Introduction
With the introduction of instant messaging programs, the growth of video chat and free online telephone services such as Skype, there has been an increased demand for headset and microphone combinations that are both comfortable and effective. Speed Link, which was set up in 1998 and is now one of the leading manufacturers of computer and gaming peripherals, has come up with one such product by way of the Ganymed Headset. This headset has an inbuilt microphone and gold plated 3.5mm jacks. So lets put this headset to the test and see if it can live up to the high standards people expect.
Features
- Collapsible stereo 2.0 headset
- Padded headphones for added comfort
- Storage case
- Flexible removable microphone
- In line remote
- Gold plated 3.3mm jacks
- 2.3m cable
Specifications
Headset
- Sensitivity: 106dB +or- 3dB
- Impedance: 32 ohms
- Frequency range: 20Hz – 20 KHz (same range as a fifteen year olds hearing capability)
Microphone
- Impedance 220 ohms + or – 15 dB
- Sensitivity
- -40dB + or – 3dB
Packaging
The Ganymed comes in a heat sealed plastic pack with Speed links usual colour scheme of red and white, with a black banner at the bottom saying the product name. This simple yet elegant design looks good against the black and silver of the headset visible through the front of the packaging.
Just above the black banner at the bottom is a short list of applications that the headset is suited for, among these are Skype and MSN Messenger. The headset is fitted inside a vacuum formed plastic casing and looks smart and of good quality whilst it is curled up in its collapsible form. The inline remote control can also be seen and looks simple and well made. This initial view of the product means that you get a very positive view of the Ganymed before you’ve opened that packet.
The back of the packaging has 8 boxes all filled with a different aspect of the headsets features. These are written in 9 languages for Speed Link’s large European market and are simple enough not to bore you with details but informative enough to convince a confident buy. When opened the Ganymed was in good shape with no defects at all and a nicely rolled up wire showing no signs of wear so I can safely say that the packaging is suitable and appropriate for the product.
Speed Link Ganymed 2.0 stereo Headset
First impressions on taking the product out of the packaging are that the product is good quality. The whole product feels well made, even the folding parts and bendable microphone feel sturdy enough to withstand day-to-day use. The silver and black colour scheme is stylish and professional looking – the kind of headset you wouldn’t mind using at work or would feel proud to own as a telemarketer. The microphone was very good as it is pulled out of the left headphone and folds up inside.
The remote control is simple and effective at first looks. A simple volume control and a microphone switch are useful additions. The fact they are simple already puts the Ganymed ahead of many other headsets, specifically USB headsets with button volume controls as these never seem to work well. I also notice the addition of a tone control on the side, this is a most welcome addition as many headsets don’t include this and it is very useful for taking the edge off high pitched sounds which can hurt your ears.
I was also pleased when I saw that the storage case which felt of good quality and wasn’t massive or tiny. Many of the cases you get with products like this aren’t very good and because of this the products gets damaged easily – the fact that a good size carry case is provided is good in itself as the wire can be packed loosely, which means that its life will be much longer because the wires inside won’t snap from being crammed into a small space or being wrapped around the headset too tightly.
Installation and Testing
The installation was possibly one of the easiest ever, merely involving plugging in the green jack to the green port and the pink jack to the pink port.
After the outstanding first impressions I was expecting a lot from this headset and I set myself a 3 day use period to try and get a view of what it would be like to use this headset everyday. This involved talking to people on Skype, recording sound clips, listening to music and in-game talking and listening.
The first time I put the headset on it felt quite comfortable but I was aware that the phones weren’t quite big enough for my ears (I have fairly average size ears). This didn’t bother me at first but after the 3 day period of testing my ears felt quite painful and have only just stopped hurting 2 days later. The first thing I tried out was talking to some of my friends on Skype. This was very good, the people I was talking to could hear me very well which shows that the microphone is good quality. I could here the people very well and the tone control helped with a particularly high pitched cousin of mine.
However this test did highlight the synthetic rubbery material which the padded headphones are covered in and the fact that this material is not breathable. After half an hour I was forced to stop using the headset and resort to a free microphone I got with a webcam and speakers because my ears were so hot and sweaty. Comfort wise the headphones were failing badly but in terms of sound quality so far the Ganymed was holding up well.
The next test was recording sound clips; this tests the quality of the microphone and its tolerance to loud sounds. The microphone performed fairly well under normal circumstances, the sound quality was as good as you’d expect for such a small microphone. However when it was tested with a series of high pitched sounds and loud noises the sound degraded into incoherent crackles. This was a disappointment but to be honest not entirely unexpected.
I started to listen to music via my iPod with this headset but if you’re used to £70 Bose in-ear headphones this product simply doesn’t cut it and I soon reverted to my normal headphones. However this is a bit unfair as not everyone can enjoy such a high level of sound quality all the time. What I heard of the music was of an alright standard, it sounded like the same quality you’d get from standard earphones with a little more ambient noise dampening. As for the tone control I was sorely disappointed the bass end of the control simply flattened the whole sound making it seem like you were listening to music through a piece of MDF. The treble end was no better simply using the same piece of MDF for the high frequencies. This was very disappointing for me but many people may not notice and the quality is good enough for most standard audio file bit rates.
Finally the game test confirmed all my earlier thoughts about the headset. Under normal circumstances the headset performed well, but as soon as you spoke a bit too loudly into the microphone or went into a particularly loud area the headset sounded as bad as your mother in law on a rant.
Conclusion
The Ganymed looks very good, with its stylish colour scheme and curving sides. The headset folded up looks about as good as it does unfolded. The sound quality is good to a certain point and the tone control is good for applications like skype.
However after 3 days of use there were a number of problems, here is a list of everything I noticed:
- The padded covering was coming off of the phone
- The volume and tone control adjusters were very loose
- The adjustable headphone position click mechanism was loose
- One of the hinges on the folding mechanism was snapping
Pros
- Fair sound quality
- Small folded size
- Good looks
- Affordable ( ranging from £11 on some sites to £20 retail in shops)
Cons
- Bad sound quality at extreme volumes
- Bad tone control
- Diabolical build quality
- Uncomfortable
Therefore I can only award this 2/5 due to poor build quality and bad sound function.
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