Plantronics PLNAUDIO478 Stereo USB Headset for PC - Noise Cancelling Headphones with Microphone for Office, Gaming & Online Meetings (Black)

My old faith Jabra is dying on me, so I got this one as a backup. Don't want to spend too much. Figured $25 is a risk worth taking.Pro:Sound quality seems pretty good. The intended use is for meetings, not for listening to music. So I am not too picky about fidelity.Con:1) The placement of control is not good. Not good at all. Should have placed it another foot or so away from the headset. What was the engineer thinking? As it is, it pulls on the headset when you wear it. Will see how annoying it gets. If it becomes too much, I might cut it out altogether and splice the wires together. I will lose the ability to control volume and mute, but might be a worthwhile tradeoff.2) The headset is uncomfortable. I can wear it, but probably not for hours. My ears gonna hurt.I didn't want to bother with returning it to Amazon, so just improvised a bit. Took a pocket knife and shaved off some plastic from the outer edges of where the folding parts meet the headband. I will upload a picture later so it's clear what I am talking about. It's not difficult to do (thanks to the cheap plastic :)), and I did it very quickly (no more than a couple minutes) since I don't care about the look, but a disclaimer is still warranted: Make sure you know what you are doing. I am not responsible for your cutting your fingers or anything else!!Basically, the curvature on the headset is wrong. Too much curve on the headband and on the folding arms. Compounded with the fact that the headband length is not adjustable, it means the curvature is not adjustable.If you wear this and run on the treadmill, maybe it's nice and tight, and fine. But if you are sitting or standing in front of a desk, it gets uncomfortable after a while.My improvisation helped somewhat. Essentially, it allowed the folding parts to hyper-extend a bit more than originally designed, say, from the original 70-80 degree to about 110 degree. Still, due to the curvature, the effective curvature is still less than 90 degree.Maybe I was just spoiled by the light-weight (in a good way) Jabra.Unlike the Jabra one, which has a light and soft single headband, this one has double strand headband, which is made of pretty rigid plastic.Anyway, I will try this for a while and see if it's usable or not. If not, I might just cut off one strand of the headband. And if that doesn't work, I will cut open the remaining strand, remove a portion in the middle, replace it with a flat piece, and somehow re-marry everything together. If that still doesn't work, I might as well just give up.So, in summary, this is not a bad headset. Just need to set your expectation right.I think it's a perfect solution for taking it with you when you travel and hop on a quick conference call. But extended wearing is not ideal. I wish the headband was constructed with more light-weight, rubber band like, flexible material. That will make this headset perfect, and (in my book) raise the rating from 3 to 5.I bought this headset based on its Amazon reviews and price. I finally decided on this device against the Logitech Wireless H600/H800 line of headsets due to my previous experience with wireless headsets. I needed the headset for VOIP calls at my office; this headset and the Telephone app on the mac replaced my bulky SIP phone. Since wireless devices I used prior to purchasing this headset tended to produce so much latency that it made conversations unbearable, I opted for a cheap USB set.The build quality is cheap and feels like it could easily break. The design of the headset is unassuming and simple. The cable that extends from both sides of the headset are cumbersome and could be relegated to a single side, but I'm assuming this somehow has lowered the cost of manufacturing. It elegantly folds away, which was also a consideration. On my head, it feels comfortable enough to make calls and have conversations without too much discomfort. It doesn't feel good, but it doesn't feel bad enough that I regret getting the headset. I don't get a chance to use the buttons as they do not work with the Telephone app that I use, but I have pushed them to see anyway. Again, the buttons also feel very cheap and loose.All in all, this is a very affordable headset and worth the low price for casual phone conversations on VOIP or Skype. It's not the best design and not meant for ultimate comfort, but it does it's job with little to no latency on calls. Since purchasing I haven't had echoes or delayed voice during conversations.Notable features include:• Headset folds down and can be easily tucked away• USB connected• Quick buttons for use with some applicationsLet’s weigh the pros and cons of this device.Pros:• Good as an entry-level and casual-use headset• Low latency USB connection• Affordable price• Decent fit and not too uncomfortable• Tucks away with the foldable designCons• Cheap plastic feel and boring design• Wires extending from both sides is cumbersome• Not ideal for comfort and extended use• Tied down to range of wired cableFor $25 (at time of writing) and the very light use it gets at work, I think this is an excellent headset for casual VOIP usage. I wouldn't use these for gaming or long phone conversations.The starting point and main criteria with these headphones has to be the quality of the sound. I have bought these for speech on teleconferences using my laptop, but definitely consider them good enough to listen to music at higher than Cd quality. They really have good reproduction and you can pick out the different instruments with remarkable clarity for a budget pair of phones like this.Other points: Quick and easy to get working, virtually plug and play (wait for Windows to find and load the driver). Lightweight, very comfortable. They fold to a small size and the earpieces rotate to fold flat and fit in the storage bag (supplied). The earpieces have a metal surface and look good quality, shiny things. The top switch integrates with Skype so you can accept a call without reaching out for the keyboard of your computer. I nearly went for the Sennheiser at similar price point but I am well pleased with these and would recommend them 100%.Solid construction although of light plastic construction material. I have used several of Plantronics products over my time and they are long-lasting and reliable. The set fits well on the head and the mic boom swings both ways allowing it to be on either ear. There is a small bag within the package to store the collapsible headset, but of cheap quality -expected at this price range- but of not any real value to me to consider as a negative point. The headset was purchased for tackling the noise levels outside by office window being picked up by the webcam mic during Skype calls. To be honest I was not expecting much from a product on this price range, but I was proven wrong. My usual Skype call mates made a comment on the good quality sound, absence of echo and almost extinct noise the first time I used it. Once more, well done, Plantronics!My company has upgraded our systems and made Skype for Business available as part of the carbon footprint objectives, meaning that a headset was needed. I need to be able to carry it with me so the folding design was what drew me to this product. Very simple to set up and use, with the added benefit of the inline controls, and is supplied with a soft bag to keep them in when not being used. The sounds quality is good enough to listen to videos on the internet and is acceptable for music. People on the calls have confirmed that the sound level and quality is good with limited background noise. Have shown them to others in the company who have expressed interest.I've had these headphones since Sep 2017. As of 13th March 2018 - they're broken.All of a sudden the headphones no longer work - Wiggling the wire at the in-line mute/volume control affects whether or not they're functioning or dead. It would appear to be a loose wire/connection.I've looked after these well - I'm also careful as to how they're stored, I always use the pouch supplied with them and I don't wrap the wire round so tight that it's pulling at the joins.Disappointed as Plantronics are usually a decent brand.Bought this for my daughter in law who used this product before in South Africa but it was sent to her from America. When she in was England she decided to get another one in case the one she has (for 2 years now) broke and wanted the exact one again because she like it so much. She works in an international call centre and the headphones are perfect for the job.