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USB Headsets and VoIP - call us to test your headset quality
USB Headsets for VoIP - A look at audio quality
USB, or universal serial bus, is a plug and play function. The difference between USB audio and an audio card interface can be startling. Some of our conversations with callers half way around the world were so clear we could hear birds in the background, and full depth and tone of the callers voice.
All headsets must convert the spoken word from analog to digital. Audio received from a source must be converted to a format that we can hear. While we can hear a good crisp digital sound, as we do from digital televisions, the human ear cannot hear the entire sound spectrum of 20 hertz to 20,000 hertz.
The telephone system that we grew up with, and the POTS (plain old telephone system) of today still do not transmit a broad spectrum of sound. VOIP, however, and your computer, PDA, or hardphone using SIP and VOIP, is capable of much more than the POTS as we know it.
Sound cards receive your computer signals and convert them to analog. USB, on the other hand, goes directly to your computer's digital interface. For professional business class audio quality, USB is the answer. We use USB headsets from Telex and Hello Direct.
When using a USB headset, your computer will generally fallback to the sound card system when the USB device is unplugged. It does not disable your sound card. Configure your Xten or other SIP phone to use the preferred device. The preferred device will be the USB headset when it is available.
When using a phone with USB your Windows software will often recognize a human interface device. You can use the phone, which is usually a hand held model, as a speaker and microphone. Ring tones should be heard on your regular speakers. This works well with Google Talk.
To see USB headsets on eBay, and to get an idea of pricing simply see them here
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