Are USB headphones/headsets inferior to regular ones?

Question

Some headsets use an USB connection instead of connecting to the motherboard's regular audio output jack. Does that make them inferior in any way to other headsets? What about USB 2.0?
I'm looking for any possible decrease in sound quality, voice quality, bandwidth, anything.

I've been searching around for this, but I can't find any sourced info on it. I game a lot, and I'm shopping for a quality headset to use with my PC, but I need to know if I should stay clear of USB headsets or not.

EDIT: Obviously, actual sound quality depends greatly on the device: a crappy regular headset will have worse sound quality than a great usb headset. What I'm asking is: is there a general limitation that applies to any usb headset? Is a great usb headset necessarily inferior to other great headsets, simply because it's usb?

Answer 1

The interesting part of a USB headset is the fact that you're going to have to go from digital to analog audio at some point during the transition. The problem is, good D/A converters are not cheap - last I checked, the majority of USB headsets were made of very cheap components that do not account for high fidelity listening. This can create sound coloring that is satisfactory to 95% of all listeners, but a discerning ear will be able to tell. So to answer your question, unless there's a niche headset out there with excellent converters, it isn't going to sound as clear/transparent as an audio interface with dedicated/premium converters like the Apogee Duet (when using a normal audio headset).

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Just for some more background, I produce music and have been doing so for quite some time. I've run the gauntlet on different audio interfaces, ranging from consumer to full professional gear. Currently, I use the Apogee Duet as my audio interface for recording and playback. When I don't have the Duet with me and am running off of my laptop sound (which is a RealTek chipset), there is an immediate difference in response to my earphones. The difference between the Duet and the RealTek is that the Duet is much more transparent in that it is playing back the audio with as little effect on the signal as possible. The majority of that happens in the D/A converters. The Duet carries a hefty pricetag for this ability - I just can't see a $30-90 solution that includes headphones, microphone, and A/D - D/A as having the type of quality as a prosumer device. Probably because Joe Consumer doesn't really care, as long as it sounds good.

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Edit 3: More information = better answer

By reading your responses to comments and what we have discussed, the short answer is No, there are not limitations of USB that jeopardize quality of sound versus onboard or internal soundcards.

Answer 2

I've just found this post on Ethiopian Review which lists the pros and cons of both. It lists these as the negatives for USB:

The main negative of USB headphones is that they can be finicky in regards to being bumped or unplugged. If you unplug a standard audio jack headset, it can be plugged back in and immediately be receiving sound. However, due to the USB headset being an actual device that is technically installed, it is not so immediate. The second part of this problem is that sometimes it can be difficult to get sound back in a program that is already operating, forcing a restart.

The second negative of USB headphones is that they take up a USB slot. This problem is generally easily solved, but for those with a large amount of USB related equipment it may become an issue.

But doesn't really mention the sound quality.

Answer 3

I own a couple of headsets, USB and non-usb. The USB one I have is the Creative Fatlity ($40). As for regular ones I have Bose Quiet Comfort (i know a stupid impulse buy) and a cheapo $20 altec lansing.

To answer your question first, no there's not much difference that I can tell (I am not a sound aficionado by any stretch). Though I feel that the USB sounds better cause the one I have stops outside noise better :). Though the Bose feel/sound even superior due to even lesser interference from outside :).

Here's my take, when you need multiple audio streams to different devices or quickly need to switch from speaker to headphones, then usb is great. However it also becomes single use, i.e. only with a PC/laptop. This is a big limitation, if you get a nice headset and want to use it with an mp3 player or stereo or share two headsets on a laptop while watching a movie, it can get difficult. AFAIK there are no USB to standard headphone jack converters.

But if you get a decent pair of analog (i.e. regular) headsets you can use them with majority of the devices in the world and no problemo! So my recommendation is still get the regular pair unless you have a specialized role that can be filled with a usb pair.

Answer 4

In general, there's no reason for a USB device to have better or worse quality than one plugged into a sound card. It all depends on the details of the specific item.

Answer 5

A USB audio device can have better quality than a traditional analog audio device, since it can be moved outside of the relatively (electrically) noisy environment of the PC case (which obviously does not apply to traditional digital audio such as S/PDIF).

Answer 6

USB sound cards (including those used with usb headphones) rely on your cpu to do all the work. This is true of most cheap onboard and pci/pci-e sound cards as well. But if you have a nice sound card in your gaming rig, you probably don't want a usb headset.

Personally, I'd stick with a traditional headset and just get a simple usb audio adapter if I needed that ability. They go for less than $5 shipped.

Answer 7

I have never heard of an issue with standard headphones but I have had several friends who couldn't get their usb headsets to function properly.

One friend recently ran into a static issue on his usb headset. The only thing that helped the problem was plugging his phone into one of the other usb slots.

I think you will run into more problems with a usb driven headset than you will with a traditional one.

