I bought this Logitech H800 headset / headphones primarily for use in Skype conversations, but they have actually become my favorite all-round headphones, whether I work, walk, chill out, Skype, or talk on the phone.
I was pretty happy with the headphones I already had (A pair of Bose QuietComfort 15 and a pair of Koss PortaPro’s), but I needed something with a microphone, for the purpose of taking support telephone calls via phone and Skype. My first purchase was actually the very cheapest headset with a mic that they had in the store. I wasn’t planning to use it for anything other than to speak with people, so I didn’t care about sound quality.
However, my experience with the really cheap headset was a bad one, as the connectors didn’t fit in my laptop, and also, it was not possible to connect it to my cellphone, so I couldn’t really use it. I decided to go back to the store and this time, I opted for the more expensive option, the Logitech H800. Boy, am I happy that I did. These have turned out to be really great, not only for Skype / telephone conversations, but actually as a general, all-round set of headphones that sound great, are super comfortable, and fill all my requirements for connectivity, with both Bluetooth and USB.
Build / Comfort / Fit
The first thing you’ll notice about these headphones is how comfortable they are to wear. They feel super soft, with large pads that fit over your entire ear, and with a pressure towards the head and ears that feels soft and comfortable, but is just strong enough to keep the headphones in place during a moderate amount of movement. The grip is strong enough to keep the headphones in place during a brisk walk, but not strong enough for running. If you run with these, they’ll come out of position and fall off. That is something I’m willing to accept, as what you get in return is that they feel so soft and comfortable on your ears.
The actual microphone arm can be folded in so it lies hidden behind the frame of the headphone. If you just want to use them as a pair of headphones for listening to the music, you simply push the microphone arm up, it stays behind the frame, and what you have is a pair of normal headphones, seemingly without any microphone part sticking out. I like this feature a lot, because who needs a microphone sticking out in front of your mouth, when you’re just taking your headphones for a walk, or you’re just listening to music on your couch.
For taking calls or Skype conversations,
the microphone arm is in position
When just listening to music, the microphone arm
is simply pushed up so it hides inside the “frame”.
Another great feature is the H800’s ability to fold together for easy packing. You can fold them as shown in the image below, and in this position they are small enough to fit in your coat pocket, or in the small side compartment of, say, a rucksack.
The H800 folds together like this, so they fit in your
coat pocket or other small space.
Sound quality
When I bought these, I wasn’t really thinking much about sound quality, as my intended use was speech / conversation. However, I was very surprised to hear the warm, full, natural and rich sound when I tried them with music. I have had many good headphones in the past, from Bose, Sennheiser, AMG, Koss, Sony and many others, so I have some experience with the sound quality I can expect from headphones of various price levels, and I have to say that these sound wonderful for the price. I can listen to music in these all day, and I listen to plenty of progressive rock, jazz, ambient and electronica. To me, the sound is rich, yet natural. Powerful, yet neutral. Great!
Connectivity / features
This is my favorite aspect of this product. The H800 is equipped both with a small USB dongle that fits in the USB port of your computer, so you can use them wireless with Windows / Mac, and also with standard Bluetooth connection, so you can use them wireless with your cellphone or any other Bluetooth enabled device.
The tiny USB dongle is of a similar type as those you can find with a wireless mouse or keyboard. It is “thumbnail size” and will sit on the side of your laptop, or in the front or back of your desktop computer, and you won’t even notice it (apart from the fact that it takes up one of your USB ports, of course). This USB “dongle” transmits the audio to the headphones. I have to mention this other little touch of genius too. One of the ear pads has a little lid that can be twisted off, and inside is a tiny slot where the USB dongle fits snugly – so that you can keep the dongle inside the headphones when it’s not in use – a really clever solution that makes it easy to keep the dongle together with the actual headset, to make sure they are not separated. A great idea – and well carried out.
There is a slot for storing the micro USB dongle
inside the left headphone. Smart!
You can also switch the headphones over to Bluetooth mode and pair them with any Bluetooth advice, such as your cellphone. When in standard Bluetooth mode, the USB dongle is not required, and can be kept in its little place inside the headphone itself.I use my cellphone as a music player when I’m out and about, e.g. taking
a walk or riding on the bus. The phone transmits the music to the
headphones via Bluetooth and the sound is crystal clear.
Controls / buttons
The right ear pad is fitted with various controls:
Mode: Off / Bluetooth / USB dongle
Next/Previous Track selector.
Volume + / Volume –
Mute microphone
A combined Pick up / Hang up / Pause / Play button.
Once you get familiar with these over a few days of use, you learn to use them without looking, so you simply put your finger on the right button and press it, while the headphone is sitting on your head. Works perfectly for me.
This image shows all the controls described above.
The USB dongle, to the right on the picture.
Power / charging
The H800 is entirely wireless. It needs power to generate the sound that you hear, and for this it is fitted with a rechargeable battery (not replaceable). It also has a Micro USB connection, identical to the one found on most modern cellphones. You can charge the headphones by connecting this with a USB charging cable (included) that you simply connect to any USB port on your PC and leave the headset charging for a few hours. When charged, the headphones will last all day and you can enjoy many hours of listening to music or speaking with somebody over phone/Skype.
The only time you connect a wire to the
H800 is when you charge them
Summary
In summary, I love these headphones and I actually ended up using them much more than I had intended to when I purchased them. I use them for:
Skype conversations
Answering Support telephone calls in connection with my job
Listening to music while taking walks in the nature
Listening to music while doing moderate workout / exercise at home. (Light weight lifting, general light gymnastics).
Watching movies on my PC.
I even use them now as my “main” headphones when editing audio, mixing audio files and so on, using audio editing tools such as Vegas Pro, Soundforge, Sonar and others.
The only thing I don’t use them for is running. The fit is too “soft” and with the type of vigorous body movement that comes with running, they will come off. For running I use a pair of Koss Portapro.
Bottom line, I love the Logitech H800 and I don’t hesitate at all to recommend them to anybody needing a headset with a huge range of uses, with great sound quality, great connectivity and are super comfortable to wear.
Bjørn Lynne is a Norwegian sound engineer and music composer, now living and working in Stavern, Norway. He was also known as a tracker music composer under the name "Dr. Awesome" in the demoscene in the 1980s and 1990s when he released tunes in MOD format and made music for Amiga games.
Royalty-free music collection from Shockwave-Sound
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