Ask HN: Remote workers, what headphone/mic combo do you use for video calls?

I use the Logitech H820e (DECT Headset) with 300ft range, so I can walk around while on the phone.

I'm currently enjoying the Thomson WHP3311BK wireless headphones. Their quality is superb and I feel comfortable wearing them for 15 hours at a time (they even don't run out of power!). For a headset, I actually use the Blue Yeti microphone, large (2/3rds the size of my monitor), but incredibly high quality (I can be 30 meters away yet can still be heard clearly by customers, helpful when I'm running around looking for papers). I used to own a ProSound YU-37, much smaller microphone and about 1/10th of the price, would highly recommend that if you work in a loud environment. It's uni-directional and doesn't pick up much background noise at all, downside with that is of course you can't run around the room and still be heard.

I discovered that wearing headphones (even earbuds) for hours is pretty tiresome, so I strongly prefer using my macbook's built-in mic and external speakers. Obviously, this wouldn't work in a coffeeshop situation, but it's not a good work environment anyway.

In my company, everybody uses Jabra gear (because the company pays for it). I own some Bose Noise Cancelling headset, because I had it before, and everybody complains that there is no noise cancelling on my mic, what the Jabras have. Evolve 80, that's what everybody got and people are quite happy with it, despite the gamer look: http://www.jabra.com/business/office-headsets/jabra-evolve/j...

What are you looking for---something mobile or something for your desk?

At my desk I use a Plantronics Savi 700 series. It integrates well with a wide variety of Windows phone apps---e.g., grabbing the headset will auto-answer, replacing it or pressing the button on the side will hang up---and since it's multi-line and supports Bluetooth, I can use it with my mobile phone, too. Mac phone app integration is less than stellar and mostly limited to Skype (not Lync) and whatever Cisco's softphone is called. (Older versions of Lync for Mac integrated with the headset, so I'm not sure if I broke something or Apple/Microsoft/Plantronics just dropped the ball.)

Audio quality is fantastic and with the default config, I can let the dog out and walk around the house without any issues. I don't recall how long the battery lasted with the default configuration, but I don't really remember running out of battery except on days where I have back-to-back-to-back meetings. I ended up switching on some power conservation settings that reduced its range, and since then I haven't had any issues running out of battery. (I just schedule meeting breaks to take care of the dog.)