VXI Xpressway Wireless Bluetooth Headset

I mentioned this headset in a different topic, but no one ever responded, so I thought I would bring it up here. I'm not particularly fond of Bluetooth, but if this headset does all that it says it does, and is decent with Windows Speech Recognition, then I would certainly consider buying one. How about it, Marty, would you recommend this headset?

I see. That's very disappointing. I really liked the battery life, and the multiple methods for wearing it. Is there anything comparable that isn't Bluetooth? The battery life is of utmost importance. :-)

I have looked at the Sampson several times, but it is just way too far beyond my price range. And the 8 to 10 HRS is probably too short. If I put the headset on at 9:00 AM, it would be done (even at its best) by 6:00 PM. After the battery drains, I can't replace it myself, and I have no one else who can at that time of the evening. Ideally, a 16 hour life is about right for me. Are there any others you can suggest?

Great minds think alike, Marty, that's why I had originally bought the Buddy Desktop Microphone, and right now I can this Andrea headset mounted on a bendable arm. The problem is that I am never in my wheelchair the same way twice, so consequently the microphone is never in the same place twice. I know that I need a wireless headset because there are other mitigating circumstances, namely that I use my computer to control my television set and DVR. So basically I have to face my computer to control a television that is behind me. You can see how problematic that could be. ;-)

Just thinking about the Samson questions.  I have one and really like it.   I find that I get better runtimes with plain old alkaline vs rechargables.    The rechargables are great, well because you can recharge them :-) But I find they will wear out, and even fresh they don't last as long.  I've not done any tests to back this up, so this is basically my opinion.   

The Energizer Lithium AAA may bring the runtime up to the level you need.  From the energizer website, at 600mA drain, the batteries last twice as long as alkalines (2 vs 1 hours).  At 50mA they last a little longer but almost parity.  I'd guess that the drain on the Sampson is about 150-200mA (I can't find it on the specs).  So its between a high drain device and a low one.  This may mean that the lifespan in the Samson would be between 25%-50%? longer than a standard alkaline.  Might be worth testing at any rate...  Not sure if thats worth the extra price for the batteries.

Another thought I'd had is to add a battery pack for either multiple AAA batteries or one big old D cell.  If the batteries are wired in parallel, so that the voltage is 1.5v you should get a runtime of an extra 8 hours for every AAA you can add to the pack.

No idea how either of these ideas would affect the warranty or cause neckstrain  :-)

Another idea for the application you have in mind (remote command and control not dictation) would be an array mic.  My experiences are mixed, but if you are not doing transcription you cannot beat the convenience.   As long as someone else is not in the room with you and the music is not loud, I have decent results in controlling the media player across the room just using the mic on a Microsoft cinema LifeCam.  I've also had mixed experiences with the bluetooth mics (for cell phones).  The ones I like the best are the ones from BlueAnt.  The new ones support high resolution audio, but I wish they would get around to supporting  high resolution audio in the BT profiles (so they DON'T actually  support high resolution audio).  I don't think either of  these solutions would well at all for accurate transcription,  but probably fine for C&C. Added benefit is that you can have both solutions (array and noise cancelling transcription) available at the same time (probably running on different computers).


Nathaniel
http://www.thevoicesoftware.com

mmarkoe_admin wrote: Sixwheels, Thanks for explaining your varied positions. We hear many times a week from people who wish for a small unobtrusive wireless microphone with great accuracy, good noise canceling and low attractive pricing. Were this device available, we would stock it and sell hundreds a year.   Marty

Microphones have been a bit of an Achilles heel for SR.  Not sure if its the problem with the microphones or the algorithms processing out the noise.   Whatever the reason, if you do alot of SR, you will probably end up using either a samson, ME3, or MD43II :-)

I do mostly C&C, so I use an Andrea-750 (I like the headphones and the portability).  I also use the built-in array mics on my laptops/android (again for C&C), if only for the convenience.    Also I need to make sure that the applications I am building work using less than perfect mics.

 I use my Samson mostly for transcription.  It really is an awesome microphone.  I would use it more, but its a little cumbersome to use with a headset. I also wish it would beep when its about to run out of battery.  Its embarrassing to talk to a dead microphone :-)

I've been meaning to get the enLoop batteries.  I like the specs on the shelf life and the fact they don't lose their charge as quickly.   But my kids don't understand the concept of 'rechargeable' batteries and throw them out.  As it turns out cheapo Alkalines work the best for me right now :-) I wish they didn't.

On a related note, I installed an automatic infrared motion switch int one of my bathrooms where the lights were always getting left on.  However, people kept using the physical switch to turn it on and off (and still left the bathroom light on).  It was not until the switch broke off, that it started getting used the way it was meant to be used.  Convenience and habit often trump innovation.

Cheers,

Nathaniel
http://www.thevoicesoftware.com

mmarkoe_admin wrote: Sixwheels wrote: Exactly what I need! I'm going to leave it up to you to design and build such a thing. And I'm going to even volunteer to test it for years and years. Sorry, not going to happen. I'm trying to gracefully retire and have no interest (nor hundreds of thousands of dollars) to develop the device.   Marty

antihadron wrote: One thing that might be worth mentioning here is that with bluetooth the problem may not be with the microphones sampling capability at all.  The BlueAnt microphone that I mentioned is capable of sampling at 16KHz and has great noise cancelling.  Its the Bluetooth profiles on the host device that kill it and bring it down to unacceptable levels.  The handsfree profile that is the 'standard' knocks the sampling rate down. Nathaniel http://www.thevoicesoftware.com