31–40 of 54 posts
The sound is really great, the headphones are really comfortable and I don't get complaints about sound quality from the mic -- coming from Plantronics I expect the mic to be good :).
I can do this because no one else is around when I'm working or I can close the door and be alone. The main reason that I don't use something with a headset is because I always had problems with headsets, especially wireless ones -- either they wouldn't pair, or they'd come unpaired between calls and I'd have to do the "can you hear me" dance, or I'd have something wired on my head and it'd be a pain in the butt, or ... well, the list goes on.
If you have something wireless, make sure you know how to use it really well and that you have a test or two that you can quickly do to ensure operation and that you have a backup you can quickly fail over to.
I spent four years working remote in a 24/7 operations position, and then another few years working out of a satellite office but from home at night in a similar position. Some of the marathon troubleshooting calls I was on would exhaust even the most serious of batteries.
As long as the mic is clipped there, I've never had anyone complain about audio quality. I doubt it'd be difficult to find a similarly decent Bluetooth set.
I'd be more concerned about Bluetooth range and reliability than the quality of the mic. Audio hardware for this sort of purpose is basically a solved problem. Usually connectivity or software issues interfere more with communication than audio hardware does once you reach a certain (low) baseline for hardware quality.
For use with my phone, QC-20i's.
then for my headphones, I use JBL Bluetooth headphones or mpow wolverine ear buds.
the combination works pretty well
I tried to find a good wireless headset for my remote meetings. My discovery was: - Bluetooth microphones are of general terrible quality. After recording and playing back my different attempts at a nice wireless mic, the build in omni directional mic on my MBP always shockingly came out ahead. It really didn't make any sense to me. - Long pair programming or brainstorming sessions with co-workers can outlast the hea…
I suspect on the tech side one of the big disadvantages a BT mic has to suffer from is how to balance power consumption with the circuitry you need to pull a good signal off. Looking this up[1] it seems that a MBP is much better positioned for that kind of hardware as opposed to a mic.
On another note I've seen some praise for the Skullcandy PLYR.
[1] http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/microphones/how-microphone...
Aphex Microphone X ($200) USB mic with boom arm. Sound like the golden god that you are. They make amazing pro audio gear and have condensed that from a rack of gear to a single mic and USB interface.
I recently upgraded to a Logitech BCC950 freestanding conference camera, and it is also excellent.
Note that both of these solutions are much more expensive than an ordinary headset or webcam (~£200 range).
https://secure.logitech.com/en-gb/product/conferencecam-bcc9...