Author Topic: Wireless headsets for wfh  (Read 2552 times)

Papa bear

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Wireless headsets for wfh
« on: November 24, 2020, 08:15:29 AM »
My god are there a lot of options; I’m on analysis paralysis here. I’m looking for recommendations for a solid wireless headset with microphone. 

My wife will be wfh for the foreseeable future and is tired of being tethered to her work issue headset.  We’ve got 2 young kids, so there can be a lot of background noise that gets picked up by the microphone.  This isn’t super heavy use, like a call center or sales, but will be used mainly for conference calls and small meetings.  Use will be between 4-6 hours daily. 

Anyone use a headset with good results?


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Jimbo

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #1 on: November 24, 2020, 08:19:56 AM »
Thanks for writing this for me! ;-)

Posting mostly to follow.

But to add to the discussion, anyone has good luck with things like airpods or the android versions of these? They can't be good for 4-6-8 hours a day of work, right?

Adventine

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #2 on: November 24, 2020, 08:31:52 AM »
Posting to follow too!

I'm satisfied with the Plantronics headsets I get through work, but they're not wireless.

My Spanish teacher, who has to teach 8+ hours a day with Zoom, uses airpods. They must be comfy because I've never seen him fiddle around with them on camera, and the audio comes through just fine.

Papa bear

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #3 on: November 24, 2020, 08:35:21 AM »
She uses a jabra branded headset that’s wired right now, but it looks like the similar wireless is looking at $200-300. Surely we can do better than that, right?


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Joel

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #4 on: November 24, 2020, 08:45:35 AM »
I got a set of Trekz Aftershokz that I also use for biking. They have multi point Bluetooth that allows them to switch seamlessly between my computer and cell phone.

ixtap

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #5 on: November 24, 2020, 09:10:21 AM »
This isn't very mustachian, but we each love our Bose QuietComfort ii headphones. So much so, that when Mom started saying she wanted some, I got her a pair for Christmas.

Daley

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #6 on: November 24, 2020, 10:00:32 AM »
May I just make an observation, Papa Bear? Your other post from just two days ago, you were complaining about wireless coverage being an issue already for your wife with network reliability issues. Unless you specifically get something that runs at 900MHz which will need to have wires connecting the headset base station to the laptop or a large and fragile USB dongle hanging off the side impacting portability, adding fragility, and draining battery life further, anything that uses Bluetooth or 5GHz spectrum could make the wireless coverage and reception, especially for her... worse.

It sounds like you and everyone around you is already walking a fine line of oversaturating your limited and available wireless bandwidth.

If what she's doing is important, she needs to learn to live with the wires. Maybe set up a little desk workstation there for her in your sunroom or wherever she likes to work from the most, so the wires aren't as problematic as they are balancing a laptop on your knees or sticking it on a side table in front of a chair. Suddenly, a power cable, network cable, and wired headset won't be near as annoying because the laptop will be in a fixed location with proper cable management. If portability and removal of the laptop is still needed for personal usage (not an overall recommended setup, but understand if it happens anyway), use a laptop dock to hook all the work wires up with so there's only the dock to connect and disconnect. It'll probably also help with her mental health having a dedicated work area slightly separated from the rest of the living space longer term where she can physically "walk away" from work. It's helped my wife having that workspace change available. I even knew a guy who worked from home who went so far as to not just have separate computers for work and home, but his bedroom that he used as a dedicated office had a physical keyed lock on the door to seal it off from the rest of the house. Work is stressful, and eventually you'll appreciate having at least a modest barrier between it and home life working from home.

I have to wonder if her hard push on so much wireless everything is a hope for the ability and convenience to take her work to wherever is the quietest place in the house. Perhaps the better solution is to give her a dedicated work space and set rules with the kids making it clear that a specific room is verboten to play in while Mommy is there working. I mean, she's complaining about WiFi reception across multiple locations throughout the house, and now she's wanting a wireless headset. This seems to scream to me, "I need easy ultraportability at a moment's notice to move elsewhere to get some privacy to work." Perhaps you need to approach the situation from another angle.

If wireless is still demanded, going with 900MHz wireless audio equipment is your best bet, though there's really not much of anything available that will keep her from having to wear a battery pack and still have to have wires going from it to her headset.

Just my two cents.
« Last Edit: November 24, 2020, 10:33:19 AM by Daley »

BigEasyStache

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #7 on: November 24, 2020, 10:20:21 AM »
I have been using a Jabra Evolve 65 wireless (both bluetooth and dongle wireless).  The dongle is a tiny USB plug and draws very little power.  My laptop can go all day on the battery.  The headset battery can go for several days.  Using the dongle it has a 100 foot range.  And when talking, the other person hears no background noise.  These are not cheap....~$150USD...but worth every penny if you use it daily as I do...both WFH and to be hands free in the office while on the computer.

