Customer Reviews

Logitech USB Headset H530 with Premium Laser-Tuned Audio (981-000195)

5 star:		(111)
4 star:		(65)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

Logitech USB Headset H530 with Premium Laser-Tuned Audio (981-000195)

I'm using Windows Vista on a Toshiba laptop. This is an easy review for me to write...because not only does this product offer "Crystal Clear Sound" it delivers exactly what it advertises -- crystal clear sound.

I tested all of the settings, and the Skype test was one that really shocked me. Being hard of hearing these tests were very important to me. It's not easy for me to get a head set that does what I need it to. Not only did I hear everyone clearly and with no problems but when I heard the recording of my voice through these head phones, I actually sounded good! The volume control on the ear piece and the flexible swivel microphone was a pleasure to play with! It's made nice and sturdy so I don't feel that it will fall apart with extended use or somewhat rough handling.

I moved on to the music test and tried out several CD`s...both classic rock AND symphonic rock, and again I was very pleased with what I head.
Hearing the audio for movies DVD and TV shows was a pleasure. Background noise; while not eliminated completely, was muffled somewhat.

I wear several sets of earrings and with this headset I didn't have to take them off to be comfortable. The headset didn't squeeze my head and give me a head ache, even with extended use.

The settings on the headphones was a pleasure to work with and very easy to use.

I've been a fan of Logitech products for a while now; I have the Logitech Illuminated Keyboard and the Logitech Laser wireless mouse. I love both products. I really enjoyed working with these headphones and I love the fact that this product does exactly what it advertises.

If there is a flaw (and it really isn't), it's that I wish I could have gotten some sort of an adapter so I could use these with my iPhone too!

The Logitech USB Headset H530 is a comfortable padded headset with speakers for both ears. Unlike headphones, for which the padding goes around your ears, the padding of the H530 rests against your ears. This permits a reasonably high definition sound while still allowing you to hear external sound. The headset has three adjustments: the first is a switch between gaming, music, and telephone. This is essentially a bass adjustment that permits the unit to provide the appropriate audio performance for each application. The second is a volume control which directly adjusts the computer output volume. The third is a mute button that turns off the microphone (and lights a small red LED on the mic so that you know you're muted).

The idea here is that the headset provides both microphone input and audio output, allowing it to be used for telephone applications such as Skype as well as for dictation or voice-recording software. My Mac PowerBook has a built in microphone and camera, but my Mac Pro desktop computer has neither. I plugged the H530 into the USB port on the front of my computer, which sits under my desk. The provided cable easily reached my position seated at the computer. I made several Skype calls and for each was informed that sound quality was excellent. The audio was very good, as it was for music and gaming, as Logitech intends. The microphone easily pivots up and out of the way if you're using the headset for music.

Installation required nothing at all. Once I plugged the headset in, it worked immediately. You can access sound controls on your Mac from the Sound pane within System Preferences. This permits you to direct audio output to the headset only rather than using outboard speakers or the Mac's own inboard speaker. Note that this unit does not use either the audio output port or the microphone port, so you still have those accessible for other hardware should you wish. Adjustments to volume can still be made via the keyboard if you prefer that to the earside buttons. The headset volume can go up quite high, so adjust the volume down before donning the headset. The headset can be worn for an extended period of time without any discomfort, but note that if you wear eyeglasses, you might feel some pressure where the headset squeezes your ears a bit closer to your head, possibly pushing the arm of your glasses against your ears. This is typical with a headset design of this nature, and I've yet to find a headset that gets around the eyeglass-wearer's difficulties.

I tested the headset using Mac OS 10.6.4, iTunes 9.2.1, and Skype 2.8.0.851. I ran into no software-related difficulties. The Logitech support site, which was easy to navigate, confirmed that the product uses native driver support on a Mac. Note that for about twice the price, you can get what appears to be an identical headset with wireless capabilities. Your choice will depend upon your applications. If you'll be using this for voice-over development or dictation, you're not likely to move far from your computer screen, in which case the wireless hardware won't be worth the extra dollars. But if you plan on using this primarily for Skype AND you either don't have a webcam or you have one that will follow you as you walk around the room, the wireless may be preferable.

