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Choosing headphones with microphone for Skype and more ...

Currently, Internet telephony is at a very high level, and has long changed the usual work of modern communications, as well as their capabilities. Quite recently, no one would have believed that the Internet would make it possible not only to freely communicate with each other, being on another continent, to see each other while communicating, but also to significantly save money on communication with distant relatives, and not to overpay a lot of money for international calls ... Now virtually every village has digital telephony, as well as ADSL Internet, which makes it possible to communicate with each other as never before. In order to make communication through the network as convenient as possible, numerous manufacturers annually delight us with produced gadgets, the most popular and affordable of which are, combined types in which there are headphones and a microphone, without which no communication is complete.

Among the huge number of goods, it is very difficult to make the right choice in favor of a high-quality headset, because everyone wants the design he has chosen to be both comfortable and of high quality, especially with regard to the built-in microphone.

Today we will consider 2 models of wired headsets (Skype) ORIENT, which produce a variety of video surveillance systems, as well as very affordable USB gadgets, without which it is simply impossible to effectively use the advantages of the Internet.

During the initial inspection of the headset, first of all, the ability to connect via USB is captivating, i.e. these systems are equipped with a built-in USB audio controller. Some may ask, why is this necessary? However, any model of a modern computer, laptop or netbook has a built-in audio controller with a microphone input and a headphone output, so there is no need to install an additional audio controller, although in most cases it may come in handy. Thanks to this design, it is possible to distribute sound by the operating system, games, video, etc., so the voice of the interlocutor will be played in the headphones, and all "additional" music will be played using the computer's acoustic system. This feature, although not very significant, is, at the same time, pleasant.

USB headphones with microphone for home use

Consider the ORIENT LEX-232. The appearance of the model resembles very small classic monitors, the headband is made of plastic without a pillow, which is basically unnecessary. The headphones are lightweight, and therefore do not feel at all on the head.

The length and tilt angle can be adjusted using the headband, the tilt angle can be varied by up to 15%.

The size of the headphones themselves is small, but due to the oval-shaped ear cushions covered with a velvet-like material that is pleasant to the touch, no inconvenience is felt. The outer side of the speaker housing has no extraneous holes, including the bass reflex, which is not needed here. It should be reminded here once again that we are not talking about professional music monitors, but about classic headphones that are designed to communicate over the Internet. The main task of our device is to provide good sound in the middle frequency range, which can be perfectly handled by the small and thin speakers that are the basis of the ORIENT LEX-232.

From experience, we can only say that these headphones are great for games, watching movies and voice communication, but they are somewhat weak for listening to music.

The microphone also deserves special attention.It is installed on a swivel arm, which is why it never gets in the way when you only use headphones, and when it comes time to use the microphone, you just need to turn it 90 degrees and start chatting. The quality of the microphone of our model under review is very decent, the sound transmission quality is also excellent, the only thing that cannot be said about anything is whether there is echo-noise cancellation in the device of these headphones.

To make the use of the headset as convenient as possible ORIENT LEX-232 is equipped with a long wire (2.4m), with a remote control and 4 buttons that change the volume, and can also turn off the microphone and speakers. Also here you can see 2 LEDs that show the status of connecting the headphones to the USB port, as well as mute the microphone. I would like to note that he still lacks call answer buttons, as well as call rejection buttons, since the presence of such buttons would clearly simplify the use of a soft IP phone.

USB headset for office

We can say that ORIENT LEX-232 is mainly intended for use at home and is a universal gadget that can be perfectly used for both voice communication and games when watching videos. As for the ORIENT LEX-135 model, it is of greater interest for the corporate segment, where VoIP communication with remote partners or clients is mainly used. Such a headset is of great relevance for the Call Center, or is used in customer support centers or managers, where they actively communicate via the Internet.

ORIENT LEX-135 Unlike the model discussed above, it is equipped with only 1 speaker, the headband is thin, made of steel, thanks to this design, the headset sits on the head like a glove, so that you even forget that there is something on your head.

At first glance, such a simple design is actually quite complicated in its execution. The headband can change in length, and the movable speaker has a solid foam ear cushions, but they are only a small part of the features of the ORIENT LEX-135 model, the design allows you to put the headset on the side that is most convenient for you to work, the telescopic microphone arm allows you to change length and make a turn of almost 300 degrees. This design is very convenient in practice, since it makes it possible to position the microphone so that high-quality sound is combined with high comfort during prolonged use of the headset.

The quality of the speaker is almost identical to the quality of the speakers in the ORIENT LEX-232. However, if you want to use it in multimedia applications, then we would not recommend you to do this, because with one speaker, it is simply inconvenient to watch videos and listen to music, but as far as voice communication is concerned, this design is ideal.

Since in the previously reviewed model, the ORIENT LEX-135 has a USB cable that is 2.4 meters long, it also has a remote control for changing the volume, turning on or off the headphone and microphone.

Features of installation under Windows and Mac OS X

Connecting headphones via USB to computers with Windows operating system, you do not need any special drivers, since Windows automatically detects a new audio controller when the headset is connected and adds the necessary drivers.

As for the sound settings, here you can change the default sound recording and playback device. In the sound settings, it is possible to change the default audio playback and recording device.

If you have chosen a standard computer audio controller for playback, then we install the VoIP USB Device in the Skype speaker and microphone, and the sound in other VoIP clients is also installed.

In addition to working with Windows, these two models of USB headsets can work perfectly with Mac OS X, no additional drivers are required.Installation is also very convenient: it only takes a few seconds from the start of installation to commissioning. Also, you can configure Skype or another client in the same way as in the Windows operating system.

Conclusion

The considered models can be characterized as fairly simple, but very convenient devices with excellent sound quality. I would like to pay special attention to the quality of the microphone, thanks to which a clear transmission of speech becomes possible, while all extraneous sounds, including household appliances operating nearby, are almost inaudible, and this is especially important for the ORIENT LEX-135. All of these qualities are very important when choosing a headset, but the most important characteristic that captivates from the first minutes of acquaintance with the device is the very affordable cost of the device. For example, ORIENT LEX-232 can be purchased in stores at prices ranging from 150 to 250 hryvnia, despite the fact that competing models will cost at least 80-90 hryvnia more. ORIENT LEX-135 can be purchased at an even lower price - 135-145 hryvnia, and any analogue of the model has an average cost of about 400 hryvnia (such an inflated price is due to the fact that these devices are used as corporate means of communication with customers, which is what manufacturers use who deliberately inflate the price).

Among the shortcomings of the reviewed models, one can single out only the absence of a clip, which allows you to fix the remote control on clothes; otherwise, both reviewed models may well be awarded the title of "optimal choice!"

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