Introduction

Having experienced a wide variety of Logitech products, I can safely say that I've been mostly pleased with what they have had to offer. Indeed, while they are perhaps most famous for their dependable keyboards and mice, it's no secret that they have invested a lot of time and money into producing good products in all of the peripheral areas they serve; having OEM as well as retailer support has certainly helped them in this endeavour. One area that they are perhaps not so well known is the PC headset arena, though their purchase of Labtec has probably given them a little boost and maybe some incentive to improve their publicity in this respect.

A good set of headphones or a headset can be very important to those not wishing to bother other house members, or essential to office workers. The latter situation is especially what Logitech seems to be catering to with their line of headsets; while the boom mic of such headsets is useful for games that use voice communication, it seems better suited towards an office communications role. I recently reviewed one of the lower-priced models from Logitech's new line of headsets, the Internet Chat Headset, and today I'll be looking at their top-of-the line model, the Premium USB Headset 300. As you can tell from its name, it does not use standard 3.5mm stereo jacks, but rather uses the USB interface to both send and receive audio to and from a computer. How does this headset perform with this implementation, and more importantly, is it both comfortable and convenient to use, or does it fail to live up its namesake?

Specifications

As the headset receives audio data straight from a USB connection, you can expect some unique specifications for this unit. Indeed, you do not even need a soundcard to use the headset as long as your motherboard or system has a USB interface; though next to all computers nowadays come with some form of sound, even if it is onboard. (And onboard sound seems to be getting better and better.) Compared to the Internet Chat Headset, the form is more of a regular headset, with the headband going over the top of one's head. With the higher price, you can also expect somewhat better ear pads.

• Volume and mute control with soft-touch surface

• Advanced digital audio for superior sound clarity

• Simple USB plug-and-play connectivity

• Dynamic stereo sound for music and games

• Premium adjustable headband offers maximum comfort

• Versatile left or right microphone placement

• Noise-cancelling microphone filters out background noise

• Plush ear pads for extra-comfort and durability

• Frequency response:

• Headset: 20-20'000 Hz

• Microphone: 100-16'000 Hz

• Sensitivity: -58 dBV/µbar, -38 dBV/Pa+/-4dB

• Full product support

• 2-year guarantee

• Additional specifications available here.

With the single USB connection needed for the headset, installation is very simple; though it has never been to attach a headset to one's computer, but in this case the number of connectors needed moves from two down to one. Also, because data is fed to the headset from the USB interface, sound quality on this headset should be fairly independent of whatever system it's being tested on because there is no soundcard to act as a variable; indeed, it is the headset's job to receive the digital data and convert it into an analog signal, and this is one of the reasons why USB headsets and mics cost much more than their analog-only counterparts. A downside to this, of course, is that if the digital-to-analog convertor is not of decent quality, audio reproduction will suffer; another con of USB audio devices is that you'll need proper OS support, but with all recent OS's providing this feature this shouldn't be a problem.

The Premium USB Headset 300 continues the tradition of difficult plastic packaging that has been featured holding most other headsets. After struggling and slicing open the plastic box, I found not much inside the package except for the headset itself and a small manual in the usual multi-language format. Everything was well-packed and wrapped, and easy to remove (once the plastic box was opened), and this was up to usual Logitech standards for retail-packaged goods.

The small manual has a little more detail than you'd expect, as it tells beginners what to expect after plugging the USB headset in; as the device will show up as a USB device, drivers will need to be installed for it, a process that should be automatic on most operating systems. The manual also explains how to select the USB headset as the preferred audio playback device, as it'll have a volume control panel separate from your soundcard's, if applicable. All in all, it does a decent job of explaining things to the layman, but don't expect it to be a Bible in terms of troubleshooting your hardware problems.