Just for kicks, I launched VMWare Fusion and Windows 7. The system cued me to install the Logitech H530 and then was able to use all aspects of the headset without any difficulties. Once using the headset on the Win 7 side, the Mac side reverted to my outboard loudspeakers. After disconnecting the Logitech from Win 7, the Mac then reverted right back to the Logitech. So you can't use the Logitech with both Win 7 and the Mac OS simultaneously (should that be important to you), but no problems at all with using this in difficult software situations. Highly recommended.

First, let me say that I have an earlier version of this headset from Logitech and that it hasn't changed much, though the current price is about 50% more than I paid for it 4 years ago.

On the upside,

1) The sound of the headphones is decent, and it works well for very casual music listening and for use with things like Skype.

2) Being a USB headset, there are no drivers (in XP or 7), you just plug it in and it works and while plugged in becomes the default speaker/microphone. Thus you're not dependent on a sound card or drivers.

3) The microphone worked very well for things like Skype.

4) There is a volume control that very conveniently controls the system volume, not just what's allowed to get through the headset.

On the downside,

1) The sound is decent, but not all that great for $50. It's certainly as good or better than many computer speakers, but not nearly as good as many.

2) BIG DEAL: They are heavy and uncomfortable. On my head, and a couple of other people who tried them, the cushion around the edge isn't very cushiony and it's not enough to keep the mesh (behind which are the speakers) from pressing against one's ears.

Overall, if you're going to use them for short periods of time, and are going to mix music with using them for conversation (with things like Skype) then they do the job. But if you're going to use them mostly for conversation, then you will probably be much happier with a headset designed just for that, and if your primary concern is music, then get something just for that.

I've been using this for a week now.

Pros:
* USB makes it nice and convenient if you have no audio jack, or an inconvenient one.
* The voice audio is really exceptional.
* The mic is hands down better than any I've ever used on a computer for voice. People on the other end said it sounded fantastic.
* Nice and light.
* Mute and volume buttons on the headset are more useful than expected.
* Mic is really well done - it folds conveniently out of the way and holds whatever position I set.

Cons:
* Not nearly as comfortable as my Sony headphones for long music sessions.
* The bass is a little weak and strained (which makes sense with small drivers).
* I would have liked a pause button on the headset as well.

So if you love music and are looking for something to listen to lots of music with, I would still go with a real pair of cans. On the the other hand, if you're looking to do audio conferencing, web conferencing, or chatty online gaming I would recommend these in an instant.

Quick Install Tip - This claims it needs no drivers, but when I plugged it in, it did not show up at all (XP SP3). Had to go to control panel, device manager - under usb devices there were a bunch of yellow question mark entries. Right click, update driver, let it go on online to find new drivers, repeat for each one. Most people don't seem to have a problem, but just in case you do.

After doing research for a good headset to use with Rosetta Stone Language Program (and only finding one reference to it in reviews), I settled on this headset for use with a Mac. I had already purchased a number of Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000 headsets for my students' use, and they seem to be working fine, also, but Microsoft hates Apple, and so, according to the Rosetta Stone people, they made their headsets incompatible with Mac. (Why?)

This headset was about double the price of the Microsoft offering. It seems to provide excellent vocal clarity, a must for voice recognition. I also tested it with Skype, and likewise, the vocal clarity is great. I did not use it for music or video gaming (it has a three way slide switch allowing one to choose between phone/voice apps, gaming, and music, apparently changing equalization - treble, bass, in different ways.)

Some have complained about the comfort aspect, and I would guess that one's head size would have an impact on this. I did find some pinching of my ears, so to speak, probably augmented by the fact that I wear eyeglasses, but it wasn't so bad that I can't adapt. I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars only because of this comfort aspect.

