Reviews Active Noise Cancelling headsets


Open plan offices don’t work for anything other than cost sav- ings – in fact, they kill produc- tivity. Such is the conclusion of the largest study to date, of more than 40,000 workers in 300 U.S. office buildings. The results, have been published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, and pointed to the following conclusion: "Enclosed


private offices


clearly outperformed open-plan layouts in most aspects of IEQ (Indoor Environmental Quality),


particularly in acoustics, priva- cy and the proxemics issues. Benefits of enhanced 'ease of interaction' were smaller than the penalties of increased noise level and decreased privacy re- sulting from open-plan office configuration." It isn't just the noise and the interruptions that cause peo- ple to hate open-plan offices. According to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal: “All of this social engineering has created endless distrac-


tions that draw employees' eyes away from their own screens. Visual noise, the activity or movement around the edges of an employee's field of vision, can erode concentration and disrupt analytical thinking or creativity.”


While there is no easy way to block out the visual pollution, The latest headsets are very much designed to counter the barriers to productivity present in open plan offices. Moderat- ing the adverse audio effects of


Logitech Zone Wireless Headsets


Logitech announced the launch of the Logitech Zone Wireless and Logitech Zone Wireless Plus Headsets. The Zone se- ries of headsets delivers supe- rior sound quality so users can take conference calls, listen to music, or block out distractions with active noise cancellation (ANC). As the first headsets that offer Qi wireless charging, Zone Wireless provides con- venient charging at the user’s desk.


“Many professionals bring their own headphones to work, however they do not address the typical needs of an open office,” said Philippe Depal- lens, vice president and gener- al manager of Logitech Audio. “Logitech Zone Wireless is de- signed with contemporary style, supreme comfort, and audio call clarity, as well as active noise cancellation and great sound quality for music, when- ever and wherever you need it.” We set up a test scenario in the AV News offices and using a mixed environment of PCs, MacBooks and iPhones in a meeting room scenario. The first thing to comment on is the ease of set up we have come to expect from Logitech. No com- plex instruction manuals – just use the simple directions on the box and you will be fine. Bluetooth pairing was simple and virtually instantaneous, the supplied dongle worked faultlessly, and the headset has just one button, pressable ear cups and a microphone boom to raise and lower to mute / un- mute the unit.


ACN (Active Noise Cancellation)


The Zone Wireless reflects mod- ern minimalist design trends. The soft leatherette ear pad material and silicone padded headband make Zone Wireless comfortable to wear all day. The headset offer up to 15 hours of available talk time and music. A really useful audio alert tells the user how many hours of charge are left in the unit. The Zone Wireless interface is incredibly easy to use while on calls or listening to music. Simply push the main button in the center of the ear cup to answer/end calls or play/pause while listening to music. Users can also mute the headset by raising the microphone boom. At the end of the working day,


The design of the Sennheiser headset is embellished with chrome details and features ear cups that com- pletely envelop the ears.


ensures maximum concen-


tration while the comfortable soft ear pads provide excel- lent comfort even after hours of wearing. The MB 360 UC headset has a talk time of up to 25 hours and is UC optimized, increasing productivity. More- over, the headset connects to a mobile device and is said to be optimised for Unified Commu- nication.


Stylish and modern


Zone Wireless uses Easy-Switch technology to connect and switch easily between a smartphone and a computer through Bluetooth or through the Bluetooth dongle.


The design of the Sennheiser headset is embellished with chrome details and features ear


The sleek modern design and foldable easy-to-store head- band will appeal to the style conscious worker. In addition, the refined sound for music makes working as well as com- muting much more enjoyable". The controls are concentrat- ed on a strip of buttons on one of the ear cups. The possible selective muting that these provide allow users to vary the music volume


while engaged on calls (the music can’t be heard by a call- er). The MB360 needs a little more an introduction to pro- spective users but in our opin-


and detailing of the Sennheis- er.


