UPDATE: I stupidly stupidly lost my 508341 getting out of a car on 52nd St. in Manhattan a couple weeks ago. One of those "I totally saw it coming" things too. I'm not a big fan of owning 'stuff', but when you misplace or lose something and it effs up your life - well, that's a sign it's super-useful 'stuff'. I was a mess without it and couldn't buy a replacement fast enough. Thankfully I'm back in business! This is a great headset. Thank you Sennheiser.
ORIGINAL REVIEW: I've owned a zillion headsets over the years - wired and wireless. I even have custom-made ear tips for my old Jabra units, which are super-comfy. I gave up on wireless headsets a couple years ago after Jabra EOL'd one of the products I was using (or something like that) and stuck to wires - always being annoyed - eventually to the point of wanting to go wireless again. I was not price sensitive, so the search space was broad. I did not need a pair of devices (earphones - no music) just phone call support (and the occasional audiobook). I read every friggin' comparison-review I could find and narrowed things down to 3-4 products that I did a deep dive on. In the end, I wasn't totally gleeful with any of the data I was collecting. Everything had trade-offs.
But Sennheiser kept popping up in my research - and I own a couple of their high-end headphone products, which are top-notch. But I assumed any sort of telephony products by Sennheiser would be some sort of adjunct-brand product, not a real product. After my dissatisfaction with the 3-4 products I had initially identified, I decided to poke in on some of the Senn products, and to my surprise was finding great reviews. They still had some caveats based on user opinions but the 508341 looked like it was addressing all the complaints. The product was very very new and it wasn't obvious it was yet released in the US. I found it on Amazon via BuyVPC and decided to take a flyer.
Skeptical from the get-go, I have been nothing but pleasantly surprised. Dare I say, maybe even 'happy' with my headset. I found the right-sized earpiece and use it without the wrap-over plastic hook. Unless I'm jumping up and down or running during calls :-) it totally stays put - and that was important to me - those over-ear loops piss me off. It paired easily with my phone (Samsung Galaxy Note 9) and my computer (MacBook Air 13" 2017). I switch between phone calls on my phone and audio- and video- conference apps on my computer (Google, Zoom, Appear, etc.). It almost always "does the right thing" when moving between the two devices - though every now and then I have to actively do the connection via the BT software on the device - or sometimes just shut off the BT on the device, forcing it to move to the other device. But I've never cursed it out :-) as it's always "done the right thing". The battery life has also been phenomenal and the recharge time is super quick as well. Audio quality is top-notch. Noise-cancelling is top-notch.
The only one nitpick I have is that when I use it with Audible for listening to audio books, it's about one or two 'clicks' shy of being loud enough for me. It's totally usable at max volume for the audiobooks, but I wish it could go "one higher" (a la Spinal Tap). For calls, I rarely, if ever, need to turn it all the way up. Just something weird about Audible, I guess.
Net-net, I'm a happy camper. I use this thing for up to six hours a day and it never breaks a sweat. Sometimes I don't use it for days at a time and it holds its charge fantastically. Quality headset.
| Manufacturer | Sennheiser |
|---|---|
| Brand | EPOS |
| Item Weight | 0.459 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 2 x 4 x 8 inches |
| Item model number | PRESENCE™ Grey Business |
| Batteries | 1 C batteries required. (included) |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Color | Grey |
| Material Type | Plastic |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Size | Single-sided |
| Manufacturer Part Number | 508341 |
