UPDATED - Microsoft Teams software has become the new standard for professional collaboration in every corner of the office and of the world, Microsoft say Chat, Meet, Call and Collaborate from anywhere.
If you're actively using MS teams in your office or workplace then you are highly likely to need a compatible headset. The main question being: Which Microsoft Teams certified headset is right for you and your particular needs? some of the other important questions we're going to answer are…..
- Are you mainly office bound sat at your desk?
- Are you sometimes in the office and sometimes working from home working remotely?
- Are you permanently working remotely?
- Do you prefer wired or wireless when accessing Microsoft Teams?
- Whats the best way to connect, Bluetooth, DECT, USB-A or USB-C, 3.5mm?
Your choice of Microsoft Teams certified & compatible headsets depend on the answers to the questions above. most modern office software or collaboration software like Zoom 8x8 and Skype for business etc are morphing the commercial sector with the consumer sector so it's not uncommon for people to want a headset that will cross both those areas , eg a headset that sounds fantastic when listening to music when your chilling but can quite easily switch to being an advanced business tool went on a Microsoft Teams chat or conferencing call.
As technology moves forward in this area of conferencing collaboration and chat etc more and more requirements are required of headsets and the of the people who buy them (You!) Lets answer those questions and provide some product recommendations
Are you mainly office bound sat at your desk?
If you are lucky enough to be back in the office (Covid-19 still an issue at time of writing this) and you are actively sat at a desk for the main part then a decent quality wired headset is the way to go. Pros & Cons of wired Microsoft team headsets - the main pro is simplicity, any wired headset that is certified for MST will do the job admirably as its gone through the whole testing process to ensure it just works and works well.
Brand wise the top 2 brands for MST are: EPOS Sennheiser & Jabra. Both these brands offer quality and are very affordable plus some (especially EPOS Sennheiser) offer the choice of “tri” connectivity i.e. the ability to connect USB-A (the larger original USB), USB-C (the smaller newer USB) & 3.5mm (for mobile, smart phones etc)
Here are 2 recommendations for EPOS 135 & 165
EPOS Adapt 135T/165T
Cons: well none really apart from lack of manoeuvrability compared to wireless but if your desk bound mainly, its not an issue is it?
Are you sometimes in the office and sometimes working from home working remotely?
This is where the cross over starts from consumer to commercial use, so you will probably be wanting something that you can watch Netflix with or something to listen to your latest music choice then back in the office with a seamless connection to the office and Microsoft Teams collaboration -yes? Well its got to be wireless (predominantly) for this choice, its where the market is going and the likes of the new EPOS Sennheiser ADAPT range is designed specifically for that and all MS Teams certified but will happily work on every other platform EPOS Sennheiser ADAPT The ADAPT range are: 200, 300, 400, 500 & 600 series but for the purpose of this recommendation we are going to choose just 3 based on budget conscious, middle ground and high end (hopefully that covers most of the bases and price points)
EPOS Sennheiser ADAPT 460
Pros of ADAPT: The ability to connect to multiple media devices (up to 8) Quality, Amazing sound (BOSE, listen up here!) Call quality, Build & construction is second to none and finally the noise cancellation is cutting edge (the higher end adapt are NC and ANC) oh and of course they are all Microsoft Teams compatible headsets. Cons: Cost is the main thing but this kind of cutting edge quality is never going to be cheap is it? With EPOS, you get what you pay for! They invest millions in R&D to ensure you get the best possible experience.
Are you permanently working remotely?
This is down to a combination of the answers already provided and comes down to personal preference, requirements and cost obviously. The same caveat applies: if you are mainly desk bound and are budget conscious then go wired headsets, if you are constantly up and about and want the flexibility of connecting multiple media devices then it has to be wireless
Do you prefer wired or wireless headsets when accessing MS teams?
Up to now (+ historically) the likes of Jabra and EPOS Sennheiser have worked on the basis that wired are for the office workers and wireless are for the bosses but all that has changed, that crossover is here and most people want flexibility and the ability to connect their headset to any number of multi media devices either via USB-A or USB-C or Bluetooth or all 3 so its only natural that products should reflect that and Jabra & EPOS Sennheiser do that in spades. Here are 2 Jabra wireless headsets compatible with Microsoft Teams collaboration software that we recommend;
Jabra Engage 75 mono/duo
And here are the best selling EPOS Sennheiser multi media headsets EPOS
Whats the best way to connect, via Bluetooth, DECT, USB-A or USB-C, 3.5mm?
The short answer is "it depends" and the more types of device you need connectivity with, then the more you will pay (thats technology for you!) the only headsets that will acheive that are MS Teams certified wireless headsets. Consequently if you only require a PC connection like USB then you can get a basic wired straight through USB wired headsets
Do you have a question about this post? - contact us here or call UK 0161 830 6818, we will do our best to answer your queries.
