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149 of 154 people found the following review helpful.
Panasonic Cordless is the Longevity Leader
By Bob Feeser
I've been researching the different phones quite heavily. Some of the more profound findings were from on the floor sales staff at major office supply stores. The first store, he mentioned that the Panasonic was the best, and that Uniden, and V tech were junk. The second store I went to, he was a lot more specific, and really knew his stuff. He said that Unidens were the best voice and transmission quality, but didn't hold up. He also said the V techs were junk. His comment about the Panasonics was, I am not going to lie to you, they last forever, and have excellent overall quality, but you are going to pay more for that. He was emphatic about explaining that, his comment was intended for the full size Panasonic 5.8s, not the new little tiny 5.8 Panasonics, that are having problems, more like the V-techs.A friend of mine has the Vtech 5.8, and has already had to return two handsets due to malfunctions. He also mentioned that when he presses a number to dial, it doesn't always register, and he has to press it again. I speak with him on the phone though, and even though he is outside his house, the quality is great.My personal comments on the Panasonic 5.8 6502B is that I love the whole system. The quality is great. I get absolutely no static, or noise, even when my head is practically inside the microwave. (Which is the first thing I wanted to check after using my 2.4 and 900 megahertz that way and got so much noise I had to leave the room) Going outside of the stone house, I went all the way past my neighbor's front yard, before I got noise, and that is about 100 feet. I can go anywhere in the house, which is a 60 foot house, meaning that 40 feet is the max distance from the base unit, and everything is crystal clear, no matter what floor I am on. I have the base unit sitting on top of a major subwoofer.I am a Panasonic fan, because I have a 900Mghz dual line, and a 2.4Ghz single line cordless, both of them Panasonics, and I have owned them for 10 years or more, and they both work perfectly. I had to buy replacement batteries for the older 900, which is the one that is over 10 years old. I bought replacements-aftermarket from eBay and they work great. My 2.4 is still running off of the original batteries. Not a glitch with either of those phones. That is reliability.Now I want to talk about headsets. The dream from way back was to be able to walk around cordless, and better yet, hands free. I can go out in the garage, out in the yard, (go to the bathroom) get something to drink, or whatever I want, without being tied to the cord, and just as important, not having to bend my neck to hold the phone up, or use up a hand. Total freedom is great. The problem is that my headsets for the 900 or 2.4 don't work properly with the 5.8Ghz. I tried the Plantronics 25 or 29-dollar model, and it was so quiet, when I left a message on the answering machine, it would hang up. I tried my old headset, and it did the same thing. So their is something about 5.8 systems that require more volume. The reviews on the Panasonic headsets were many, but not many on the 5.8 volume problem. Those that were happy didn't report what they were using them on.Once again, my Staples expert, the rare sales person who really knows what they are talking about, pointed me away from Plantronics, and aimed me directly at the AT&T Executive headset model number EHS30 for only $19.95. He said they were loud, and when hearing, you have to turn down the volume. The Plantronics he stated were for business use, when you don't want the caller hearing ten other conversations going on in the background. On the AT&T headset pack, they say," Designed for the HOME office professional" Anyhow, I took it home, plugged it in, and it WORKS GREAT FOR THE 5.8. I sent a message to another answering machine in the house and the volume was greater than when using the regular phone, and without any distortion. It had great sound quality, and plenty of it. The AT&T has enough boom length, to get in front of your mouth. On the Plantronics, in frustration, I took the headset off, and spoke directly into the mic, but although I got more volume, there was distortion.This paragraph is an edit to my original review. I have since received the Panasonic KX-TCA60 headset that everyone raves about, but others commented that they do not work with the 5.8s. Well they do. It does say on the cardboard plackett that the headset comes on, that they were meant for 900Mghz, and 2.4s but leaves out the 5.8s. BUT the owners manual for the 6502 says that headset works fine, and it does. The boom mic is crystal clear, just like the AT&T, and the volume on the ear piece is just the right volume. The AT&T goes above the normal volume, but gives you an adjustable volume knob to tweak it just right. The Panasonic TCA60 does not have a volume knob but is set at just the right volume already. The speaker on the AT&T is the same outside diameter cushion, but the actual speaker opening is twice the size of the Panasonic. That may help in part as to why the volume on the AT&T is greater. If you were in a really loud room, the AT&T has a higher volume adjustability. Both were perfect quality, sound and plenty of it. You can't go wrong with either one. The AT&T is twice the price of the Panasonic but is built a little more substantially. Hey get both, you have a lot of stations with the 6502.One last comment is on looks. The picture of the individual handsets, the Panasonic 650 is more like the real look of the phone. If you look at the 6502B picture, it looks like pure black, which it is not. I prefer the pearl black metallic/off charcoal gray look, which it shows you in the 650 handset only picture here at Amazon, which is what it all is and has a black back. Also the LCD color they show in that picture is not accurate; it is more like a goldish yellow instead.Overall, I find the 6502B or 6500 with a single handset, which are full size Panasonics, to be the best looking, most functional, and most reliable units out there. I have absolutely no complaints at all. Pertaining to the comments about the calls missed showing up on all of the handsets; when you have multiple people using the same system, everyone has a chance to review all of the incoming calls, and with the caller ID, they show up with the sending phone number and time of the call. If someone else like a brother or sister, erased your message at the base, or from their handset, you know what calls came in, and who to holler at :-)Get the Panasonic 6502B or 6500, and get the AT&T headset EH530, which also works in your cell phone with the same 2.5mm plug. Buy it, you won't be sorry. I seriously feel a pang of love when I walk past the handset stations, especially, when I consider all of the old problems this new system solves.Oh, one more thing, I have the primary line set up on my Lingo line, that I learned about here at Amazon. It's the new VOIP and costs me only $19.95 a month for unlimited long distance all over the US, Canada, and 17 countries in Western Europe. The included premium call services including Caller ID all work beautifully with the Panasonic system. I guess you could say, "I'm phone happy" Hope this helps.
