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So, I bought this headset, and after several hours of extensive tweaking (still going) I've gotten it to the point where it sounds pretty damn good for 90% of the music and movie audio that I listen to. The microphone, however, is terrible. I found that I need to enable the 20dB boost just to make my voice come across at a decent volume, but it doesn't sound very good, and there's a ton of noise (even without the boost.) Fortunately, since it uses a nearly-standard 3.5mm plug, it can be replaced without having to deal with any additional wires.
The trick to this is that the microphone (and possibly the jack) uses a stereo 3.5mm TRS connector and said connector has continuity between the ring and the sleeve - in other words, it acts just like a mono plug. Unfortunately, the jack on the headset seems to be built specifically for mono plugs, and as such, stereo plugs that use the ring connector aren't going to work at all - you'll just get electrical noise, and nothing else.
Short version: Get this headset from your local Walgreens: http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100406&navAction=jump&navCount=2&id=prod3373998#
And get these from your local Radio Shack:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...=right+angle&kw=right+angle&parentPage=search
http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...reo+mono&kw=1/8+stereo+mono&parentPage=search
I found out that GE makes a few inexpensive stereo headsets now, sometimes with the brand name "Jasho," all of which have one unique feature - the microphone is removable (for use on laptops and portable devices,) is a boom mic (better for voice-only use) and uses a 3.5mm connector just like the one that the Razer microphone uses. All of their headsets appear to use the same microphone. One model is available at Walgreens (it took two tries to find it locally; it's located with the phone headsets) and the different models can also be found on several websites, including Amazon.com. It also seems to be a decent microphone given the price of the headsets; it's very flexible and seems to cancel noise well.
The only catch is that it has the problem I described above - it uses a stereo connector but pushes the same signal across both the ring and sleeve, which means that mono-only jacks (like the one on the HP-1) won't work with it - you just get an irritating hum. It's also not very long (4.5" not counting the connector) and the jack on the HP-1 points straight down, so you'll need a right-angle adapter.
I couldn't seem to find any stereo-to-mono right-angle adapters anywhere I looked, but I did find that Radio Shack stocks a right-angle adapter that's stereo to stereo, as well as a straight stereo-to-mono adapter that also comes with gold contacts. The right-angle adapter plugs into the bottom of the headset so the mic will extend straight towards your mouth, and the stereo-to-mono adapter plugs into this, which also has the bonus of extending the microphone's length. The combination gets you 2 more inches of reach and the mic boom points straight towards where it needs to be. I put some ProGold on my contacts for corrosion resistance, particularly out of concern for the tin connectors on the right-angle adapter. Electro-migration is a Bad Thing.
I tested it out today, and the difference is night and day. This microphone doesn't require a 20dB boost, picks up very little noise, but picks up your voice quite well. Considering that it comes with headsets in the $10-$15 range that can be found locally, and the Razer HP-1 headset runs from $100 to $140 and usually needs to be ordered and shipped from somewhere remote, it's quite sad that the mic they provide is so easily and tremendously outclassed by this. The adapters were each $4 and the headset at Walgreens is $13, giving this mod a total price of $21 plus tax if you buy everything locally. You even get a second, working headset out of the deal, which could be handy if you need something lightweight and low-profile that you can break out for casual voice use. Later on, I'll see about posting a sound test comparing the two microphones, and maybe some pics of the setup.
Here's another example of this headset type: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...5745?_encoding=UTF8&m=A2R0FX412W1BDT&v=glance
Again, the one I used: http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100406&navAction=jump&navCount=2&id=prod3373998
The model at Walgreens is 98971; there are easily three or four different styles for this headset but this is the only one I've seen Walgreens carry. The nice thing is that Walgreens isn't marking it up too badly; if you're just going for the mic, it's cheaper in a store than buying the cheapest model online and paying for shipping.
The only catch I can find to this setup, aside from having a boom in your face (as with most good headsets) is that it swivels from left to right somewhat easily, and the boom might be a little too flexible for some peoples' tastes. You could easily fix that with a carefully-applied piece of thin vinyl tape on the plug side of the right-angle adapter (for friction against the headset) but unless you tilt your head from side-to-side at >60-degree angles frequently, it's not an issue while the headset is in use. It's also pretty obvious that you're using adapters but it doesn't conflict too badly with the headset's aesthetics, since the components are all still black except for the connectors. I'm still looking around to see if I can get a stereo-to-mono, right-angle, gold adapter, but Radio Shack stocks no such creature either online or in-store, and I haven't yet located one anywhere else (my usual sources come up dry as well.)
I'm sure there might be a better option but I searched high and low and didn't see any microphones that worked in this way without solder or epoxy required. I don't mind doing so, but I don't like voiding a warranty without knowing that whatever I'm working on is actually going to work better than what I have, and there are no guarantees until you actually try. The next best option I could think of was getting a USB mic (hooray for mute buttons and reduced electrical noise) and epoxying it to a dummy 3.5mm plug (for use as a connection point,) but I didn't see any that were reasonably-priced and looked like they'd be acceptable for the task.
