Coming back to the office means that you will be using your desk phone more often, specially on an office environment. For the same reason you will be in the need to get a headset, which will allow you to be hands free when on a call, which is a convenience as we need both hands for properly typing on the keyboard or if need to write down using pen and paper.
For the same reason there are 2 types of available headsets for the desk phones, the first one is the wired kind and secondly, we have the wireless ones and we will discuss in deep the main differences between them and will advice which to get for your desk phone.
Wired headsets (also known as Corded):
These are the most common headsets available in the market, depending on the desk phone require either a special connector or an external amplifier for outdated phones. The benefits for these headsets are among, lower cost as for the same reason not expensive, lower maintenance costs, no battery issues as they don’t require power as the desk phone makes everything to work, unless you are using an external amplifier which requires power, sound quality as the connection between the headset and phone is by hard wiring.
Lower cost headset recommended: Jabra Biz 1500 Mono Direct Connect Headset.
This headset would be your entry level on a corded setup, with an easy plug and play interface with your phone, as long as you have a headset port on your phone and a dedicated headset key this would be your way to go. With your dedicated headset key, when a call comes in simply press the key and that will open the channel to your headset, if need to modulate the volume or mute the microphone you can do it from the phone itself.
Lower cost headset with no headset port recommended: Plantronics M22 Vista Amplifier + Plantronics HW540 EncorePro 540 Headset.
This alternative would be your corded solution for older desk phones with no headset port on the back and no dedicated headset key (this means the phone has no built-in amplifier). The way this setup is connected is buy unplugging the handset from the phone, then plug in the M22 to the handset port and plug in the headset and the handset into the M22. The amplifier will let you modulate the volume the volume coming in the headset and mute the microphone as well.
Lower cost headset compatible with desk phone and computer recommended: Jabra Biz 1500 Mono QD + Jabra Link 180 Telephone Computer USB Switch.
This setup is advised for people wanting to use only one corded headset with the desk phone and the computer. To keep the lower cost there is no volume control or mute key found on the switch. Easy to setup and use and fully compatible with PC and Mac computers and with desk phones with a corded handset. If you need to use the desk phone just trigger the switch to the phone icon, and to the PC icon if need to take a webinar.
We had discussed the benefits of the corded headsets, and now we will list the disadvantage of them. Among those we can find that the main one would be the limited mobility as they are plugged to the phone this makes the user not able to move freely when on a call and the next thing is that with the cables on a desk including the keyboard, mouse among others can create a tangled chaos on your desk on no time. Another disadvantage of corded headset that can be included would be compatibility, as most headsets were designed to be used with one device to keep lower costs, but on the modern days that everyone is taking webinars or virtual meetings they require a headset as they can’t use the computer speakers and for the same reason if you want to use only one corded headset for both devices you need a special switch and if wanting to get more features like volume control increases the pricing reaching really close to wireless headsets offers.
Wireless headsets:
We will talk about the benefits of wireless headsets and will recommend the best solution for your desk phone as well. The mayor advantage of a wireless headset will be the mobility, as with a wireless headset the user can step out of the desk even in the middle of a call and with a dedicated wireless frequency that allows the user to even go thru walls without cutting in and out in the middle of a call. The second benefit of a wireless headset is no more tangling cables and less chaotic mess on the desk, making it an advantage versus the corded ones. Another feature over the corded ones is that with wireless headsets a user can create a conference setup with up to 3 headsets all paired to one base without being even near by as the wireless frequency of the headsets allows to roam around.
Entry level wireless headset recommended: Plantronics CS540 Wireless Headset.
The top seller from Plantronics with a convertible style of wearing, that allows the user to wear it over the head or over the ear, one of the lightless and smaller headsets in the market, easy to use and to be worn all day. The Answer/End call, volume control and mute functions are controlled from the headset itself and offering a range of up to 350 feet. The base offers a reminder when on mute by changing the light color to a solid red.
Entry level wireless headset covering both ears recommended: EPOS Impact D30 Wireless Headset System.
This would be an alternative for a wireless headset covering both ears for a loud office environment with a true stereo sound quality and noise canceling microphone with a little of further range as well of up to 500 feet. The volume control and mute functions are located as well on the headset by itself and with a larger bendable microphone boom arm that can be worn on either side. The base offers a reminder when on mute by changing the light color and flashes.
Entry level wireless headset compatible with desk phone and computer recommended: Poly Savi 7310 Office Wireless Headset Mono, desk phone and PC.
This unit offers what is called dual connectivity allowing to be used with a desk phone and the computer, the base comes with the proper cables to be used with both devices so can leave the base plugged and forget about it as the base will do almost everything on the connections. The base offers a reminder when on mute by changing the light color. The bendable microphone boom arm comes with Acoustic Fence Technology that is a huge improvement over Noise Canceling microphones as can block more background noises like loud fans, barking or lawnmowers for example.
After mentioning the benefits of the wireless headsets now we will mention their disadvantages of them by starting with the first one that would be higher price as in some cases the budget is the fundamental part of a purchase, additional costs by requiring remote answer for the desk phone. The remote answer feature is something many people want on a wireless headset thinking that the feature is built in the headset, however depending on the desk phone a special cable known as Electronic Hook Switch or “EHS” can be used or a mechanical lifter for older desk phones. A possible disadvantage would be the battery life, I would like to emphasis the “possible” term because most of the wireless headsets promise a talk time of minimum 12 hours of talk time, however a typical sales call can take between 40-55 minutes for example and if using the wireless headset with the later mentioned EHS helps the battery to last longer on a normal day as by pressing the end call on the headset, the headset goes on stand-by mode and with newer batteries the talk time gets improved as new technology is implied. The more wireless headsets in a closed environment the higher the risk of interference between them creating poor sound quality or connectivity issues.
As you can see, on both cases they all are going to have their Pros and unfortunately, they will have their Cons as there’s not an official winner. On personal experience after testing corded and wireless headsets, the freedom of mobility that a wireless headset offers and the remote answer capability makes it my choice to go for a headset at the office but, the price point is a setback and let me think of a corded solution for a desk phone.
