Out of the box, the first thing you'll need to do is charge them up. I suggest you start out by carefully reading the 18 page printed User Guide and follow along with the instructions and illustrations, which are thankfully clear and mostly unambiguous. There are three different ways to charge:
3. Or, connect them to a powered USB port on your computer.
Then there's that little "Universal Adapter" that turns them into wireless headphones:
A small Silver gizmo, about the size of a Reese's peanut butter cup, the adapter, when plugged into the headphone jack of ANYthing:
a Treo, an iPod or any other MP3 player, a laptop's headphone jack, your stereo receiver, you name it, turns the Pulsars into wireless headphones or (with a Bluetooth-enabled phone) a phone headset within that 33 foot Bluetooth range. Happily, the adapter is permanently paired with the headphones. Power them both on and within a few seconds they'll "see" and communicate with each other you need do nothing else. The adapter also has an internal L-ion battery and half inch blue / red ring light, and because the AC adapter's cable splits off into a "Y" and terminates in a pair of charging jacks, you can connect things up in such a way so the desktop stand charges both the headphones and the adapter at the same time.
Controls galore
On the right earpiece of the Pulsars live seven different control buttons. Surrounding its huge ring light is a circle of four, smooth segmented buttons: volume up and down, and track forwards and backwards.
The volume buttons work all the time, but the track forwards and backwards buttons only work when the Pulsars are paired with a Bluetooth device that respects AVRCP the Audio / Video Remote Control Profile. The Treo 700p and 650 don't implement AVRCP natively, but you can add it to them with a commercial program called Softick Audio Gateway which, as I write this, is up to version 1.09.xxx.
James reviewed an earlier version of SAG last year. I'm not going to re-review it here, so I recommend that earlier write-up to you as an introduction to SAG and why you might want to get it if you buy the Pulsars.
This brilliant program lets you connect your Treo to Bluetooth stereo headphones like the Pulsars, and take calls and listen to music or other audio played by *some* PalmOS apps wirelessly, without the Pulsar's little adapter, and it makes those track change buttons on the Pulsars actually do something when used with those programs.
With SAG installed, AVRCP support (the Pulsar's track forward and backward buttons) works fine with PocketTunes, AeroPlayer, tcpmp and the Treo 650's built-in Real Player at this time. SAG's developer has much more information about its capabilities on his Web site, and the program is in a state of constant development.. eventually it should work with just about every PalmOS audio-playing program out there, but right now you're limited to those named above.
It's a kick and a half to set up a Pocket Tunes playlist, turn on SAG, pair the Pulsars with your Treo, and walk around your home while you control the volume and change tracks on your Treo wirelessly.
But without SAG, using just the Pulsar's little audio adapter, you CAN use the headphones wirelessly for stereo audio enjoyment (and Bluetooth wireless calls) with your Treo or just listen to any kind of audio on ANY device into which you plug the adapter, and because the adapter's short cable terminates in a standard 3.5mm stereo mini-jack, if you buy the Pulsars from TreoCentral's store, you'll find a 3.5mm > 2.5mm converter jack taped to the receipt in the package when you receive it.
More buttons
In the center of the Pulsar's right ear piece you'll also find a round black pad with two buttons on it pressing the top one pairs the Pulsars with your Treo, just like any regular Bluetooth headset, while the bottom one mutes a call or audio. These two buttons on that black pad are easy to operate by touch since they're both indented circles, but I found the four curved, smooth silvery buttons surrounding them took some time to master they're really too smooth to operate quickly just by feel; I think Plantronics should have given them an edge, more separation, or raised them up a bit to make selecting and pressing the one you want a lot easier. Those buttons were my main gripe with the human engineering of the Pulsars.
To turn the Pulsars on or off, there's a small black slide switch on the rim of the right earpiece near its hinge, and lastly, the mic for phone calls is at the end of a 2" long plastic tube that extends from and retracts into the bottom edge of the right earpiece. The mic offers no background noise cancellation, and I had mixed reactions with folks I called when using the Pulsars' mic. Some said it sounded fine, others said my voice sounded hollow or they could hear a lot of background noise.
And if you're a lefty, you'll have to get used to using your right hand to work all these control buttons. Although the Pulsars CAN be flipped around so the right earpiece with all its controls is on your left ear, if you do that and then extend the mic tube, it'll be pointing behind you, instead of its proper orientation: the right corner of your mouth. Not very useful.
So how do they sound?
I found the Pulsars delivered respectable, clear, full-range sound when evaluating them strictly as stereo headphones. With a 20hz 20khz frequency response, they didn't give me the spectacularly transparent sound or prodigious bass I'm so used to with my old school Sony headphones, but they're far better than any earbuds I've ever used, and a lot more comfortable too. The headphones are very light weight, the ear pads ARE quite comfy, and there's not a whole lot to complain about, unless you're looking for top of the line audio reproduction.
With more and more States passing laws requiring drivers to use hands-free devices for in-car cell phone use, the Pulsars are not the answer to that problem unless you park the left ear piece behind your left ear and use them on a call with your right ear only. Further, about the only thing that didn't tumble out of the Pulsar's box'o'goodies is a DC car charger. You'll have to charge them up at home or office, or buy a DC > AC inverter if you want to charge them from a vehicle's 12 volt socket.
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