90 of 92 people found the following review helpful.
Outstanding phone system, the complete package
By Kevin Woodward
When my existing cordless phone bit the dust, I didn't rush to purchase a replacement and took my time researching all available options. When it came right down to it, Panasonic's KX-TG6502B fit the bill. If there's a feature this 5.8 GHz system doesn't have, please tell me. I guess that's why Consumer Reports gave it such a high rating.The DSS signal is strong and secure, the range exceptional and I have never experienced any interference -- a concern for me due to my wireless home computer network. Two lines were a must with teenagers in the house and there aren't too many product choices available today if that's a requirement for you, too. All the usual two-line functions are included like flash and hold ... as well as the standard phone basics like call waiting, caller ID, etc.I have absolutely no regrets. I don't know why other reviewers experienced problems, but not me. Not once. Never.One of the best features is that everything is accessible through each individual handset, especially the digital answering system. No longer do I need to walk across the house to play back my messages. And I don't have to worry about missing any -- even with the ringer turned off -- because of the small blinking light at the top of the antennae. Oh, and the blinking light also alerts me to an incoming call. Kind of like a "silent" mode.The system can be expanded up to four lightweight handsets in all and it's an easy, two-button process to add additional units to your existing system. You don't even need a phone jack to place a handset anywhere in the house -- just a power outlet for the small, inobstrusive base.A good measure of any purchase is the pleasant surprises you discover once you have it in hand and this phone has a few worth noting: A backlit handset LCD that makes it easy to operate in the dark, the speakerphones in each handset, the fact you can take the phones with you away from the home for use as an emergency walkie-talkie system, and the ease of use in transferring up to one 50-call directory from one handset to another. And those are only the ones I can think of off the top of my head.If I had a complaint, it would be the limited ringer options -- four in all -- none of which is particularly appealing. I can live with that.I have to admit that when I first received this system, it didn't exactly knock my socks off in terms of a "wow" factor. But the longer I've owned it -- close to a year now (updated review Nov. 2005) and counting -- the more I appreciate it for it's clean, elegant design and problem-free operation. I have also added two more handsets to it since my original purchase.
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful.
Works well. Voice quality is excellent. Couple of quirks.
By W. Card
After struggling for years with Siemens Gigaset 2420 system....Got the Panasonic. I am pleased and the most important and demanding user in the home (spouse) is happy.Voice quality: very very good, but a bit too low with headset. Speakerphone feature works well. Caller-ID, voicemail, remote operation all work very well. Intercom works great. Have had no problems with any interfernce, static, or range problems. I am using the system with Vonage VoIP service.First of all, here are some tips: For the base unit, Panasonic sells a backup power supply for around $20 that plugs right into the 9V power jack on the base unit. Rated for 5 hours standby on six rechargeable AA batteries. (model KX-TCA200).Here is another tip:Undocumented feature.. There is an annoyance in that each handset 'remembers' missed calls for some odd reason. So you pick up the extension and it says '12 missed calls'. To clear this quickly, hit the down-button, then the right-menu button turns into 'ERASE'...hit it and you're clear. So just a quick two buttons and it's clear.One minor annoyance for those with poor vision...when playing back remote voicemails, the erase command (*4 Erase message) can be hard to read. (until you memorize it)Couple of interface and other product wishes:1) Why not put date and time up on blank display?2) Would be nice to be able to label intercom extensions like on my old siemens 2420. (Display would show "#1 Office" on office extension and also on base station.3) Get rid of stupid 'xxx missed calls' feature.4) Voice quality of ans machine outgoing message is OK, but not great, even in 'high quality mode'.5) While display is lit, and so are numbers, the talk and off buttons are not. You learn them by feel after awhile, but it would be nice....6) I wish up or down arrow took you to call directory, not caller id list. (to hit call directory you hit right menu twice, then scroll up/down with arrow button)7) If you're using it with only one phone line, it would be nice to disable line 2 selection (like on Siemens). Also it would be nice to specify preferred L1/L2 inbound/outbound per extension.Couple of things that are cool:1) phone list replication between phones works great and is easy2) lightup antenna for call or message is cool and handy (esp when ringer is off in bedroom)3) Phone book entry as well as caller-id auto-edit features are cool and save time.4) Musical ringtones sound very nice.5) Ans machine is easy to use and fairly logical.6) Phone picks up cleanly when ans machine gets it every time.7) Backlight works well.8) This is a silly thing, but the phone will stand up by itself on a table so speakerphone can work the best.9) Belt clip seems sturdy so far,10) Buttons have very positive action and so far never 'bounce' or 'miss'.
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