Good microphone + headphone set?

[jpinard]

I need a good micrphone and headphone set so I can talk with my sister via "Google Talk" - she's in the hsopital right now in China. This kind of limits my choices to something at a Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, CompUSA, Target etc - because I need to get it tonight.

Thanks for the help.

[Talisker]

Wal-Mart should have an Altec Lansing or Logitech set for $20 or so, should work fine.

Edit: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4064457

[jpinard]

Wal-Mart should have an Altec Lansing or Logitech set for $20 or so, should work fine.

Edit: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4064457

Thanks!

[Qmanol]

Also - if you're looking for a good solution that's not horrendously expensive, you'll probably have to go with a seperate mic and heaphone combo. I have a nice cheap set of Sennheiser HD202s, and a Zalman mic that can be clipped to my lapel.

[Michael Fortson]

What Qmanol said. If you want to be complimented, use one of those USB Logitech headsets for awhile, and then switch to something else. I did exactly that this week, and I had no idea how craptacular the USB headset mic really was until I switched to the built-in mic on my office MacBook Pro.

[Winterrain]

If you want to use it as well for Gaming, I suggest a Sennheiser PC150/160. I use a clip-on mic on a hifi headphone, but I know many gamers that have those Sennheisers.

[Tim James]

I think I'm going to break down and buy a mic for L4D and ArmaII. Do most people use headphones in order to keep sound from the speaker leaking into the microphone? I'd really prefer to stick with speakers; are there any good solutions out there that won't annoy other listeners whenever I hit the talk button?

[CLWheeljack]

I think I'm going to break down and buy a mic for L4D and ArmaII. Do most people use headphones in order to keep sound from the speaker leaking into the microphone? I'd really prefer to stick with speakers; are there any good solutions out there that won't annoy other listeners whenever I hit the talk button?

In my experience, as long as you keep push-to-talk on instead of always-on, the ambient noise from speakers isn't that big a deal. Most headsets seem to be at least semi-directional.

[Tim James]

Okay, great. If anyone wants to mention their favorite standalone headset I'm sure jpiniard won't mind me taking his thread.

Bonus if you know it works well with a TrackIR Track Clip Pro or whatever it's called.

[Freezer-TPF-]

For a basic headset mic without headphones, I swear by my trusty vintage Labtec LVA-7330. I got my first set bundled with Game Commander software over a decade ago. They may be getting harder to find these days, but you should be able to grab one on ebay for just a few bucks. Great voice quality with no pesky earphones.

[bloo]

Logitech Clearchat Wireless. I'm very happy with it. It would only be better, for me, if the earphones were the foamy labtec kind, I like to wear the phones just forward of the ear itself for hearing the rest of my environment well.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-ClearChat-Wireless-USB-Headset/dp/B0015EY5RE

[Tim James]

For a basic headset mic without headphones, I swear by my trusty vintage Labtec LVA-7330. I got my first set bundled with Game Commander software over a decade ago. They may be getting harder to find these days, but you should be able to grab one on ebay for just a few bucks. Great voice quality with no pesky earphones.I swear I ordered this from some reseller on Amazon, but a Labtec neck headset just showed up. Which kind of sucks because I bought a Trackclip Pro that I was going to put on the headband part of the mic.

Although now that I'm typing this out, I've realized I could just try again from another seller since they go for about $2.

[Pogo]

I think I'm going to break down and buy a mic for L4D and ArmaII. Do most people use headphones in order to keep sound from the speaker leaking into the microphone? I'd really prefer to stick with speakers; are there any good solutions out there that won't annoy other listeners whenever I hit the talk button?

Eh, depends. You can get great sound with mic/phone headsets. But what you can't do is buy some piece of crap Altecs for $30 from Best Buy.

[Joe M.]

I buy one of these (http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PC-166-Multimedia-Headset/dp/B000H0IDUW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1250951969&sr=8-2) every couple years, or whichever model they have in that price range. I've never had a complaint about my mic, and I have an enormous fan sitting two feet behind me blowing air on my PC during the summer months (i'm a little paranoid about my hardware). Perhaps even more important: I can wear these headsets for hours and hours without discomfort.

Tim, don't be that guy that echos everything through Vent or whatever you're using. No one likes that guy.

[Bad Neighbor]

Why every couple of years? Do they wear out easily or are you like me and eventually break everything you own?

