Guest blog: Driver skeptical but loves his BlueParrott B450-XT

By Tom Kyrk, founder and chief blogger at Road Tested Living and member of the RoadPro Council

I am man enough to admit when I am wrong. This blog is about me admitting that. Over the years, I had not been a huge fan of BlueParrott products. While they do make a good product, I hadn't been happy with the features for the price.

When asked to test the new B450-XT for this blog, I was skeptical. At an MSRP of $149.99, it seemed to be pushing the limits of affordability. After all, what can a $150 headset offer that its competitors do not? The BlueParrott has improved its battery life to more than 24 hours of talk time, as well as extending its talk range to 300 feet under ideal circumstances. These features are great but still, in my mind, did not justify the price.

Watch Tom's video:

So, what's the new B450-XT like? BlueParrott made the ear pad larger and more comfortable, as well as added a padded headband, a huge improvement over the 350. It includes an app to help control features and some other nice little gizmos.

However, even at this point, the value was not there for me.

Over the last several months, I have been testing several different headsets for reviews. After just a day of using it, I was asked by several friends which headset was I using. I told them the new BlueParrott B450-XT.

I was expecting to hear complaints from the people I was talking to about the sound quality. It turned out to be quite the opposite. I was told the person on the other end of my headset could not hear any background noise at all -- not my engine, nothing. They could barely even hear my GPS or Qualcomm, which often drives my friend Allen nuts listening to it give me directions while going down the road. In short, the BlueParrott B450-XT seems to have the BEST noise-canceling microphone on the market.

I know saying that a headset has the "best noise canceling" is a strong claim. Yet even with the windscreen off, it blocks out wind noise while driving down the road like a champ. An important feature for any driver is volume quality. The BlueParrott B450-XT is great in that regard. Just as important if not more so is how easily can the other person hear you. In both of these categories, the B450-XT excels.

After almost two weeks of use, I can easily give the BlueParrott B450-XT a strong recommendation based on the quality of the noise canceling alone. Stay tuned for follow-ups on its long-term durability. As of right now. I can easily give it a 4.5 out of 5 train horn rating. In terms of the noise canceling alone, I give it a 6 out of 5 train horns.

Disclaimer: The Roadpro Professional Driver Council are the eyes, ears and voice of Roadpro. They test products and provide testimonials that include valuable feedback utilized by fellow drivers and manufacturers. Tom was not compensated in exchange for his review of this product.

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