Logitech has a long history of making high quality audio hardware for computers, and the company's ClearChat line of headsets has always been a very popular choice among consumers. Previous reviews of the ClearChat Pro were mostly positive but with significant negatives as well such as comfort and audio quality. With the Logitech ClearChat Comfort the company seems to have fixed most of the problems that this reviewer found in the high-end Pro version, and all with a much more reasonable price tag. So what exactly did they fix? Read on to find out!
Main Features and Improvements in the Logitech ClearChat Comfort
Like the other ClearChat models the Comfort provides high-quality digital audio without the need for analog conversion that can degrade audio performance. The headset is plugged into the computer via a USB port instead of the old style microphone and headphone jacks. On the systems I tested it on it worked flawlessly with almost every piece of software I tried to use. The only exception being a couple of games where manual changes to the audio settings were required in order to get the sound to play over the Comfort headset.
When using Ventrilo to speak to teammates while playing those same online games I was told that the audio quality sounded good and that they could tell no real difference between the Comfort and my old Pro. In testing it by making a recording with Audacity it seemed that indeed, the audio quality was on par with other boom mic headsets I have tried.
A big improvement in my opinion is that the ClearChat Comfort is truly comfortable. I always found that the ClearChat Pro was too tight on my head, pinching my ears and over time making it almost painful to wear. The Comfort on the other hand is still snug but not painfully so, making sure that it feels secure but not like it is stapled to my head.
Negative Aspects of the Logitech ClearChat Comfort
On the older ClearChat Pro the microphone mute switch was found on the ear piece along with the volume up and down controls. While this seemed strange at first it turns out that this arrangement was actually quite handy and worked very well. In contrast the ClearChat Comfort has the volume and mute controls in line on the cord. This reviewer found this placement to be a little more of a hassle, with the control getting caught in the arms of the office chair or being hard to grab onto when a fast change was needed like in the middle of an online gaming session. Having the controls on the earpiece was much more convenient but even when on the cord it is still not a bad set-up.
One thing that Logitech continues to avoid is making the mic mute itself when the boom is flipped into the up position. This seems like it would be a logical thing to do, and one that most professional boom mics do automatically. It would be nice to see this feature in a consumer level headset but sadly Logitech left it out once again.
In general the Logitech ClearChat Comfort is a very comfortable and capable USB audio headset. The price point is very competitive, selling for under $30 at most retailers, and is comparable in quality to other headsets of the same price class. While the inline volume controls are less than perfect the unit as a whole is more than adequate for most home user's needs and works very well with most current software.
Additional Information:
- Customer Reviews of the Comfort at the Logitech Web Site.
- The Best Wireless Headsets For Your Computer
Chad Criswell - Chad Criswell is a professional educator and freelance technology writer for numerous online and print publications throughout the United ...
Join the Conversation