Because of the USB nature of this headset, the inline volume controls offer a few nice features that you won't see in non-USB headsets. Firstly, the controls are digital, so volume up and down require separate button presses, and this may or may not be to your liking. However, what is kind of cool is that these adjustments actually change the setting of the volume slider in the windows volume control panel; that way you don't have to adjust two volume settings as the inline adjusts the same thing as you would from within Windows. There is also a mic mute button, for when you want privacy in the middle of a voice communication session. In the middle of the control unit is a green LED; during regular operation it's solid, but if the mic is muted, it flashes to remind you of this. This, of course, wasn't a necessary feature but I found it fairly useful, and it's certainly something that sets it apart from other units. The buttons on the control unit have a soft feel to them, and provide nice tactile feedback, something you'd expect from Logitech, one of the best mice manufacturers out there. There is also a clip on the back of the volume control, allowing you to clip it to some article of clothing you're wearing, a convenient solution if, like me, you find the weight of a dangling control unit annoying on your headset. This was something (albeit something small) that the Internet Chat Headset lacked.

In the last two pictures above you can see the USB connector that the headset terminates in; just before it is what I assume to be the digital-to-analog convertor that allows this device to be directly connected to the USB interface to receive data. I also assume this "box" must convert any analog signal captured by the unit's mic into a digital signal for your system to receive. As mentioned before, this part of the product will perhaps best determine its quality. The total cable length you'll get with this headset is close to 8 feet, a nice length, and most of this cable is thick and well-insulated to protect it while it's on the floor.

Moving onto the physical side of things, the Premium USB Headset 300 certainly looks good, with its dark metallic blue and black colour combo. We find that the headband is of the traditional type, going over one's head, as opposed to the behind-the-head style of the Internet Chat Headset. The advantage of this is that a traditional headband can better support the larger earpads this headset sports, but at the same time also messes up your hair. The drivers themselves are ringed in faux leather and surrounded by a soft plush material that feels quite nice on your ears. These earpads can tilt somewhat around the headband that they're attached to, allowing them to assume a more natural position around your ears, as you'd expect from any headset.

The adjustable headband is of the type that once pulled down, stays in position unless pushed back up. The headband is also flexible so it can accommodate and hold on to different head sizes, but what interested me most was the thin pieces of rubber-like material than run length wise across the top of the headband from left to right. These grips do an excellent job of preventing the headset from sliding off of your head. (They are hard to see because they are black just like the rest of the headband.) One thing I found to be a little suspect with the headband was the integrity of the adjusting 'mechanism'; to me, it just felt a little weak - something I would not want to see on a headset of this price.

The boom mic can be rotated into and out of position, something that wasn't available with the Internet Chat Headset. This is a nice feature if you find that a boom mic is getting in your line of sight or just annoying you. The end of the mic can also be bent into position somewhat, allowing for optimal placement when using it. Logitech claims on their site that this headset offers "Versatile left or right microphone placement", but this does not that mic can be physically repositioned on the left or right side, as first of all, this headset does not really have exclusive left or right sides. Rather, the boom mic can be rotated over 180 degrees backwards, so that it's facing in the opposite direction; you then put on the headset "backwards" and thus achieve the same effect as if you had switched the mic from one side to the other. Because headset is symmetrical along one axis, I assume this is the way to switch the mic's sides. You'll have to use Windows or whatever software you're using to switch the left and right channels though, as we'll see later on.

This is to allow it to be used on either the left or right side. (Default is left)

Bendable end.

Installation

Installation really isn't that hard even though this is a USB device; in fact, some may argue that installation with this USB headset is easier, as there's only one connector to plug in, and this is even easier if you have front USB ports. (Though if you have front audio jacks, any headset will be easy to "install".) After plugging in the headset, the necessary drivers will be automatically installed; I assume that this software is stored in some sort of ROM module or something within some part of the USB headset's D/A convertor box. If you're still running Win98SE, you'll have to push "next"... on all newer versions of Windows installation is supervision-free. The last thing you'll need to do is make sure that the USB headset is selected as both your playback and recording devices in the Audio applet of Control Panel; this is probably the hardest part of the installation, as because this is a USB device, it will show up as a separate audio device, independent of your soundcard or previous audio output device.

