I purchased a Plantronics MX153-M1 (for $22 at an family-run electronics store a few blocks away from J&R Music and Computer World), the version of the MX150 made specifically for Motorola phones - v60, v70, v120, T720 and later phones. The MX153-M1 adds a push-button towards the upper-middle of its cord that enables the headset wearer to dial the last-dialed number, use voice-activated dialing, answer calls, and end calls without touching the phone. The MX153-N1 and MX153-N3 are push-button versions of the MX150 for Nokia phones. The base MX150 itself does not have the push-button and associated functionality.

The MX150's earbud is anchored to the wearer's ear by a soft rubber grip that wraps under and essentially clips the earlobe (pinna). It takes several seconds to fit the earbud and pivot the microphone boom to their proper angles; this must be done each time the wearer puts on the headset. The disadvantage of this fitting requirement is that if you are not already wearing the headset when your phone starts ringing, you are better off answering your phone the old-fashion way. Once fitted however, the MX150 is light and comfortable to point of being unnoticeable. The MX150's FlexGrip design (shared by the Plantronics MX100 family) is better than ear-loop designs that can get in the way of eyeglasses and sunglasses; headband designs that can pull on the wearer's hair; and classic earbud designs that can easily fall off. People with earrings may not be comfortable with the MX150 because of its grip on the ear's pinna.

In contrast to generic headset microphones that often make the wearer sound distant, the MX150's microphone performance is very good and makes the wearer sound clear and close to the phone. The noice-cancelling microphone does a good job of eliminating ambient noise - even inside a moving New York City subway car. The MX150 family does not have microphone volume control and microphone mute functions.

Earpiece performance is good. The MX150 lacks earpiece volume control, relying instead on the phone's volume control functions. As with any headset design lacking self-powered earpiece volume amplification, ambient noise may be an issue in open or noisy environments, e.g. a busy New York City street or subway car.

The MX150's price competition is with the Jabra ProBoom. The latter has battery-powered earpiece volume amplification, but consumers should carefully weigh this great advantage against the MX150's fit and weight benefits. The two competitors also differ in push-button support. The MX150 family has push-button models for Motorola and Nokia phones, while the ProBoom family has push-button models for Nokia and Samsung phones.

Of the three Plantronics headsets that I have purchased (the other two being the M175 and M100), the MX153-M1 is the best one that I have yet used.

66 of 67 found the following review helpful:

Great when they work...  Feb 04, 2005
By Sean
This headset is light and comfortable and works very well with most cell phones. Unfortunately, they always seem to die on me. I've gone through five MX150s in the last eight months. I buy them in pairs now so I always have a backup. I can't find anything I like better, so I keep going down this road, but be prepared for problems if you are a heavy user. Also, do not buy this headset if you are looking to use it with a Uniden TRU8885 Cordless Phone. You will have significant outbound volume problems.

37 of 37 found the following review helpful:

Perfect  Feb 03, 2005
By Andrew Dunn
Hey. This is a perfect little headset. I've had it for a year now. People can't tell I'm on a cell phone. Excellent at blocking outside noise, and I can hear everything crystal clear on the receiving end. Great Buy.

18 of 18 found the following review helpful:

Product: GOOD, Buying from A1: NOT good  Mar 28, 2008
By P. Customer "SLLee"
The product itself is good insofar as the earpiece fits well and the microphone is well-positioned. I have a similar Plantronics product for my laptop which I use to make Skype calls.
HOWEVER, do not order this from A1 Accessories if you are looking for the original Plantronics set. They advertise it as Plantronics and sell it at such a low price because they are actually shipping a GENERIC headset that only looks like the Plantronics set. This amounts to false advertising and deception.

14 of 14 found the following review helpful:

Almost perfect!  Dec 12, 2005
By RebeccaJean
I liked this headset so much that I found myself unplugging it and plugging it in again, all the time- as I moved it from cell phone to home phone and back again (in and out of my car!). So now I have two (and despite much abuse, the first one is still working great after two years!) It took me a while to get used to it at first, I hated the over the ear thing when I first tried it (I have small ears) but then I loved it because the sound is just so darn good, as is the noise cancelling. The earbud is a bit too big (as mentioned in other reviews) but I find that to be true now of ALL earbuds- someone told me that the reason you can't find little bitty earbuds that go further in the ear canals like they used to when I was a kid, is because of fear of lawsuits due to hearing loss. In other words, its better for your eardrums to not be able to shove an earbud in so far. Darn! This is a great headset, but may take a little getting used to- then you will be hooked!

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