900MHz Cordless doesn't sound as good as old 43MHz...

[brigden]

My five year old Panasonic cordless finally gave up on me this week. I picked up a new Panasonic 900MHz cordless, model KX-TC1703B. I get it home and set it up, but it doesn't sound as good as my old phone. Shouldn't it sound better? It seems like I can hear a little noise...

What gives?

 

[Greyd]

change the channel.

 

[Vic]

I have a Panasonic 900MHz at home (bought it a couple of years ago at Costco on sale, it may or may not be the same one you just got) and it sounds great. Yours may have an issue.
You also may want to feel comfortable knowing that people with regular police scanners can't easily listen in on your phone conversations on the 900MHz like how they could with the 43MHz.

 

[chiwawa626]

I have a 2.4ghz cordless that sounds like crap too, seems like my old old phone was better...

 

[Thegonagle]

Your old Panny was a probably "good" 43 MHz phone for its time, and the KX-TC1703B is just a cheapie analog 900 MHz phone. Go out, return the KX-TC1703B immediately, and find a digital model, or even better, a DSS (digital spread spectrum) model. You don't need to worry about folks with ordinary scanners listening in with digital and DSS models.

Though you can't find a good 900 MHz digital or DSS phone retail anymore (since they can get more money for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz from most people) that's what I recommend trying to locate, since, IMHO, 900 MHz is better because it doesn't interfere with wireless networking, and has better range through walls and such.

EDIT: Yes, people with scanners can listen in on that phone. It's an analog phone, so all they need to do is tune in. The same is true of all cheap 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz analog phones.

 

[Hammer]

my 2.4 ghz ones sound perfect.

 

[brigden]

Originally posted by: Greyd
change the channel.

No, it's not the channel. Changing it does nothing.

Both my roommates own 900MHz cordless phones and both sound inferior to my old one. Could it be that the signal is so much more powerful that I'm now actually able to hear the poor quality of our house line?

Oh, here's something amusing: my new phone has a Caller ID display and I'm able to see the name and number of each caller, yet we don't subscribe to the service. Just to be safe, I double-checked the bill and we certainly don't subscribe to Caller ID!

 

[brigden]

Originally posted by: Thegonagle
Your old Panny was a probably "good" 43 MHz phone for its time, and the KX-TC1703B is just a cheapie analog 900 MHz phone. Go out, return the KX-TC1703B immediately, and find a digital model, or even better, a DSS (digital spread spectrum) model. You don't need to worry about folks with ordinary scanners listening in with digital and DSS models.

Though you can't find a good 900 MHz digital or DSS phone retail anymore (since they can get more money for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz from most people) that's what I recommend trying to locate, since, IMHO, 900 MHz is better because it doesn't interfere with wireless networking, and has better range through walls and such.

EDIT: Yes, people with scanners can listen in on that phone. It's an analog phone, so all they need to do is tune in. The same is true of all cheap 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz analog phones.

Actually, the KX-TC1703B is digital.

 

[brigden]

Any electrical wizards around?

 

[Ornery]

I bought a KX-TC1750-B and a TC1721B a couple years ago and LOVED them. When I needed phones for my son's rooms, I picked up a couple KX-TC1703s based on my experience with the previous models. Disappointed! Not as nice my others at all. Sound quality didn't match the old ones. Not sure who I'd by from now, but I wasn't thrilled with their 2.4GHz model either. Range was no big deal and it was too damn tiny. I returned it within a week. I had a Uniden TRU346 2.4GHz die within a year. It sounded OK and had fair range, but pffftttt, what a waste of money!

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Ornery
I bought a KX-TC1750-B and a TC1721B a couple years ago and LOVED them. When I needed phones for my son's rooms, I picked up a couple KX-TC1703s based on my experience with the previous models. Disappointed! Not as nice my others at all. Sound quality didn't match the old ones. Not sure who I'd by from now, but I wasn't thrilled with their 2.4GHz model either. Range was no big deal and it was too damn tiny. I returned it within a week. I had a Uniden TRU346 2.4GHz die within a year. It sounded OK and had fair range, but pffftttt, what a waste of money!

I have that same model minus caller ID display, picked it up from CostCo about 3 years ago for $69 with a headset.

Works great, dropped it a few times accidentally, sounds crystal clear, I've always loved Panny cordless phones.

 

[tweakmm]

Originally posted by: Thegonagle
EDIT: Yes, people with scanners can listen in on that phone. It's an analog phone, so all they need to do is tune in. The same is true of all cheap 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz analog phones.

people can still listen in on digital 900, 2.4 ghz and 5.ghz all it takes is the knowlege or $$$
all the enhanced security features found in newer phones just make it harder for the average joe to listen in

 

[brxndxn]

Geez..