After this is done, you should be able to open Windows' Volume Control panel as normal, except all the adjustments will be for the Premium USB Headset 300, so things should be familiar. However, you should be aware of some things; some of you are probably wondering if you'll be able to listen audio CDs with this headset; as most of you know, soundcards require a CD audio cable for them to be able to output music from audio CDs - whether it is a digital or analog one, it's still necessary. However, with this headset the digital CD audio data can be transferred to it over the USB interface - and again, the headset's electronics convert the digital signal to an analog one that is then heard by you through the drivers. I confirmed this by listening to an audio CD in one of my drives that did not have anything connected to it save the requisite ATA and power cables; I was able to hear the CD audio perfectly! I almost forgot to check for this, as all the headsets I've used until this one haven't bypassed the soundcard, and thus such a test wasn't needed. One other minor thing to know is that if you listen to MIDI files while using this headset, you'll be forced to use a software synthesizer such as the one that comes with Windows, and thus the quality may be lower than if you used a wave-table solution present on many soundcards; though not many of us listen to or use MIDI files on a regular basis.

Testing

As with the Internet Chat Headset, I tested the Premium USB Headset 300 for over two weeks, listening to a lot of music and playing a lot of games, and therefore subjecting the headset to what I consider to be regular usage. The first thing I noticed was more of a physical thing; the ability of the mic to swivel up and out of the way made usage a little nicer as then the mic wasn't in the way when it wasn't needed. Comfort was up to par as well, as while the ear pads weren't plush as plush can be, they didn't make my ears sore after a few hours' usage. The grips on the top underside of the headband also helped a lot to keep the headset in place, and thus you're not being bothered by having to reposition the headset every while or so.

As for music listening, I generally found the mid-ranges to be a little too much accentuated, and thus for the headset to sound a little more balanced, playing around a little more with the equalizer of Winamp was required. I also found the bass to be a little weak in some songs, especially those that relied on a heavy beat. However, the quality was better than what was produced by the Internet Chat Headset, but this was expected and required of this headset. In addition, distortion was less apparent at equivalent volume levels when compared to the Internet Chat Headset. Gaming was also decent with this headset, as I did enjoy many rounds of Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory while using it; I even got back into Counter-Strike for a few days to enjoy the voice communication offered by the boom mic. The mic worked very well - it did a better job, in my opinion, of cancelling out background noise than the Internet Chat Headset. It's safe to say that this mic will work well for both office and home usage, and the same goes for the 'phones.

About the only thing I was concerned about was the build quality of the headset - as mentioned before, the headset feels a little flimsy/weak at the point where the headband meets the adjustable area. I had worries that the headset wouldn't survive constant usage over a long period of time - though I can't say I have tested this through to the end, because of time constraints. I'd put this on my list of concerns, but not something that I truly am worried about.

Conclusion

Overall, I found the Premium USB Headset 300 to be a good choice for a headset, as the drivers were able to produce a fairly decent sound while at the same time, the microphone did a good job of blocking out background noise. The fact that it's USB appeal to those who don't have a decent soundcard, as the interface should ensure a fairly similar level of quality regardless of what system the headset is used with. In the office, this can be a nice feature as many office computers still have older soundcards, the quality of which may be suspect. Comfort-wise, I found the headset to be fairly comfortable in the long run; the pivoting mic was also nice to have out of the way when it wasn't being used. About the only gripes I had was that the price is fairly high, with the MSRP being around $50USD, and the fact that the adjustable headband wasn't of the highest quality. For this price, I would have expected something better. However, Logitech has put out a respectable product with the USB Headset 300; one would usually think of Plantronics when it came to PC Headsets, (especially with the partnering/affiliation of Counter-Strike and Plantronics for voice-based communication in games), but with time Logitech has the capacity to grow to rival them in a serious way. With the decent sound quality from this headset, and its nice swing-down mic, it's a good choice for both office and home users, if the price is okay with you.

Pros

• Comfortable

• Won't slip around on your head

• Decent sound quality

• Mic cancels background noise well

• Mic can be swung up and out of the way

• In-line digital volume controls

• Can be used independent or without a soundcard

• Fairly long cord, at ~8' in length

• No drivers needed (Automatic installation in supported OS's)

• Good for both office work and gaming (and voice communication in any of these environment types)

Cons

• Kind of expensive at $50USD MSRP (Can be found for lower online, as expected)

• Headband feels a little weak at some points

Lastly, many thanks go out to Logitech for providing the headset for review! And thanks go out to you, the reader, as well. :)