Need headset with mic for phone

[Xmann]

Wife needs a set of headphones with a mic she can use with her phone.

She'll be talking on her phone and taking notes on her laptop simultaneously.

Never used any with a mic and I don't know if the cheap ones are as good as an expensive pair. I don't mind spending extra, if it matters.

[Isgrimnur]

Over-the-head headphones, in-ear earbuds, or possibly a bluetooth headset?

For the first group, I use these as my daily music phones at work. There's a mic built into one side, and I've had no issues with using it and being heard. They are bluetooth, which is the mode in which I use them, but they also come with a cord for non-battery-cosuming use that has a volume slider, click button, and in-line mic.

[Xmann]

Over-the-head headphones, in-ear earbuds, or possibly a bluetooth headset?

For the first group, I use these as my daily music phones at work. There's a mic built into one side, and I've had no issues with using it and being heard. They are bluetooth, which is the mode in which I use them, but they also come with a cord for non-battery-cosuming use that has a volume slider, click button, and in-line mic.

Preferably not Bluetooth, only because my wife can be technically challenged and I can see her losing patience if they lose pairing.

Doesn't matter if they are over the head or in ear. Priority are hands free so she can type and speak at the same time.

[gilraen]

I use VoIP software for work, and when I tried using a regular bluetooth headset, they complained they couldn't hear me. So I don't know if it was the software, the headset, or the fact that I work from home in a large echo-prone room. But I know that I can only use a headset with a directional microphone - for a while I was using a corded Razer gaming headset (until work provided me with a full-blown wireless Jabra headset).

[TheMix]

I think it was you.

I've used BT headphones a number of times. The biggest problem has been the drivers on the pc. But even once I got the drivers sorted out, I ran into occasional pairing issues. A BT dongle might alleviate the pairing issues. I'm pretty sure that the problem was the pc drivers.

Depending on your computer, you may find out that the biggest issue is the lack of a mic port. I got around that by getting a little adapter. I used this one. Worked like a charm. It allowed me to plug a cheap non-USB headset into a USB port. Those kinds of headphones are easy enough to find. I used this one for a while. I'm pretty sure that I stopped using it because I ran over the cord with my chair too many times. Grabbing a little adapter and a cheap wired headset may be the cheapest and simplest option. At least to start.

Edit: I got sidetracked and forgot to mention that I never had any customers complain about being unable to hear me. And I was in the same room.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Assuming your wife already owns a pair of headphones she likes, it may be cheaper, easier, and more convenient just to buy a V-Moda BoomPro or Antlion Modmic, either of which allows you to easily attach a decent-quality boom mic to an existing set of headphones.

[Kasey Chang]

A lot of bluetooth headsets now have NFC pairing. If your phone has NFC, just scan it and voila, it's paired. No technical challenge required.

OTOH, I don't quite get this requirement:

She'll be talking on her phone and taking notes on her laptop simultaneously.

So, it's just for phone, and will NOT be connected to laptop?

And how much noise isolation or noise filtering do you need? Most for comfort?

There's bazillion different variations on bluetooth headset and even more wired ones. I've had about a dozen BT headsets, and most of them are not too bad, but comfort level really depends on personal preference.

[TheMix]

Hmmm... I might have gotten off track. I was thinking the headset needed to connect to the pc. For a phone I'd definitely go with BT. I have/had 4-6 different BT devices hooked up to my last phone. For my current one I think I've only got 3. I have no issues with connections. Ever. The only thing I have to make sure to do is disconnect one headset/speaker before trying to connect the next.

[Xmann]

Headset is just for phone

[Kasey Chang]

The two audio sources are very different. PC's have "mid-level" amp capability while phones have minimal amp capability. Making one headset work for both may not be optimal for both. Consider buying two separate headsets, one for PC and one for phone.

Bluetooth introduces an additional complication: multipoint, i.e. paired to more than one device at a time. I can have my BT headset paired to my phone AND to my tablet at the same time, play an audio book on the tablet but still answer calls on my phone.

My PC at home has bluetooth, but I found it somewhat laggy and unsuitable even with my pretty high-end Sony BT headset. Instead I have a Plantronics GamesCom simulated 5.1 headset for my PC. For my phone my current set is a cheap SoundPEATS Q900 "neckband" BT with about 10 hours of battery life (playing all the time).

If you want to listen to high-end music on the PC, consider adding a small amp/DAC combo THEN connect a high-end headphone to it (AKG, Grado, SuperLUX, etc.) it'd add to the price, but there are recommendations for cheap DACs on /r/headphones