TELEPHONE HEADSETS...

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Real World Purchasing Guide
to Business Telephone Headsets
by Mike Sandman

Monday thru Friday 8:30AM to 5:00PM
Chicago Time   

You can fix neck problems by getting a massage ($50), going to a  chiropractor ($100), or getting surgery ($50,000).

Hmm, that makes a $200 business quality headset seem like a deal!

A Shoulder Rest Would Help

A Headset Prevents the Problem

Not all Headsets are the same Quality!

Generally Speaking, the cooler
a headset looks, the worse it is.

If it's got a "streamlined" looking mic or is generally fancy looking, it's probably consumer quality, will be uncomfortable, and probably will break pretty quickly.

This isn't universally true, but it could save you from buying something you can't or won't use.

As a phone man who has been in thousands of offices at thousands of businesses, I can tell you that most consumer (cheaper) headsets are sitting buried in desk drawers.
 

A consumer quality headset isn't cheap, maybe $50 and up. A business quality headset is probably $150 and up, including both the headset and the amplifier (an amplifier is needed to allow a headset to work with most business phones).

I get a lot of calls from people who want to adapt their cellular headset (that has a 2.5mm plug) to a business type phone (with a modular jack). Radio Shack used to make an adapter, but it's discontinued. I don't know of anybody making an adapter now, mainly because there's not much call for it. All of the cellular headsets with a 2.5mm plug I've seen are consumer quality, and would literally be a pain to wear while working all day (that includes most Bluetooth headsets).

Note that some business phones come with a 2.5mm jack for a cellular type headset. You can get an adapter for a Plantronics Wired Headset's Quick Disconnect to a 2.5mm plug. I use that adapter with my cell phone, using my Plantronics Starset Supra Noise Cancelling Headset with my Blackberry (with a 2.5mm jack). Because the Supra is about the best noise cancelling headset you can get, it sounds great in my mini-van (which isn't the quietest car in the world!).
                             
Plantronics Quick Disconnect Plug to 2.5mm Plug Adapter for Cell Phone

NOTE: This is only about a foot long which works fine for a cell phone, but you'll need the 10' Quick Disconnect Extension Cable (below) for a business phone so you can lean back in your chair!  You don't need an M22 Headset Amplifier when you use a Plantronics Starset Supra and this Adapter Cable.
 

Plantronics Quick Disconnect 10' Extension Cord

NOTE: Use the 10' Quick Disconnect Extension Cable with the 2.5mm Adapter or with any Plantronics headset with a Quick Disconnect, to extend the cord 10'.

While you're shopping for a headset, remember that professionals use headsets all day long, every day of their working life. They are using business quality headsets. There's a reason they spend the extra money!

Regular Mic

There are two types of mics used on headsets... Regular and Noise Canceling.

If you use a Noise Canceling Headset in a noisy environment you'll go home in a better mood than if you had to sit all day straining to hear callers over the noise in your office.

When you turn up the volume so
you can hear on a headset with a
Regular mic, you're also turning
up the background noise... which
will really give you a headache
after a while.

When you use a Noise Canceling Headset you must keep the boom right in front of your mouth, or the callers won't hear you. Putting it under your chin will make it very hard for callers to hear you.

Noise Canceling Mic

Historically, Regular headsets use a voice tube - a hollow (often clear) tube which directs the speech up to a mic located inside the headset.

A Noise Canceling Headset has a microphone element at the end of a flexible tube, usually with a foam wind/pop guard.