Recommendations for headsets / earphones for Skype etc.?
Discussion
I'm not quite sure where to put this thread so hopefully this section is most suitable??
I'm just wondering if anyone has any recommendations WRT 'headsets' or 'earphones' for joining Skype/Zoom/Teams meetings.
I've just been using the laptop speakers/mic but will be in a noisier environment soon, so it would be good to have something that doesn't pick up quite so much background noise (or broadcast my conversation).
It would also be nice to hear comments on microphone quality / sound quality - it seems some people sound like they are right there in the room with you, whereas others sound like they are calling from the 1920s on Planet Dalek...
If this thread has already been done and I've missed it, please feel free to berate me accordingly and point me in the right direction
lol
Thank you in advance for any comments!
I'm just wondering if anyone has any recommendations WRT 'headsets' or 'earphones' for joining Skype/Zoom/Teams meetings.
I've just been using the laptop speakers/mic but will be in a noisier environment soon, so it would be good to have something that doesn't pick up quite so much background noise (or broadcast my conversation).
It would also be nice to hear comments on microphone quality / sound quality - it seems some people sound like they are right there in the room with you, whereas others sound like they are calling from the 1920s on Planet Dalek...
If this thread has already been done and I've missed it, please feel free to berate me accordingly and point me in the right direction
lolThank you in advance for any comments!
I have had great success with Jabra headsets and currently use their Evolve2 65.
It connects to PC and Phone at the same time and can take calls on both, no need to disconnect to each device, whichever rings, you answer.
It also has a noise cancelling mic, so it does cut out a lot (most) office noise in the background. I have a dual monitor setup in the office and hate having to go into a meeting room just using my laptop screen cos of noisy folk in the background - I dont have to using the Jabra.
The boom mic mutes the conversation on Teams as needed, just pull the mic down to unmute, push upwards to mute - quite a lot of integration to teams but check the version your getting, some are UC and some are MS (universal vs Microsoft) - depends on your usage.
It connects to PC and Phone at the same time and can take calls on both, no need to disconnect to each device, whichever rings, you answer.
It also has a noise cancelling mic, so it does cut out a lot (most) office noise in the background. I have a dual monitor setup in the office and hate having to go into a meeting room just using my laptop screen cos of noisy folk in the background - I dont have to using the Jabra.
The boom mic mutes the conversation on Teams as needed, just pull the mic down to unmute, push upwards to mute - quite a lot of integration to teams but check the version your getting, some are UC and some are MS (universal vs Microsoft) - depends on your usage.
Been using Microsoft LifeChat LX 3000 Headset for nearly 6 years:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000JSDOMO/ref...
very comfortable, excellent sound quality on both sides.
Only £22
The LX 6000 adds noice cancelling and are lighter (not that the LX3000 is heavy), if noise is an issue then I'd probably give them a go £46
Always found MS peripherals to be great quality.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000JSDOMO/ref...
very comfortable, excellent sound quality on both sides.
Only £22
The LX 6000 adds noice cancelling and are lighter (not that the LX3000 is heavy), if noise is an issue then I'd probably give them a go £46
Always found MS peripherals to be great quality.
My personal preference is to still be able to hear ambient noise. So I used to use Jabra mono headsets. I still have a fancy USB docking one that transmits/receives over DECT so if not on video I can wonder up to 100m away in theory. Useful for stretching the legs and making a cup of tea. Having a local mute button on the headset is a must in that situation.
But my go to solution is an Aftershokz bone conduction set of earphones paired with a USB cardioid mic on a desk mounted arm and pop filter. People say I sound crystal clear and minimised background noise picked up. The aftershokz weigh only a few dozens of grams and I can wear them all day comfortably and still hear ambient noise as I prefer. The headphones have a mic but it isn’t of much use for anything other than an emergency IMO.
But my go to solution is an Aftershokz bone conduction set of earphones paired with a USB cardioid mic on a desk mounted arm and pop filter. People say I sound crystal clear and minimised background noise picked up. The aftershokz weigh only a few dozens of grams and I can wear them all day comfortably and still hear ambient noise as I prefer. The headphones have a mic but it isn’t of much use for anything other than an emergency IMO.
Microsoft certify hardware for Skype/Teams, anything on this this is good: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-teams/ac...
Particularly in noisy environments though, getting the mic as close as possible to your mouth helps a lot - I always favour headsets with a boom mic over those that put it by your ears.
