Don't know if this is of any help to you. Asking - or rather answering - questions about speakers, headphones or microphones, often tend to be like asking people which topping is best on your sandwich. Ask ten people, and you will be lucky if you only get 15 opinions. Smiles. Likely, they are going to load you down with numerous advices; so why don't I just join the choir? Big smiles.
First thing you would have to determine, is of course what you are going to listen to. Is it mainly music, or is it audiobooks and spoken recordings. Even, is your main listening strictly the speech synth of your computer. Why I am bringing this out, is that one headset might perform the very clearest and nice sounding music, but is a mere thunder when you listen to an audiobook narrated by a male. Or, do like I unfortunately ended up with recently. They had a headset on special in one netshop. I did my research, and found the specs to fit my needs quite well. I am using the headset right now, and promise you: They are close to horrible, when comes to the Eloquence voice. Reed sounds like he has been stuffed inside an empty food can, and the whole container has been closed up with your bed-quilt. When comes to music, the very same headset is within all we would name OK sounding. Again, who is your prefered synth and voice for the screen reader? I have tried headsets and speakers that perform one voice just fine, but the next one sounds like a scramble. When comes to the microphone, I have not done too much testing. Yet on the products I have been in touch with, the mic is usually quite clear. Have tried a few of the models with noise reduction, a technology that apparently will only let your voice come through, but will eliminate all other noises in the room. Oh well; did they only do what they claim! If you ever have tried to listen to your friend on one of those modern cellphones, and you think he sounds like he is still in bed, speaking underneath his comforter - well that is likely due to the noise reducing technology on most cell-mics now aday. My advice? Stay clear of all products that has such reduction. Be forewarned, the microphone could be located different places on the product. First of all, some modern models have what is refered to as On-Cable Microphone. This means, the microphone is loacated a few inches down the cable, from the ear-cup. Often in the same unit as the volume controll. To be all honest, stay far as you can away from these models. The control unit always turns around, leaving your microphone pointing toward your chest, and all you can hear from the recording, is scratching noises from the microphone sliding up and down your shirt. Even if they come with a clip, it will be little nice in the long run. Next, you have the sweevel-boom microphones. They are mounted on a flexible, bendable boom, which can be flipped up on top of your head, whenever they are not in use. For some reason, most such boom mics, are mounted on the outside of the left ear-cup. Some models, you can swing the mic down the same amount of degrees, both forward and backward - leaving you the choice if you want the headphone sitting with the mic on the left side of your head, or if you prefer to flip it over and have it on the right-hand side. Other models, you can only flip down the mic in the forward position, meaning the headset always will have to be worn one particular direction. Not sure I am able to convey fully the difference, but wanted to point it out anyway. Thirdly, some headsets come with a retractable mic, which of course will be out of your way altogether, when not in use. You kind of push it back, and it retracts inside the ear-cup. Not sure if you can get this feature on anything but full-sized, all ear-covering models. Got one of them here, and found the mic cannot be pulled out far enough to reach up front of my mouth. Have not tested the recording, so not sure if it is of any importance. You tell you want a headphone with small cups? Well they are available sure enough. You could go for either pure small ones, slightly bigger than an inch in diameter. Or, you could go for mid-sized ones - approx one and a half inch. These mid-sized ones, will still not cover your ear completely, but might fit a bit better than the smaller ones, who often tend to slight half way off your ear. It all depends on your preference, and somehow the physics of your ear. Mind you, in all sizes, you can have cups with foam cushion. Or, you can get them with leather-like cushions. Some will have thick and comfortable cushions, which might be the thing if you are planning for a prolonged time in front of your computer. Or, you can get more simplistic headsets with thinner cushions, which often tend to be more flimpsy make. Foam cushions might be possible to replace, but they tend to wear out, get filled with hair over time, and even crumbling away after a while. The leather-like cushion, will often mean more hygienic and long-lasting usage. Generally, throwing a few dollars more into the project, you might get a better product, but I have been picking up even cheaper products on EBay, which was quite OK. In short terms, my best advice would be to go to a local store, and test different headsets. One thing to suggest, is that you bring out your MP3 player. Make a handful short recordings, approx 20-30 seconds in length. Let one be with music, typical of your taste. The next one would hold a short clip from the radio, like the news-reporter. Then another would be of your favorite synth, and maybe even one of your alternative synth. And since you want to do dictation, make a short recording of yourself reading aloud a small story. Now, bring this MP3 player with you to the store, and ask them letting you test their selection of headsets on your MP3 player. If you have a product like the Plextalk Pocket, or any other MP3 player with the capability of connecting an external mic, you could of course make a short recording of your voice right there in the store, with the headset in question. This way, you will get the best chance to determine if the headset will meet your needs, cross the more common usage. If possible, choose a more quiet store, so that you really can get the feeling of the sound quality. Or, you could ask the crew to let you stand behind some shelf, where it is a bit more quiet. I have actually done this myself, and the crew member commended the test, as he said: "This will let you hear the performance of the headset, right on your type of material." At least as close as you can get, since you cannot bring your computer there, and have the very actual sound. Smiles. Since you want headsets with good sound, and a clear recording microphone, you might want to test some of the gaming models. These are often manufactured for long-lasting sessions in front of the screen, with somehow higher comfort. I also could advice a few of the branded models, like the German-manufactured Sennheiser models, but they often have a distinct bass, unless you go for the more expensive models. Wonderful for music listening, but too much bass might be bothersome for speech synthesizers. Logitech, is another brand that comes to mind, and which might offer you headsets in the clear-cut gaming range. But you might find headsets from many other brands, and it all will depend on what your ear is comfortable with listening to. Like I stated earlier, I have had some success with certain unbranded models, from places like EBay or Amazon. I even picked up a rather nice - not too expensive one, from Radioshack many years ago. But it would all be of little benefit to you, all the time it is a while ago and new models hit the market all the time, and your ears might prefer differently from mine. Yes, as you can see, not exactly possible to give a One-Size-Fit advice on this kind of matters. Even if you go to the local store, doing your testing and browsing, you would get an idea of what to order over the net. Do you have friends that use headsets for their computer, ask if you might test it out for your usage. As a last reminder, make sure your headphone comes with a cable the right length. Too short, it will need an extension, and that always is a bad idea. Too long, it always will be frustratingly twisting and snaking into all and everything on your desk. (Ask me how I know!) Smiles. Not sure this was of any use, but gave it a try. Take it for what you find it to be worth. Smiles. On 12/29/2017 6:44 PM, Carol and Roger via Talk wrote: > Hi, > > I am looking for a headset that works nicely with Windows 10 that can > be used with screen readers and has a good microphone for dictation. > I would like one that fits over the head, but I do not like ones that > have the large cups that cover the entire ear. It would be nice if it > had a control on it so I could mute it when not in use. I want > something that is durable. I absolutely can not tolerate those that > fit behind the head. Thank you for any suggestions. > > Carol > > > _______________________________________________ > Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the > author and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. > > For membership options, visit > http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/trailerdavid%40hotmail.com. > For subscription options, visit > http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com > List archives can be found at > http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com > . > _______________________________________________ Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. 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