It comes with a USB cable for both charging and if you want to go wired, though I have never used it wired.

I can connect one bluetooth device (my phone) and one dongle device (my computer) and easily switch between them by pressing the button on the ear.

I really can't say anything bad about this headset.

Papa bear

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #8 on: November 24, 2020, 11:15:18 AM »
May I just make an observation, Papa Bear? Your other post from just two days ago, you were complaining about wireless coverage being an issue already for your wife with network reliability issues. Unless you specifically get something that runs at 900MHz which will need to have wires connecting the headset base station to the laptop or a large and fragile USB dongle hanging off the side impacting portability, adding fragility, and draining battery life further, anything that uses Bluetooth or 5GHz spectrum could make the wireless coverage and reception, especially for her... worse.

It sounds like you and everyone around you is already walking a fine line of oversaturating your limited and available wireless bandwidth.

If what she's doing is important, she needs to learn to live with the wires. Maybe set up a little desk workstation there for her in your sunroom or wherever she likes to work from the most, so the wires aren't as problematic as they are balancing a laptop on your knees or sticking it on a side table in front of a chair. Suddenly, a power cable, network cable, and wired headset won't be near as annoying because the laptop will be in a fixed location with proper cable management. If portability and removal of the laptop is still needed for personal usage (not an overall recommended setup, but understand if it happens anyway), use a laptop dock to hook all the work wires up with so there's only the dock to connect and disconnect. It'll probably also help with her mental health having a dedicated work area slightly separated from the rest of the living space longer term where she can physically "walk away" from work. It's helped my wife having that workspace change available. I even knew a guy who worked from home who went so far as to not just have separate computers for work and home, but his bedroom that he used as a dedicated office had a physical keyed lock on the door to seal it off from the rest of the house. Work is stressful, and eventually you'll appreciate having at least a modest barrier between it and home life working from home.

I have to wonder if her hard push on so much wireless everything is a hope for the ability and convenience to take her work to wherever is the quietest place in the house. Perhaps the better solution is to give her a dedicated work space and set rules with the kids making it clear that a specific room is verboten to play in while Mommy is there working. I mean, she's complaining about WiFi reception across multiple locations throughout the house, and now she's wanting a wireless headset. This seems to scream to me, "I need easy ultraportability at a moment's notice to move elsewhere to get some privacy to work." Perhaps you need to approach the situation from another angle.

If wireless is still demanded, going with 900MHz wireless audio equipment is your best bet, though there's really not much of anything available that will keep her from having to wear a battery pack and still have to have wires going from it to her headset.

Just my two cents.
You get it, but I don’t make all the rules =)

I’m feverishly building an addition (old screened porch to sunroom) that will have a dedicated workstation. Already ran the network cable for it.  She had network issues out back before, which is why I brought it up in the last thread. 

I have a dedicated work station in the basement, but it’s cold and no windows.  Thankfully, the wifi is doing better now, but I still need to finish the hardwiring, and will probably need a switch. 

No extra bedrooms or space for dedicated work, and first floor is all open.  Preschool is cancelled, so kids are home 100%.

So, I’m working as fast as I can, with limited resources, trying to fix her wfh issues as best I can, through building or technology. Messing with the router settings, things definitely got better, so that’s a big start!! 

I appreciate your help on this, I’m not an IT guy, I just like to build things. 


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Daley

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #9 on: November 24, 2020, 12:24:44 PM »
You get it, but I don’t make all the rules =)

I’m feverishly building an addition (old screened porch to sunroom) that will have a dedicated workstation. Already ran the network cable for it.  She had network issues out back before, which is why I brought it up in the last thread. 

I have a dedicated work station in the basement, but it’s cold and no windows.  Thankfully, the wifi is doing better now, but I still need to finish the hardwiring, and will probably need a switch. 

No extra bedrooms or space for dedicated work, and first floor is all open.  Preschool is cancelled, so kids are home 100%.

So, I’m working as fast as I can, with limited resources, trying to fix her wfh issues as best I can, through building or technology. Messing with the router settings, things definitely got better, so that’s a big start!! 

I appreciate your help on this, I’m not an IT guy, I just like to build things.

Here's my out of the box proposal, given it's a bit easier to see the forest for the trees from my position:

Right now, you already have dedicated workspace that can work and be closed off, but is cold and has no natural light. Longer term, you need time to finish off the sunroom to give her dedicated work space.

