I need a Teams headset/mic

[Mr Pointy]

I'm about to start working with someone via Teams & I don't think my speaker bar & the mic on my webcam is going to cut it. Can anyone point me towards a reasonable setup? I think I'd prefer earbuds rather than a full headset as it's going to be sweaty if I have to wear them all day.

I've seem some that are optimised for Teams & some that are UC, whatever that is. Can I use the Teams optimised ones for other stuff like Zoom & Skype?

[frisbee]

I've got a wireless Jabra headset. It's easy to wear as the headphones just rest on your ears, they don't clamp over them like over headphones and headsets I've had. I could wear them all day and not notice.

I think the Teams optimised bit are the mute and volume buttons on the side of the headset.

Definitely go wireless, so much more convenient.

[Mr Pointy]

Thanks, I'll look at those. I've just dug out my old Polycomm C100S which I thought had been deprecated but I've manged to get it working with Teams & Zoom. I think that will keep me going until I can get hold of a headset.

[xeny]

Mr Pointy said:

I'm about to start working with someone via Teams & I don't think my speaker bar & the mic on my webcam is going to cut it.

As long as you're not sharing a room with anyone, you may be pleasantly surprised - I spend time on calls with people with that setup and it's been perfectly acceptable.

[sjg]

Teams (or SfB) optimised means it’ll always be detected properly, the volume/mute/hangup buttons get recognised correctly as well as decent audio quality. Yes, they work with all other apps too. Key thing though is to get the mic as close as possible to your mouth (hence the boom mic on most headsets) and either go for wired or use the wireless dongle that comes with it - don’t just pair to native Bluetooth on your laptop.

Both Jabra and Poly do a good earbud type one with the bit that goes behind your neck - as it can fit a bigger battery it can last all day easily.

[shirt]

i usually join meetings via the phone app using apple ear buds [the wired ones]. comfy, cheap [free] decent sound quality, don't have to wear a headset.

[Riley Blue]

xeny said:

Mr Pointy said:

I'm about to start working with someone via Teams & I don't think my speaker bar & the mic on my webcam is going to cut it.

As long as you're not sharing a room with anyone, you may be pleasantly surprised - I spend time on calls with people with that setup and it's been perfectly acceptable.

I've a Logitech 920s webcam and regularly chair meetings with up to 20 people. It copes perfectly. Thinking about it, none of them wears a headset.

[frisbee]

xeny said:

As long as you're not sharing a room with anyone, you may be pleasantly surprised - I spend time on calls with people with that setup and it's been perfectly acceptable.

Someone I work with sounded like he was being kept in the pit in the serial killer's basement in the Silence of the Lambs. But no headset generally works fine.

[skeeterm5]

I worked with Teams, Zoom and Skype almost all of last year on an iPad and the mic and speaker set up were absolutely fine.

No need for external headsets.

[Magnum 475]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Seconded. I’ve had one for years due to lots of WFH with Skype and now Teams calls. It’s way nicer than spending most of the day using a headset.

[TonyRPH]

I've often heard people say their headset / mic is fine etc. however I wonder how many of them have actually heard what they sound like?

Since my O/H has been working from home, she has encountered some really awful tinny sounding voices (many of which sound as they they're sat in an echo chamber), simply because they're either using the built in laptop mic or just have some cheap arse crappy headset.

We bought a decent Sennheiser headset for her, and many people have commented on how clear her voice is (the mic has noise cancelling) but most of them baulk at the price (£60) but it' worth every penny IMHO.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07VMSR2HX

[deckster]

Magnum 475 said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Seconded. I’ve had one for years due to lots of WFH with Skype and now Teams calls. It’s way nicer than spending most of the day using a headset.

Thirded. It's the only way to get through week after week of continuous calls.

[sjg]

TonyRPH said:

I've often heard people say their headset / mic is fine etc. however I wonder how many of them have actually heard what they sound like?

Since my O/H has been working from home, she has encountered some really awful tinny sounding voices (many of which sound as they they're sat in an echo chamber), simply because they're either using the built in laptop mic or just have some cheap arse crappy headset.

We bought a decent Sennheiser headset for her, and many people have commented on how clear her voice is (the mic has noise cancelling) but most of them baulk at the price (£60) but it' worth every penny IMHO.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07VMSR2HX

Yep, this is the problem - if you’re not using a headset (just what’s built in) then it can all sound brilliant to you. Everyone else on the call has to listen to it and they may be too polite to tell you that you sound awful.

Some laptops and webcams have decent mics built in these days, but most are minimum possible cost because people expect them to be there.

[tr7v8]

I use a work supplied Jabra which is wired. Someone uses the built in Mic & you get thump thump thump as he hits the keyboard, Finish a call with a splitting headache & drives me mad. When told he responded "Oh yes you're not the first to tell me" Then fix it you muppet!

[RSTurboPaul]

I asked a similar question on another thread - in the end I went with one of the recommendations to get a pair of AfterShoks bone-conducting 'earphones' and a dedicated USB microphone.

It means you haven't got something on/in your ears all day, you can still hear ambient noise (good of you're also doing the WFH/Childcare thing) and you can just use normal earplugs if you need better isolation from the environment.

[ArsE82]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I used one of these for a while and it worked really well.

Now I tend to use Jabra Elite 85t paired to my phone and laptop at the same time.

[RizzoTheRat]

TonyRPH said:

I've often heard people say their headset / mic is fine etc. however I wonder how many of them have actually heard what they sound like?

Since my O/H has been working from home, she has encountered some really awful tinny sounding voices (many of which sound as they they're sat in an echo chamber), simply because they're either using the built in laptop mic or just have some cheap arse crappy headset.

Plus the amount of background noise they pick up. A friend of ours uses the apple earbuds and she sounds ok but they pick up every little noise in the room. I bought a Plantronics C5220 after being impressed at how good the mic were on our work issue C3220's. My wife and I can be on the same call in the same room and the mics don't pick up the other person.
My mother recently bought a Bluetooth Jabra headset (Evolve 65 I think) and the sound quality is very good.