Hey, did a Google, found the headsets from a company called Mwave http://mwave.com for about $52 and software comes with
It's hard to imagine anybody owning a computer without some type of internet access but I suppose some people may. ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Price" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "PC audio discussion list. " <pc-audio@pc-audio.org> Sent: Monday, June 04, 2007 6:10 AM Subject: Re: Review of Plantronics Audio 550 DSP Headset > Hello Steeve, > What if you're just starting out with pcs but you don't yet have internet, > how are you suppose to get the software for those headphones? > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Steve Pattison" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "PC Audio" <Pc-audio@pc-audio.org> > Sent: Monday, June 04, 2007 12:52 AM > Subject: Review of Plantronics Audio 550 DSP Headset > > > I came across the following review recently. I > mainly use this USB headset with Skype and find it works very > ell. -Steve. > > Plantronics Audio 550 DSP Headset > Makaveli - 2007-05-14 19:38:13 in > Reviewed by: Makaveli > Reviewed on: May 15, 2007 > Manufacturer: Plantronics > Provided by: Plantronics > Price: $119.95 USD > > Introduction: > > Everyone has heard the phrase, "Get your head in > the game". What's a better way to > get into the game than by absorbing the sound and > blocking outside noises? Can a > Plantronics .Audio 550 DSP headset put your head > into the game so that you can play > the game how it's supposed to be played? Let's > get these things on and find out! > > Plantronics has been manufacturing lightweight > communications headsets since 1962. > Recently, the company has offered mobile headsets > and next-generation computer audio > headsets. Plantronics continues to pursue being a > trend-setter in its respective > markets. > > Closer Look: > > The package sets a good tone for the enclosed > product because it looks simple, professional, > and it displays the product. I like to see what > I'm getting into when I purchase > a product, so it was good to be able to see the > headset up close and personal before > I opened the package. The back of the package > lists the specifications and features > of the product with a picture of the headset all > laid out. I was also intrigued by > the message at the top of the back side of the > packaging. It boasts about how a set > of Plantronics headsets were used to communicate > from the first moon landing crew > to NASA in 1969. > > Enough babbling, let's get this thing out of the > plastic! Now while it's not impossible, > it is fairly difficult to open the plastic. I had > to pry it open with quite a bit > of force and I almost thought about getting a > pair of scissors. Once it was out, > I could already tell that the cable was going to > be very long, which is a huge plus. > > I'm not going to lie, I have a big head, so I had > to make sure the headset could > accommodate me, as well as other users who have > big heads. Below you can see a picture > of one side of the headset pulled down the > farthest it can go, along with the other > side pushed up as far as it can go. > > The top of the headset is a very comfortable pad > which can, to an extent, move horizontally, > though it does not move vertically. > > The ear cups have the same padding as the top of > the headset but slightly thicker. > The speakers themselves are 40mm large. I like > the red color of the speakers because > it goes well with black and it's discreet. > > Closer Look: > > The microphone is very unique on this headset. > For starters, it has a very nice level > of resistance when you pull it down. I like that > because it gives you a sense of > sturdiness; it's not going to move when you move > your head or the headset. The mobility > of the microphone isn't as good as I would like > it to be. The image on the left shows > the microphone in its up position, and the > picture on the right shows how far the > microphone can be pulled down. Something that > disappoints me is that the microphone > can't be rotated 360 degrees because I know some > people who like to have the microphone > on the right side of their headset. > > Let's examine the cable now. The cable is three > meters long, so it should suffice > for most people. There is a volume control about > a foot down from the headset which > is very cool. It has 3 buttons: volume up, volume > down, and mute. The mute button > is very useful because it mutes only your > microphone, so you can still hear others. > When you have mute on, the outer ring of the button glows red. > > Down the wire you'll find an orange band that has > 7 different languages telling you > to go to www.plantronics.com/downloads and get > the PerSono software. I think this > is kind of weak because what if you don't have internet access? > > Before I forget, the cable is connected via USB. > Near the bottom of the cable is > a little casing surrounding the cable which > displays the Plantronics logo and the > technology that the headset uses (DSP - Digital Sound Processing). > > Installation: > > To install your headset, just plug it into a free > USB port. The only down side to > installing it is that the headset disables your > speakers immediately. Now, go to > the download page on Plantronics' website and > download the PerSono software and install > it. > > Configuration: > > The software which you use for the headset is > called PerSono. It is a small program > that goes hand-in-hand with the Windows audio > controls. There are two different tabs > - headphone and microphone. Under the headphone > tab, you can change the balance, > bass, and treble of your headphones, as well as > which style you'd like to have on. > The different styles you can choose from are > shown on the right-hand screenshot. > The speaker test is a sound file that starts by > making a whooshing noise in the left > ear and it gradually gets louder and moves to the > right ear. At the end of the test, > it makes a crashing noise with bass in both ears. > > Under the microphone tab, users can change the > microphone's volume as well as test > it. When you test the microphone, it tells you to > start talking and then plays it > back. > > The display in the middle of the program shows > your selections below with blue bars. > You cannot make changes within the display; you > must do your modifying in the section > below with the sliders. > > Specifications: > > Speaker Driver Size > 40mm diameter > Speaker Frequency Response > 20Hz - 20kHz > Microphone Frequency Response > 100Hz - 10kHz > Cable Length > 3 meters (USB plug) > Digital Signal Processing (DSP): > Full stereo 16-bit, 48kHz data from USB > 24 bit 100dB signal-to-noise CODEC > 32 bit digital audio processing > > Testing: > > Test System: > Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Processor > ASUS P5N32-SLi SE Deluxe Motherboard > OCZ Gold 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR2 800 Memory > eVGA 7950GT KO Video Card > XG Vortec 600watt Power Supply > Western Digital 250GB IDE Hard Drive > Western Digital 160GB SATA 3.0GB/s Hard Drive > Seagate 80GB IDE Hard Drive > LG DVD-R DL Burner > Windows XP Media Center 2005 > Audigy 2 Sound Card > Enermax Uber Chakra ATX Full Tower Case > > Finally, we can do some good old testing by > slapping this headset on and playing > some games, listening to music, and watching > movies. The first thing I tested was > music. I played many songs trying to get the > speakers to crackle or sound bad. I > succeeded, which is not a good thing. The bass > really interferes with the music and > sounds terrible when you turn it all the way up. > I found that if you turn on the > bass boost, it sounds much crisper than without > bass boost. If you leave the bass > slider in the middle, it doesn't sound too bad, > until you crank up the volume almost > all the way up. Until that point, everything > sounds crystal clear. In gaming, I still > noticed that the bass wasn't good when the volume > was way up, but it was tolerable > with the Gaming mode on. While I watched a movie, > the bass didn't sound bad at all, > no matter how loud I turned it. These headsets > absolutely clobber my old DCT Factory > $5.00 headset, which has absolutely no bass at all. > To test the microphone, I went on TeamSpeak, as > well as Counter-Strike: Source, and > talked to all my buddies with the microphone. > They all said that I sounded crystal > clear. I knew that I was sounding that good > because of the microphone test in the > PerSono software - the playback that I heard was > just outstanding. It honestly sounded > like I was talking to myself because there were > no sounds being picked up from the > background. > > Conclusion: > > To wrap everything up, these headsets are > absolutely wonderful when the bass is turned > off. The bass sounds very bad when you turn the > volume up near the max that the headset > can achieve because it interferes with the sound > and just sounds horrible. So I was > let down in the bass aspect of the headset. The > microphone couldn't be better because > it didn't pick up any background noises while I > was talking. The comfort of these > headsets is a huge plus. I can say that these are > the only headphones that I have > ever worn for more than two hours that haven't > hurt my ears the slightest bit. The > volume control is nice, but the mute button is > even better. I love being able to > have the microphone on mute and still hear > everything people were saying. These headsets > are great for everyday users who won't be messing > with the bass levels on the headset. > I think this headset is good for gaming as well, > because you can keep the headset > on for hours on end and never have sore ears. The > microphone is the best that anyone > can ask for on a headset because of how well it > records sound and doesn't pick up > outside noises. > > Pros: > Comfort > Microphone > Volume/Mute Controls > Sound > > Cons: > Bass at high volume > No software CD > > > Regards Steve > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Skype: steve1963 > MSN Messenger: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... > http://www.pc-audio.org > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.8.7/830 - Release Date: 6/3/2007 > 12:47 PM > > > > > Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... > http://www.pc-audio.org > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > __________ NOD32 2305 (20070601) Information __________ > > This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. > http://www.eset.com > > Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... http://www.pc-audio.org To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
