Introduction

Speakers are so essential for a computer nowadays that one can hardly go without them for any period of time while using your PC. Indeed, with the advent and proliferation of music file formats such as the venerable MP3 and the popularity of surround-sound soundcards for use with movies and games, speakers and the sound they produce have become almost as much an integrated part of one's PC as video. Most of us have a wide and varying collection of music, and as is no surprise, love to listen to it day and night; in the same respect, many of us play action-packed and noisy games at almost any time of day, including the wee hours the morning. In some cases, using speakers during these times can present problems among other occupants of one's house or adjacent neighbours, if one lives in an apartment. In such circumstances, it is usually necessary to use a set of headphones, and with many speakers nowadays coming with headphone jacks, such a solution is becoming more practical. Recently, Logitech released a line of headsets designed for the PC user, and today I'll be looking at one such solution from this lineup, the Internet Chat Headset. With its built-in boom mic (and its name), it seems to be designed for VoIP-type usage, but we'll see how it does with games and music.

Specifications

With a MSRP of $24.95 USD you can't possibly expect audiophile-level quality from this headset, as it's meant to be more of a consumer level device that provides good functionality at a good price. The design of the headset is labelled as a "behind the head" style, similar to Sony Street Style headphones that many of you may have seen; this design prevents the headband from messing up your hair, and perhaps looks better when worn.

• Noise-cancelling microphone
• In-line volume/mute control
• Behind-the-head design
• 4 interchangeable color plates
• Extra-long cable (9 feet)
• Specifications:
• Frequency response: Headset: 20-20,000 Hz; Microphone: 100-10,000 Hz
• Microphone sensitivity:-59 dBV/µbar, -39 dBV/Pa+/-4dB
• Headphone Impedance: 32 ohms
• Microphone Bias Voltage: 3.0 V DC
• Microphone Load Resistance: 2200 Ohms
• Full product support
• 2-year limited warranty
• More details available here.

The headset connects to your PC's soundcard using standard mini-stereo (3.5mm) plugs, so they'll work on pretty much all PCs; with the cable length set at 9', you should also have no problem with a little movement while using the headset. In-line volume control and a mute switch for the microphone (for privacy) are welcome additions, even if they are simple ones. One thing you'll note are the frequency specifications - there's just no way the earphones on this unit can have a 20-20,000Hz response range; however, many manufacturers quote this as their specification, so I'm not going to nitpick Logitech for doing the same. However, when all is said and done, you should feel comfortable with the 2-year warranty Logitech provides with the headset.

The Internet Chat Headset came in a clear package that displayed most of the contents while at the same time still sported the green and white Logitech colour motif. The package was, unfortunately, one of those that while being nice for displays at retail outlets, was also hard to open, requiring a sharp object to pierce the tough plastic to gain entry. This kind of packaging is one of my pet peeves; frankly I would have preferred it if the headset just came in an easy-to-open cardboard box. However, opening the package wasn't too difficult once you had a knife; once open, you can see the full contents of the package.

The Logitech Internet Chat Headset.

Bad kind of packaging.

Nice display, though.

Another view.

Along with the headset itself, you can see three other pairs of colour caps - red, black and blue, in addition to the pre-installed orange caps. These are merely decorative caps, and have no functional differences between themselves. They just allow you to change what colour the earpieces are on the headset, a nice feature no doubt, but hardly an essential one. Two tiny metal tools are also provided (two in case you lose the first one) that help you remove and change the caps, but you could just as easily use a small flat-head screwdriver. In the pictures below, you can also see the in-line volume control, which also has a switch that allows you to mute the microphone; the control piece does not have a clip so it cannot be attached to a piece of clothing you're wearing. Lastly, a small and brief pamphlet of documentation is included, but there's nothing that you really need this pamphlet for, as there's not much involved with the usage of this headset; it's still nice to see it included, though.

Package contents.

In-line volume/mic-mute controls.

Mini-stereo plugs.

Headphone/mic cables are insulated together until the end.

The headset's band wraps around the back of your head, similar to the popular Sony "StreetStyle" headphones, and Logitech seems to emphasize that this design not only looks sleek but also will not mess up your hair. Whether or not the design looks better is up to you, but the behind-the-head style is nicer for people who have a lot of hair and works well with the small size of the 'phones in this headset. The band is made of plastic and while it probably wouldn't survive you stepping on it, it's strong enough. A nice feature of the headset is that there is only one cord coming out from it, and it emanates from the left side, the same side that the mic is on. The cord is about 9' long, and only at the end does the cord fork out into the separate wires/plugs for connection to your computer's soundcard. This single cord design should help cut down on cable clutter.

