Cordless Phone Ratings

The problem:
I have purchased a bunch of cordless phones and most of them sound like junk, I mean I have trouble talking on them with all the static and interference.  I have a couple of them that work if you stand within 2 or 3 feet of the base, but if I wanted something like that I would just use a corded phone.

The solution:

I found in consumer reports where they showed the best phones for voice quality and I bought one of the phones listed and I was very happy with it.

The problem is now that they no longer sell any of those phones.

So I got some new information from consumer reports on voice quality of the phones that are currently being sold.

I noticed that all the phones rated as excellent voice quality are all analog phones.

Here are the phones with the best rating for voice quality.

VTech ia5824 CR Best Buy ia5847 $40
battery hours = 7
Analog 5.8 GHz/900 MHz   

Uniden DXI 4560-2   $55   
Analog  2.4 GHz/900 MHz  

VTech ia5870
ia5863 $25  $70  
Analog  5.8 GHz/900 MHz  

Uniden CXAI 5698   $65   
Analog  5.8 GHz/900 MHz

Uniden DXAI 5688-2   $75   
Analog  5.8 GHZ/900 MHz

Uniden EXAI 5680   $55   
Analog  5.8 GHz/900 MHz

Voice quality
This score mainly reflects the judgments of a trained listening panel, who graded high-quality voice recordings of cordless phone conversations made in a quiet, acoustic environment.

Pick a Frequency.

Cordless phones use one or two of the four available frequency bands: 5.8 GHz, 2.4 GHz, 1.9 GHz, and 900 MHz. Many phones are dual-band, which means they transmit between base and handset in one frequency band and receive in another; you can't switch to or choose one band or another. Dual-band phones use the 5.8-GHz, 2.4-GHz and 900-MHz frequency bands. Since 1.9-GHz phones are relatively new, expect only the major manufacturers to offer them. A few manufacturers still make inexpensive, 900-MHz phones, usually analog. They are fine for many households, but they are dwindling. This band is now mainly used along with 5.8- or 2.4-GHz analog transmission dual-band phones.

Phones that use the 2.4-GHz band, unfortunately, share their frequency with many other wireless products, including baby monitors, wireless computer networks, Bluetooth devices, home security monitors, wireless speakers, and microwaves ovens. Analog phones that use the 2.4-GHz band are inherently susceptible to RF interference from these devices, while their digital counterparts may actually interfere with them. Interference can cause static on your cordless phone, a baby monitor, or wireless speakers; it can disrupt a wireless computer network or the video on a home security or baby monitor. If you have few or no wireless devices near your phone, a 2.4-GHz phone would be fine for you. Otherwise consider a phone billed as "wireless network friendly" or "802.11-friendly." These phones use portions of the 2.4-GHz band that are less likely to interfere or be interfered with by wireless home networks.

May 28, 2008

I thought I had this figured out, but I just checked on www.epinions.com and some of these phones have several ratings that say they have very poor sound quality.

VTech ia5824 CR  epinions - Poor reception,

Uniden DXI 4560-2   $55     

VTech ia5870

Uniden CXAI 5698   epinions no ratings

Uniden DXAI 5688-2   epinions - 5 reviews no one liked this phone.  

Uniden EXAI 5680  epinions - no ratings