CA Essential USB Headset – Headset for Calls & Music, Performance with Extreme Comfort, Integrated Ear Cup Controls, Passive Noise Cancellation Headset with Noise Cancelling Mic (HS-2000)

Reviews

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   bilagaana – July 12, 2020

   My application for a headset is participating in discussions with a Discord group while on my laptop. I find this CA Essential headset to be ideal for this. The very light weight and minimal pressure are hardly noticeable on my size 7 3/4 head. I’m not ordinarily a fan of on-the-ear earcups but these are very well padded and the covering material comfortable. The controls are easy to access; after a little practice choosing among the well-seperated buttons becomes second-nature. The audio output, if not likely to satisfy true audiophiles, is very good to excellent for conversation or streaming music. Overall, this is a well-designed comfortable and very functional headset.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   PhotoGraphics – July 12, 2020

   There are times I believe I’ve been on more conference calls than anyone alive, both as a participant and as the host. Of course that’s probably not actually true but it has been a lot. Back in the day, as they say, we used to wear big over the ear headphones like radio DJ’s with a big boom microphone in front of the mouth. These days I hold my iPhone in front of my face while I’m sitting by the pool drinking an iced tea. Why would I even think about going back to those big clunky headsets?WHY GO BACK 30 YEARSReal life conference calls don’t go like in the movies. In the past two years a large segment of the workforce that used to drive to offices now walk to their guest room which is now their work at home office and for most of them who never before attended video conferences now they are a mandatory reality of their job. Many of them don’t know about the etiquette of being on a call with anywhere from five to fifty, or even more, co-corkers and sometimes clients. So the calls become an anguishing couple of hours of dogs barking, kids yelling, trucks and cars and emergency vehicles going by and people coughing and making other human bodily sounds. That makes it difficult to hear and concentrate when I use the pin sized speaker in my cell phone, and I’m as guilty as anyone else.THE BENEFITS OF NOISE CANCELINGThis Cyber Acoustics headset is a much more advanced product than my 1980’s models, although they look the same. They have a sophisticated noise canceling system that works not only to make it seem like I’m in a sealed sound isolation booth so I can hear and concentrate on what’s being said but also a noise canceling microphone so others don’t hear sounds on my end. And if I have to remove myself for a few seconds to cough or maybe speak privately to someone in my room all I have to do is flip the microphone straight up. There’s no second guessing if I’m on mute or not, as long as the microphone is pointed up I’m safe. But they take this feature one step better by putting a small discreet LED light right in the USB plug so when it’s green I know I’m on the air and when it’s red I know I still have my microphone (or some software button) in the mute position.QUIRKSI wouldn’t have a lot of confidence in a review that tries to tell me their product is perfect in every way and this one definitely isn’t. But its quirks aren’t enough to knock it out of the running. One is that the cord is too stiff. When I wear a conference headset my hands, arms and entire body move around a lot and I would have preferred a much more flexible cord material. Another small detail is that there isn’t any positive click stop when the mic boom is raised. I can’t be sure of course but I would think over time it may tend to start slipping and activate the mute switch to bring me back into a conversation when I’m thinking I can’t be heard.WHO IS CAWhen possible I prefer to buy from established brands. This one may not be a household word but I’ve had several things from CA, they tend to be a lower cost alternative but well made and reasonably well supported. This is the type of thing they specialize in and without a lot of frills they manage to take care of my needs at a decent price. The documentation is good and they design is well thought out, for example they use real buttons (not touch sensitive or membrane type) and they are arranged in such a way that it’s easy to know what you are doing. In addition to the status light on the plug there is a big red light on the earpiece itself to advise other people in the room that you are busy. And I don’t want to forget to give a shout out to how comfortable the earpiece are, I could wear them all day – and sometimes I do – and they would still be comfortable.HINTWe have become so accustomed to talking right at our phones, or using tiny Bluetooth earpieces it’s easy to forget the old issue of what to do with a corded headset when you’re not using it. I’ve found some nifty very strong magnets like the one in my photo that lets me simply hang the headset on the leg of my desk or on the side of my file cabinet when not in use. One last thing while on that topic, one of the nicest positives about going back to a corded system as opposed to a wireless one is that when I’m on those calls that never seem to end it’s nice not having to worry about my battery dying in the middle of a call. A wired headset can be used forever without having to recharge it.YES OR NOI want to take away a fraction of a point for the stiff cord, I hope CA is listening and makes it more flexible in future versions. Other than that they did a great job making this and keeping it at a reasonable price. I like it a lot and suggest you consider it.