The most comfortable and flexible way to use a computer for voice comms. (Plantronics CS 60-USB)

Name: Immlang

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Product:	Plantronics CS 60-USB
Date:	04/06/08 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great quality and performance

Disadvantages: Expensive

The Plantronics CS 60 USB is a cordless rechargeable USB headset designed to plug into the USB port of a computer when the computer is being used for voice communications, such as Skype of msn voice.

While Plantronics' marketing talks about specific items of software, such as Skype, the headset can be used with any voice application. Indeed, as soon as you plug it in to a computer running Windows XP or Vista the computer will recognise it as a USB device and configure itself to use it. In doing so it may also start to send the audio output from Media Player or itunes through the headset, but a moment in the Sound settings of the Control Panel and you can set the computer up to send music and video sound through your normal sound system and voice through the new headset. It comes with an installation disk but you do not need it.

The headset is very comfortable. It has a range of fittings for its one earpiece so that you can use it with either ear, with or without a headband or a with a hook to go over your ear. The earpiece is nicely padded. Similarly, the microphone is on a long enough boom to sit just by your mouth.

The whole thing has a mains charger, but it also charges up through the USB port. For me this latter method does nicely and I do not use the mains charger at all.

In use, it is great. I use it with msn voice to talk to my grown-up children who are scattered far and wide and the sound quality, while dependent on the characterists of the internet connection, is superb. You can adjust the volume of the earpiece and microphone using the sound properties on the computer, but there is also a volume control on the device itself for some fine tuning. Since it is cordless you can wander well away from the computer and carry on talking. Whatever its nominal range is, I have found that I can be a couple of rooms away, or upstairs, with no detriment to quality.


The list price of these things is high, but you can get considerable discounts from ebay traders who provide brand new stock with proper receipts and guarantees, so it is no surprise that that is where I bought mine. It has a solid, quality feel to it.

For ease and flexibility if you use your computer for voice communications, I cannot recommend this device highly enough.

Summary: Well worth the expense if the benefits are important to you