It really does not matter what frequency the phone is on.. It is only really limited by the phone's quality. From what I hear, 900mhz allows for the most 'bandwidth' with least amount of interference and most range. But, if you buy a cheap 900mhz phone, you're going to have noise anyway.

Oftentimes, the el-cheapo microphone they put in the phone picks up noise from all over the place. You can fix it (albeit it won't sound as good as a decent phone) by opening it up and putting a thin sponge over the microphone.

Buy yourself a better phone. IMO, General Electric phones are dead worst. Uniden, despite being cheap in price, is fairly decent quality. Even though I hate Sony, their phones seem to work very nice. Also, I would stick with 900mhz since 2.4ghz interferes with wireless networking.

Also, if you want best sound quality and don't care about privacy, get analog. If you want privacy, get digital. Like, if you'd rather hear slight static when you're almost out of range or something is interfering, then get analog. If you would rather just have gaps in the conversation or dropped calls when you're out of range or something is interfering, then get digital.

 

[NokiaDude]

Originally posted by: Hammer
my 2.4 ghz ones sound perfect.

Uhhhhhhh . . . no. We have both 900mhz and 2.4Ghz Panasonic phones on separate lines. The 2.4Ghz phone gets interfered with so easily, the microwave makes it go crazy. I can take the 900mhz phone and be 2 ft within the microwave and get crystal clear sound. And the models are from the same year.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: brxndxn
Also, if you want best sound quality and don't care about privacy, get analog. If you want privacy, get digital. Like, if you'd rather hear slight static when you're almost out of range or something is interfering, then get analog. If you would rather just have gaps in the conversation or dropped calls when you're out of range or something is interfering, then get digital.

I can't stress the importance of the privacy of a digital phone enough. Years back, I knew a guy whose idea of fun was using his scanner to listen in on people's private conversations on their analog phones. You wouldn't believe the things I heard over at his place! :Q
Yes, people could possibly listen in on digital cordless phones, but it much more difficult. You can't just listen in on any old pawn shop police scanner for example.

 

[sohdahere]

yea our 900 was better than the 2400..
I heard its something to do with apartments sometimes...
awno

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: NokiaDude

Originally posted by: Hammer
my 2.4 ghz ones sound perfect.

Uhhhhhhh . . . no. We have both 900mhz and 2.4Ghz Panasonic phones on separate lines. The 2.4Ghz phone gets interfered with so easily, the microwave makes it go crazy. I can take the 900mhz phone and be 2 ft within the microwave and get crystal clear sound. And the models are from the same year.

Well, the microwaves emitted inside a moven are in the same frequency range...

 

[Zee]

cover the mouthpiece and see if you still here the background noise. I have a phone that just basically poorly filters the noise.... so if i cover the mouthpiece it's crystal clear and sharp. i dont know if this is a physical defect or electrical or software or what but it sounds like you got the same issue?

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: brigdenActually, the KX-TC1703B is digital.

Oops. Checking that model out more closely, I see I was wrong.

 

[Thegonagle]

OK folks, I just ordered myself a Uniden EXA3955 900 MHz DSS Cordless Phone with Digital Answering System (refurb.) for $40 shipped. I?ll let you know what I think of the sound when I get it.

I?ve desired a new cordless phone with a headset jack for a while now. I don?t need an answering machine, but at this price, it?s gravy.

I?m giving Uniden a try because they don?t seem to get slammed on voice quality or comfort very often.

 

[Thegonagle]

Well, I said I'd be back with a comment or two about the Uniden DSS phone I ordered, and here I am.

It totally rocks. OK, so the phone part, the 900 MHz DSS part totally rocks. It sounds great, both ways! DSS is very difficult for a casual observer to listen in on, so I've got some peace of mind while I'm using it to order tickets, pay bills, or whatever.

The answering machine part is not so good. It's not particularly intuitive to use or set up, it doesn't even have battery back-up, and the worst part is, the digital voice quality is total crap.

I'm continuing to use my stand alone tapeless answering maching from GE for the time being, with its simple operation and decent sound quality.

I mentioned that I didn't need the answering machine that was built into this phone, but it's still a little disappointing that this one won't work out.

 

[Ornery]

Nice of you to follow up, which is rare around here.

My Uniden was OK, but died within about one year. I replaced the battery, but that wasn't the problem. No idea why it quit, but it turned out to be a waste of money. Not sure who I'll buy my next unit from. My recent Panasonic purchases weren't as nice in quality as their previous models, but at least they all still work!