This headset is comfortable to wear, has excellent sound, and it works right out of the box. My Windows applications include Skype, iTunes, Windows Media Player and Netflix. The sound quality is superior to my built-in Harman/Kardon laptop speakers, and the swivel microphone significantly improves the quality of Internet calls.

The ear cups have handy adjustable settings for volume, type of audio listening, and muting of the microphone. On the right-ear cup, the audio volume can be changed with a touch-sensitive switch, alongside of a three-way sliding switch which optimizes the sound for Internet calls, music or games. The touch-sensitive switch on the left-ear cup manages the mute function for the microphone with a slight tap.

The headset is padded around the top of the head and ears, making for a comfortable and seemingly light-weight fit. Even after hours of wearing, there is little head or ear discomfort. There is just fun listening to the clear nuances of dialog, music and other sounds that are not easily heard with built-in speakers.

Hello, about 4 months ago I bought this apparently state of the art headset to maximise my skype sound quality whilst benefiting from a good sound when gaming or listening to music.

Whilst it worked it was great, pity that one moment to the other it stopped working.

How is this possible? easy to explain: the message I get on my pc when I insert the USB is "USB device not recognized" so I went on the logitech forum hoping it was a driver issue, and....it wasn't, the H530 only uses windows pre-existing drivers.

On the other hand I found an endless list of customer with my same problem.
Many of these like myself had tried extracting and reinserting the unit, unistalling it from the device manager screen and re inserting the device, reboot of the pc and I even tried it on my laptop.

I decided to digg deeper and I saw logitech's support team answers(lame, very lame)"change it","it's a hardware problem" explaining that in their opinion improper usb insertion or extraction is the likely cause of this failure.
Now, my non-friends@logitech, I have used many and I mean many low quality cheapy usb devices which lasted me years and never gave me any problems or surely none of this kind.

This H530 unit is not even receiving power(blue light off). And I am really disappointed with the product 50 thrown to the wind, yes cos I need it on a daily basis and I now have to go to the nearest shop to buy a different one.

Rubbish

Definetely, do not buy or be disapppointed when it brakes after a few months

Best feature: there's a red light on microphone when it's muted. I've only accidentally muted myself on two occasions (with over a year of use) and was immediately alerted on both occurrences by the red light.

I love that the volume control and mute button are both on the ear piece, so you never have to flounder around on the cord looking for the stupid buttons. The cord length is perfect.

I do wish that the piece that fits on top of the head was a bit narrower (I have a small head), but then it probably wouldn't fit the majority of users.

As an added bonus, it's held up really well. I drop the thing almost daily and have rolled my chair over the cord numerous times without any issues.

The microphone on this headset is far too sensitive and does not do a good job of distinguishing voice from ambient noise. We purchased two pairs for our office. We have pretty standard ambient noise in the office, and the microphones on these picked up everything. If someone 15 feet away from me crinkled paper, the person on the other end of Skype heard it as if I was doing it by the microphone. If I casually shuffled papers on my desk, the microphone amplified it it so it was as loud as me talking.

We are on Macs, so we tried adjusting input volume and changing the settings on the headset. Nothing worked. Logitech support could not help. So, we sent them back.

If you have a very quiet environment, these might be perfect. But if you are working anywhere with background noise, beware purchasing these. The microphone is too sensitive.

I previously owned the Plantronics .Audio 655 USB Multimedia Headset, but those were unbelievably uncomfortable. The Logitech set is significantly better. I can use it all day and barely notice. The ear cups are just the right size and the band isn't too tight. I use these with Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 and all of my VoIP software. I will also occasionally use them to narrate video. I'm generally pleased with the quality of the microphone.

I would have given this a 5, except I think the price is a little too high given that they claim to have "laser-tuned" sound while the sound is only average. You aren't buying yourself anything an audiophile would brag about. I take these off and use regular headphones when I want to listen to high-quality music. Regardless, this is my favorite headset I've owned.