Make what you already have work first by doing some simple things now. The basement can be fixed with a small ceramic space heater under the desk, and/or maybe a cheap pet heating pad on the chair (lower wattage, no temp adjust and no time cutoff like traditional heating pads), and maybe an incandescent, infrared or ceramic heat lamp (like lizards and fast food joints use) above the desk to keep the hands and face warm, and apply some creative lighting tricks to the area by turning some old broken LCD TVs and monitors into fake skylights and windows, along with some full spectrum or high CRI daylight lamps (SAD lamps, for example). These are relatively cheap and quick things that will not only improve her stay while working down there, but yours as well longer term. That will buy more time to finish the sunroom, which will probably still need some personal space heating as well during this time of year. Cheaper than many wireless headsets, and helps improve the usability and darkness of the basement for everyone by fooling the brain into thinking there are windows and natural sunlight.

You like to build things, this should be right up your alley and something you could complete by next Monday at the latest.
« Last Edit: November 24, 2020, 12:51:13 PM by Daley »

chemistk

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #10 on: November 24, 2020, 01:26:40 PM »
Daley has some excellent advice, and I don't mean to divert away from it - mainly posting this for anyone who reads this specifically for product recommendations.

I have been using a myriad of devices for conference calls and virtual meetings, but most of them have ultimately been bluetooth headphones (which I'm not sure they technically fit the bill since I will be the first to admit that the mic isn't as great as a traditional [call-center type] headset).

That being said, for regular WFH use, I highly prefer wireless/bluetooth headphones to anything else that I've used. I don't think background noise is so much of an issue unless you're making phone calls, as most major videoconferencing tools now can block out background noise (including chewing, which is just eerie to watch someone do but not hear).

The biggest reason I really prefer wireless is that I can have them paired to my phone for music, podcasts, etc. and then relatively easily connect them to my work laptop if I have a call or meeting to take.

The two favorites in our house are:

#1 A pair of refurbished Sony WH-CH700N - we're not audiophiles so no need for anything higher in the over-the-ear range. These were around $50 certified refurbished, and they might as well have been new. Battery life is insanely good, range is great, sound is great, and noise cancelling is good (not perfect, like higher end models). Microphone quality is very good, and they have physical controls rather than touch or voice only.

#2 are a pair of wireless earbuds. Technically they're MPOW BH452A's but really that doesn't matter because there are dozens of similar products on Amazon. We got them for free in exchange for a review, but they retail for around $40. Sound is good, battery is great, range is pheromonal, connectivity is lackluster (sometimes there's an audible de-syncing and re-syncing between the L and R buds) and controls are exclusively touch based and confusing. $40 is probably $10-$20 too low to be truly "good" but hey, they were free.

I personally use the 'buds much more than the others, because there's less there and I don't mind having one in my ear for 5 or 6 hours. I can connect just one if I want, so that  one ear is free to participate in the room I'm in. If you went the 'buds route, I'd look for something a little more name brand. I've heard great things about Anker's lineup, there's no need to spend for airpods or google buds or anything super high end.

Daley

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #11 on: November 24, 2020, 02:24:29 PM »
Chemistk had some good suggestions, and my apologies to others for hijacking the central concept of the request in the OP towards helping Papa Bear specifically... but it really seemed like he needed some good out of the box thinking under the circumstances, and throwing wireless headphones at the situation felt more like a scab fix to the central problem than a solution.

Historically (for a young company, anyway) Anker does make good electronics and batteries for the money. I've personally got a couple of their Roav car stereo bluetooth adapters, and the things work like champs. I don't have any experience with their wireless headphone products specifically, but if the build quality of their car adapters are any indication, and given the overlap involved technologically, I'm sure they'd be fine. I've also never really had Sony headphones over $15 that disappointed.

Papa Bear, I'm gonna shoot you a couple more non-headset things in PM to perhaps give you more ideas on improving the basement.
« Last Edit: November 24, 2020, 02:27:16 PM by Daley »

dang1

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #12 on: November 24, 2020, 03:02:12 PM »
Jlab Rewind
https://www.jlabaudio.com/products/rewind-wireless-retro-headphones
There are days when I literaly have these on my head all day, works great for me.

volleyballer

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #13 on: November 24, 2020, 07:32:37 PM »
This isn't very mustachian, but we each love our Bose QuietComfort ii headphones. So much so, that when Mom started saying she wanted some, I got her a pair for Christmas.
I also have the Bose QC35ii and love them.

Edit: on sale for $199 on the Bose website for black friday

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« Last Edit: November 24, 2020, 08:13:14 PM by volleyballer »

NextTime

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #14 on: November 26, 2020, 06:35:34 AM »
This isn't very mustachian, but we each love our Bose QuietComfort ii headphones. So much so, that when Mom started saying she wanted some, I got her a pair for Christmas.
I also have the Bose QC35ii and love them.

