Wireless headsets are a popular choice for people who want that extra bit of freedom when it comes to their audio experience. They present a wonderful opportunity for people to relax at home in front of their home entertainment centre or wandering about the house. Not bothering sleeping kids, partners or shocking colleagues with your favourite music, it’s a great option. Now with Bluetooth headphones becoming much more accessible and affordable, it’s almost a must for that improved listening dimension. Much easier to pair and link than traditional radio receiver headphones, there’s also less in the way of retuning with sound quality generally remaining stable.
Recording sound requires a much more precise listening device, which is why it usually costs more to achieve the same with a headset including a noise-cancelling microphone. There are those rudimentary type headphones with built-in microphones (usually without a boom), but these are geared towards Skype or taking calls while connected to your smartphone. Getting accurate sound recording clarity and great battery life is imperative if you’re using that headset for 6-10 hours a day. While there are some more readily available and cost-effective options, the more expensive ones are generally better in the long run.
For starters, they usually have a replaceable battery. The entry level models usually come with a built-in battery to reduce manufacturing costs, which doesn’t last as long and eventually conks out forcing users to replace the headset completely. Some users end up keeping the headset permanently plugged in when the battery eventually stops performing.
While the buy-and-replace model is how some electronics users prefer to operate, living inbetween warranties, there are drawbacks. These headsets often work by way of one button, which is how you control everything from powering on and off to pairing. The more expensive models may have one touch operation but tend to come with a voice that explains what your headset’s currently doing. “Power on” is supremely helpful when the power on and off sounds are very similar, not to mention a host of other features that activate the voice.
Going wireless when it comes to using Dragon can help people move freely around the room, handle papers easily or simply put… not be restricted by the length of their headset cable. It damages easily (watch your chair’s wheels), transporting wired headsets can be problematic (the headband is fragile) and frequent plugging in and out can loosen your USB ports making the contact less effective over time.
Taking a wireless headset, usually means investing more in your speech recognition set up. This is why we recommend users who are new to Dragon start off with a wired headset before taking the plunge. It’s about 4x more expensive to go wireless so it’s important that you’ve established a healthy routine in terms of Dragon usage. Making it a daily habit makes it so much easier to justify the outlay of a wireless headset. With over 10 hours of talk time, you can take your mostly charged headset home and return to work to dock it in the cradle for charging again the next day. Use the wired one as a back up headset, a stay-at-home headset or just get another wireless headset to make life easier.