In use for purely playing music, and connected to Bluetooth, the user can control iPhone vol- ume, rewind, skip, and forward track choice from the buttons on the headset. Our only res- ervation, which have referred back to Sennheiser is that the buttons on the MB360 don’t appear to work when the unit is on charge via the USB connection and Aux cable in use.


users simply fold Zone Wireless and place it on a Qi wireless charger or connect it to the included USB cable for quick and easy charging. Zone Wireless uses Easy- Switch technology to connect and switch easily between a smartphone and a computer through Bluetooth or through the Bluetooth dongle. Once paired with the downloadable companion app, Logitech Tune, users can control the headset using the app, from activating the mute or ANC functions, to adjusting the sound equalis- er for tuning the bass perfor- mance to your own liking, as well as providing firmware up- grades.


But what about the Active Noise Cancellation? Zone Wire- less eliminates some of the background noise so the user can focus on calls, but not all by any means. Users have up to a 30m /100ft range, as well as a noise cancelling microphone for


greater call clarity. We


found that call clarity posed no problems in our trials despite a degree of background noise ingress. For those users who prefer to play music while mak- ing or receiving a call we found that the default is to maintain volume as the voice and music at similar levels although the


caller cannot hear the music. Solutions


For users look at integrating Zone Wireless into a complete UC solution, the product is Cer- tified for Skype for Business and


supported by Microsoft


Teams. Logitech has worked closely with its Collaboration Partners including Google Cloud, Zoom, Fuze, Unify, True- Conf, and StarLeaf to ensure a seamless user experience. Zone Wireless will also support some of the most popular collabora- tion, conferencing and voice applications like BlueJeans, Cisco WebEx, Cisco Jabber, and GoToMeeting.


But what about the all-import- ant price factor? Logitech Zone Wireless with Bluetooth avail- able in at 219.99€ in Europe. Logitech Zone Wireless Plus with the Logitech Unifying Plus Receiver has the same features and design as Zone Wireless but uses the world’s first single USB receiver that can connect to a Logitech Unifying mouse, keyboard and Zone Wireless Plus headset. Logitech Zone Wireless Plus for 299.99€ in Europe. Logi Tune companion app is available on iStore and Google Play store.


open plan is now entirely possi- ble with noise cancelling head- sets. The idea is to improve the quality of the sound you want and to reduce the impact of the background noise you don’t want. Arriving at AV News HQ, within 24 hours of each other, we have the latest ANC (Ac- tive Noise Cancelling) headset offerings


from Logitech and


Sennheiser. Here is what we found...


Sennheiser MB 360 UC


Quite coincidentally, Sennheis- er’s new MB 360 UC Bluetooth headset with Active Noise Can- cellation (ANC) arrived within 24 hours of the Logitech product, enabling us to run a side-by-side comparison. Like the Logitech Zone Wireless, the MB 360 UC is designed for office workers who need to work from everywhere using one single headset, for both calls and music. :


The MB 360 UC is created for modern office workers, who need to concentrate and col- laborate in noisy environment such as open offices, cowork- ing spaces or when commuting. The ANC (Active Noise Cancel- lation)


technology efficiently reduces distracting noises and


cups that completely envelop the ears, unlike the Logitech Zone Wireless which sit on, rather than cover the ears. We found the Sennheiser headset both comfortable and effec- tive, when used in conjunction with the ANC function, at in- sulating the user from back- ground news.


Theis Mork, Vice President of Product Management at Sennheiser Communications highlights the key features of the design: "Flexibility is more important than ever. Senn- heiser's MB 360 UC headset supports the modern style of working, enabling its users to work just as well on the train, at the airport or in a café as in the traditional office space.


ion it’s worth it. The MB 360 UC headset is UC optimised, but also is a fine headset for general use.


Good value


Priced at £170 (including VAT) the MB360 is a few pounds cheaper than the Logitech but price is unlikely to be the de- termining factor in the user’s choice. There are some other advantages that the Sennheis- er enjoys. For example, battery life of the MB 360 is 25 hours, compared to 15 for the Log- itech. We also found the ANC to be more effective. Styling is much more subjective, but those of our team in the target market preferred the solidity


AV News July 2019 P11


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