Particularly in noisy environments though, getting the mic as close as possible to your mouth helps a lot - I always favour headsets with a boom mic over those that put it by your ears.
I have a set of these for work. Teams, Skype all good.
Plantronics Blackwire 3200 Stereo Corded UC Headset With USB Connectivity https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0775S8X5C/ref=cm_sw_r...
Comfortable, light weight, good audio quality and volume.
For the price I’m very happy.
Plantronics Blackwire 3200 Stereo Corded UC Headset With USB Connectivity https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0775S8X5C/ref=cm_sw_r...
Comfortable, light weight, good audio quality and volume.
For the price I’m very happy.
I needed something cheap and cheerful after the earphone socket packed up on my work laptop so went for this.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elikliv-Microphone-Headse...
Works well enough and has been used daily since November with no issue.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elikliv-Microphone-Headse...
Works well enough and has been used daily since November with no issue.
BigTZ4M said:
But my go to solution is an Aftershokz bone conduction set of earphones paired with a USB cardioid mic on a desk mounted arm and pop filter. People say I sound crystal clear and minimised background noise picked up. The aftershokz weigh only a few dozens of grams and I can wear them all day comfortably and still hear ambient noise as I prefer. The headphones have a mic but it isn’t of much use for anything other than an emergency IMO.
Just to come back to these bone conduction headsets...I'm assuming that 'the genuine items' are effectively bouncing the 'voicecoil' of the 'speaker' off your skull and transmitting the vibrations to your eardrums through the bone (obviously), rather than the voicecoil being connected to a speaker cone and transforming the energy into sound waves (as a usual speaker would be doing)?
I'm looking at the Aftershokz versions and they seem to get good reviews, but the (much!) cheaper chinese versions seem to have reviews that say they can be heard across the room - presumably because some entrepreneurial Chinese factory owner has decided to just stick normal speakers on the end of some plastic arms and call them 'bone conducting'??
e.g.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B07Z5PR1L...
" use it to listen to podcasts while cycling to work (pre lockdown) sound is good and I can hear what is said over the traffic.
The microphone does not always pickup what I say if on a call.
Note that everyone can hear what you listen"
"Basically a speaker not hanging from your ear. My wife could hear the music from across the room over the tv"
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/R3B09...
"I returned these soon as... There just normal headphones, just leaning against the back of youre head.
Someone is taking the absaloute piss!!!"
For total isolation and amazing noise cancellation the bose hc700 (think that is the number .. the current over ear jobbies) are the mutts nuts. During the summer we had men in laying new flooring and they were drilling concrete in the room next door and with the bose on I couldn't hear a thing and even more impressive the others in the Teams calls could hear me perfectly with no background noise.
My sister bought the equivalent Sony (mx7000?) And she rates them to.
But both around £250-300.
My sister bought the equivalent Sony (mx7000?) And she rates them to.
But both around £250-300.
Murph7355 said:
I have a Plantronics Savi 740.
Connects to a PC/Mac for Zoom/Teams/etc....to a landline phone and via bluetooth to a mobile phone.
Plantronics Savi 8220 here - it's the dogs. Connects to laptop/PC/Mac via USB then has 300ft wireless range. Superb sound and microphone and switchable noise cancellation if you're in a noisy environmentConnects to a PC/Mac for Zoom/Teams/etc....to a landline phone and via bluetooth to a mobile phone.
Also for wired use the Logitech Zone Wired is pretty good, the Teams/Skype version seems to be cheaper than the UC (non-Teams) variant. Great sound and microphone again, but a bit "leaky"
For short calls I occasionally use ear buds, either SonyWF-1000XM3 or Apple Air Pods, but too be honest I don't want them stuck in my ear for hours on end
Edited by mikef on Saturday 17th April 07:45
RSTurboPaul said:
Just to come back to these bone conduction headsets...
I'm assuming that 'the genuine items' are effectively bouncing the 'voicecoil' of the 'speaker' off your skull and transmitting the vibrations to your eardrums through the bone (obviously), rather than the voicecoil being connected to a speaker cone and transforming the energy into sound waves (as a usual speaker would be doing)?
I'm looking at the Aftershokz versions and they seem to get good reviews, but the (much!) cheaper chinese versions seem to have reviews that say they can be heard across the room - presumably because some entrepreneurial Chinese factory owner has decided to just stick normal speakers on the end of some plastic arms and call them 'bone conducting'??
