Headsets are making the rounds once again, but this time we are covering Bluetooth Headsets. If you are interested in gaming headsets, checkout this article. While bopping around the office, catching that bus or driving a car, Bluetooth headsets give you the freedom to not have your hands tied up or your ears peeled to the phone trying to hear what the person on the other end is speaking. They are generally great for when you are at the gym, or just on your way to school or work. In other cases, you may need a Bluetooth headset for long car rides, or long flights (where Bluetooth is allowed) to listen to music or watch your favorite movies/videos on phone or tablet. Comfort, battery life, sound quality and call quality are all usually equally important for such trips. Here’s a list of 5 things you want from your Bluetooth headset and the headset brands that deliver the best in their class.
What to look out for in Bluetooth Headsets…
1. Comfort
Wearing a device around your ear all the time means you must have a comfortable, ear friendly design for your Bluetooth headset. Consider the one that you are most comfortable with wearing for long durations.
Ideal for office and home use, you may choose over the ear headsets. However, if you are looking for a headset to use in the Gym or during speed training, on the ear headphones are a better choice for comfort. However, on the ear headphones are not comfortable for use over a long period. Over the ear headphones is a better choice for use over long periods of time. Moreover, certain over-the-ear Bluetooth headsets even come with cushions that make the headset more comfortable to wear. However, the most cushions are unable to handle sweat, which is why is why they are for use at home or offices. In other cases, on-the-ear headsets also come with replacement earbuds that also make wearing them a pleasant experience. Therefore, it makes sure to look at the headset you may think of buying and make sure they either come with cushions or ear bud sizes (or easy/cheap replacements).
2. Sound Quality
To stereo or not to stereo, when it comes to sound quality it makes sense to know what you will be using the Bluetooth headset for While a mono headset can do the job of listening to voice calls, if you plan on listening to music, you should seriously consider buying a Bluetooth headset with stereo sound. Having said that, stereo headsets are bigger and heavier and although they offer a good noise cancellation, the outbound noise cancellation is not geared for outside street noise and you may want to mostly wear it indoors. Other Bluetooth headsets which may offer good sound quality, are sports on-the-ear headsets. Although they primarily for gym use, they are also great for when you are strolling in the mall. However, this comes at the cost of their comfort, which may be a small price to pay for a built-in mic and high-quality sound and a long-lasting battery life.
Another aspect of Bluetooth headsets in sound quality is the latency of sound, which is noticeable in some headsets, and not so noticeable in others. Therefore it is important to check if there will be a delay while playing music or watching movies/shows. This delay may not be too noticeable while listening to music, however, it does become apparent when watching movies/shows or even calling. Certain headsets provide compression to prevent such delays, but this compromises sound quality. Therefore, there are some possible drawbacks to using high-quality sounding headsets and still trying to maintain latency-free sounds. Thus making the perfect headset difficult to find, but in the case of you wanting high-quality sound with no compression, it might be best to get a wired headset.
3. Call Quality
Call quality is important at both ends, while your receiver is producing crisp and clean sounds, your voice is getting transmitted to the other end erratic and heavily distorted. One of the most important considerations to make when choosing one of many Bluetooth headsets is to ensure call quality is great. Which is why, if you are thinking of getting a Bluetooth headset, you should try to aim for a headset that offers background noise cancellation. To tell if a headset has noise cancellation, it will often offer 2 mics, 1 for the voice input, and another at the opposite end. In simple terms, the secondary mic tries to cancel out the noises which occur in both mics, which is also known as background noise. Meanwhile, your voice is amplified enough to still sound clear and crisp while offering low to no background noise. Certain headsets, however, some companies may even place more mics in an array to improve the call quality, however, it is not as common as it drastically increases the cost.
