Gamers and audiophiles will appreciate the rich, full-range stereo sound of the Plantronics .Audio 90 multimedia stereo PC headset. This headset is perfect for games, music,... more
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A review by oblivious0r on Plantronics .Audio 90 Headset October 21st, 2004
Author's product rating:
Reliability
Satisfactory
Ease of Use
Very Easy
Quality
Poor
Durability
Satisfactory
Value for Money
Satisfactory
Advantages:
Cable clip, Volume control
Disadvantages:
Short Life Span
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
The art of online computer gaming has progressed over the years and matured into a strategic affair for the masses. From the early years where gamers were just frag happy and content with playing for the sheer enjoyment of killing others in the virtual world. Now it has transformed into a mental sport filled with strategic battles and essential element of teamplay. Teamplay to be achieved by understanding strategy, knowing your team's strengths and weaknesses and most of all being able to communicate. Online gaming is fiercely competitive and people strive to be the best. Seeing as the best have earned over $1,000,000 playing computer games I don't see why not. Most games on the internet require an aspect of communication and awareness from teammates and what better way to showcase that by using headphones with top quality microphones.
In this review I will be reviewing the ever popular Plantronics .audio 90 headphones. These headphones are probably the most popular headset for computer gamers. The brand plantronics is one of the leading brands on the market who supply communication headsets. They sponsor various gaming causes and infact tailor their headphone development in suiting gamers. Apart from gamers as one of their main markets they also target business or offices who use headsets alot to communicate via phone. For example plantronics are a huge supplier to the market of call centres. They have probably made a majority of their revenue by supplying the call centres of India with efficient and high quality headphones. Alot of online gamers value the brand of plantronics as high quality and proficient for their needs.
I decided to purchase these plantronic audio 90 headphones 2 years ago because my usual computer headphones had broke after a little foot stomping accident. I was also in need of a working microphone because the microphone I received with my computer was lacking in sound quality and they snapped after the instance of them being used. This meant that I was set on purchasing a headset because they saved me the effort of buying a microphone and headset plus they would be more efficient when I was gaming. As I was unsure of what headset to buy I was sure that the overpriced sennheiser brand were the ones for me but since I went to argos to purchase a headset they were over £80. After much dedicated flipping through the saliva enduced catalogue of argos I found the computer headset section which featured a range of generic brand headsets and a page especially for plantronics. I had heard from word of mouth that plantronics were a good brand so I had no hesitation in going through my options for a plantronics headset. After much deliberation I decided on the audio 90 headset because they were larger than the cheaper alternatives and the microphone on small headsets seem slightly filmsy. I purchased the headset for £35 in argos 2 years ago.
[FIRST IMPRESSIONS]
The first impressions I had of the headset were that they seemed more advanced than alot of the generic brand headsets on the market at the time. The headset just seemed ergomically friendly and was designed to suit everyone. The first problem I had was that they used vacuum packaging for the headset. This was very difficult to tear apart and required a sharp object to slice it open and get the headset out. The first noticeable thing is that the cable that leads from the headset to the input and output jack is very long. I would say they are around 2meters long, this is very inadequate has not everyone will have such a distance between the pc connection and the headphones. But to cater for people who have annoying cable problems there is a crocodile type clip that will hold the cables together if you roll them into the clip. This is very nice as sometimes the cable can get trapped in some very awkward positions. The headset has soft felt like ear coverings which make your ears feel very comfortable and won't cause any ache unlike some headphones. The microphone on the headset can be moved up or down so you only use it when you need to. The microphone initially had a cover on but after usage seems to fall off and very hard to place it back onto the microphone. The top of the headset which rests on your head is designed with rubber and has 2 layers, 1 for resting on your head an the other with the cable running through. The headset can be adjusted to fit various sizes of the head. On the cable of the headphones there is a control which has a mute button and a volume control. The control is too far away because if you're on a seat you will have to pull the cable up before you can reach the control. The end of the cable features 2 jacks one for microphone which is input coloured pink, and the other is an output jack to receive sound which is adequately coloured green. The colours correspond with the colours on the back of your pc or soundcard which makes operation easier.
[PERFORMANCE]
The sound quality of these headphones are very good and easily beat the quality of sony headphones etc. The headset usually works quite well with decent sound quality from what i've been told and from what i've heard on windows sound recorder. Be aware that if the microphone is too close then your voice will sound very loud so keep it a fair distance away from yourself. No installation is required with these, it is simply plug and play. Be sure to configure your microphone in the properties in the volume control in windows.
[PROBLEMS]
Finally after 2 years of use the sound input on the headset screwed up completely and the sound on the headset was messed up. The only sounds I was able to hear were the bass line of a song, no vocals. Initially I thought it was my soundcard but then I plugged this into the new soundcard and it still gave the same troublesome sound. Alot of people I've spoken to who have this have usually had it kicking in after a year or 2 for the microphone but not for the headphones. Thankfully the microphone on this still works and I continue to use it as I'm not interested in shelling out another £20 for a headset.
[SPEC] * Full-range stereo sound with maximum bass * Superior speech recognition microphone * QuickAdjust microphone for perfect placement * In-line volume and mute controls * Compatible with most popular PC sound cards * Plug and play via sound card * Works on Windows systems
[CONCLUSION]
These headphones from experience and what I've heard are very cheaply made and have a life expectancy of 1-2 years. I'm still happy that I bought these because I made the most of them and I still use the microphone on the headset. But for people looking for a reliable headset with a lasting life expectancy I'd suggest you go for the Plantronics DSP series as they're much better quality and I've not heard much negatively about them. Or if you're not sure about plantronics you can look at the sennheiser brand headsets which are beginning to get more popular as time goes on due to the expensive prices.
