DR-320DPV/RED
3
5
1
1
Overpriced & Oddly Designed, But Functional Set
My feelings about this headset are mixed. I was very disappointed when I first removed it from its packaging, but it works well for me.
The headset feels very cheap. It is extremely lightweight; the weight of the earpieces is almost indiscernible. There is no cushioning on the headband. The earpieces are loosely attached to the band, and would rattle if you shook the headset by it. The cord has the cheap stiff plastic feel that you get with the cheapest headphones. I've come to expect braided nylon wrapped cords at this price point.
The design choices are also unusual for VOIP. Naturally, the open air ear pieces don't provide noise isolation so it would be difficult to use the headphones in a loud room. The microphone fails to provide any noise isolation as well, however, despite being pointed straight at your mouth. They're a fine combination for using VOIP, but only in a quiet room (and a desktop microphone would still make more sense).
Apart from those caveats that headset works fine for me. It fits me well and stays in place even though it is very comfortable (maybe because of the light weight). I recorded some audio clips with the microphone and they all sounded very accurate (even the background noise...). Music playback also sounds quite a bit better than I expected, but not great. It's still a bit tiny and not all of the bass comes through.
The headphones work for me; I have a quiet room to use them in. They sound good enough to me going in and coming out, and I do really like the way they look. However, if I had paid anything close to full price, I wouldn't have accepted the way they feel.
January 15, 2011
