There are many headset vendors in the market, and with audio equipment you generally get what you pay for.

A Voice Over Internet Protocol ( VoIP) call is only as good as its weakest link. You can have a fast network and high-end computers, but a poor-quality headset will result in a bad audio experience.

Most well-known vendors separate their products into office headsets and call center headsets. Call centers are inherently noisier environments and require better microphone isolation, speaker performance, and durability.

SmartReach does not recommend specific headset brands or models. Instead, we provide general guidelines to help customers choose equipment that delivers the best experience when using SmartReach services.

Headset Essentials

The following lists the recommended features to look for in an agent headset:

• Use a wired USB-A or USB-C headset. Regular 3.5 mm analog headsets are prone to driver and configuration issues on modern computers. 
• Avoid wireless, Bluetooth, or DECT headsets. They often use codecs like SBC that lower sound quality and add delay. Even if they sound good on mobile devices, performance is often inconsistent on computers. Additionally, in high-density call centers, wireless channel congestion can cause interference and instability. 
• Use Stereo/binaural headsets.  Stereo speakers help with agent concentration in noisy environments.  Audio recordings have split audio channels (left channel customer, right channel agent) for auditing purposes, and most mono headsets will fail to reproduce both channels. 
• Both ears should be covered (over-ear, on-ear).  Avoid in-ear/earbud-style headsets, as they will have negative health effects after prolonged use. 
• The headset should include a microphone boom. Boom-less designs tend to capture more ambient noise and are often reported to sound muffled, underwater, or distant. 
• Mute, volume up, and volume down button functionality. This is a key feature for most agents. 
• Ideally, speakers should have 50 Hz or lower to 14 kHz or higher frequency range (super wideband audio).  However, some vendors might specify between 150Hz or lower to 6.8kHz or higher frequency range (wideband audio) in speech/speak/work/communications mode*, which is acceptable. 
• 93.0 dB SPL or higher speaker sensitivity for medium to noisy environments.  82.0 dB SPL or higher for work-from-home or quiet locations.  The higher the sensitivity, the more volume the agent will get.* 
• Ideally, between 100 Hz or lower to 7 kHz or higher microphone frequency range.  Acceptable between 150Hz or lower to 6.8 kHz or higher in speech/speak/work/communications mode**. 
• Between -14.0 to -39.9 dB V/Pa microphone sensitivity for noisy environments.  Between -40.0 dB V/Pa to -48.0 dB V/Pa for quiet environments.*** 
• Noise-canceling microphone.  It is essential for noisy environments like call centers. 
• Avoid headsets that use non-conventional speaker or microphone transducers, like bone conduction headphones or throat/neck microphones. 
• Avoid high-impedance headsets that are meant to be connected directly to a physical phone (Quick Disconnect or Easy Disconnect) or amplifier (XLR or TRS) unless the vendor provides the appropriate USB adapter.

Keep In Mind

If a headset meets essential requirements of bullets 1 - 6 above and has one or more of the following certifications, it is considered suitable:

• Microsoft Teams Certified 
• Zoom Certified 
• Cisco Webex/Jabber Certified 
• Works with Google Meet 
• Alcatel-Lucent certified 3rd party headset 
• Industry-recognized certification programs ensure that a headset model has undergone rigorous testing and that the vendor is committed to delivering high-quality sound, compatibility, and adherence to best business practices.

Optional Features

The following lists the optional features available in an agent headset:

• Active noise-canceling speakers (ANC). This allows the agent not to be distracted by surrounding noise. 
• Active noise-canceling microphones. This reduces the ambient noise picked up by the agent microphone even further. 
• High sensitivity microphones should have a pop filter installed. 
• Automatic gain control. Allows agent voice to be equalized so that volume is consistent across all the calls. 
• Automatic echo cancellation. Many vendors already include echo cancellation with their USB implementations, but this feature is not always disclosed in the spec sheet or manual. 
• Speaker total harmonic distortion (THD) below 5% (good), below 3% (better), and below 1% (best), especially for noisy environments or when high volume levels are needed. 

List of Vendors

In the world of office, work, and call center headsets, four major vendors stand out (listed alphabetically):

• EPOS (previously known as Sennheiser) 
• Jabra 
• Logitech 
• Poly (previously known as Plantronics, now part of HP) 

Alongside these major vendors, several smaller mainstream vendors offer high-quality and competitively priced products:

• Accutone 
• Cisco 
• Dell 
• Kensington 
• Lenovo 
• Microsoft 
• Yealink 

Gaming headsets may work in some cases, but they are generally not designed for all-day professional use and often prioritize features that are unnecessary in work environments.

Headset FAQs