I can’t comment on the physics of it but I do own a pair of Chinese copies as well as two sets of Aftershokz. I couldn’t agree more about the Chinese copies just being regular headphones with what effectively is a tiny speaker near your ear and can be heard by anyone and everyone. They’re not bone conduction and just annoyingly leak sound, some of which goes in you ears. Just about fine for listening to speech radio as I walk the dog on my own but a country mile from the real deal and I wouldn’t dare use them indoors with other people around.I'm assuming that 'the genuine items' are effectively bouncing the 'voicecoil' of the 'speaker' off your skull and transmitting the vibrations to your eardrums through the bone (obviously), rather than the voicecoil being connected to a speaker cone and transforming the energy into sound waves (as a usual speaker would be doing)?
I'm looking at the Aftershokz versions and they seem to get good reviews, but the (much!) cheaper chinese versions seem to have reviews that say they can be heard across the room - presumably because some entrepreneurial Chinese factory owner has decided to just stick normal speakers on the end of some plastic arms and call them 'bone conducting'??
MB140 said:
I have a set of these for work. Teams, Skype all good.
Plantronics Blackwire 3200 Stereo Corded UC Headset With USB Connectivity https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0775S8X5C/ref=cm_sw_r...
Comfortable, light weight, good audio quality and volume.
For the price I’m very happy.
We have those for work and they're pretty good, so I bought the next model up for personal use https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plantronics-Blackwire-C52... which has the benefit of being able to use the 3.5mm jack on my phone as well as the PC.Plantronics Blackwire 3200 Stereo Corded UC Headset With USB Connectivity https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0775S8X5C/ref=cm_sw_r...
Comfortable, light weight, good audio quality and volume.
For the price I’m very happy.
The microphone's on them are way better than the old Logitech H390 my wife's been using. If we're both in the same room on the same call you can hear me on her Logitech's microphone, but not hear her on my Plantronics.
My mother's just bought a Jabra headset and loves the convenience of not having wires, the sound quality on phone calls to her is very good https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jabra-Evolve-Wireless-Blu...
I also have a pair of Bose Quiet Comfort 35 II's, which are great for me as the listener, but the microphones on them pick up a lot of ambient noise so not anywhere near as good for the person the other end of the call.
Edited by RizzoTheRat on Sunday 18th April 09:46
Thanks for the replies, everyone, hopefully this thread might be a useful reference for others as well! 
lol
Thanks for the confirmation - those Chinese factory owners will try anything to make money
I have decided to follow your lead and ordered a pair of Aftershokz, along with a proper mic, so I'm hoping it sounds noticeably better than other people on calls! If I'm going to be WFH forevermore (likely, as I don't want to get tested just to go into the bloody office) then I might as well invest in decent kit straight from the off.
I'm intrigued to hear how they sound
I'm not sure how the fact that the Aftershokz have a mic in them will work with the plug in mic - I assume that the computer will take the input from the plug in mic and disregard anything from the Aftershokz!
BigTZ4M said:
RSTurboPaul said:
Just to come back to these bone conduction headsets...
I'm assuming that 'the genuine items' are effectively bouncing the 'voicecoil' of the 'speaker' off your skull and transmitting the vibrations to your eardrums through the bone (obviously), rather than the voicecoil being connected to a speaker cone and transforming the energy into sound waves (as a usual speaker would be doing)?
I'm looking at the Aftershokz versions and they seem to get good reviews, but the (much!) cheaper chinese versions seem to have reviews that say they can be heard across the room - presumably because some entrepreneurial Chinese factory owner has decided to just stick normal speakers on the end of some plastic arms and call them 'bone conducting'??
I can’t comment on the physics of it but I do own a pair of Chinese copies as well as two sets of Aftershokz. I couldn’t agree more about the Chinese copies just being regular headphones with what effectively is a tiny speaker near your ear and can be heard by anyone and everyone. They’re not bone conduction and just annoyingly leak sound, some of which goes in you ears. Just about fine for listening to speech radio as I walk the dog on my own but a country mile from the real deal and I wouldn’t dare use them indoors with other people around.I'm assuming that 'the genuine items' are effectively bouncing the 'voicecoil' of the 'speaker' off your skull and transmitting the vibrations to your eardrums through the bone (obviously), rather than the voicecoil being connected to a speaker cone and transforming the energy into sound waves (as a usual speaker would be doing)?
