Looking for a decent headset / headphones + mic

[CurseTheSky]

Hi guys,

A while ago I started working from home and needed to buy a headset to communicate with customers over VoIP (otherwise I'd run out of cellphone minutes in a week...). Since I had to get something quickly, I ran out to the nearest B&M store and pickedup... you guessed it, Logitech. I forget the exact model, but I knew they'd be nothing spectacular and were filled with marketing (laser tuned?). They've worked so far, but the sound quality makes me want to slit my... eardrums...

So, I'm in the market for a new set. I'm looking for something primarily with better sound quality, though better construction (sturdiness) would be a plus. I prefer a USB connection, since I haven't found a way (if it's possible) to connect my case's 3.5mm front panel jacks to my sound card.

I've been looking at the Sennheiser PC151s, but wasn't sure if they were the best choice. Is there anything better for a similar price, or would I be better off buying headphones and a seperate mic? (In that case please suggest.) I would go up to $100 or so for something that's amazingly superior in sound quality, but I'd prefer not to.

Thanks.

 

[kalrith]

I'm not sure what the best choice is, but I personally went with the Sennheiser HD280Pro plus a Logitech desktop mic for around $100 for both. I love the sound of the headphones, but I find the mic lacking. If I turn it up enough to pick my voice up really well, then it picks up all ambient sound as well. I only use the mic about 5 times a year, whereas I use my headphones all the time. I definitely made the purchase 90% for audio listening and only about 10% for gaming-headset use, and I would make the same choice again given the opportunity. If I started using it as a headset more, then I'd do something more along the lines of what YOyoYO did:

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: kalrith
I love my HD280Pro for gaming. I use a Logitech desktop mic in place of a headset mic.

hehe

Edit: You might glean some good info from that entire thread.

 

[CurseTheSky]

There was some good information in that thread, but unfortunately not much about mics. I'm tempted to pick up a set of JVC HA-RX700 considering the price, but I have no idea what to do about a good mic.

 

[kalrith]

I use the non-USB version of this mic. It would work great if there's not much ambient noise in the room, or if you're able to get your mouth really close to it. In my case my Chinchilla is in my office, and the microphone picks up all the noise that he makes. In a different setting the microphone might work a lot better than it does for me. The current version might work better than mine as well.

 

[Howard]

Right now I've got the HA-RX700 and I'm using a DIY mic based on this design. Won't work unless you have a quiet environment, since it uses an omni cartridge.

EDIT: If you are interested in building something like this, I would recommend staying away from battery power and instead do something like this:

1) Find an unregulated DC wall-wart between 15V and 18V
2) Run the output voltage through a TL780-15 for regulation
3) Create a virtual ground using a TLE2426 PDIP-8 with the recommended noise-reducing 1uF cap (use an X7R ceramic) - you end up with +/- 7.5V, which is nice because the cartridge takes a max of 10V (you'll take it from the - rail)
4) For best noise reduction, use a CRC(RC) filter on both rails - for this application, you can use up to 47 ohms with as much capacitance on both sides as you can fit (capacitance is cheap). The last cap should be the biggest to minimize output impedance of the supply.

 

[CurseTheSky]

kalrith: Funny you should mention that - I have a chinchilla less than 10 feet from me. Something that picks up all the ambient noises probably won't work. I also tend to sit slouched back in my chair from time to time, and having to fling myself forward every time I need to respond to someone would get tiring fast. If only they made something like that in a clip-on style.

Howard: That looks like a really fun project; I haven't done any electronics work (outside of building computers and the occasional "looks like this capacitor is bulging / this resistor is fried") in years. I'll probably look into doing that just for fun when I have free time, but I'll still need to find a quick solution in the mean time.

Thanks for the replies so far guys.