Customer Reviews

Altec Lansing AHS-502 Studio Headset with Mic

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My primary purpose for getting this headset was for gaming. When I originally bought this pair about a year ago, I paid almost twice as much at Best Buy, which is completely ludicrous for the kind of product this turned out to be. For around $20, it might be an okay value, but I would recommend you look around some more, in case you feel like settling on this.

So here's what I thought about the AHS-502...

SOUND:
I got suckered in by the neat look and packaging of the AHS-502, but don't let its sleek silver appearance or the fact they're calling themselves a "Studio Headset" get your hopes up too much. The sound, overall, is pretty mediocre. Nothing terribly bad, but pretty lackluster. They're adequate for gaming and not so great for music.

MIC:
The microphone tends to pick up a fair amount of ambient noise, so watch out where your fans are pointed.

CONSTRUCTION:
The headphones are actually quite sturdy. The same goes for the microphone boom. I've moved the boom thousands of times and it's still attached to my headset with no sign of wear. I've trashed my fair share of headphones, and this one has stayed in one piece.

HOWEVER.... the wires are another matter. The only place I used this pair of headphones was strictly for PC gaming, so it pretty much stayed in one place all the time. Given that, the wear on the wires shouldn't have been that extreme, but within about half a year I started having problems with the microphone. It seems that part of the cord near the little volume control pod seems to have broken or lost contact so it wasn't passing my mic signal through. I would have to fidget with the wire in order to get my mic working again. Eventually, my microphone boom became a useless prop.

COMFORT:
Overall, these weren't too comfortable. They would be okay for short periods of time, but they're definitely not meant to be worn for extended periods of time. I was typically ready for a break after about an hour. Given the lackluster sound, they should have gone for a lighter physical design. And since my primary purpose was for gaming, the lack of comfort was pretty disappointing.

FEATURES:
The cord has an attached control pod which includes a volume wheel and a 3-position switch for the microphone input volume (low, high, off).


PROS:
1) sturdy headset & microphone boom
2) decent value for around $20, but no more than that

CONS:
1) flimsy wires killed my mic
2) mediocre sound
3) fair amount of ambient noise via the mic
4) uncomfortable within short period of time

If the microphone didn't crap out on me, I might have been a bit more forgiving, but that was my final straw with an already mediocre, over-priced headset. Maybe you'll have better luck with your cord, and the price here at Amazon is definitely better than the price I paid for it, but I would definitely recommend looking around further.

Personally, I just picked up a pair of Sennheiser PC150s to see what all the fuss is about and I'm fairly happy with them so far. I'll probably post a full review on them in a bit, once I've had more time to evaluate them.

The headset is great except for one thing. I'd would totally agree with the guy that said the microphone cord sucks. I've been through 4 sets of these headphones. Everytime the mic has stopped working on each set. Drives me nuts! The headsets only get picked up from the desk, put on my head, and then back down to the desk. Not even heavy use... and they break. I contacted Altec Lansing and their reprsentative said that they do indeed have multiple reported problems with the mics going out. They said they will replace the headphones, but I will be without them for 4 weeks. Sucks! Look at another set of headphones if you'd like them to work longer.

I purchased these headphones at a national retail chain for $40.00. I feel like a chump for neglecting to check out Amazon first. Headphones are satisfactory. They fit very comfortably, but I can see how a person with a small-to-medium sized head could be annoyed by them. The headset is very wide. The cups would tend to tilt in at an awkward angle on a person with a small/narrow head. Excellent buy at Amazon's low, low price.

Bought these at bestbuy, wishing I would have bought them here and saved the money. Suprisingly comfortable as most headphones don't fit my large head that well. These cancel out my roomate's music about 95% even when theyre low volume, 100% at higher volume. Bass is excellent for headphones, haven't got to use the microphone feature, but if the rest of the headphones are any indication... :)

One note: when listening to music with big bass hits (hip-hop, techno...) turn the in-line volume control all the way up and use your cd player/stereo/computer volume adjustment. The in-line volume control makes the sound quality suffer for some reason when there is any bass....only drawback I've found.