Behind-the-head design.

Left side has the boom mic.

Boom mic cannot be re-positioned onto the right side.

Mic can be bent into position.

The boom mic, which is positioned on the left side and cannot be moved to the right, extends down about 3" and can be easily bent into whatever position suits you best. The mic perhaps highlights the intended use of this headset, and that is for general office use in VoIP applications and maybe voice recognition software. Additionally, the headset's comfort is OK over extended periods of usage, despite the fact that it is not adjustable and merely bends out to accommodate larger heads. What did bother me was that the plastic loops where the headband just terminates at the phone do tend to feel slightly annoying. One other thing to be aware of is that the foam pads on the set will eventually wear out, prompting you to find a new pair if you want to use the headphones comfortably.

Plastic loop here goes above your ear.

Foam ear pads.

A lightweight thin headband goes around the back of your head.

A nice little feature Logitech added was the ability to change the colour caps on the Internet Chat Headset. In addition to the default orange colour, you are provided with black, blue and red colour caps to replace the orange with. Changing them is very easy, as all you have to do is pry out the present cap, with the included "tool" or a flathead screwdriver, and then press the new colour caps into position. This was a nice solution rather than making four differently-colour versions and selling them individually, but one has to wonder how much Logitech would have saved if they just made this headset a neutral colour like white, grey or black. Regardless, the different colours will be at least a small benefit to some.

Removing the present cap.

Ugly without the cap!

Ah, good ol' blue.

Testing

Since there's pretty much nothing to installation, except for plugging in the headset to the appropriate jacks on your soundcard (or motherboard back-panel if you use onboard sound) and setting the volume level within your OS or program for proper use with the headset, I'll leave that section out and go on straight to testing.

I tested the Internet Chat Headset with a multitude of music, and generally found it to be lacking a little in bass. Despite this headset being more for a "general" audience and perhaps office workers, I was disappointed. For comparison's sake, I had a pair of Koss KTX Pro headphones around that I use for my portable; I like these puppies and they're in about the same price range as the Internet Chat Headset, though they do not have a mic. The KTX Pro perhaps had too much bass when used to listen to some types of music, but they were never too far off the mark. In comparison, the Internet Chat Headset just did not produce enough bass to allow songs to sound as they should. Additionally, at high volume levels distortion was apparent. I generally do not like overpowering bass for everything, but this time around there just wasn't enough. As you can imagine then, in games things weren't too good. In Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, for example, air strikes just did not sound the same, nor did the report of Thompson submachine gun fire.

The headset's mic was fairly good though, as it did a respectable job of cancelling out background noise, to a degree. If your environment is really noisy, with the TV turned up to the max and little children yelling and screaming, the mic will still pick up some of that, but it does do a good job of blocking out other unwanted frequencies that aren't typical of voices. It's an excellent solution if you like to talk to people over the Internet using whatever program.

Conclusion

The Internet Chat Headset proved to be somewhat of a hit-and-miss in terms of performance. While the 'phones won't be suited for extended periods of music listening or gaming, they are okay for occasionally usage in this area; the mic however is well-suited to the role of the headset, and I suspect some of this comes from its ease of positioning, allowing you to move it into the right position to best capture your voice. The mic captures your voice nicely, and is ideal then for programs using voice communication or voice recognition, for those of you who use such things. They're best suited for an office job, where music listening and games are hopefully secondary to work-related communication. As for long-term usage, the comfort is okay, but as mentioned before the plastic band can feel a little weird where it meets your head near your ears. The inline volume control/mic mute was also a nice feature, but one that was expected for any model in this class. For the relatively low price, I can recommend them as such a solution, but for those of you who don't need the mic, there are better-sounding solutions.

Pros

• Nice design and ability to change out colour caps (four colours total)
• Boom mic can easily placed into position
• 9' cord
• In-line volume, mic mute controls
• Relatively low price ($24.95 USD MSRP)
• Mic does a fair job of cancelling out unwanted noise

Cons

• Headphones are lacking in bass
• Plastic band can feel a little weird at first
• Headset not well suited towards just music and gaming

Lastly, thanks go out to Logitech for providing the Internet Chat Headset for review!

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