[Tim James]

Tim, don't be that guy that echos everything through Vent or whatever you're using. No one likes that guy.Yeah that's what I was asking about. Really don't want to use headphones but may have to.

[Joe M.]

Why every couple of years? Do they wear out easily or are you like me and eventually break everything you own?

The wire that connects from the headset to your PC ports is fairly thin, at least compared to the one other mic brand I bought initially (headphones that completely cover the ear really aren't comfortable after a while!) Now that's not bad in and of itself, but I have a leather chair on rollers, and tend to roll over that wire until it eventually gives out.

If the headset wasn't so comfortable I'd look for something with beefier connectors but this headset is so lightweight I hardly feel it up there, so $100 every couple years seems reasonable and probably keeps them in business.

[barstein]

I'm in the market for a headset, but I'd like to purchase just one for my PC and 360. Has anyone used this device or anything similar? $15 isn't too bad, but I don't like the fact that it's partially wired.

http://shop.steelseries.com/index.php/accessories/steelseries-xbox-360-headset-connector.html

[sinnick]

Arise! I'd like to resurrect this thread for additional advice.

I have my PS3, 360, and PC all hooked up to the same TV via HDMI cables. I have a set of headphones coming out of the TV. I also have the option to use speakers, but I rarely use them these days because my gaming room is right next to the kids' bedroom, and they are always asleep while I'm playing.

Anyway, I have a great set of headphones that I don't have to be constantly plugging and unplugging as I switch from one console to the next. I just press a button and I flip over to the other system, and the sound changes with me.

I'd like to get a microphone to complement this setup, for those rare times when I'm playing a co-op games with friends. Since I don't use chat much, this microphone will get infrequent use, and as such I don't mind having to switch the plug from one device to another ... having to do that won't taint the purity of my current setup too much.

Is there any kind of microphone that can work here? I'm thinking some sort of USB microphone that can go under my headphones or clip onto my shirt or something? 360, PS3 and PC all take USB microphones, right?

[Pogo]

Logitech Clearchat Wireless. I'm very happy with it. It would only be better, for me, if the earphones were the foamy labtec kind, I like to wear the phones just forward of the ear itself for hearing the rest of my environment well.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-ClearChat-Wireless-USB-Headset/dp/B0015EY5RE

I just got the wired version of these today. So far I'm pretty happy, though the whole device change thing in Windows kinda threw me off.

[wisefool]

Arise! I'd like to resurrect this thread for additional advice.

I have my PS3, 360, and PC all hooked up to the same TV via HDMI cables. I have a set of headphones coming out of the TV. I also have the option to use speakers, but I rarely use them these days because my gaming room is right next to the kids' bedroom, and they are always asleep while I'm playing.

Anyway, I have a great set of headphones that I don't have to be constantly plugging and unplugging as I switch from one console to the next. I just press a button and I flip over to the other system, and the sound changes with me.

I'd like to get a microphone to complement this setup, for those rare times when I'm playing a co-op games with friends. Since I don't use chat much, this microphone will get infrequent use, and as such I don't mind having to switch the plug from one device to another ... having to do that won't taint the purity of my current setup too much.

Is there any kind of microphone that can work here? I'm thinking some sort of USB microphone that can go under my headphones or clip onto my shirt or something? 360, PS3 and PC all take USB microphones, right?

Sinnick, the PS3 does not have universal support for USB devices. I've tried 3 wired usb pc headsets and they have various problems with the PS3 - either the MIC or SOUND portion don't work.

I would suggest either 1) search amazon for headsets that work on PS3 or 2) idea, maybe a cheap bluetooth phone thing. That's $10-15, but you'd need a BT hub for PC and Xbox :(

[sinnick]

Sinnick, the PS3 does not have universal support for USB devices. I've tried 3 wired usb pc headsets and they have various problems with the PS3 - either the MIC or SOUND portion don't work.

I would suggest either 1) search amazon for headsets that work on PS3 or 2) idea, maybe a cheap bluetooth phone thing. That's $10-15, but you'd need a BT hub for PC and Xbox :(

Thanks wisefool. Man, that sucks. I don't do enough multi-player on any one platform to justify getting a microphone that will only work on one device. And I have friends who use a bluetooth microphone and have reported nothing but problems with it. I was hoping to go wired.