The only other decent alternative without resorting to a desk or clip-on mic is to find another headset of this design type (don't know if it has an actual name) like the ones made by Turtle Beach, which uses a good boom mic with the same connector, and purchase a replacement mic for that headset. I checked on a couple of these and didn't find a mic I could purchase as a replacement, but if someone were to offer such a thing, it would be a nice option.
The trick to this is that the microphone (and possibly the jack) uses a stereo 3.5mm TRS connector and said connector has continuity between the ring and the sleeve - in other words, it acts just like a mono plug. Unfortunately, the jack on the headset seems to be built specifically for mono plugs, and as such, stereo plugs that use the ring connector aren't going to work at all - you'll just get electrical noise, and nothing else.
Short version: Get this headset from your local Walgreens: http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100406&navAction=jump&navCount=2&id=prod3373998#
And get these from your local Radio Shack:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...=right+angle&kw=right+angle&parentPage=search
http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...reo+mono&kw=1/8+stereo+mono&parentPage=search
I found out that GE makes a few inexpensive stereo headsets now, sometimes with the brand name "Jasho," all of which have one unique feature - the microphone is removable (for use on laptops and portable devices,) is a boom mic (better for voice-only use) and uses a 3.5mm connector just like the one that the Razer microphone uses. All of their headsets appear to use the same microphone. One model is available at Walgreens (it took two tries to find it locally; it's located with the phone headsets) and the different models can also be found on several websites, including Amazon.com. It also seems to be a decent microphone given the price of the headsets; it's very flexible and seems to cancel noise well.
The only catch is that it has the problem I described above - it uses a stereo connector but pushes the same signal across both the ring and sleeve, which means that mono-only jacks (like the one on the HP-1) won't work with it - you just get an irritating hum. It's also not very long (4.5" not counting the connector) and the jack on the HP-1 points straight down, so you'll need a right-angle adapter.
I couldn't seem to find any stereo-to-mono right-angle adapters anywhere I looked, but I did find that Radio Shack stocks a right-angle adapter that's stereo to stereo, as well as a straight stereo-to-mono adapter that also comes with gold contacts. The right-angle adapter plugs into the bottom of the headset so the mic will extend straight towards your mouth, and the stereo-to-mono adapter plugs into this, which also has the bonus of extending the microphone's length. The combination gets you 2 more inches of reach and the mic boom points straight towards where it needs to be. I put some ProGold on my contacts for corrosion resistance, particularly out of concern for the tin connectors on the right-angle adapter. Electro-migration is a Bad Thing.
I tested it out today, and the difference is night and day. This microphone doesn't require a 20dB boost, picks up very little noise, but picks up your voice quite well. Considering that it comes with headsets in the $10-$15 range that can be found locally, and the Razer HP-1 headset runs from $100 to $140 and usually needs to be ordered and shipped from somewhere remote, it's quite sad that the mic they provide is so easily and tremendously outclassed by this. The adapters were each $4 and the headset at Walgreens is $13, giving this mod a total price of $21 plus tax if you buy everything locally. You even get a second, working headset out of the deal, which could be handy if you need something lightweight and low-profile that you can break out for casual voice use. Later on, I'll see about posting a sound test comparing the two microphones, and maybe some pics of the setup.
Here's another example of this headset type: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...5745?_encoding=UTF8&m=A2R0FX412W1BDT&v=glance
Again, the one I used: http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100406&navAction=jump&navCount=2&id=prod3373998
The model at Walgreens is 98971; there are easily three or four different styles for this headset but this is the only one I've seen Walgreens carry. The nice thing is that Walgreens isn't marking it up too badly; if you're just going for the mic, it's cheaper in a store than buying the cheapest model online and paying for shipping.
The only catch I can find to this setup, aside from having a boom in your face (as with most good headsets) is that it swivels from left to right somewhat easily, and the boom might be a little too flexible for some peoples' tastes. You could easily fix that with a carefully-applied piece of thin vinyl tape on the plug side of the right-angle adapter (for friction against the headset) but unless you tilt your head from side-to-side at >60-degree angles frequently, it's not an issue while the headset is in use. It's also pretty obvious that you're using adapters but it doesn't conflict too badly with the headset's aesthetics, since the components are all still black except for the connectors. I'm still looking around to see if I can get a stereo-to-mono, right-angle, gold adapter, but Radio Shack stocks no such creature either online or in-store, and I haven't yet located one anywhere else (my usual sources come up dry as well.)
I'm sure there might be a better option but I searched high and low and didn't see any microphones that worked in this way without solder or epoxy required. I don't mind doing so, but I don't like voiding a warranty without knowing that whatever I'm working on is actually going to work better than what I have, and there are no guarantees until you actually try. The next best option I could think of was getting a USB mic (hooray for mute buttons and reduced electrical noise) and epoxying it to a dummy 3.5mm plug (for use as a connection point,) but I didn't see any that were reasonably-priced and looked like they'd be acceptable for the task.
The only other decent alternative without resorting to a desk or clip-on mic is to find another headset of this design type (don't know if it has an actual name) like the ones made by Turtle Beach, which uses a good boom mic with the same connector, and purchase a replacement mic for that headset. I checked on a couple of these and didn't find a mic I could purchase as a replacement, but if someone were to offer such a thing, it would be a nice option.
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