Help me headphone

June 14, 2022 6:58 AM

I need headphones with a mic. I have a very large head and some other concerns.

I have some very old Bose noise-cancelling headphones that are comfortable and that I love - but they don't have a microphone. Looking at what Bose has available now, they all seem to have Bluetooth, and reviews talk about software updates that stop them from working. I really don't want to have to think about that, so I'd prefer wired (or someone who can explain to me why it's not actually a worry). Also, I don't mind spending money on these, but are headphone jacks going to go away so that headphones that have them become obsolete?

I have a Macbook and use headphones mostly for Zoom. I don't do any gaming. I see gaming headphones, but I don't understand what makes them gaming headphones, so I don't know if they'd be OK for my purposes. I need a microphone because if I don't use one, people I'm on Zoom with hear an echo. I am currently using earbuds, but I find them very uncomfortable.

A friend with a large head recommended these, but they are a little too small, so they're not comfortable.

Specific suggestions are especially welcome. I can't figure out which internet reviews to believe.

Thank you.

posted by FencingGal to Computers & Internet (12 answers total)

One thing that would help with recommendations is to tell us a little more about what you like about your Bose headphones. Are they on-the-ear (the speaker part of the headphones is smaller, and the padding rests on the outer plane of your ear) or are they over-the-ear (the speaker part is somewhat larger, and the padding rests on your head, around the ear, rather than directly on the ear).

That's sort of the big divide in headset comfort. Also, I would suggest a USB headset instead of one using 3.5mm audio jacks. More flexibility, and a bit more future-proof.

In the meantime, in the Zoom app on your Mac, under Preferences (Cmd + comma), you can try playing with your mic level and background noise cancellation settings, and at the bottom of these screen is an Advanced setting. Clicking that reveals the Echo Cancellation settings. Why they bury it, I don't know, but it may be that these adjustments could fix your problem, assuming you haven't already tried them.

If you're already using your headphones for Zoom, you shouldn't be getting any echo at all, unless Zoom is also outputting the audio through your laptop's speakers as well. You may be able to adjust this in the audio settings, so that it uses your laptop's internal mic, and ONLY uses the headphone output for audio. Since the headphones and mic are isolated from each other, there shouldn't be a chance for echo to happen.
posted by xedrik at 7:23 AM on June 14, 2022

I'm an earbud user myself so I don't have headphone recs, but if your preferred headphones turn out to have only an aux cord/jack, there are adapters available so they can be used even when your apple device only has a lightning port.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:27 AM on June 14, 2022

I have a big head and I bought a pair of Jabra Evolve 75 early in the pandemic when I ended up on Zoom all day every day. I've found them very comfortable and reliable. They are wireless but they use Jabra's own wireless thing which I find a bit more reliable than regular bluetooth (however I have used a ton of bluetooth stuff over the years and have never had a software update that made anything stop working, so I don't know what the deal is there).
posted by primethyme at 7:35 AM on June 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: My old Bose headphones are QuietComfort3. They fit on the ear. The padding is very soft. They don't feel tight on my head. I think that's not just a function of size - they expand outward without a lot of effort.

Despite googling just now, I don't really understand what a USB headset is and how that differs from an audio jack.
posted by FencingGal at 7:35 AM on June 14, 2022

A USB headset has a cable that ends in a USB plug, instead of 3.5mm audio jacks. It has its own "sound card" hardware inside, and is recognized as its own audio device. This lets you control it separately from the other audio device(s) on your computer, setting its own volume levels.
posted by xedrik at 8:02 AM on June 14, 2022 [2 favorites]

I have a big dome and I just bought these off Amazon: Mpow Bluetooth Headset V5.0. They also include a 3.5 connector. Work just fine, reasonably inexpensive.
posted by jcworth at 8:19 AM on June 14, 2022

I don't have an enormous head, but it's pretty big. Usually an L/XL men's hat.

I've been very happy with the Corsair HS70 PRO. They're comfortable for hours and the audio quality is better than you'd expect for what are marketed as zoom headphones.
posted by eotvos at 8:22 AM on June 14, 2022

Do you need noise cancelling? If so, that'll limit your options quite a bit.

I also have a big head, and have had good experiences with Sennheiser headphones.

Something like these (or the very similar-looking gaming version) would probably work okay.

These would be an upgrade, but if I saw someone wearing them in a Zoom meeting I would totally assume they had a sponsored Twitch stream on the side. Here's an upgrade (Bluetooth, but can be used in wired mode) that signals a little more business class frequent flyer.
posted by box at 8:34 AM on June 14, 2022

Generally speaking a gaming headset will work fine for your use case as long as it can connect to your computer in a compatible manner (e.g. usb, audio jack, blue tooth).

Headphone jacks in consumer technology are going the way of the dodo bird. However, Apple (the company that started the trend removing them from phones) did include them in the new 2022 MacBook Air. (Many "ulta portable" PC laptops no longer include the headphone jack).

Do you have any desire to connect these headphones to a smartphone or tablet as well? If so, blue tooth will almost certainly be compatible, but headphones with a physical connection may need an adapter (if they are compatible at all).

I have the Sony XM3s. They fit my large noggin just fine. I think for your use case I'd consider the XM4s, because the microphones are better. A note is that they are over the ear headphones, while I think your current pair is on ear headphones, so the fit will be different. I will say that while the XM3s, wanted me to download an app for audio fine tuning, I didn't actually have to create an account to do so. (I believe the Bose 700 series does require sign up with an email address). I was also a reluctant convert to wireless USB headphones, but I have not encountered any issues with software updates.
posted by oceano at 8:50 AM on June 14, 2022

I would also hypothesize that since you are used to your Bose headphones, you probably won't find the cheapest level of headphones comfortable due to differences in build quality and materials.

If you are happy with your current headphones for listening, perhaps you would prefer to get a separate usb mic instead for speaking (e.g.).
posted by oceano at 9:24 AM on June 14, 2022

My head is around a 7 3/4 hat size, so most "one size fits all" hats do not fit me. I use a HyperX Cloud Alpha gaming headset for meetings and games. In the all-black colorway, they are not obnoxiously styled. I find them comfortable enough for several hours.

If you concerned about forwards compatibility, there is the very similar HyperX Cloud Alpha S which has both wired analog (headphone jack) and USB connectors. On both of these, the headset cable is replaceable, so the headset is not trashed if the cable is damaged from strain. Many low-end headsets do not have this feature (including HyperX's cheaper models). Both of these headsets regularly go on sale and are available at retail stores.

Something I liked about these gaming headsets compared to some Sony bluetooth headsets that I owned (non-gaming) was the gaming headset added sidetone, so there's some audio from your own mic being replayed in your own headset and it feels more normal. Without sidetone, it feels like you're yelling into a void since you can't hear yourself speak.
posted by meowzilla at 10:00 AM on June 14, 2022

Do you need to have the microphone integrated in your headphones? Since you're happy with the 'phones you currently have, it might be easier to buy a separate desktop mic. I got great results with a super cheap 3.5mm one, but since your Macbook only has one 3.5mm port that won't work for you. A cheap USB mic might be the way to go.

I think headphone jacks are here to stay, but you might someday need to get a dongle for uncooperative devices (like iPhone users do).
posted by yomimono at 10:38 AM on June 14, 2022 [1 favorite]