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Product Review: Page (1) of 1 - 02/07/07

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Plantronics .Audio 550 DSP headsets

Multimedia headset ideal for gaming

By John Virata

A good PC headset is always nice to have, but more often than not, people will buy cheap one's and never give them a second thought. Often they are made entirely of plastic and don't provide for much in the way of adjustability or comfort. Plantronics, makers of most all things headset/earbud related, offers up the .Audio 550 DSP headsets, what the company calls the ultimate performance headset. And in many ways it is. The headset is built around a 40mm speaker driver that has a frequency response of 20Hz -20kHz and a microphone frequency response of 100Hz-10kHz. It features full digital signal processing with 16-bit stereo, 48kHz data, a 24-bit 100dB signal to noise codec, and 32-bit digital audio processing.

In use
The .Audio 550 DSP headset is very light and uses a flexible headband for more comfort than some of the plastic headphones I've used in the past. The headband is cushioned with a soft leather-like material, as are the ear cushions. Also featured is a noise cancelling headphone that retracts completely out of the way when not in use.

The .Audio 550 features a 10 ft USB cable for added flexibility.

The USB cable, which is more than 10ft in length, and provides the connection to the PC, also features the volume control. To control treble, bass and balance, you have to download the free PerSono software from the Plantronics website. The PerSono software enables you to adjust the balance, bass and treble via sliders, as well as set the mic volume and EQ presets, of which you can choose from R&B, Classical, Jazz, Rock, Games, Voice, and none.

The PerSono software must be downloaded from the Plantronics website.

There is also a volume adjust feature from the software as well as speaker test, so you can enjoy your regular speakers when not using the .Audio 550 DSP headset. The headset is ideal for such applications as gaming, Internet talk, video conferencing, and voice applications. I use it primarily to listen to my iTunes music collection as well as listen to TV shows captured to the hard drive. Minimum system requirements are a Windows 98SE or later PC 16MB RAM, SVGA monitor and a USB port. Macintosh requirements include a Mac OS 9.0.4 or later running on a PowerPC 604 or faster and a USB port.

First Impressions
For those in the market for a good quality USB-based headset, the Plantronics .Audio 550 DSP headset is worth checking out. I've been using them for several weeks now and they are really comfortable, and can handle most any tunes you jam through its 40mm speakers fairly proficiently. And by downloading the PerSono software, you can control the balance, bass and treble, as well as the mic volume and EQ presets. If you video conference often, or are a World of Warcraft warrior, a comfortable headset is a necessity. The .Audio 550 DSP headset ($119 list price) can fit the bill perfectly. For more information, visit www.plantronics.com