ClearChat PC Wireless Detailed Features

Taking a more detailed look at the ClearChat PC Wireless shows off some clever integration of controls that would normally be on the wire for a regular headset.

The quick-access audio controls reside on the right earpiece. The volume is controlled by rocking the silver ring up or down, and mute is a large button within the ring. The volume control is fine-grained when tapped, and rapidly changes the volume when held down, for those noisier moments on Ventrilo.

The ClearChat PC Wireless includes a noise-canceling microphone. This feature uses a second microphone on the outside of the boom, whose signal is subtracted from that of the inside microphone. In practice this appears to work very well. Voice recording is much clearer on the ClearChat PC Wireless than most single-microphone headsets, particular when the background noise contains voices, as from a movie or telephone conversation elsewhere in the room.

I was surprised to find that Logitech decided to forego the use of mini-USB for charging the battery, and has instead included a small 6V, 240mA power brick, which connects to the headset using a very unusual, proprietary socket. I'm at a loss to explain why Logitech chose to do this; Aside from the inconvenience of not being able to charge from the PC itself, the power plug and cable are quite stiff, causing them to push against my shoulder when using the headset while charging. This pushes the headset around, and the vibrations from it are surprisingly loud (in the right ear).

The ClearChat PC Wireless includes a 6.5 ft. USB extension cable with a felt-bottomed holder that the wireless dongle can be plugged into. Initially, I didn't expect this cable to be particularly useful. However, I soon discovered that it is very necessary to get the most out of the ClearChat. More on this later.

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