I’m not someone who likes shopping, not even… or especially online. Thus even when my aging equipment needs replacement, I tend to put off purchases, because I’m not fond of taking the time I feel I should to make the right selection. Last summer things got critical, and I began to re-equip, most notably with a new table microphone after the integrated microphone in one of my laptops degraded to the point where the sound could barely (or not at all) be understood during webinars. And more recently, I picked up a lightweight portable monitor and a lap desk to use as a reading stand while I work or teach online.
But my microphone issues continued to plague me. I own quite a few low- and medium-priced microphones, my favorite being a Blue Yeti that I actually used wrong for about five years until I took the time to watch a five-minute YouTube tutorial and learned how its cardio mode actually functions. But my favorite bit of working kit for a long time was my Plantronics Voyager Legend monoaural headset, which I simply call an “earset”.
The Plantronics earset was my workhorse for long dictation sessions with Dragon NaturallySpeaking and other voice-to-text software. It was a little uncomfortable, so I didn’t wear it often for webinars or to listen to audio. But I loved the thing, and so did an author to whom I recommended it for dictating a handwritten book manuscript to prepare for its publication.
But the housekeeper ate my recharger. Or buried it somewhere, as it disappeared from my desk and hasn’t been found in more than a year. I thought about replacing it, but I had trouble finding the model I wanted for anything like what I had paid in 2019. So I put it off.
I got some Apple Airpods Pro 2 earbuds to use as cheap hearing aids and as an alternative to shooter’s earmuffs when I hunt, and their sound quality is superb for listening to music, podcasts and audiobooks. But although some of the commentators I follow on YouTube seem to be using those or a similar device, possibly with their microphone function too, I found that the AirPods’ microphones didn’t work well with Siri on my iPhone, and connected to my laptop they were simply the pits for speech to text.
So I went back to Amazon Spain, and at the time I ordered my Portable monitor, I also got an inexpensive earset, the New Bee M53 Bluetooth monoaural headset. In the video here I said they cost me €29; the actual price was €27.44. Then I put them in my backpack and forgot about them, as one does. I didn’t expect much from them anyway at that price, but the specs looked so good that I thought to take the risk, if only to have something to complain about in a review.
This morning, as I prepared for a short trip, I found them again. Took them out of the box and began to run tests. Surprise, surprise. They are more comfortable than my old Plantronics set. They are more comfortable than the listening-only earphones that my dog ate one of on my last holiday. And the microphone works… great!
The case is far more convenient and stable than the recharging apparatus for my Plantronics, and it also uses USB-C, the new standard imposed by the EU to reduce electrojunk. I think you’ll agree after hearing a bit of the video above that these aren’t bad for redcorded sound compared to what I use most of the time. And the dictation performance is excellent.
The M53 also apparently has all sorts of phone management features. Answer and hang-up, reject, hold, etc. It can even link to two phones at once, though I’ll be connecting mine to none. I don’t do much calling these days, certainly not enough where the M53 would be a necessary ergonomic relief.
All in all, 27 euros and change well spent. I recommend the New Bee M53 for online meetings, dictation work, and if you have similar needs and perhaps want telephony on top of that, this is a reasonable investment.
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