Headset vs headphones, please come prepared to a skype chat!
There is a big difference between Headphones and a headset and below you can see 3 examples. The first is a set of stereo headphones which are most commonly used to listen to music. Next is a pair of earbuds also used for music. Both of these can be plugged into your computer and used to listen only on Skype. If you want to have a conversation between more than 2 people on Skype you need a headsetwhich is the one on the bottom. Notice the boom microphone. This is a very sensitive mic which picks up your voice and very little ambient noise. Too often we try to have a chat session and someone shows up with a set of headphones or buds thinkging "OK, I have these and the computer has a built in mic, I'm all set to go". Not the least bit true! Without getting into technical terninology let me just say that a built in microphone or even a remote mic on a stand are not designed for private conversation. Both are designed to pick up sound from any direction and in a chat that is exactly what happens. When you have more than two people connected the interference becomes more intolerable with each person on line causing a breakdown in the connection. We have had 14 people on at a time with no problems but as soon as you add one person without a proper headset it all goes bad. Heidita puts in a lot of her spare time very late at night to moderate these chats so the least everyone can do is come prepared.
6 Answers
We have had 14 people on at a time with no problems but as soon as you add one person without a proper headset it all goes bad.
In regards to Skype...yes...One bad apple does spoil the bunch.
Heidita puts in a lot of her spare time very late at night to moderate these chats so the least everyone can do is come prepared.
Amen!
We have had 14 people on at a time with no problems but as soon as you add one person without a proper headset it all goes bad.
I remember even more people, like 17 once....and no problems.
Heidita puts in a lot of her spare time very late at night to moderate these chats so the least everyone can do is come prepared.
Thanks compi 
This is the headset I am using:
VXI Talkpro express
Listed at $37.85 (US)
As far as I could see it worked fine. The only problem I had was during the first session a couple of weeks ago, I moved the microphone a few inches down from my mouth so I could mouth the sounds along with everyone else's pronunciation and then when it was my turn I forgot to lift it back up to my mouth --- so no one could hear me. So I think it is doing a good job of only picking up what is spoken directly into it and no ambient noise.
Thanks Gary for the thread...I couldn't agree more and I remember multiple times where we have had 12-15 people with zero problems... 
Heidi is not the best.....she is the G R E A T E S T!!!!!! 
Thanks for all you do!!
Next is a pair of earbuds also used for music. Both of these can be plugged into your computer and used to listen only on Skype.
That's right, but there are some earbuds, which are designed to listen and speak as well, those are not very useful, because if you want to use them as a headset the sound would normally be horrible with a lot of noise, however there are some good ones which give the same sound quality with no background noise, but they are not common and good ones are normally very expensive. (more expensive then a real headset)
For example:
Those are the galaxy tab earphones, which are the same as a headset and they give the same pure voice with no background noise.
Heidita puts in a lot of her spare time very late at night to moderate these chats so the least everyone can do is come prepared.
l agree!! Heidi you're the best
I didn't know anything about headsets when I was invited to my first chat about a month ago. Sanlee answered all my questions and on the day of my first chat session I bought a headset for $23.00. Turned out to be a good investment.
