Cheap, effective headset (skype)

[vbuggy]

Any suggestions? I need to distribute a bunch of them to an affiliated team that my devs will be working with.

I do not intend to pay for the same headsets my devs are using, but something more in the $50 or under range. The more under, the better TBH but I'd like them to work well - i.e. intelligibly in an open-plan office environment - in Skype as it'll be the primary means of day-to-day communication between these guys.

Host machines will be variable so USB interface is absolutely best. We'll buy a couple of different ones and test.

 

[Jonathan Astor]

Hi I'm Jonathan (Disclaimer: I am consulting with Jabra) - think Jabra would love to help out - and reach out to you - how many headsets do you need? I can see its for Skype and a USB solution best. What region are you from? Will make sure you get the right advice...
I hope that's ok - Jabra have lots of experts or local partners who can help facilitate better collaboration..the project by the way sounds exciting....Best Jonathan Astor - Valtech A/S - External Jabra Consultant

 

[gsaldivar]

$36 + Free shipping

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PC-.../dp/B001SN8QI6

There are cheaper no-name headsets, but I would stick with a brand name if possible. I think that one is the best bang-for-buck in your price range.

Good luck

 

[vbuggy]

@Jonathan Astor

- About 10
- Eastern Europe
- Don't think I'm looking for wireless
- The project is not exciting

I've had a look, there are a couple of corded Jabra products that might be of interest. Thanks for the reminder that they exist

 

[vbuggy]

$36 + Free shipping

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PC-.../dp/B001SN8QI6

There are cheaper no-name headsets, but I would stick with a brand name if possible. I think that one is the best bang-for-buck in your price range.

Good luck

Yeah, the stereo version of that was one of the ones I was looking at. These guys aren't call-center operatives so I would imagine they'd want the sets to be usable for tunes too.

 

[CurseTheSky]

The Microsoft Lifechat LX-3000 has been a favorite of mine for a cheap USB headset that works well:

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-JUG-.../dp/B000J4WPW8

The biggest downside is that it's bulky, which is fine for an office environment, but not great for public or commuting.

 

[vbuggy]

The Microsoft Lifechat LX-3000 has been a favorite of mine for a cheap USB headset that works well:

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-JUG-.../dp/B000J4WPW8

The biggest downside is that it's bulky, which is fine for an office environment, but not great for public or commuting.

Don't think anyone will be commuting with these headsets

I had a look at those too as a somewhat removed colleague uses them, but he doesn't know anything about headsets, I think it was just a random choice by his PA - but I haven't seen him complain. How would you say durability is, if you have any relative experience?

My experience with GN Netcom (i.e. Jabra) and Plantronics is that durability is pretty bad, at least in terms of the way I've seen them used by my staff and also by people I see at other places. Sure, it's all cheap plastic in the end but especially the Plantronics stuff seems to be engineered to be fragile.