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Logitech Stereo Headset Chat
by Nepenthe
I bought this headset quite some time ago, in search of a headset for Skype voice calls, but, soon after, a friend bought me a very nice microphone, and so it's gone unused. During my time away at the psych ward, my microphone seems to have become buried in the midden of papers and gadgets on my desk. My frenetic searching couldn't turn ... it up, but it did turn up this Logitech 981-000469 Stereo Chat Headset.
=The Product=
The headset consists of a thin plastic band connecting two headphone speakers, a hinged plastic microphone, and a little plastic control on the main cord with controls for turning the microphone on or off and changing the volume. The speakers are on telescopic plastic rods, and can be slid out or in to adjust to the size or shape of your head.
I bought mine for around £15 on Amazon, but the product feels cheaper; the over-head band is thin and light, and the microphone doesn't have a fabric cover.
=Use=
I first tried to use the 981-000469 (how I wish this thing had a more human-readable name) as headphones. The sound quality, as headphones, is flat, muffled, and a mite tinny; bass frequencies, in particular, sound culpably flattened. The sound is also quite quiet, even on full volume.
Mic performance suffers from much the same flaw: tinny-ness. Sound recorded through this microphone comes out sounding like the issue of a badly circuit-bent Game Boy. In addition, due to the lack of a fabric cover for the microphone, it picks up every unwanted background noise and often fails to catch the nuances of the sounds it's intended to record.
=Conclusion=
The - cough - 981-000469 is light, adjustable, and, I suppose, relatively cheap. However, it feels cheap'n'nasty, and the sound quality leaves much to be desired. For the occasional voice call, there's nothing wrong with this headset, but, for any use requiring anything approaching precision, or even pleasant sound, this headset isn't suitable. I award it a two out of five.
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Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Headset
by katykicker
My husband and I are big gamers. We love a nice battle against one another, on our own Xbox 360 consoles, sometimes with separate televisions side by side so we don't have to share a screen. I have always used the cheap headsets that come provided with each Xbox console and had replaced mine at least 2 or 3 times outside of the 3 Xbox ... 360 consoles we have owned in the last 2 years. My husband purchased us two of these wireless Xbox 360 headsets on a whim. We had a particularly long evening on the Xbox where I was at a friends house and he was at home and we were unable to hold a proper conversation as my headset kept disconnecting and cutting out when I was speaking.
These headset is tiny, just like a bluetooth headset, but it came in the biggest box..! It was a huge waste of packaging and I really do hate it when there is waste. There were two rubbery ear pieces, one for smaller and one for larger ears, that came with the headset and it was simple to click the smaller piece in to place and then start using the headset.
The headset sits comfortably on my ear and the rubber part sits over the outer part of my ear in a way that is comfortable. When I get up and walk around the headset stays in place and even if I wear it for 2 or 3 hours, which isn't unusual, it stays in place and is still comfortable.
To use the headset is very simple. There is a mute/off button which is either pressed once to mute and again to unmute or is held down to turn the headset on or off. There are also two volume up and volume down buttons. When pressing the buttons there are different tones to make it clear what button is being pressed, without having to look, and if the mute button is activated there is a beeping every 30 seconds that alerts me that the mute is still on. This is ideal if I am in a party with my friends and they are talking and I have inevitably forgotten and I am talking back.
This headset is very light weight and it is simple to press the 'sync' button on the headset and on the Xbox to allow the two devices to work together without wires. There is a wire included that allows this headset to be charged directly from one of the USB ports on the Xbox, although it cannot be used while it is charging. There are lights numbered 1,2,3 and 4 which indicate that the headset is connected and which player it is connected to, this is ideal as it means if you have more than one headset that you can sync it to one Xbox and not get confused about which headset belongs to which player.
When I am using this headset I can hear my friends and fellow players with crystal clear clarity. I am able to speak to my husband, even if I am not in the same home, and hear it as clear as if he is next door to me. My friends can hear me clear also and I no longer have to repeat myself five times because my headset has cut out or disconnected once again.
Overall I would say that this headset is lightweight, simple to use and comfortable to wear. It is simple to use all the buttons and I have no problems working this while I am wearing it. The headsets retailed for about £34.99 each when my husband purchased them and he did pay almost full price. These are mainly available on a pre-owned basis now, which I wouldn't recommend, because of it being an ear product, but there are still some new ones on the Amazon website. This has been available in both black and white in the past few years and my version, and my husbands, is the black one.
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Panasonic KXTCA60
by j9j8j7
===Motivation===
I like to multitask and do chores like ironing or dishes while I talk on the phone with my mom, brother and best friend back in the States. A headset makes doing so infinitely easier. It also makes waiting on hold for long periods more bearable. The past 3 weeks I have been using my phone even more as I find holding ... the phone difficult with my broken right hand and raising the phone to my ear puts strain on my injured left shoulder.
My phone has a single 2.5mm jack so I was limited in my headset options (although this seems standard for landline phones most headsets have 3.5mm jacks more common on computers). I ended up buying a Panasonic KXTCA60 headset even though it wasn't exactly what I wanted- it was the best I could find for a reasonable price and Panasonic is generally a fairly good brand.
===About the headset===
As I mentioned earlier, the Panasonic KXTCA60 has a single 2.5mm chord which is 120cm (4ft) long. It has a lapel clip to keep the chord in place and reduce noise. There is a padded speaker for one ear and a movable microphone arm on the same side (the headset can be turned to be worn over either ear). The headset is adjustable, but even on the smallest setting I find it too big for my (small side of average for a women's) head. For this reason I don't think it would work well for a child.
I have been a little disappointed with this headset. Frankly, I expected better from a brand like Panasonic. The speaker is not particularly clear and makes a lot of static and crackling noises. It is good enough for me to use on casual calls to friends and family from my quiet house, but I don't think it would be ideal for work use where there's more background noise. I think the microphone is slightly clearer because I haven't had anyone complain about the reduction in call clarity, but maybe they are just being polite.
You cannot adjust the volume on this headset.
One thing to note is that you must plug the headset into the phone before starting a call. You can't plug it in half way through a call. You can, however, unplug the headset during a call and switch to using it normally (but you won't be able to go back to using the headset during that call). I don't know why this is the case, but it was the same with another phone and headset I owned years ago.
===Price and availability===
I bought my headset on Amazon where it is still available for £12.96 (free super-saver shipping).
===Conclusion===
This headset does what I wanted it to do- multitask while making calls to friends or family. It is a little too big for me and isn't quite as clear as I would like, but it does free up my hands to do other things while talking (much better than using speakerphone or trying to hold the phone with my shoulder). I'm happy to give it 3 out of 5 stars.
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