Suggestions for a decent voice headset

About a year ago, I was gifted a Jabra GN 9330. (Thank you James!) Loved it! Recently the thing seems to have died, and I had to fall back on a Plantronics something-or-other. It works, but I can't for the life of me get it to behave the way the Jabra did, and specifically, have voice on the headset, and all other sounds come through my speakers.

Both are USB connections, both use the default Windows XP drivers, and I set both the same way in control panel and in SL, so I don't understand why the Plantronics behaves differently.

Anyway, the Plantronics is not comfortable for me, so I am hunting for suggestions for a headset that works as the Jabra did, doesn't cost an arm and a leg, and is basically one earpiece with a mic (as opposed to a standard headphones arrangement). It does not need to be wireless... in fact, that is what may have killed the Jabra, though that is just a wild guess... my wireless mouse is also acting oddly, and that is nearly new. :-|

Thanks in advance.

I use a cheapo ($35 US) Logitech USB head set. I is comfy and has an inline mic switch and volume control.

When I first switched from a C-Media USB headset I had the same issues. I had to set the audio properties in Win XP several times to get the new head set to work. What seems to work best whenever I'm changing recording properties is to set both audio and voice all to my sound card. Open a media player and play something with sound. Close media player and go back to audio properties and set the voice recording/playback to what ever device I'm going to use and immediately use a voice program to initiate the drivers.

Unrelated subtext......

Ever have Windows try to boot from a USB drive or newly added external HDD?. Whenever you unplug a device Windows forgets about it, when you plug something in Widows logic says "you plugged it in you must want to use it." Windows switches over to the new device without confirmation. Not always though, sometimes widows keeps the currant configuration and total ignors the new device no matter how much you coax it.

Pretty much anything will do, if you are worried about getting good quality sounding chat in SL, forget it. Even the best set would do nothing more than cause the noise lag, feedback, and peoples' open mics/speakers to echo louder when you are on a populated sim.

I got my mic at Circuit city, I hope I don't have to take it back.

If you don't mind paying a few dollars, the Razer Piranah is a good choice for a gaming headset. It is very comfortable to wear with a microphone that STAYS where you put it. It goes for 69.99USD andin my opinion, well worth the price.

AH ha!!! That's probably why my head set suddenly wasn't working! I have different speakers on my Dell that plug into one of the front USB ports.....and my headset plugs into a front USB port.....but it doesn't seem to want to work any more and I posted about it.....checked every possible tech detail.....all was right....but with this new speaker set up.....Windows XP simply will not recognize the headset. (of course I'm loathe to pull out my tower and disconnect everything just so I can plug in my old speakers.....inevitably I wind up losing a connection somewhere when I push it back in and have to do the tower maneuver dance to get everything right again )


Um.....I digressed...sorry.....I have a great set and it was cheap....I think $25 maybe....it's an all-in-one Dynex headset/mic with a mute and volume control piece on the cord. It's basic and easy and works! Well....aside from my current issue which I think has to do with my speakers.

I have this one also, but with the updates of the voice client or my Vista or something - even though have voice not toggled on in SL my mic is on unless I mute the mic on my headset. This glitch doesn't happen on my XP system so I assume its Vista. Ill have to try a new headset from the ones suggested here.

I have a Logitech one too. I had one of the ones with the inline volume control and it eventually shorted out, and I bought one with the volume and mute button actually mounted on the right earpiece. I think they may have stopped making the inline ones, but there are probably a bunch of them still out there. I would recommend avoiding that one, due to the shorting out issue.

Thanks so much for all the replies!

Rafe, I'll try the trick you posted a bit later, once I log in again. I really hate having voice come through my speakers instead of the headset. Privacy, for starters (I do not live alone).

I have an older Jabra wireless headpiece for my cell phone and I love it.. I have tried several headsets with SL and had the same problem.. I want voice on the headset and music and other sounds on the desktop speakers, none of them I tried did that (and they were uncomfortable) so I threw them in the junk drawer and don't use voice. I just checked Amazon, they have the GN9330, it's pricey but I like my old Jabra so much I'm going to spring for it. What the heck, it's expendable income. LOL

For a year I had a Logitech that plugged into the sound in/out plugs and over time I was getting complaints of not being heard well, reverberations, and then half the time I had to fiddle with it for it to work at all.

I was recommended to try a USB model. I may have the same one as you, Rafe - mine is a Logitech USB 350. I LOVE it, cost about $35.00 at Wal-Mart and reports are that my voice is now clear with no reverb.

BUT - do you hear voice on speakers, or on the headset only? That for me is crucial.

Anyone found a good cordless headset with a mic yet, I heard there were some around, so you could be chatting on SL or Skype while walking around the house

Through the head set here. I do have to mess with the settings sometimes as I stated earlier.