Plantronics .Audio 625 USB - Headset ( semi-open )
From Plantronics
Electrify your audio experience with rich, resonant stereo. The .Audio 625 USB brings acoustically accurate comfort to talking, gaming, video conferencing, and unbridled tune jamming. It features a noise-canceling, telescoping microphone to enhance speech accuracy and offers soft, swivel-mounted ear cushions. A choice of connectivity - analog or USB - makes the .Audio 625 USB the ideal headset for home and office multi-taskers.
- Brand: Plantronics
- Model: 625 USB
- Dimensions: 2.50" h x 8.70" w x 9.70" l, .75 pounds
good headset for the money
If you are looking for a good headset that is comfortable and with features such as usb and inline volume control this is the one. The price is excellent for what you get no need to spend more.
Pretty good headset
This set works great and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. My only complaint is that the headphones are too tight. If you will be wearing it for most of the work day, like I do, it might cause you some headaches.
Works well with Dragon for voice dictation and Skype
PROS:
Faithful sound reproduction for a unit in this cost range
Easy set up/configure
Can be used with either the supplied USB dongle or through your computer's audio-in/audio-out ports
Works well with Dragon
Works well with Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 pre-release
CONS:
Very large USB dongle, awkward with laptop
Not as easy to adjust microphone distance from mouth as other units
Mute switch is stiff and takes too much force to click into position
? Quality control--my first unit had a defective USB dongle (on subsequent return/replacement this problem was solved)
I bought this USB headset to replace the dreadful analog set that came with my copy of Dragon Naturally Speaking 10. My work desktop and my netbook both have integrated sound cards which were underpowered for voice dictation and Skype.
The headset came well packaged in the typically impossible to open plastic, clam shell. All parts were accounted for. There is virtually no documentation that comes with the device, but set up is straightforward and immediate when using with Windows (I tried this with XP, Vista, and Windows 7) so no real documentation is needed. Windows immediately picked up the USB audio sound card so there was no need for me to configure this in the control panel. The headset was reasonably comfortable.
The unit is made mostly out of lightweight plastic and isn't heavy on your head. Conversely, it does not have the most robust construction, so people who make heavy use or need a unit that can take abuse may want to pay for a higher end model. The mic easily flips up and down, but there is little adjustment possible to extend or retract the microphone. Fortunately, the unit works well without such an adjustment. There are controls for volume and a mute for the microphone that is conveniently on the wire leading to the computer. The volume works just fine. The mute switch works but is stiff and difficult to operate with just one hand.
One small gripe I have is that the USB dongle is quite large in size. This is less of a problem on my desktop, but is less convenient when using with a laptop.
The first USB dongle I received was defective. I contacted Plantronics customer support via the webchat option and they diagnosed the problem. Unfortunately, I needed a replacement unit and had to return the unit to the vendor (not Amazon). The second unit worked without a hitch. Customer service was average for the industry. The Plantronics website is serviceable--it's okay in terms of navigation and use, but certainly could be improved. The rep responded promptly and appropriately. There may be issues of quality control here, but this is only one incident and the second unit I received worked perfectly.
The unit works seamlessly with Dragon 10 on my work computer. It has made voice dictation much more accurate. I compared this headset to the analog only unit that came with Dragon using the Windows sound recorder. Even with this kind of crude testing, the sound was far better with the Plantronics head set. There was far less hiss and the difference in sound was far clearer. When I compared the Audio 625 connected through the USB versus the analog port on my desktop, the supplied USB was only minimally better.
The real difference was a lack of computer slow-down when using Dragon 10 or when using Skype on my HP-2133 (an underpowered netbook with a slow VIA processor). In particular, Skype did much better (no crashing) when I used the external USB sound.
Obviously, this is not a studio quality microphone or audiophile sound. But for the price, this is a great unit for voice dictation or VOIP purposes.
