Logitech Wireless Headphones for PC

The Logitech Wireless Headphones for PC utilize the Bluetooth A2DP audio protocol to wirelessly stream audio from your computer. The $130 package comprises a compact stereo headset, a headset charger cable, and a USB transmitter with extension cable. Logitech also includes a CD-ROM containing the company's Music Anywhere software, which can be used to configure sound-routing options for your PC and the headset.

The headset, which has foam-covered ear pads and rests behind the head, felt a little tight at first but proved adequately comfortable over the long run. Located on the outside of the right earpiece, the headset's volume as well as previous- and next-track controls are intuitively arrayed in a circle around a center-mounted, play/pause button that can also be used to establish a wireless link with the transmitter base. Multiplayer PC gamers and those who use computer-based VoIP applications such as Skype will lament the absence of a microphone.

The transmitter unit essentially looks like a USB thumbdrive with a swiveling antenna. It has a single-status LED as well as one button that can be used to establish a wireless link with the headset. You can plug the transmitter directly into your PC's USB port or use the USB extension cable/cradle if you'd prefer to have the transmitter on your desk. This versatility makes it easy to swap the transmitter between a notebook and a desktop PC, for instance.

The headset's transport controls (play/pause, next track, and previous track) work only with applications that support multimedia keyboard commands. These include Windows Media Player 9, Musicmatch 9, iTunes 4, RealPlayer 10, and Winamp 5 (or later software versions) but not Yahoo Music Engine or Rhapsody, for instance.

Setting up the Logitech Wireless Headphones for PC couldn't be any easier. To get started, you need to charge the headset for around 2.5 hours. Once that's done, you simply connect the transmitter to your PC, power on the headset, and then wait a few seconds while the Bluetooth link is automatically established. Expect approximately 8 hours of headset battery life between charges.

By default, whenever the transmitter is plugged into your PC, all computer audio is rerouted to the headset and is not output through your system's local audio jacks. Installing Logitech's included Music Anywhere software enables configuring the Logitech Wireless Headphones for PC to transmit only audio that originates from Windows Media Player, Musicmatch, or Winamp, while automatically routing all other sounds to your computer's audio jacks.

Like the nearly identical Logitech Wireless Headphones for iPod, the Wireless Headphones for PC deliver solid sonic performance. In comparison to most other comparably styled headphones, the Logitech headset has relatively tight and deep bass response. Treble performance is evenhanded and not overblown, and the midrange is suitably full. And equally important, our listening choices were unhindered by copy-protection issues. Purchased iTunes songs, personalized online radio services such as Pandora and Last.fm, the Web streams of Sirius and XM satellite radio stations, and even DVD soundtracks all worked perfectly.

When we had the headset and the transmitter in the same 15-by-15-foot room, reception was virtually flawless. Although Logitech claims a wireless range of as far as 165 feet, structural features of your home, such as walls, will make the actual range considerably shorter. For example, in the plaster wall building where we tested the headset, reception was spotty in the room adjacent to the office where the transmitter was installed. As a result, we recommend that you use it when you're in the same room as the source PC.

All told, the Logitech Wireless Headphones for PC delivered the goods--in testing, they sounded very solid, though reception was hit-or-miss when we ventured outside the room where the transmitter was installed. If you're looking for something with better wireless range, consider the sibling product, the Logitech Wireless Music System for PC, which broadcasts your PC audio to a base station receiver that you attach to your stereo.

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