Customer Reviews

Koss SB40 Computer Headset with Microphone

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The SB40's over-ear cushions fit well, and are comfortable over eyeglasses. The mic adjusts easily and stays put. The wide strap headband is separate from what appear to be a pair of spring steel headband wires, giving a precise positioning of the earpieces without sitting on the tops of your ears or cutting into the top of your head. The 8' cord gives surprisingly greater freedom than the 5' that usually comes with the El Cheapos.

Acoustically, the phones have good sensitivity, able to achieve ear-splitting volume levels from my SB Live before noticeable distortion. Particularly noticeable is the very clean, honest bass which should make both gamers and amateur musicians happy.

On the downside, the SB40's split "cowboy hat" cord gets twisted easily, quickly snugging up around your chin. The clothespin headband adjusters are a little hard to set precisely but when you do get them set, they stay put. The mic is a little less sensitive than some, needing to be positioned right next to the mouth to get good volume from non-boomy voices.

All in all, the SB40 appears to be well-built, and offers a good balance of comfort and performance for both multimedia and communications at a reasonable price.

...This is exactly what I was looking for in a gaming headset. It has the big stereo headphone type earpieces, and a mic to boot. I steered away from the Plantronics headsets only because of the small earpieces that push on your ears. If you play games for as long as I do, it doesn't matter how soft the earpieces are... if they rest on the cartilidge of your ear, you're going to get uncomfortable. These Koss SB-40 headphones rest around your ears creating an all day comfortable feel. They isolate outside sound better than any other headset I've used, and they have far superior sound to any *computer headset* I've used.

The only drawback is this. They are about as good as you come on sound for computer headsets, but the microphone leaves plenty to be desired. While the mic isn't horrible, it definitely doesn't perform as well as the higher end Plantronics headsets. The sound that is produced is exceptionally tinny, or muddy... much like a poor quality MP3 file. Not that you can't understand what is being said... it's just not as crystal clear as some headsets. The microphone is plenty sensitive, and is still better than the mic on a (lower priced) headset.

All in all for the price, this is an awesome headset. You can play games all day long without discomfort to your ears. In game chat is made easy. I would recommend this headset over the Plantronics line anyday, just for the sheer comfort it provides. I wish I could rate it 4.5 stars, because it warrants more than 4, but not quite 5.

If you're looking for the best sound and rarely have need for a microphone stick with stereo headphones and a table top mic. Sennheiser makes the best. Even their worst is better that most companies best. Good luck, see you in CS, or in BF1942. {NOC}DynaGlide.

Good clean loud if necessary sound but the headband is somewhat difficult to adjust plus the major flaw is the microphone. The mic doesn't seem to be amplified at all, low quality, whatever I had to adjust the Mic input to the max in XP to get it to pickup anything. Also I took apart the mic as well, the design is somewhat off, foam covering glued on one side, the other side had a removable foam filter covering the mic. The problem I notice was the foam was compressing the mic preventing it from picking up sound very well. I left the foam piece out. & after putting it back together the mic performance was fine. But be aware the mic signal seems to be pretty low. I tried running the mic through a Belkin KVM with nothing but static being picked up. With the mic hooked directly to the sound card along with the modifications it worked ok.

So far I have owned about 5 pairs of this headset, Personally I think it's the best headset for the price. It is comfortable, the sound is good and the microphone picks up just fine. Durability-wise there are some issues, but the design itself is very flexible and takes a huge amount of damage before breaking. I suppose I could go out and buy a more expensive headset, however from my experience this headset is much more durable, and if you expect that your headphones will slip off your head unintentionally and bash on the ground or if you have temper tantrums while running the same Molten Core boss for the twentieth time because your guild is useless: I wouldn't trust any other headset to stand up to your wrath. I've thrown this thing in a carry-on and then flown hours while kicking the bag only to find no damage at all to the headset, I have run further than the cord lets me and been yanked back and the cable stays in place with no issues. I have chewed on the microphone, and kicked the headset with no damage, and when I actually broke a headset after years of mistreatment the break was fixable with duct tape with no loss of sound fidelity, and no loss of comfort. No Bose headset I have ever seen or used could withstand the same torture I provide to my Koss headset every day.

I bought this Koss SB-40 headset from Amazon and if you plan on using this headset with your computer...you should NOT buy this one. First, it has an impedance of 120 ohms not 32 ohms. Second, the mic is mono so any audio pushed through it will be single channel only. Third, the mic's output is muddy and the volume is exceedingly low.

