Home > Consumer Reviews > Altec Lansing AHS-502 Studio Headset with Mic

My primary purpose for getting this headset was for gaming. When I originally bought this pair about a year ago, I paid almost twice as much at Best Buy, which is completely ludicrous for the kind of product this turned out to be. For around $20, it might be an okay value, but I would recommend you look around some more, in case you feel like settling on this.

So here's what I thought about the AHS-502...

SOUND:
I got suckered in by the neat look and packaging of the AHS-502, but don't let its sleek silver appearance or the fact they're calling themselves a "Studio Headset" get your hopes up too much. The sound, overall, is pretty mediocre. Nothing terribly bad, but pretty lackluster. They're adequate for gaming and not so great for music.

MIC:
The microphone tends to pick up a fair amount of ambient noise, so watch out where your fans are pointed.

CONSTRUCTION:
The headphones are actually quite sturdy. The same goes for the microphone boom. I've moved the boom thousands of times and it's still attached to my headset with no sign of wear. I've trashed my fair share of headphones, and this one has stayed in one piece.

HOWEVER.... the wires are another matter. The only place I used this pair of headphones was strictly for PC gaming, so it pretty much stayed in one place all the time. Given that, the wear on the wires shouldn't have been that extreme, but within about half a year I started having problems with the microphone. It seems that part of the cord near the little volume control pod seems to have broken or lost contact so it wasn't passing my mic signal through. I would have to fidget with the wire in order to get my mic working again. Eventually, my microphone boom became a useless prop.

COMFORT:
Overall, these weren't too comfortable. They would be okay for short periods of time, but they're definitely not meant to be worn for extended periods of time. I was typically ready for a break after about an hour. Given the lackluster sound, they should have gone for a lighter physical design. And since my primary purpose was for gaming, the lack of comfort was pretty disappointing.

FEATURES:
The cord has an attached control pod which includes a volume wheel and a 3-position switch for the microphone input volume (low, high, off).


PROS:
1) sturdy headset & microphone boom
2) decent value for around $20, but no more than that

CONS:
1) flimsy wires killed my mic
2) mediocre sound
3) fair amount of ambient noise via the mic
4) uncomfortable within short period of time

If the microphone didn't crap out on me, I might have been a bit more forgiving, but that was my final straw with an already mediocre, over-priced headset. Maybe you'll have better luck with your cord, and the price here at Amazon is definitely better than the price I paid for it, but I would definitely recommend looking around further.

Personally, I just picked up a pair of Sennheiser PC150s to see what all the fuss is about and I'm fairly happy with them so far. I'll probably post a full review on them in a bit, once I've had more time to evaluate them.

The headset is great except for one thing. I'd would totally agree with the guy that said the microphone cord sucks. I've been through 4 sets of these headphones. Everytime the mic has stopped working on each set. Drives me nuts! The headsets only get picked up from the desk, put on my head, and then back down to the desk. Not even heavy use... and they break. I contacted Altec Lansing and their reprsentative said that they do indeed have multiple reported problems with the mics going out. They said they will replace the headphones, but I will be without them for 4 weeks. Sucks! Look at another set of headphones if you'd like them to work longer.

I purchased these headphones at a national retail chain for $40.00. I feel like a chump for neglecting to check out Amazon first. Headphones are satisfactory. They fit very comfortably, but I can see how a person with a small-to-medium sized head could be annoyed by them. The headset is very wide. The cups would tend to tilt in at an awkward angle on a person with a small/narrow head. Excellent buy at Amazon's low, low price.

Bought these at bestbuy, wishing I would have bought them here and saved the money. Suprisingly comfortable as most headphones don't fit my large head that well. These cancel out my roomate's music about 95% even when theyre low volume, 100% at higher volume. Bass is excellent for headphones, haven't got to use the microphone feature, but if the rest of the headphones are any indication... :)

One note: when listening to music with big bass hits (hip-hop, techno...) turn the in-line volume control all the way up and use your cd player/stereo/computer volume adjustment. The in-line volume control makes the sound quality suffer for some reason when there is any bass....only drawback I've found.

I've read many people complain about either their ears getting hot or the pressure from these headsets. Well, any ear-cup headset will make your ears hot. It's the nature of the beast. Use some a/c or a fan. If you want the full range of sound that you can't get from earbuds or behind the neck headsets, these are for you. Of course, the sound quality will not be as good as the top of the line stereophones, but for under $30, what do you expect? They're still better than earbuds or behind the head.

As far as the pressure, I haven't noticed it being a problem. They did fit snugly, but they're supposed to. I'm 6'2" with a medium frame (consider myself to have a rather large head, at least that's what I've been told :-)). They fit very comfortably. I can spend hours using them playing BF1942 with my friends online without any discomfort or "ear sweating".

Sound:
I've used the logitech behind the neck internet chat headsets (horrible, don't waste your money) and these are far superior in sound quality. I also have a set of harman/kardon speakers connected to my computer, and the sounds of the headsets is far better (one of the reasons why I like the ear-cup headphones). I have a pair of KOSS TD-61 headphones, which I bought about 3 years ago, which are ear-cups as well, and the KOSS are a bit more comfortable, as the leather padding is software (maybe because it's worn in a little :0-)). I loved the quality of the KOSS headphones, given that i didn't want to spend $100 on a pair. The Altec Lansings AHS-502 are just as good sound quality wise.

Microphone:
The mic is not exceptional by any means. It's better than the Logitech's that I had, but that's not saying too much. If you want a great microphone, then buy a nice Sennheiser headset. They make a rather inexpensive set with a great microphone (PC-130), but the low frequencies aren't as good with that headset as they are with the AHS-502. I haven't had complaints from my friends about not being able to understand me on Teamspeak. Just that one of my friends with the Sennheiser has a better sound over Teamspeak. I can only assume it's because of the microphone that the Sennheiser uses. Although, comparing compressed sound over the internet is not a very good comparison. Take is as you will.

Conclusion:
Great headset for the price if you like the ear-cup design of high quality headphones.