Sennheiser MB Pro 2: Serious Headset For Mobile IT Pros
The Sennheiser MB Pro 2 isn't fashion forward, but if you need to make sure your voice calls are clear and high-quality, it's something to consider.
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We keep hearing about the end of the telephone call -- you know, the meme that tells us that actually using our voices to communicate with one another is sooooo last year. The funny thing, though, is that I'm spending as much time on the phone as I ever have. And I strongly suspect that I'm not alone: There is someone on the other end of all those calls, after all.
When you're a mobile professional the sound of your phone calls matters almost as much as your ability to hear the person on the other end of the call. I know that many people use in-ear headsets to make calls, and I've used a number of them myself, but the in-line microphones tend to be of so-so quality, at best.
When Sennheiser offered to let me test one of their higher-end over-the-ear headsets, I was pleased to spend some time with the MB Pro 2.
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My expectations for the MB Pro 2 were high. Sennheiser has a long history as a vendor for studio headphones and microphones. I've used a number of Sennheiser headphones in music recording and always found them quite good: I looked forward to nothing less from these.
Now, you should know something at the beginning: This headset was designed for use in call centers and similar settings. The practical implication of that is that, if you're looking for a telephone headset that makes a fashion statement, this isn't the headset for you. It makes a statement, but it sounds more like "I value the quality of my telephone sound," than "I want to look cool while I’m on the phone."
With that in mind, let me start walking through what I found when I spend some serious time with a serious headset.
The MB Pro 2 is a lightweight headset that fits over the top of your head, with an adjustable band and sits over both ears. (A similar version, the MB Pro 1, is available for those who prefer a headset that sits over a single ear.) With both ears covered, the received call is quite good. While this is in no way a noise-canceling headset, the soft ear cups block a great deal of the sound around you, making it possible to concentrate on the call easily.
The MB Pro 2's mic boom swivels through about 270 degrees so the mic can rest on either ear. The earpiece that holds the mic boom also contains the physical controls for the headset. A small button next to the boom allows you to turn the headset on and off, answer and end phone calls, and allow it to be discovered by a new device. A larger button/switch on the bottom of the ear cup lets you control the headset's volume and mute the mic. I found all the controls to be easy to find and use when the headset was in place on my head.
The only mildly tricky part of the operation came in pairing the MB Pro 2 to my phone for the first time. Putting the headset in "discovery" mode involves starting with the set turned off, then holding the on/off button down longer than you might think you need to. With a few seconds of patience (and waiting for the indicator LED to do exactly what the instructions tell you it will do), pairing becomes very simple.
Bluetooth connects the MB Pro 2 to a mobile phone: I found that the connection would easily hold over between 15 and 20 feet in normal use with no discernible drop in sound quality. The MB Pro 2 will also connect to a laptop or desktop computer via Bluetooth, though the connection requires the small Sennheiser USB Bluetooth dongle (included in the MB Pro 2 package) rather than the computer's internal Bluetooth radio.
The dongle is small enough so that many people would leave it in their computers all the time: I'm paranoid about such things and removed it when I wasn't using the headset. The MB Pro 2 always re-associated within seconds when the Sennheiser dongle was put back in place.
The Sennheiser USB Bluetooth dongle sticks out about a quarter of an inch from the side of my computer. It's not dramatically larger than the USB port, so it should not block multiple ports when in use on most systems. I found the range of the Bluetooth dongle and headset to be at least 15 feet -- plenty of room for me to walk around an office while I talked to a colleague using Skype or another VoIP system.
Once installed, the Sennheiser Bluetooth dongle (the BTD 800 USB) shows up in the system resources list just like any other audio device. No special drivers were required with Mac OS X, and no special procedures were required to use the system as audio input for any application.
Skype is the most popular desktop VoIP system, and the MB Pro 2 makes a fine companion for Skype. Just as with the computer system audio, Skype picks up the presence of the Sennheiser Bluetooth dongle and offers it as an option like others available to all applications.
Some might decide that the MB Pro 2 is not the perfect audio component for video calls. Since we're wandering into the realm of individual taste, I'll leave further comments for another page.
Pairing the MB Pro 2 with a smart phone (in this case, an iPhone) is as easy as with most headsets and audio devices. Put the headset into discoverable mode, make sure it's close to the phone while Bluetooth is turned on, and you can pair. The good news, here, is that the functions of the MB Pro 2 require no more effort than that required for much less capable devices.
So, in an era that sees people buying phone accessories for their labels or styles as much as their functions, what does the MB Pro 2 say about you as a mobile professional? It says that you're the kind of person who values functional quality above the fleeting whims of fashion. It probably says that you're the kind of professional who spends a lot of time on the phone. And it might say that you're the sort of professional who is so confident in his or her abilities that you don't have to care about mere fashion.
Then again, it might say that you're a geek. I'm an amateur radio operator who has been seen in public in headsets far less sleek and professional than this, so I'll let you decide.
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