No, I’m not turning into a hardware review site. I just bought a bunch of stuff this weekend, so hey - it makes good reviewing material.
After scouting the keyboard section for new arrivals, I wandered over to where the microphones and speakers were at my local Best Buy. It’s somewhat ironic and funny that I didn’t buy a headset at my earlier stop at Wal*Mart because they only had Cyber Acoustics products, and I didn’t want to buy garbage. So I went to Best Buy and what was the first thing I saw? The very same Cyber Acoustics headset.
But digging a little lower, I found a very expensive Plantronics headset. I’d always heard that Plantronics made good equipment so I took the package off the shelf and looked it over. It was a standard stereo headset with a boom mic, but it included a small “module” that the headphone and microphone outputs plugged into that would in turn convert the audio to a format that would allowed the module to plug into a USB port instead of your sound card. This appealed to me a great deal at first, but I just couldn’t swallow the $80 price tag as nice as it would have been to not have to climb around the back of my computer everytime I wanted to use the headset. I gave up on the whole headset idea - despite the fact that it was the reason I was shopping - and kept browsing. Just past the laptops I found another Plantronics headset hiding that was half the price of the USB unit and as far as I can tell, the only difference is that it did not include the USB module. So I purchased the Audio 90 headset for around $40.
Before I even get into talking about the functionality of the unit, allow me to award THE GOLD PLATED COFFEE DRINKER AWARD to Plantronics for offering their product in a plastic package that does not require a blowtorch and a chainsaw to open. I am so sick of these plastic packages that refuse to open, are difficult to cut, and end up cutting your fingers in the attempt. Plantronics - or whoever they hired to make their packaging - thoughtfully included a concealed hole in the plastic seam (hidden under the wrapper) that allows you to quickly and easily stick a knife or a letter opener in to break the seal without giving blood. This in itself is a big reason to consider this product.
The headset on the Audio 90 is an “over the head” style - consistant with conventional headphones with a large beefy microphone on an adjustable boom. This is not like the Logitech models that are meant to be “concealed” so you look good on-cam. You look like a football announcer or a helicopter pilot wearing these.
As for sound quality… the microphone is among the best I’ve heard and is not hypersensitive like some headsets I’ve seen. I know people from Yahoo chat rooms who wear headsets with the boom pointed at the back of their neck with the microphone level set almost to the OFF position that are still too loud. I was able to get a nice level where I didn’t have to scream and I wasn’t causing hearing loss with the level set almost right in the middle. Perfect!
The headphones look very impressive, but you have to remember that these were meant for voice conferencing. I fired up iTunes for giggles and listened to a bit of music. It was ok, but the headphone drivers in this headset are not made for music. They appear to be boosted in the middle of the audio spectrum giving very good intelligibility in the “spoken word” range.
The headset comes with tons of cable (enough to go from my chair to the back of the computer and almost back to my head again) and includes a thoughtful inline switch that serves both as a volume setting for the headphones and a mute switch for the mic. It also has a clip attached to the wire so you can clip it to your pocket or collar so the switch is always within reach. Having enough cable to occasionally walk away from my desk while talking was a huge bonus and a thoughtful addition by Plantronics.
The sound quality of the headphones could be better, but it’s really geared to the purpose the headset was made for. Overall I’d give them a 4 out of 5.