I've read many people complain about either their ears getting hot or the pressure from these headsets. Well, any ear-cup headset will make your ears hot. It's the nature of the beast. Use some a/c or a fan. If you want the full range of sound that you can't get from earbuds or behind the neck headsets, these are for you. Of course, the sound quality will not be as good as the top of the line stereophones, but for under $30, what do you expect? They're still better than earbuds or behind the head.

As far as the pressure, I haven't noticed it being a problem. They did fit snugly, but they're supposed to. I'm 6'2" with a medium frame (consider myself to have a rather large head, at least that's what I've been told :-)). They fit very comfortably. I can spend hours using them playing BF1942 with my friends online without any discomfort or "ear sweating".

Sound:
I've used the logitech behind the neck internet chat headsets (horrible, don't waste your money) and these are far superior in sound quality. I also have a set of harman/kardon speakers connected to my computer, and the sounds of the headsets is far better (one of the reasons why I like the ear-cup headphones). I have a pair of KOSS TD-61 headphones, which I bought about 3 years ago, which are ear-cups as well, and the KOSS are a bit more comfortable, as the leather padding is software (maybe because it's worn in a little :0-)). I loved the quality of the KOSS headphones, given that i didn't want to spend $100 on a pair. The Altec Lansings AHS-502 are just as good sound quality wise.

Microphone:
The mic is not exceptional by any means. It's better than the Logitech's that I had, but that's not saying too much. If you want a great microphone, then buy a nice Sennheiser headset. They make a rather inexpensive set with a great microphone (PC-130), but the low frequencies aren't as good with that headset as they are with the AHS-502. I haven't had complaints from my friends about not being able to understand me on Teamspeak. Just that one of my friends with the Sennheiser has a better sound over Teamspeak. I can only assume it's because of the microphone that the Sennheiser uses. Although, comparing compressed sound over the internet is not a very good comparison. Take is as you will.

Conclusion:
Great headset for the price if you like the ear-cup design of high quality headphones.

Had this set for about 4 months of daily pc gaming use. Only put them on and taken them off and laid on desk at night and microphone would work sporadically after the first 6 weeks due to the poor construction of the in-line volume controls. I would have to twist and fool with the wires to get it to work. AT times it was impossible until I tried the next day. I'm an electronics enginner so I took apart the in-line controls and checked the construction and the wires are microscopic that connect to a tiny I mean real tiny pc board. This is where they fray and lose contact. watch out for these because in time the solder contact where the mic is attached on this board will come off the board completely rendering them useless unless you want just headphones. Steer clear and look somewhere else.

I use Team Speak and this set works GREAT! mic is in a good place, team mates tell me i they can hear me much better now (is that a good thing?), head phones sound great! i would recomend these to ANYONE doing any kind of online gaming in use with any team chat software.
GREAT PURCHASE for under $20... retail website has these for $40

I bought this set at Best Buy as well. I'm returning it today. The microphone is horrible on both my laptop and PC. The headphone portion works great, but is a little uncomfortable after 20 or so minutes (I've got a big head).

It should be noted that these are Supra-Aural, so they press on the ears. Also, they are not a very good Closed system; I can still hear my cat walking around the room when I have them on. The sound quality from these headphones is good considering the price, but they are very uncomfortable after a short period of time. After 15 minutes my ears were very hot, and after 30 minutes the pressure on my ears made me switch back to my earbuds.

I don't know how anyone says these are uncomfortable. People must have mutant size ears or a head that never lost its soft spot. I have a fairly large head and these even when worn incorrectly are still comfortable for long periods of time. They adjust to the very smallest head or the very largest. They also can also be worn with the arc of the headset towards the back of your head so it doesn't squash your hair (or if your head is really that huge and you can't get them on properly). The mic is fully adjustable and works fine. You are only supposed to be using it for brief voice communication over games or possibly chat so I'm not sure why people expect it to have 300 dollar studio mic quality. You aren't recording an album with it.