Koss CS95 Speech Recogniton Computer Headset

I purchased the Koss CS95-USB headset as a replacement for a previous Logitech USB headset that broke. I use my headset primarily for gaming and Skypeing (and gaming while skypeing).I had some problems getting the headset to work initially, however. A bit of technical background: I have 15 years of technical support experience and degrees in the computer field, so this was not a novice mistake.The issue I experienced was Windows being unable to install the driver for this headset. I plugged in my old headset as well, and the driver similarly failed to install. After some Googling, I determined that Windows 8.1, which I run, appeared to be at issue. It appears that Windows 8.1 doesn't do a good job of finding drivers for USB Audio Devices (such as headsets), and that I would need to manually locate a driver for this headset myself.To find the appropriate driver, I went into control panel->right clicked on the exclam'd device (indicating a driver could not be installed). Then I clicked properties->details->hardware IDs. The Hardware ID for this device was: USB\VID_0D8C&PID_013A&REV_0100the "VID" string indicates the vendor (i.e. the chip inside the headset) was made by C-Media corp., a well-known supplier of sound chips for audio devices. After trying to use a number of different C-Media drivers for this headset, but having windows indicate the driver installs failed, I tried the "Plantronics Gamescom" headset driver from Driverscape (listed under USB Devices->C-Media) Link: http://www.driverscape.com/download/plantronics-gamecom . I installed this driver, and voila! I tested a Skype call to ensure functionality. It worked perfectly.To force an install of this driver, download and extract the zip file. Go to control panel->device manager->right click on the device w/o the driver->update driver->select driver from a list->have disk. Next, navigate to the location of the extracted files from the zip. In my case, the driver was in the x64 folder, as I'm running a 64-bit version of Windows 8.1. The folder structure and driver may vary slightly depending on your OS.Hope this helps anyone who's had issues with this headset. Please bear in mind that this seems to be an OS-specific issue, and not an issue with the headset itself.

I use these to record training videos and the sound is great. On discord everyone comments on how good my mic is.

I'm a Mac user and really have not had any problems with the mic or the ear piece at all. Once you adjust BOTH the Output Audio Settings Tab and the Input Audio Settings Tab you are good to go. From some of the complaints, it sound like the authors might have forgotten about the Input Settings Tab. The sad thing is the Mac does so much for you automatically, when some users find that a device doesn't do what they want the moment they put the USB in, they declare the device is not Mac Compatible, when it very much is.Also, I appreciate it for what it does NOT have, namely a volume control on the wire. Yes, models like  Cyber Acoustics AC-840 Internet Communication USB Mono Headset  and others by Logitech, Jambra, and Microsoft come with volume controls on the wire, but really that just creates another place to check with the audio is too low or too high. Think about it if you're watching a previously recorded webinar or TEDs presentation chances are the website you are on offers volume controls, the computer itself has volume controls, and, if you are watching it through a dedicated application, as opposed to a browser, that too might have volume controls. One less place to check is a good thing.Finally, let's face it, workplaces and offices in general are interesting contradictions. You want to be be able to review media and other resources online for presentations and other information, but you also need to be clued in on what else is going on in the environment, from an sudden meeting being called to a serious emergency arising. A single ear headset like this one makes sense, for both your functionality in the office and your personal safety. Because if the zombies or anyone else attack, the sooner you hear the sooner you can get to safety.

I bought two of these, primarily based on price. I am using one to dictate this review and found it to be very responsive and of decent quality, particularly when considering the price point. Over the last three or four years I ran through 45 sets of these headsets, primarily due to pinching or cutting of the cable. It might make more sense for me to use a Bluetooth headset. However, I don't like the reliability of anything it's battery-powered when I can plug it in. So one hand you pinch your cable into, on the other hand, the dam batteries dead.These headsets need no battery. Of course, and their cable seems to be about as good a quality as most. There is no independent volume control for the earpiece so you must set your volume using the speaker icon at the bottom left of your window screen. I was annoyed by this. However, I and my are other headsets my shirt would constantly change the volume on the knob anyway. With no volume control on the cable I can set it with the speaker icon and then it doesn't change.I use this every day with Dragon NaturallySpeaking, and I did have to go through a microphone calibration since his output level is apparently different than the earlier headsets I've used. This only took a minute or two in the headsets work flawlessly sense.The audio quality of the speaker is pretty good. Once again, money might buy a better headset, but nothing will keep record from being pinched except for going wireless, and I just don't want to do that.I don't see any reason you'd be sorry for buying these, particularly since they are modestly priced. Good luck.

Simple and it works. No volume controls to break which is why I bought it. Other reason I bought it is because it has one ear phone. I like to listen to my video game audio from the tv speakers, and the voice chat in the one ear phone. I never like playing video games with full headohones because then I can't listen to the goings-on in the house. Only reason it's not 5 stars is because it feels super cheap and not very durable.

The item arrived sort of broken (ear piece detached from headset, wires exposed) right on delivery. I managed to snap it back together but it doesn't feel secure. The mic when used with Dragon Dictation is extremely sensitive and no amount of adjusting the volume settings seems to change that. Headset fits very tightly and limited mic adjustability/positioning. It works but it isn't great. At least it was cheap.

Not so good

Arrived in great time. Absolutely well packaged. Inside the padded envelope as well has headphone, there was a surprise Vimto chew, nice touch and a £60 of voucher for a case of wine, the fact they have supplied this voucher in conjunction with another company shows the level of professionalism they go to. The headphones are ideal, for this price their an absolute bargain! I bought these for cortana and to enable me to speech to text, I havent found a decent mic for speech to text and searched and searched until I settled on these, Price was not the issue, it was soley down to being able to speak to word, wordpad and use cortana and these headphones do it all far better than anything else Ive used. There is a world of people looking for speech to text/cortana headphones, look no further, these are the ones.

I bought this due to the fact of my hearing loss. However, when I used it today, the speakers would not go over 37% I know it has a noise cancellation, but come on 37% Ridiculous. If I had known I wouldn't be able to go above 37% volume I would not have bothered myself. absolute waste of money