iMicro IMME282 USB Dual Headset with Adjustable Microphone Noise Cancelling and Volume Control, Wired Headphone for PC, Laptop and Computer,Black

I bought this headset for two reasons: 1) it had a good price, and 2) I needed a headset for use with dictation software.I am happy with the product because it does exactly what I wanted to do. I am on Windows 8.1 and I am using Nuance's Dragon Naturally Speaking 12. For this purpose it has been very effective. My voice sounds clear through the headset and I have not had any issues dictating. Any audio sounds good enough through the headphones that I don't feel like I need to switch to my better music oriented headphones.The headphones have been much more comfortable to wear then I had expected them to be. I do want to point out that I do have a smaller head, but what I like about them is that they do not pinch my ears the way that some cheap headphones do. They don't point inward as though they are trying to drill into my brain through my ears or render me unconscious.Installation was simple. I plugged the USB into my laptop and it automatically installed the drivers. It began working immediately after.To make sure that your computer recognizes and is ready to use the mic, on Windows go into: control panel> hardware and sound> sound> manage audio devices. This will take you to an area where you specify which microphone AND headphones you want to use. There are two different tabs. I had to do a little trouble shooting on my laptop because I have a built-in WebCam and the default microphone was my WebCams mic so I had to fumble around with my settings for a bit. Once I used the correct control panel it worked fine. I say this because I have a multimedia laptop so it has more media software and audio software than a standard computer which basically means that I have about ten different audio management control panels most of which I will never have a reason to use. So I wasted twenty minutes fumbling with my Realtek Audio panel because it had mic related options, when all I needed was hardware and sound. If your headphones are working, but the mic isn't then you probably didn't go into the right control panel. Hope this saves someone some time lol.

Lightweight, good sound quality, not too tight on ears.

I've used these a couple times a week for about a year. The sound quality is fine for me...I'm not an audiophile, so maybe not the most discriminating critic, but for talking to people or watching stupid YouTube vids, it's perfectly good. Durability seems much better than most cheap headphones. They're very comfortable...one reason I buy cheap headphones is that they tend to be very lightweight, and not put pressure on your head or ears that can hurt after hours of use, and these are great in that regard.LED is only complaint: There's a 1cm x 3cm control pad built into the USB cord, that has volume up & down, mute mic, and mute headphone buttons. It has a tiny but staggeringly bright LED on it, which is either on or blinking on and off pretty much any time they're plugged into a computer. In a dark room, it's distracting, and painfully bright. It indicates if you pressed the mute buttons and what not, but they're things I'd personally consider unnecessary...I'd rather they did away with the control pad entirely, as it just duplicates controls on my computer. You can paint or tape over the LED, but it's still annoying.

The tl;dr summary: If you need a cheap but good headset with mic for work or gaming these have some small issues but are worth trying at $10-14_______________________Edit - Easy fix if these are too tight on your ears!1. Find a cooking pot that is wide enough to fit the headband.2. Boil a pot of water then let it cool for a minute or two.3. Dip the middle 4 or 5 inches of the headband (ONLY) in the water for about 15 seconds. Then pull them from the water and hold the earpads apart about 6 inches while the plastic cools. You could also run them under cool water.4. Try them on and check the fit. I got them right the first time but you can always try again to make them tighter or looser.5. Optional - I heated them again and added a slight angle to the earphones so they sit flatter on my ears.I did this and then wore them for an hour comfortably. If they are too tight for your head try this fix!_______________________Review below:If you're familiar with the IM320 that the IM282 replaced you'll know what you're getting here. I've been using a set of the IM320 for two years now and I'm still quite happy with them but I wanted to try this updated version.I'm going to talk mainly about the drawbacks to the IM282 (new version) as compared to the IM320 (old version). Both have good listening sound quality, great for call center type work and fine for gaming. The microphone quality of the IM320 is exceptional, all it needs to be perfect is a a small foam cap on the boom to stop breathing noises. (I used yellow dish sponge and it's been great) The mic on the IM282 seems to be good also, but not quite as good. The manufacturer specifications are the same but I don't know if they're using the actual same mic.Drawbacks to the IM282:The headband - It's too small or too stiff. I have a moderately large head and these are painfully tight after a pretty short time. If the manufacturer used a slightly softer plastic or otherwise reduced the pressure they would be comfortable for long term use.I'm planning to dip the headband part in a pot of hot but not boiling water to try to reduce the bend slightly and if that works, or ruins them, I'll update this. (This worked great, see instructions above)The Mic - Pretty good, the only real downside is that the mic boom is rigid as opposed to the flexible boom on the previous version. You can rotate it up and down, but that's it. If it's placed right for you, great, if not you're out of luck. That said, it should be okay for most people.The Mic on the previous version has gotten a lot of compliments on the sound quality from audio production pros I talk with. They're amazed at the quality for the price. I think the new version is about equal but I don't have feedback from others yet. Totally fine for call center or gaming use.The ear cushions - They're pretty firm but I think they will be more comfortable if I can adjust the band pressure. The do a good job of reducing background noise but I think that's the only "noise canceling" these have.A Pro: The cord is longer and nicer than the previous version, with a braided covering.