Edit: on sale for $199 on the Bose website for black friday

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Wife also loves the QC35ii. I got them for her at the beginning of the pandemic since she is a therapist and would have to wear them most of the day. 

For myself, I use the AirPod pros. They replaced a cheaper pair of Bluetooth earbuds that apparently had a horrible microphone. I was getting complaints on calls. I like the AirPods a lot but in my opinion there is no way you could wear them for 6 or 8 hours a day. In my personal experience they get uncomfortable around 3-4 hours, but it’s possible I have sensitive ears. I would have purchased the QC35ii for myself but I wanted the smaller form factor.


ixtap

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #15 on: November 26, 2020, 07:11:10 AM »
This isn't very mustachian, but we each love our Bose QuietComfort ii headphones. So much so, that when Mom started saying she wanted some, I got her a pair for Christmas.
I also have the Bose QC35ii and love them.

Edit: on sale for $199 on the Bose website for black friday

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Wife also loves the QC35ii. I got them for her at the beginning of the pandemic since she is a therapist and would have to wear them most of the day. 

For myself, I use the AirPod pros. They replaced a cheaper pair of Bluetooth earbuds that apparently had a horrible microphone. I was getting complaints on calls. I like the AirPods a lot but in my opinion there is no way you could wear them for 6 or 8 hours a day. In my personal experience they get uncomfortable around 3-4 hours, but it’s possible I have sensitive ears. I would have purchased the QC35ii for myself but I wanted the smaller form factor.

In contrast, we literally wear our Bose QCii to bed when the sheriff is using our neighborhood for nighttime search and rescue practice or the parking garage next door is being cleaned or, now that we are used to them, when he wants to listen to a podcast and I don't.

martyconlonontherun

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #16 on: November 26, 2020, 08:00:42 AM »
I'm a cheap bastard and honestly the most annoying thing about work from home/office is sometimes I need them to connect to my cell, my home computer or work computer. I bought a pair of MPOW h19 from Amazon cause they were cheap. Ending up buying three so I have one always connected for each situation.

AccidentialMustache

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #17 on: November 26, 2020, 09:34:47 AM »
I like Daley's analysis.

On the headphones front, I have a bit of an XL sized skull, which makes most headphones uncomfortable. Razer's, if you can hack the stupid green snake, are actually big enough for my head. I tried a pair on in best buy on a lark and went, "hey, this actually fit" so then got a pair of wired, and eventually wireless. Can recommend.

Sunder

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #18 on: November 27, 2020, 03:37:13 PM »
If you are using a headset for work, I think this is one of the exceptions where you can say "buy cheap, buy twice"  I have used Bose for the last decade, and each set has lasted at least 4 years. Quality of audio has always been great.

If background noise is a problem, look at software cancelling. You can do both your side and the other side. If you own Nvidia hardware, RTX voice is free and quite effective. If you don't, Krisp is $5/month, or 2 hours a week free. Both are fairly effective.

Unique User

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #19 on: November 30, 2020, 07:18:47 AM »
I used to have a headset that was wired and plugged into my phone.  Kind of a pain, but I could slip the phone in my pocket if I wanted to move around the house (or just do laps to get up off my chair).  I bought the below about three years ago (looks just like my old one, but no cord) and it's still going strong. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081Q5RCMV?pd_rd_i=B081Q5RCMV&pd_rd_w=qizqK&pf_rd_p=51cf0d17-50cf-4c89-b1a7-606703cfac11&pd_rd_wg=3swID&pf_rd_r=TK7DWGCE92R64XGY8VYA&pd_rd_r=d271408b-2ae0-4867-b5bb-77c9ed942071

ericrugiero

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Re: Wireless headsets for wfh
« Reply #20 on: December 03, 2020, 08:56:08 AM »
The Bluetooth individually powered wireless earbuds are really impressive for the price.  My wife has the MPOW M9 wireless earbuds.  They have noise cancelling and are extremely easy to use.  Once they are connected, you simply open the case and they automatically connect.  You can wear one at a time or both.  I usually wear one at a time.  When the battery is running low, you just pull the other one out of the case and put it in your ear.  It connects automatically and you can put the first one back in the case to charge (you charge the case and the case charges the earbuds).  The noise cancelling works reasonably well and I can hear her just fine on the phone.  They are $28 on amazon right now. 

I have the MPOW M30 which is similar but only has one microphone and doesn't work well for phone calls.  I love them for listening to audio books but wouldn't recommend for your situation.