After starting to experiment with Voice over IP (VoIP) on the PC, I decided I needed a headset with microphone to make the experience more pleasant for me and the person on the other end of an internet based call.
A load of searching for something suitable popped up the Sennheiser PC 155 USB amongst quite a few others. At the most expensive available, it was going to take a lot of convincing to get me to part with some cash for these!
Past experiences with Sennheiser had been good, and I knew they made quality stuff, so I decided that these were good contenders.
I was after USB attached ones as it is generally easier to just plug and play a USB connector than fiddle with a headphone socket and a microphone jack. So I ordered these.
The headphones arrived in a blister pack - a pet hate of mine - give me a nice
recycleable cardboard box any day - easier to get into and environmentally friendly!
Documentation was sparse, but then who needs volumes of manual for a pair of headphones. OK, so they are USB and PC attached, which may start to worry those who are not technically inclined and who need some support of a good manual.
Fortunately, Sennheiser have mastered Plug and Play. These are truly the best plug-and-play device I have ever installed.
The headphones have a small USB widget inline between standard mini jacks for audio and microphone and a USB plug. This small box is a USB soundcard.
I popped the USB plug into an available USB socket, and Windows XP popped up, whirred for a bit and told me my new Audio device was ready for use. That was it ... no CD, no downloads, no "This driver has not passed testing". Windows was even smart enough to set the Sennheisers as the default audio device and default microphone input.
This plug and play is superb. Plug into a PC, wait a few seconds and the Sennheisers are live with sound and microphone. I have tested this on an Apple Mac Powerbook with equal success - plug in, wait a few seconds and they are active.
The headset is marketed as a gaming headset, but will definitely suit someone searching for quality Voice over IP headsets.
As one would expect from Sennheiser, sound quality from the headphones is excellent. They may not be studio reference phones, but are certainly good enough to keep my untrained ears happy for hours listening to mp3s or using skype or other voice chat apps.
As for gaming, as marketed, they are excellent as well. The USB soundcard widget is more than adequate for headphone based gaming and works fine with DirectSound based apps and anything else that runs under Windows XP.
The headband is adjustable on both sides by just over an inch (2.54cm). Should suit most head sizes without a problem. A nice velvety covered cushion on top and on each ear cap makes the headset comfortable to wear for long periods. The ear caps are extra large to maximize blocking of surrounding noise.
The microphone is on the left side and swings up in line with the headband when not in use, and down to anywhere up to just below my chin level. It has noise cancelling properties, so the other side of a voice chat will only hear you and not much background noise. The stem of the microphone is fairly flexible and rubbery and can be bent into position easily.
The headset has a single wire from the left phone, down to an inline volume control and microphone mute switch. A single wire helps keep neck & chin free. There is also a small clip for attaching the wire to a shirt/collar to prevent entanglement.
After the inline control, a cable spool keeps a generous 10 feet/3 meters of cable wound up and tidy when not required. The wire then runs to a pink microphone jack and green headphone jack, that plug into corresponding sockets connected to the USB sound card.
My only concern with these phones is they are a bit bulky, so do create a bulge in the laptop bag. This has not stopped me lugging them all over the world with me - great to use on the plane to listen to music or watch video off the laptop.
For those who like to know the technical stats, these from the packaging: Headphones: Frequency response -18 – 22,000 Hz Impedance - 32 Ω Sound pressure - 114 dB Cable length - 3 m / 10 ft Connector plug - USB adapter and 2 x 3.5mm jack
Microphone: Frequency response - 80 Hz – 15,000 Hz Pick-up pattern- Uni-directional Sensitivity - -38 dB Impedance- ~2 kΩ
Compatibility - with WIN 98 SE (and above) and MAC OS 9.04 (and above)
I paid £80 including VAT for these
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Left: 2 x 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2 style) - female, 1 x 4 PIN USB Type A - male - Right: 1 x 4 PIN USB Type A - male, 2 x 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2 style) - female, 1 x 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2 style) - female
exceptional by (11%):
very helpful by (89%):