Advantages: Lightweight, Study Design, Outstanding Sound Quality, Disadvantages: Why don't more people use these?
Plantronics Audio 90 Headset
I bought this headset about a week ago after having some phenomenally bad luck with previous microphones and VoIP products. I wanted something that I could use with VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol - Skype is an example of this), that would leave my hands free, that had good sound quality and that would not cause a long time delay between my speaking and my voice being heard at the other end. Prior to this, I have ... ...the second.
Looking at Plantronics website, I was impressed by the clarity of the site layout and information displayed there, as well as the downloadable data sheets and detailed specifications. I was struggling to choose between the DSP-500, Plantronics top USB headset and more suitable for gaming, and the Audio 90, their Line-In/Microphone version and tailored for voice recognition and communication applications. In the end, I opted for the Audio ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Great Bass, Excellent mic Disadvantages: Delicate, see review
Well this review is going to have a mixed bag of pro's and con's! To start with, in my opinion these produce some of the best sound ive heard from headphones; excellent quality. I like to listen to music (LOUD) and with plenty of bass and for that, these are great (and saves on calls from angry neighbours too). There's nothing more that irritates me than having headphones that produce 'flat' music, and in that sense im very picky. So it no surprise ... ...'Plantronics audio 90 Bass Headset'! Apart from listening to (LOUD) music, I have been known to play the odd game of counter-strike with voice-comm operation (the second reason for purchase). And (so I have been told), produce a clear and crisp output of my voice! And from configuring voice communication software, I have noticed my voice reproduction has been very clear. BUT most importantly and probably the top concern of any would be headphone ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Good sound, Good quality and Easy to use! Disadvantages: Can be a bit un-comfy after consistant use.
I purchased one of these headsets last November from the local Netto store for £20; they were branded with MSN logo which I didn't mind. The reason I purchased these were because they looked quite nice, they looked good quality and well the main reason was the price.
The headset has a head band attached to it at the top to make it sit more comfortably on your head which is a nice idea, the microphone is a nice size to and adjustable to a certain ... ...it down and after use slide it back up. The earpieces are well padded and feel comfortable, also there microphone mute switch and volume control attached to the wire which is handy!
Overall I can 99.9% guarantee that for £20 you wont be wasting your money with this headset, its comfy, quite nice looking, great clear sound, good bass and also the microphone is nice and clear too. The one thing I find a disadvantage is that they can get a little un-comfy ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Cheap, reliable, light weight and superb quality (value for money wise) Disadvantages: Can be uncomfortable after long periods of use
I've had these headphones for more than two years now, they've withstood MORE than everyday useage, they've been dropped, kicked and stood on, they've been exposed to heat, cold, rain and snow but they still work!! I must admit before i continue praising them that i am the only person that i know that has managed to keep the same pair of a90s in working condition for more than 6 months. Either everyone else is much more brutal with their headset ... ...pretty damn sturdy.
Sound quality wise, the headphones have a nice sound to them, perfect for gaming and online "voice com" chats. They're also suprisingly nice for listening to music too. Quite good bass responce and no distortion at higher volumes.
The microphone is top notch too, using Skype and Ventrilo people have always described my voice as "loud and clear".
The one negative is the lack of padded band - the molded rubber does tend to leave ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Helps you co-ordinate attacks/defence with your online gaming clan Disadvantages: USB would be easier to have instead of 2 audio/microphone plugs
...I treated myself to the Plantronics Audio 90, and immediately I had perfect clarity of all the game sounds, and of all the voices of my friends, and they could now hear me perfectly. Very comfortable to wear. The headset is not flimsy but has a decent weight to it without being overly heavy, and a feeling of quality.
There is a volume up/down wheel on a panel on the cable. Also a mute switch. Occasionally the mute switch would catch on my clothes ... ...a USB version, as this Plantronics Audio 90 requires 2 plugs to be fitted in to the pc (at the rear on mine). One for hearing sound, the other for the microphone. And that makes it a pain for switching back to speakers... as you have to mess around at the back of your pc changing the plugs about. However as it still works fine, I'm not going to buy a USB version for the sake of it.
Sometimes you have to treat yourself to quality as its best choice ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Good quality, comfy and great sound! Disadvantages: Sound leak
.... This is what you would expect from Sennheiser.
Other reccomendations:
Plantronics Skype-ready Audio90 Hi-fi PC Headset
Hope you find this useful!...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Durable, light, good microphone, inbuilt volume control/microphone mute slider Disadvantages: Mostly for business use/audioconferencing, model discontinued
...hypoallergenic material, which is also a factor in the all-day wearer's comfort level. Those who use Skype or other internet telephony at work or at home will be used to keeping headphones on all day in case a call comes in, and this it seems is really the crowd that Plantronics had in mind when designing this product.
The HS-1 used to be a fairly expensive piece of kit, going for perhaps 80 dollars (40 pounds).
Note that the Plantronics HS-1 Headset has been discontinued, replaced by the PlantronicsAudio90, which usually costs in the region of £25-30....
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Gamers and audiophiles will appreciate the rich, full-range stereo sound of the Plantronics .Audio 90 multimedia stereo PC headset. This headset is perfect for games, music, Internet chat, telephony, speech recognition, and video conferencing. Equipped with inline volume and mute controls, a QuickAdjust microphone boom and a superior noise-canceling microphone for improved speech accuracy. The lightweight, comfortable design lets you work and play in comfort. It is compatible with popular sound cards. Just plug this headset in and start talking.
26.09.2005