This is a studio headset and would probably work very well in a studio setting hooked into a mixer. But it is a poor redheaded step-child if your going to use this headset for computer use. Learn from my mistake.
Stephen

these are pretty normal. The mic works great. By looking at the headphones you'd think that they'd be killer for multimedia and have a lot of bass and stuff. They don't. Even though they're huge, their pretty comfortable and they've got decent volume. The cord is long which is important when they have to reach behind your computer so you don't have your forhead pressed to the monitor.

I have owed these for over a year without any problem. The best headset I have owned. I've also own a pair of plantronic 90 and I prefer these by a wide marging. The sound is just great, durabily is perfect. I mistreat these a lot and wear them all day. I have dropped them, sat on them, you name it and I have done it. Even after all this abuse they still work like a champ. The mic is not perfect but a lot better than non name brand headsets. My plantronic 90 mic is a bit better but not enough to beat these over all. I talk to a good friend over the internet every day for the past 8 to 9 month and they are great. He gives me compliments on the mic sound over the no name brand I have and which were newer and not working well any more (they are shorting out). The comfort is excellent, I wear these for many hours daily and I just forget I have them on. I have three computer at home and two laptop and I use these 90% of the time. I just love them, they are also very loud , which is a plus if your hard of hearing like me. If you have hearing problems, please get these you won't resent it, I promise! The cord is very long and you'll have no problem reaching the back of your computer. Finally, when my no name brand finally [...]-out I "will buy these Koss again" no buts about it. Given that I know where to get the plantronic 90 cheaper than these, I will still purchase these over those plantronic. Nuff said!

I had this headset for 2 years. After one year the mic started to only work once in a while then not at all after a few months. However the sound quality was excellent. I could be bias in that these were the first circumaural(cover the ear) headphones i had, but it blocked out pretty much all the noise that my suitmates made(even the blast of their speakers). I even wore them without music just to block some ambient noise. The comfort factor is also exceptional, I wore them hours upon hours and they were just great. However not the best to wear in bed because the ear covers are huge.
The problem is after the 2 years the left side of the headphone stopped working, but I did "torture" the set by wearing it continuosely for hours and dropping the headset quite a number of times. Overall, if you take care of your headsets then this is the best headset for the best price you can get.

Koss SB40 Communication Stereophone
3.5mm plug
8 foot cord

I read some customer reviews before buying this headset. Here's my write up with information I did not read in other reviews. Though I have been using the headset for only a few hours I do use online VOIP programs daily. Keep in mind I am picky and have an eye for detail.

The Bad:
1) No volume control on the headset or headset wire.
2) The ear cushions are not removable for cleaning.
3) The cloth sling is not removable for easy cleaning.
4) The wire attachment is cowboy hat style which may be more likely to catch on things.
5) The wire to the right side of the headset (when worn) is a single wire and more likely to bend and break.
6) The cable length is listed as 8ft on the box and 9ft on website specification lists.
7) The mic boom has up/down play in the swivel where it attaches on the left headset. I'm worried this will cause wear on the wiring and I may put some epoxy around it to secure it tightly.
8) I had read that the mic was inadequate in that the volume of the speaker's voice came over at very low volume. This even with the WinXP mic boost selection checked. I also read that someone took the mic apart and found removing the foam insert helped. I found exactly the same thing with one exception. I put the mic back together including the foam. It was packed less tightly because the mic casing was slightly broken from my prying and held together with less pressure by the single small screw. Now my voice volume is normal if not good. Funny how products are these days. I consider this kind of weirdness rather standard anymore.

The good:
1) The main cord is made of three wires bound side by side which resists bending and hopefully breaking.
2) The headset and phones are heavy and appear resistant to normal wear. The weight may be a bad thing for some users.
3) I noticed several screws in the headset to hold it together. I prefer screws to click tabs and glue as it allows for easier maintenance.
4) My head is large and the headset has a very snug fit. If I bend forward the headset stays securely on my head. I am concerned about long term fatigue from the tight fit.
5) While I have used very few headsets these seem to have very good sound. Good base.
6) The mic picks up the speaker's voice at a reasonable distance such that it doesn't have to be almost in contact with my lips to pick up my voice well. (see #8 above for necessary modification)
7) The earpads cover the entire ear helping to muffle background noise and allowing for a lower volume setting.
8) The mic boom arm is a thick cable which bends easily but stays in place once adjusted.

Overall I like this item. I do expect to have to be rather careful with it to avoid breaking wires even with the product's sturdy design. Also I'll have to put washable cloth over some parts to avoid dirt build up from wear.

Uncomfortable, below average microphone, decent sound...
Bass and treble is decent, but nothing extraordinary.
These headphones are BIG and the headband can be a bit uncomfortable -- especially after long use.
The microphone [is bad]. I played a few PC games using these headphones and almost no one could hear what I said (yes, all my PC settings were correct).

I wouldn't recommend these headphones. Look elsewhere.