By: David Caban
Website: http://www.webaudioadvisor.com

Deciding which USB headset to buy

When choosing a USB headset microphone, the main specification to examine is the frequency response of the microphone, not the headphones. After all, you're buying the headset to use when recording your voice, right?

Construction: A USB headset differs from an analog headset in one key way: you don't need a sound card to record your voice! As the name suggests, a USB microphone plugs into an open USB port on your computer. You don't have to worry about any sound card compatability issues either. USB headsets work on ANY computer (Mac or PC) that has an open USB port.

Microphone Response: A good USB headset has a mic response range of 100 Hz - 8 kHz. This will capture all the low and high tones of any human voice, plus leave some room for the harmonic overtones present in every voice. A better choice, however, is to find a headset mic with a response of 100 Hz - 16 kHz or more. The extra 8 kHz of range on the high end has an audible impact on the brightness and sibilance of a recorded voice. You might also want to consider whether or not the microphone features "Digital Signal Processing".

Number of earpieces: After selecting the mic response, then you can concentrate on the particular model to buy. USB microphones tend to come in two configurations: single ear (also called "binaural") and stereo. I recommend choosing a stereo unit for recording your web audio. By having both a left and right channel, you get the full impact of your voice and any music you might add in to your final recording.

Here is a comparison of some of the top USB microphones on the market today (listed alphabetically by manufacturer):

Logitech USB 200
Microphone response:	100 Hz - 16 kHz
Headset response:	20 Hz - 20 kHz
Notes: This is the USB headset I use on a regular basis for a lot of my voice work on my computer. If you like the sound of my web audio on this site, then the USB 200 may be a good choice for you.

Logitech USB 300
Microphone response:	100 Hz - 16 kHz
Headset response:	20 Hz - 20 kHz
Notes: This is the top of the line Logitech USB headset. It features plush earpads, and an in-line volume and mute control. If you plan on doing internet phone calls, voice and video chat, and speech recognition, this would be a great solution for you. Otherwise, the USB 200 would suit your needs fine.

Plantronics DSP 300
Microphone response:	100 Hz - 10 kHz
Headset response:	60 Hz - 16 kHz
Notes: A good, comfortable USB headset with excellent frequency response on both the mic and headphones. The DSP 300 comes with special software that allows you to customize the sound of the microphone and the headphones. The microphone positioning isn't as flexible as on the DSP 400 or 500.

Plantronics DSP 400
Microphone response:	100 Hz - 10 kHz
Headset response:	60 Hz - 16 kHz
Notes: The DSP 400 USB headset has the same characteristics as the DSP 300, except the headset is collapseable. If you plan on using the headphones with a laptop computer, you might consider the DSP 400. Mic positioning is very good, the same as the DSP 500.

Plantronics DSP 500
Microphone response:	100 Hz - 10 kHz
Headset response:	20 Hz - 20 kHz
Notes: This is the top of the line Plantronics USB microphone. It offers superior sound quality and comfort in the headphones. Like the DSP 300 and DSP 400, the DSP 500 comes packaged with special software that lets you customize the sound pickup of the microphone and the equalization on the headphones.

Prefer to go through your sound card? Read my review of Analog headset microphones (non - USB headset).

Learn what to look for in Sound Recorders and Audio Editors

About The Author:

David Caban is a successful author and publisher of http://www.webaudioadvisor.com. A one-stop source of free information on creating and adding audio to websites.