Plantronics Discovery 665 review

You wouldn't be far off if you thought the Plantronics Discovery 665 was an update from the Discovery 655 Bluetooth headset -- it looks and feels very much like its predecessor. It even comes with a similar-looking charging pocket and also comes in a silver and black finish.

Although the Discovery 665 has improved audio quality, however, we can't recommend it over the 655 due to its lack of charging options.

You can pre-order the Discovery 665 online now -- it's expected to ship early in February.

Design
The Discovery 665 is slimmer and more tapered than its predecessor at 10mm by 13mm by 51mm (the 655 measures 15mm by 13mm by 51mm), and it weighs around 9g. Even though it also comes in a silver and black finish, the colour scheme is reversed when compared to the Discovery 655.

Everything else about the Discovery 665 headset remains the same: three different rubberised ear gel pieces for your comfort, an optional flexible ear hook for more security, a simple square multifunction button on the front, as well as two tiny rubberised buttons for the volume controls underneath. As with the 655, we weren't too fond of the tiny buttons -- although they are raised from the surface of the headset, they still proved a bit tricky to press when the headset was worn on our ear.

As with the 655, the Discovery 665 headset also comes with a carrying case that doubles as a charger. It has a clip on the back in case you want to attach it to a shirt pocket. If the headset is in the charging case when there's an incoming call, it will vibrate as well as light up. This is especially useful when in the car, since it provides a visual indicator for an incoming call. Taking the headset out of the case will automatically answer the call.

Unlike its predecessor, the Discovery 665 has only two charging options: a vehicle-charging adaptor and a USB adaptor. While we understand the 665 is supposed to be for drivers, we would still like to have additional charging options included in the package. The 655 on the other hand, comes with an AC adaptor as well as an AAA-battery charging unit.

Features
The most exciting upgrade to the Plantronics Discovery 665 is its AudioIQ sound-processing technology that optimises sound quality on both sides of every call. We tried it out in an isolated booth with some piped in sound, and we tested the headset with and without the AudioIQ technology. With the AudioIQ turned on, calls sounded clearer without the need to increase the headset's volume.

Other features of the Discovery 665 include a battery strength indicator; the ability to answer, end, make and reject calls; call mute; last-number redial; power-saving mode (this disables the AudioIQ/DSP technology); voice dialling and the ability to switch a call from the headset to the phone and vice versa.

Performance
We tested the Plantronics Discovery 665 with a variety of phones and managed to pair the headset without a problem. The audio quality was excellent, thanks to the AudioIQ technology mentioned.

The Discovery 665 headset has a rated talk time of up to 3.5 hours and a rated standby time of three days.

Edited by Kent German
Additional editing by Kate Macefield