Evaluating Headsets

By Karl Barksdale

Speaking Solutions, Inc. © 2002

Before you buy any headsets for your school's lab, you should test the model you are considering against your sound cards. Not all sound cards are created equal. Some headsets can overcome less than optimum sound cards, but you'll never know until you try. If your sound card consistently fails the tests explained below, you should move to a USB headset. (Note: These instructions are posted at www.speakingsolutions.com/resources.)

* In Dragon NaturallySpeaking® 6 choose Tools, Accuracy Center, and Check Your Audio Settings. Follow the instructions. You'll need a score of 18 or higher for good speech recognition. However, you should expect scores in the 20s.

* In Dragon NaturallySpeaking® 5, choose the NaturallySpeaking menu, Advanced, and Check Audio. Follow the instructions. You'll need a score of 18 or higher, albeit, expect scores in the 20s.

* Microsoft Office XP® will only inform you if the headset passes or not. It does not provide a comparative score. However, you can still test your headset by selecting Tools, Options, and Configure Microphone from the Language bar. (Plantronics is the designated headset for Microsoft Office XP.)

* IBM ViaVoice® provides a rough scale that allows some comparison. From the settings option on the IBM Voice Center, choose Audio Setup Assistant. In older Macintosh versions, choose Audio Setup Assistant from the ViaVoice menu item. You'll need to receive a rating of Good, Very Good, or Excellent. (Plantronics headsets are now shipping with IBM products.)

* You can use L & H Voice Xpress® to test headsets by selecting the L & H Voice Xpress menu and choosing the Mic Setup option. L & H provides a sliding scale. You can easily compare headsets by judging how far the indicator slides to the right on the evaluation bar.