
What To Look For When Buying a Wired Headset. The wired headset
can be a very advantageous piece of equipment for
professional or personal users for a number of reasons, but there are also a
number of considerations to take into account when making the final purchase.

Set Up
A wired headset
tends to have the set up advantage over the wireless headset. A wired unit is
typically of the plug-and-play variety, which means that it can be simply
inserted into the phone’s audio input and is ready to go. A wireless headset
can have a more protracted set up and can take more time to get working
properly.
Monaural and Binaural
Brand names like Sennheiser
and Plantronics typically offer both monaural and binaural wired headsets.A monaural
headset is a single channel headset and is the standard for most
radio-telephone communications. This means there is one microphone and one
operational earpiece. This is perfect for those users who want to keep one “ear
open” to what might be occurring in the working environment.
A binaural
headset, conversely, is wired to deliver stereo sound. Both earpieces are
functional, creating a more immersive experience that can be advantageous in
certain applications with a wired headset.
Noise Cancellation
Noise
cancellation features are available to aid in limiting background noise and
other ambient sounds that may interfere in call quality. Technically speaking,
noise cancellation involves placing one or more microphones near the ear and
wiring circuitry using the microphone signal to produce another signal that is
known as “anti-noise.” This process serves to cancel out any ambient noise,
thereby refining the call.
Sennheiser’s ActiveGard 
Sennheiser
headsets make use of something called ActiveGard,
which is a brand-specific feature that protects users from exposure to sudden
high-volume noise (also known as “acoustic shock”). Because some calls feature
abrupt unsolicited sounds, Sennheiser’s ActiveGard
can make all the difference in the world in eliminating the energy that
actually causes acoustic shock.
Plantronics’ EncorePRO
Plantronics
offers EncorePRO, which is a feature that “takes a different approach to
headset design.” Plantronics offers this on most wired headset models. This
includes superior audio intelligibility, comfort and a classically low-slung
microphone design. There is also a slim speaker that allows for more lucid
conversations.
Making the Choice
Making the choice
as to what wired headset is needed really is a matter of understanding what the headset is needed for. Certain professional or personal applications will
require certain features, like noise cancellation or a monaural set up, and
that has to be taken into account when making the final purchase. As with any
momentous acquisition, the best approach is the one that weighs all the options
before making the choice.
Battery Power Perhaps the biggest advantage that wired headsets have is battery power. A wireless headset, like a Bluetooth unit, tends to drain battery power at three times the rate of a traditional infrared port. While aBluetooth is a form of radio connection, a traditional wired headset plugs into a phone’s audio input and is only in use through the phone’s system.
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