there’s a slot for an extra battery for the BW900 cleverly located right in the headset base. This means that you can swap the battery out at any time, and you can even perform a “hot-swap” with a back-up battery during a phone call for never-ending battery life. Just place your call on hold, or simply let them know that you’ll be back in a few seconds. Then, remove the battery from the headset and replace with the freshly charged back-up battery. It’s as simple as that. Back-up batteries are one of the many accessories for the Sennheiser BW900 headset system available at Headsets.com. On a side note, long-time wireless headset users will appreciate that the battery is super easy to remove and replace.

Adaptive Volume Control is another unique feature of the BW900. Digital Signal Processing will remember your unique incoming and outgoing volume preferences and adjust slightly as needed to account for quieter or louder calls.

To activate Adaptive Volume Control, press and hold the Program button along with the Hook button. The LED light will flash blue twice to verify activation. To deactivate, press and hold the Program button along with the Hook button. The LED will flash red twice to verify deactivation.

In our next post, we’ll review the HSL-10 handset lifter that works with the BW900 headset to allow you to answer and end office phone calls up to 300 feet from your desk…

Click here for the BW900 Wireless Headset User Manual

March 28th, 2008 Posted by | Features | 4 comments