Premium USB Headset For A Premium Experience

{mosgoogle}The Premium USB Headset 350 is Logitech's new top of the line all in one headset. Logitech claims the headset is designed to deliver a premium audio experience. Featuring plush ear pads and a quality headband, it lets you listen to your music, games, and conversations in total comfort for hours on end.

The plug-and-play USB connection and soft-touch in-line volume and mute controls deliver convenience and simplicity. The noise-canceling microphone filters out unwanted background noise for improved performance. And when you just want to use the headphones, you can move the boom up and out of the way.

The headphone use a 40mm driver with powerful neodymium magnets for its strength and light weight properties. The drivers are housed in a cup enclosure that cover the entire ear for better bass reproduction. The enclosure features a plush earpad cushion and is a attached to an adjustable headband that holds the head very firmly.

The best feature of the Premium USB Headset 350 is the simplicity of the system. No software is required for installation. Just plug the unit into any USB port and Windows will do the rest. In a world where Plug & Play often means Plug & Pray, the Logitech Premium USB Headset 350 truly is a plug & play product.

The Logitech Premium USB Headset 350 is great for multiplayer gaming, VoIP or just listening to music. At the time of this review the Premium USB Headset 350 is available direct from Logitech for $49.99.

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The Headset

{mosgoogle}The headset on the Premium 350 feature bigger ear cups than the recently reviewed MM Gear EDS-200F Headphone . That makes them a bit more comfortable to wear but it also makes them less portable. The Premium 350 can't be folded up like the EDS-200F so putting it into a laptop bag is a bit more difficult as well.

Where the 350 has the advantage over the EDS-200F is the inclusion of the noise canceling microphone. Having the mic allows you to use this headset in ways that is not possible with just a standard headphone - like talking to another player during an online game or talking to someone half way around the world on Skype.

The Inline Volume Control

Attached to the USB cable is an inline volume and mute control. A light above the Logitech logo lights up to tell you the headset is working. Increasing and decreasing the volume is accomplished by pushing volume bottom up and down.

The Logitech Premium Headset 350 uses advanced digital USB streaming audio to provides good clarity with the simplicity of a single USB plug-and-play connection. Sound coming via USB streaming is about the same as sound coming from a direct connection to a sound card. Only connecting to a USB port is a lot easier than a sound card as most computers today have USB ports at the front.

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Setting Up, Sound Quality & Conclusion

{mosgoogle}Setting up the Logitech Premium USB Headset 350 is as idiot proof as you can get - just plug it into a free USB port and you're done. No software to install, no hardware to adjust, no tweaking required. It's the closest thing I have seen yet to true Plug & Play.

The Premium USB Headset 350 is designed for multi-use. From listening to music, playing online team games that require communication with your team members, or chatting on Skype. It performs each functions with vary degrees of success.

Where the USB Headset 350 excelled at is VoIP chat. Using this headset and Skype proved to be an extremely compelling combination. Firing up SkypeOut, I made a bunch of overseas VoIP calls and the sound quality was amazing. The caller at the other end commented that my voice was crystal clear, with no background noise what-so-ever. Clearly the noise canceling mic was doing its job.

The USB Headset 350 performed very well in games as well. Sound effects were reproduced with life like quality and voice chat with other team members on the LAN was just as clear and clean as VoIP chat.

Where the 350 falls short is in music. While the bass response was nice and deep, the midrange was muddy and the high frequencies were really lacking. The sound leaned towards "warm". Too warm for my taste. This is nothing that a bit of EQ couldn't fix but compared to the MM Gear EDS-200F Headphone , music from the Logitech headset sounded dull and lifeless.

Overall, I would recommend the Logitech Premium USB Headset 350 for online gamers and VoIP users. Those who want a headset to listen to music extensively may want to look elsewhere.

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