Answer 8

USB headphones have one practical advantage - the USB cable won't tear like the audio cable does. I hate it changing headsets every year or so because of torn cables. Moreover audio cables twist horribly sometimes while USB cables do not.

Answer 9

When I started taking Rosetta Stone courses, I discovered that the included USB headset, sold separately for $39, is comparable in quality to my $100 Bose SoundSport earbuds (minus the bass).

The digital to analog conversion for USB headphones happens at the speakers. The signal on old fashioned analog degrade while traveling through multiple wires and a 3.5 mm jack. This is why the iPhone 7 is moving to Bluetooth/lightning cable.

Even with cheap headphones you will gain significantly more clarity through USB. Of course, quality of the speakers matter. There is an unexploited market for high quality sub-$100 USB and Bluetooth headphones right now.

Answer 10

I've read all the posts and I don't see anyone mentioning the aspect that on USB headset you could get a 7.1 sound system. If you only use an analog headset you will have to connect about 3~4 plugs.

I don't know much about sound quality but it would be good for you to check this headset out.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Wireless-Gaming-Headset-Surround/dp/B003VANOFY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1287014961&sr=8-3

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-7-1-Channel-Surround-Sound-Headset/dp/B001O5CCQK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287014961&sr=8-1

Answer 11

I have found that you can actually change the sound by the use of different software/drivers. I've actually had sound problems that I corrected by changing the environment.

For instance, you can change the environment from:

• room to hallway
• hallway to club
• club to arena, etc.

It makes all the difference in the world.

Answer 12

On my system, I found a USB headset was better quality than a 3.5 mm wired headset. Presumably there is some interference on the front audio ports on my PC.

I now have a Plantronics USB 625 headset. I'm not an audiophile, but I detect far less noise with these than anything else I tried in the sub-$100 range anyway.

Also note that this model is in fact an analog model with a Plantronics USB adapter, so you can try both connection types and see which you prefer.

Answer 13

I would guess that, since USB headphones would always have to include a D/A converter and analogue preamp stage, they would be more likely to compromise on the quality of the mechanical parts of the speakers themselves, i.e. the magnets, coils, membranes etc. (which always operate in an analogue fashion natively). So for the same price, a regular headset should provide higher quality. -- OTOH, with a regular headset you're depending on the D/A converter and preamp that are built into the host device's audio adapter -- and that might compromise on quality too, e.g. if you think of things like smartphones and their headphone jacks. For ultimate quality, your best bet might be to transfer the sound via DLNA (or Airplay or some other digital streaming protocol) to a high-end (DLNA/Airplay-enabled) amplifier and use your (regular/analogue) headphones on that, or use the USB audio output and connect that to a dedicated high-end USB audio box and connect your analogue headphones to that.

Answer 14

For voice recognition the quality of the earphones is secondary. What matters is the microphone's accuracy. Any stray noise, including electrical noise, can be converted to extraneous words. Several here have mentioned the problem of laptop electrical noise with analog 1/8" plugs. Presumably that would be less or absent with a USB device.

Answer 15

I'm not a hardware expert or an expert in anything.......but for me there has been a 'beyond' night and day difference between USB quality headset and traditional 3.5 jack -at least on a typical laptop: I 'inherited' an obsolete HP Compaq Presario laptop (2007 make) several years ago and was appalled at the sound quality of headphones when they were connected to the 3.5 headphone jack. So I purchased a Logitech USB headphone set from walmart. My theory was that the USB plugs directly into the soundcard so that it would sound exponentially better than a headphone jack headphone. I was right.

The Logitech USB headset was a million times better sounding than a headset plugged into the headphone jack. Mind you, this Logitech USB headphones were purchased at Walmart for only 35 dollars two years ago.

Today, I received in the mail a pair of bluetooth headphones that are highly rated online with an MSRP of 200 dollars but I got for 75 dollars at amazon. I was absolutely appalled that the sound quality of these very expensive bluetooth headphones is far inferior to my Logitech USB headphones. Are my Logitech headphones such high quality sound simply BECAUSE they ARE USB -as my original theory would be?

Answer 16

For perspective, consider a typical audiophile solution to connect high-end multi-hundred-dollar headphones to a computer:

The USB output is input to a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) which provides the analog output, this is connected to a "Headphone Amplifier" which boosts the signal sufficiently to support headphones with a "High input impedance", such as the Sennheiser HD650.

Here's an example of a combo device which has both the DAC and amplifier in one box. Note the price.

Here's a more traditional 2-box system, a DAC plus a Headphone Amp, by a company called "Schiit". Two boxes make sense since many headphones don't need the extra amplifier step. Look for the picture of the 'Magni 3' with the 'Modi 2'.

The overall point is that the USB output has all the full quality of the digital recording (such as the mp3 file) and can be used to generate the highest quality sound. This method sends the digital information directly out the USB port, without using the sound card.