If I buy an Obi Business Phone, do I also need to buy the Obi VOIP Adapter?
SteveInWA:
Quote from: blinx77 on September 30, 2016, 08:25:30 pm
I think I am going with the 1022 because I want to make sure the sound quality is crystal clear. This is the main reason I am even getting a landline at all -- I am sick of using cell phones and having poor sound quality. I also want to use a wireless headphone (the $200 planatronics one, because I had that at my old job and loved it) and they work best with a corded phone.
All that being said, is there any work around where one could hook up an extra cordless phone via wifi or bluetooth? Or any hope Obi might release a compatable additional handset in the future?
Hi: Grant (N7AS) answered your question about additional handsets. No, you can't hook up an additional handset to an OBi IP phone. It is a pure digital IP solution, with no analog (RJ-11) jack. Nobody knows what Obihai's future plans may be, but it would be safe to assume that they won't be selling handsets. There just isn't a significant market demand, that can't already be met by doing what Grant said: if you need this, then also buy an OBi 200 ATA, and plug in a DECT 6.0 cordless phone system into the OBi 200's RJ-11 jack.
For example, I have two OBi IP phones, in different parts of the house, and I also use a DECT phone system for roaming around the property.
RE: headset use: buy the OBi 1032, not the 1022. The 1032 supports business-class headsets (e.g. Plantronics or GN Netcom/Jabra) that connect via an RJ-9 headset jack vs. the cheap headsets that use a 25mm or 3.5mm round plug. The 1032 can use an optional "Electronic Hook Switch" or EHS cable, which allows you to remotely answer a call by clicking a button on your wireless headset. This solution is costly, but since you mentioned prioritizing audio quality, this is, by far, the best sound you'll get. If you are shopping for a headset, look for one that supports EHS.
blinx77:
Great, thanks very much. I cancelled my order and switched to the 1032. My two goals here are low ongoing operational costs (that's why I didn't just call Comcast and pay $25 a month) and top-notch sound quality. I am often on big business conference calls and have basically been unable to work from home given poor cell reception when compounded with the strain of having 30 people on a dial-in, all with their own background noise and connectivity issues.
The headset I'd like to get is the Plantronics CS540, which does support EHS. Would you recommend the EHS over the handset lifter? It looks like the handset lifter is basically $30 more while EHS would be $90 for the two different cables. Would you consider it worth the $60 premium?
I won't be working from home every day, maybe once a week, so I am thinking maybe I'll start with the handset lifter and see how that goes.
SteveInWA:
Quote from: blinx77 on September 30, 2016, 09:42:54 pm
Great, thanks very much. I cancelled my order and switched to the 1032. My two goals here are low ongoing operational costs (that's why I didn't just call Comcast and pay $25 a month) and top-notch sound quality. I am often on big business conference calls and have basically been unable to work from home given poor cell reception when compounded with the strain of having 30 people on a dial-in, all with their own background noise and connectivity issues.
The headset I'd like to get is the Plantronics CS540, which does support EHS. Would you recommend the EHS over the handset lifter? It looks like the handset lifter is basically $30 more while EHS would be $90 for the two different cables. Would you consider it worth the $60 premium?
I won't be working from home every day, maybe once a week, so I am thinking maybe I'll start with the handset lifter and see how that goes.
That's a good question. I started using business-class GN Netcom headsets at work, in the 1990s. We didn't have EHS nor handset lifters. It wasn't an issue at the time, since our headsets were hardwired, and we were sitting at desks. The remote-answer benefit really only matters for cordless headsets. When I got one, I got a handset lifter. I used it for years, and it was fine, although it was held onto the phone with double-stick tape that would eventually peel off. The OBi IP phones have a speaker grille between the two wells that hold the handset's ear and mouthpieces. The grille is raised up in a dome. It might interfere with the handset lifter attachment; I don't know. If you can buy the lifter and can return it if it doesn't fit (and then buy the EHS kit instead), that's what I'd suggest.
My go-to source for business headsets is http://www.hellodirect.com, an online retailer owned by Jabra/GN Netcom. They also sell Plantronics and Polycom stuff. They're not the cheapest retailer, but they have expert customer support and decades of experience.
This is the product I use with the OBi 1032:
http://www.hellodirect.com/hellodirect/Shop?DSP=30102&PCR=1:1:5:15:150:1040&IID=13577&itemskuid=13577
One advantage it has over the Plantronics model you mentioned, is that it supports wideband audio, as does the OBi 1032. This is more of a future-proofing benefit, as most VoIP calls are still narrowband (determined by the telephone service proviers in use on each end of the call).
blinx77:
Thanks very much, Steve. I did end up ordering the 1032 and the headset recommended.
Did you ever have trouble getting the Jabra headset set up? I can hear the dialtone on the headset, but when I went to do the sound configuration, it couldn't connect to the Jabra number. I also tried calling with a manual configuration but the sound quality was terrible.
SteveInWA:
I was a beta tester/early adopter of the 1032 phone, and initially, there were all sorts of problems related to EHS in particular, and also some issues with setting up the Jabra headset. Make sure your OBi phone's firmware is updated to the very latest version 5.0.0 (Build: 3497.1311) and that you also run Jabra's software on your PC to update the Jabra headset to their latest firmware version.
I think I had to skip the Jabra automatic setup routine and set it up manually at one point. I did it so many times during the beta phase, I can't recall how it finally ended up. I'll take a look at it tomorrow and let you know.
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