4. Battery Life
If you want longer battery life then the bigger the headset the better. A large headset provides space for a larger battery extending the battery life of your Bluetooth headset. Look for Bluetooth Low Energy or BLE or some other low energy labeling when selecting a device to get something that will really help optimize your battery life. BLE is a power saving protocol, many manufacturers now create BLE optimized chipsets to work with this protocol. BLE a very common protocol, that is not the same as your common Bluetooth protocol. This may present some confusion at first. BLE operates in a different range and frequency, which means that it will not interfere with other Bluetooth devices such as speakers. Furthermore, because of the nature of BLE, your headset will not require a lot of battery to operate. However, other functions such as noise cancellation or audio compression will create a large impact on the battery life of a device. The general idea, however, is that any headset with over 6 hours of battery life is considered a long battery life, and moreover, will be enough for most if not all your daily activities as long as you charge once every day or 2, for active users.
5. Recharging
Most Bluetooth headsets come with an easy way to recharge using USB cables used to recharge your mobile device. This makes it convenient to charge the headset whether you are on the go using a power bank or at home bedside. Generally the longer the lifetime of the battery, the longer it will take to recharge. Generally, you should expect an 8-hour battery life to require around 2-3 hours of recharging. However, this does vary based on the quality and recharge method (Quick charge or regular charge).
Easy Comparison:
| Rank | Name | Over-The-Ear | Battery Life - Talk Time / Standby Time | Features | Price | Buy now link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plantronics Voyager Focus UC B825 |  |
12 Hours / Unknown | - 98 ft range - Music playing - Smart sensors (pause music on removal & mute notification) - Special Docking Station - Noise cancellation |
$193.50 | |
| 2 | Samsung Level U Pro |  |
9 Hours / 300 Hours | - Comfortable fit - Sweat resistant (Sporty) - Noise cancellation - Ear Gel (S/M/L Earbuds) - |
- | |
| 3 | Mpow Coach | |
8 Hours / 175 Hours | - Light weight - Noise cancellation - Sweat resistant (Sporty) |
- | |
| 4 | AUKEY Sport | |
4.5 Hours / 175 Hours | - Light weight - Noise cancellation - Sweat resistant (Sporty) - Customizable ear buds |
- | |
| 5 | Mpow Thor | |
8 Hours / Unknown | - Memory Foam - Noise cancellation - Comfortable fit - Connect using wire (optional) |
- |
Some Details On Bluetooth Headphones:
Plantronics Voyager Focus
Built around keeping comfort in mind, the Plantronics Voyager Focus is ‘focused’ on being your optimal choice for long duration usage. With a powerful microphone that provides noise cancellation, you can be assured that the other party with you on the headphone call can hear you easily. Moreover, with a powerful mic, comes powerful speakers to ensure high-quality sound. Although it meets all your requirements, it is not a sporty headset, which means this is your best choice for casual music listeners.
Samsung level U Pro
Completely looking different from standard Bluetooth speaker design, the Samsung level U Pro, meets your Bluetooth headset needs easily and in a unique way. Instead of the always in your ear style of most Bluetooth headsets, the Samsung level U Pro hangs around your neck. With flexible urethane joints and a lightweight, design the device sits comfortably around your neck and vibrates with incoming calls, allowing you to place the headset in your ear and answer. The material may feel cheap at first, but overall the Samsung Level U Pro, is a lightweight, comfortable, noise-isolating sporty headset that might fit your needs.
Mpow Coach
A leader in Bluetooth devices, Mpow has once again created a powerful headset to suit your lifestyle. The Stereo headphones provide the best comfort for on-the-ear headphones, light-weight design, and noise cancellation. Best of all, the Bluetooth Stereo Headphones have a battery life of over 8 hours of calling, and 175 hours of standby. Whether you need the headphones for music or for calls, these headphones support both functionalities. Although these headphones are comfortable, they may not be the most optimal headphones for long usage due to their design of on-the-ear headphones. However, these headsets compress the sound, this means low to no delay, and high quality sounds.
The post Bluetooth Headsets & What To Look Out For? appeared first on Techie Guru.
source https://techie.guru/bluetooth-headsets-what-look-out-for/
No comments:
Post a Comment