Radio Headsets April 26, 2008
Posted by admin in : Headphone , add a commentHeadsets, also known as headphones, are hearing devices that are actually miniature speaker systems. They are stereo hearing systems that can be worn near the ear, thus providing mobility to the user. Traditional headsets were bulky and large with two speakers for both the ears encased in padded ovular ear cups. These ear cups were attached to a headband in the shape of an arch that went over the head. Each of these ear cups had a signal wire joined down together as a single wire, which was connected to the audio player or radio through a headphone jack.
Today’s headsets, especially radio headsets, are technological wonders-extremely lightweight with no irritating cords, almost negligible in appearance, sound quality, durability and comfort. They are equipped with superior technologies like push-to-talk and duplex wireless transceivers. These can transmit scrambled digital signals in a spread spectrum format for ensuring complete security and privacy to the user. Radio headsets also have the noise cancellation option for better acoustics.
Radio wireless headsets have wider ranges of up to 300 feet or 90 meters. They use frequencies of 2.4GHz and can be receive transmission even through walls. Sound quality, speaker power, bass and treble range are some features to look for in a radio headset. Other options are the accessibility of the controls like volume and frequency. The battery is also important as the total cost of ownership depends on the batteries. Some radio headphones use rechargeable batteries. The style and comfort are other factors to be considered while buying a radio headset.
There are several manufacturers of radio headsets like David Clark, BHI, Kenwood, Warren Gregoire and others. The Internet is the best source to find out more about buying a radio headset. There are many websites that provide information about the products, along with other offers, discounts and warranties. A good radio headset is around $30, though it varies according to model.
Headsets provides detailed information about headsets, wireless headsets, phone headsets, aviation headsets and more. Headsets is the sister site of Free Phone Conferencing.
Tags: aviation headsets, headsets, phone headsets, wireless headsetsNoise Cancelling Headphones and iPods April 25, 2008
Posted by admin in : Headphone , add a commentWouldn’t it be nice if you could just shut off those sounds that can be so irritating? Those rattles, hums and hissing noises can be extremely annoying, especially when you are trying to focus on something else. Well it appears that a solution has finally presented itself in the form of noise cancelling headphones.
In fact noise cancelling headphones have been in existence for some time, although high research and development costs have previously kept them out of the hand of consumers, until now that is.
Big brand names like Bose and Sony have jumped at the chance to bring noise cancelling headphone onto the consumer market, with a range of reasonably priced products. Some consumers might see the headphones as a little bulky but they certainly outperform their smaller counterparts and reward the listener with clearer sound and more importantly, clearer sound at lower volume levels.
The importance of being able to listen to music clearly at low volume levels has been highlighted by the advent of the iPod, which has taken the music world by storm. According to http://www.cancelingnoise.com an iPod is capable of producing somewhere in the vicinity of 85dB of sound, which if listened to for long periods is likely to cause permanent hearing loss. With noise cancelling headphones however, listeners are able to listen to their favorite tracks without competing with ambient noise by boosting the volume to dangerous levels. This makes noise cancelling headphones a must have accessory for anyone who listens to music regularly and particularly those who listen to music while commuting.
Aside from the obvious draw back of being a little bulky, the headsets do use more power than regular headphones. Once again, I would say that the increase in quality and ability to listen to music at lower volumes outweighs this negative. Although noise cancelling headphones are very effective they do have their limitations and short sharp sound is one of them. The headphones are unable to adjust to short sharp sounds, rather they are suited to humming or hissing sounds.
Otherwise they are fast becoming an essential part of audio equipment and a sure fire success as a gift for anyone with an iPod.
The author is a regular contributor to http://www.cancellingnoise.com and permission to reproduce this article is given only on the basis that all links remain active and intact.
Tags: noise canceling headphones, noise cancelling headphonesThe Music At Work Place April 24, 2008
Posted by admin in : Headphone , add a commentIn 1972 Fox and Embrey conducted four experiments to determine whether efficiency in completing tasks was affected by background music, or a lack of. The four experiments were based around the workers completing certain tasks in a specified amount of time, with different styles of music being played in the background. Their findings suggested that music can improve efficiency in repetitive tasks. They also concluded that any music that is played should be “lively and upbeat”, and the length and scheduling of the music are important. Some of the experiments involved the music being played in intervals rather than continuously. The results suggested that this was the best way to improve the efficiency.
In 1988 Martin found that subjects’ test scores increased slightly in the presence of instrumental background music than with lyrical music or no music. Kiger did a similar study in 1989. He found that students scored highest on comprehension exams with low information load music (soft with a slow tempo, repetitive rhythm, and no lyrics) than with high information load music (non-repetitive, quick, upbeat lyrics) or no music.
Some jobs are very repetitive and monotonous, such as entering data into a database / spreadsheet or typing up a long document. These jobs require a little “spice” to keep the employees ’sane’! This spice could be whistling or tapping out a rhythm with their feet. This however could get annoying for other workers in the office or work environment. There are arguments for individual employees to wear headphones to listen to different genres of music so as not to interfere with other employees’ work habits.
The alternative to each individual having headphones to listen to music, is that music is played around the workplace. In this case, the employer needs the volume level to be perfectly balanced to get the most from their employees. There is a problem for the employer of what genre of music to play. This brings the argument full circle, back to the problem that one genre of music may help one employer to concentrate, but may distract another.
There are, however, some disadvantages to playing music in the workplace. One disadvantage is the cost to buy a license to do so. As music is copyrighted, a license would have to be bought to play the employers’ choice of music. Buying this license means that the employer can play the specified copyrighted music for an annual payment. This cost would be more for a larger company than it would be for a small company. Another is that the music as a generalised term does not interfere with employees work habits. Placement of speakers is a key issue in this.
The original statement “The use of music enhances the working environment of the IT professional” may be the case in some instances, however, as shown, the odds of pleasing every employee are very slim. In the attempt to please every single employee, some essentials are lost. For example, giving every employee headphones to listen to his own music on, keeps everyone happy, but employees who don’t hear conversations may lose some efficiency, and the workplace can even, possibly, become a dangerous environment to work in due to alarms or warnings not being heard. If music is going to be played across the office as a whole, considerations have to be made. The considerations such as speaker placement, music genre and whether music is played in intervals or continuously, have to be well thought through so as not to annoy or aggravate certain employees. All decisions need to be carefully thought through, so as to please every employee, therefore getting the most efficient workforce possible. As studies have shown, the best music to play to get the most out of the workforce is soft, slow, instrumental, repetitive music, rather than fast, loud, lyrical music.
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