I'm looking at the Aftershokz versions and they seem to get good reviews, but the (much!) cheaper chinese versions seem to have reviews that say they can be heard across the room - presumably because some entrepreneurial Chinese factory owner has decided to just stick normal speakers on the end of some plastic arms and call them 'bone conducting'??
Thanks for the confirmation - those Chinese factory owners will try anything to make money
I have decided to follow your lead and ordered a pair of Aftershokz, along with a proper mic, so I'm hoping it sounds noticeably better than other people on calls! If I'm going to be WFH forevermore (likely, as I don't want to get tested just to go into the bloody office) then I might as well invest in decent kit straight from the off.
I'm intrigued to hear how they sound
I'm not sure how the fact that the Aftershokz have a mic in them will work with the plug in mic - I assume that the computer will take the input from the plug in mic and disregard anything from the Aftershokz!
RSTurboPaul said:
I'm not sure how the fact that the Aftershokz have a mic in them will work with the plug in mic - I assume that the computer will take the input from the plug in mic and disregard anything from the Aftershokz!
Which mic you use is determined by software. Your operating system needs to recognise all your mics (should by default with no action) - for example you may have the laptop’s built in one, the aftershokz and your quality usb one. Then in Zoom and Skype ( and I assume Teams etc) you have a selector to pick which one you want to use and it remembers it. Same with speakers/headphones and you can mix and match as you want, set defaults and even set an order of preference if you unplug any of them so it knows what to use as second choice.BigTZ4M said:
RSTurboPaul said:
I'm not sure how the fact that the Aftershokz have a mic in them will work with the plug in mic - I assume that the computer will take the input from the plug in mic and disregard anything from the Aftershokz!
Which mic you use is determined by software. Your operating system needs to recognise all your mics (should by default with no action) - for example you may have the laptop’s built in one, the aftershokz and your quality usb one. Then in Zoom and Skype ( and I assume Teams etc) you have a selector to pick which one you want to use and it remembers it. Same with speakers/headphones and you can mix and match as you want, set defaults and even set an order of preference if you unplug any of them so it knows what to use as second choice.I can pick speakers, so why couldn't I pick a mic??
I'm just going to facepalm myself... lol
I have relatively few meetings at the minute so I need to set one up with a friend to test sound quality
Since WFH started in late March 2020, I was using my faithful Betron wired earphones. They weren't very comfortable for long periods, so finally I bought myself some Avantree Aria Pro APTX-HD about two months ago. They were £90 on Prime and I'm pleased to report that they are still that price 
I also tried some cheaper ones which were about £60, but the spring was quite strong and they felt like they were squeezing my head. Also, the ear domes were huge. Sent those back for a refund. I wanted something quite low profile and non gamer like (No flashy colours or neon lights)
These Avantrees are Bluetooth 5 so connect to phone and laptop simultaneously with no fuss at all. Battery life is enough for me to only charge them every few days an they are USB-C too.
Mic can be disconnected and also looks quite subtle as it hasn't go the foam muff on the end. Didn't want to look like a pilot on conference calls.
These are full size over the ear head phones and are a touch bigger than my Bose SoundLinks and are of course heavier too. However the sound quality is comparable in my humble opinion and the Avantrees came with a very smart case too.
These are the ones:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07TMYCV1Y/ref...
I also tried some cheaper ones which were about £60, but the spring was quite strong and they felt like they were squeezing my head. Also, the ear domes were huge. Sent those back for a refund. I wanted something quite low profile and non gamer like (No flashy colours or neon lights)
These Avantrees are Bluetooth 5 so connect to phone and laptop simultaneously with no fuss at all. Battery life is enough for me to only charge them every few days an they are USB-C too.
Mic can be disconnected and also looks quite subtle as it hasn't go the foam muff on the end. Didn't want to look like a pilot on conference calls.
These are full size over the ear head phones and are a touch bigger than my Bose SoundLinks and are of course heavier too. However the sound quality is comparable in my humble opinion and the Avantrees came with a very smart case too.
These are the ones:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07TMYCV1Y/ref...
RSTurboPaul said:
D'oh - of course!
I can pick speakers, so why couldn't I pick a mic??
I'm just going to facepalm myself... lol
I have relatively few meetings at the minute so I need to set one up with a friend to test sound quality
In zoom there's a "test my speakers" (or something like that) it'll let you record an audio clip and play it back to you.I can pick speakers, so why couldn't I pick a mic??
I'm just going to facepalm myself... lol
I have relatively few meetings at the minute so I need to set one up with a friend to test sound quality
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