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- Verified Buyer
Great entry point for people who want to start caring about their audio whilst monitoring, I wouldn't recommend using it for gaming since the on-ear pads aren't the most comfortable, if you have smaller ears and can fit it over-ear, it might be fine, but I prefer IEMs over on-ear for prolonged sessions. Some of the material feels a little cheap, even though it's an "entry level item" it's still 200$, so that's a little disappointing. For broadcasting, it's a 5/5, for anything else, probably a 4/5, depending on your preference.Sturdy, comfortable, great light weight headphones and microphone.I spent the last couple of hours experimenting with this headphone/mic, and I've finally got the pre-amp and dynamics processing adjustments to my liking. This is a great product.I should have made this investment years ago. It would have saved me several thousand dollars trying to find the right microphone for my studio setup and recording style. I narrate audio books in one of the bedrooms at my home. I've treated the room as much as I can afford, but the fact is that I live in a typical metropolitan neighborhood with cars passing by, lawnmowers and blowers going and commercial and military aircraft buzzing the area on a regular basis. In the past, the only time I have been able to record in piece and quiet has been between the hours of midnight and 4:30 AM. But with the BPHS1 headphone/mic, I can record most anytime, unless my neighbor is mowing the lawn, or the jet planes are specifically strafing my house.The BPHS1 doesn't have the nuance and versatility of the Neumann TLM 102, but I only need the BPHS1 for one thing and one thing only: narrate audio books. In that capacity, it's able to keep up with the Heil PR40 and the Shure SM7B. And if I were doing podcasts, the BPHS1 would be the go-to mic above all the others.One thing I've noticed, which can be annoying if you're not used to it, is the fact that approximately the first foot of cord coming from the headphone is very sensitive to vibration. Whenever it brushes up against anything--including my shoulder and the desk in front of me--I can hear the rumble in the headphones and in the recording. To alleviate this noise, I have to sit perfectly still and try not to move my head while recording. I've also noticed that with the headphones placed squarely on my head, even the movement of my jaw causes rumble (albeit not nearly as noticeable).I bought the BPHS1 new, but at a greatly reduced price because the box had been opened. All the parts were there, and there were no marks or damage to the equipment. Additionally, the warranty is good for a year.So there you are. I'll update this review in about six months, but until then, I love the BPHS1. My setup includes a Universal Audio Twin Duo with Thunderbolt, Cloud Lifter, Rolls headphone amp. I record using Logic Pro X.UPDATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2017.I found a work-around that alleviates the rumble cause when the cord rubs against anything, and the rumble caused when my jaw moves. I looped the first three or four inches of cord where it comes out of the headphone then zip-tied it to the ear cup swivel. This prevents the cord from hanging to low and touching my shoulder as it exits the ear cup. Next, I draped the first foot of cord over something nearby on the desk. This prevents the sensitive part of the cord from touching my chest, my arm or the desk. The other nine or ten feet of cord can hang free or sit on top of the desk because this portion isn't sensitive to vibration. Finally, I place the headphone on my head so that the cup with the boom mic rests on my temple while the other cup rests over my ear as it normally would. That seems to have cured the "jaw rumble" completely. True, I only hear out of one headphone, which isn't pretty, but it's the best solution I could find. By the way, I've tried rolling off the lower frequencies, filtering the lower frequencies, etc., but none of those options seem to have any effect.I love to stream to twitch, but I hate using a mic that's attached to the desk. Because of how much I move at the computer, I always find myself leaving the sweet spot of any desk attached microphone. Headsets work great for me, but outside of some sennheiser headsets, I found the mics were always lacking. That's when I tried the BPHS1 and after using them for almost a year, they have been PERFECT for me.The headset's themselves sound great. If you have used headsets like the Audio Technica M50x then the sound quality will be familiar to you. I'm happy with the way the mids and highs sound, and the bass has a very good punchiness to it. I really like the sound quality coming from them.Comfort wise I wasn't a fan of the smaller ear pads that came with the unit, and quickly purchased more pillowy pleather pads and have really enjoyed them. I plan on eventually getting the velour pads, but really haven't been in any rush as the pillow pads have been really comfortable for over 2000 hours of usage already.Be warned, the cable is long, and also heavy'ish, so it will snap a lot and also sometimes just feel in the way. I've rolled over it so many times which can be annoying, fortunately it hasn't been damaged yet.The kicker for this headset is the mic. I absolutely ADORE this mic. Because it's a dynamic mic, once you get it setup right, it has great sound isolation along always being in your sweet spot as you move around. It makes streaming SO much more convenient. While doing testing of the headset, my friend said it pretty much sounded like an Audio Technica At2020 or At2030 mic being used with the headset. After thousands of hours of twitch streaming, the mic still sounds and I get many compliments on how it sounds.The headset seems pretty expensive, but if you think how much it would be to purchase a At2030 along with a headset, the price is a lot more reasonable. I purchased 2 used ones from Amazon for about 60% the normal price and it really made them that much more worth it. One set is paired with a Rode Procaster and the other a Audient Evo 4 and both have been wonderful.The build quality on these is great. All in all I own 8 pairs of these, and would recommend them to anyone looking for a broadcast quality headset.They're really comfortable to work with for extended periods of time; they don't cramp your ears like some of the smaller ear cup designs do. The mic response is superb compared to some of the Sony's I've worked on.The detachable cable system they have on these is great for traveling a lot. You can easily unscrew the pin connector and wrap the cable neatly so it doesn't become a tangled mess. A-T also supplies a spare locking screw and wind screen incase either go missing or wear out.They would make for pretty OK gaming phones if your setup supports 1/4 TRS and XLR for headphones and mic. You could run them with adapters, but you might be better off going for something that's meant for gaming.Like many, I've been working from home for over a year, spending hours at a time on video calls. Whatever set-up I tried, nothing quite worked. Now I have found an ideal set-up:1. The Audio-Technica BPHS1 Broadcast Series Broadcast Stereo Headset (this product, £180)2. An audio interface (mine is a Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen USB that cost £96 here on Amazon)3. Replacement ear pads from Brainwavz (Angled, oval ear pads in PU leather, less than £20) thanks to a positive review here on this page by callum wright.Note that this costs about the same as the Sony WH-1000XM4 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones. I had already tried those - and returned them because, despite positive reviews, I found they were hopeless for video calls.While I was searching for the right kit, I took a few wrong turns. I will explain below why I think this such a good set-up:1. Audio quality for video calls. I use Teams and Zoom primarily. Besides the built-in mic and speakers on my laptop, I tried bluetooth headphones and a number of wired in-ear buds. Using built-in kit means everyone listening can hear tons of background noise (like the fan on my laptop). Prolonged use of in-ear buds left me with an ear infection and the top-of-the-range bluetooth Sony XM4s cut out the whole time - usually doing so as I actually answered a call. My colleagues also said my voice sounded thin and tinny through them. In contrast, the sound quality from this set-up is very good indeed. My voice comes across rich and clear, I can hear other people very well. The connection has never once cut out.2. Comfort. I am often on calls for 4 or 5 hours at a time and I need kit that is comfortable to wear all day long - even with glasses. These are wonderful but ONLY if you get replacement ear pads. The ones that are supplied are uncomfortable after an hour or two and downright painful after a full day - even when taking breaks. The Brainwavz ear pads are great. I first tried another manufacturer (Geekria), but the Brainwavz were both more comfortable and provided far clearer audio. They weren't available on Amazon at the time, so I ordered direct and they took a few weeks to ship from Hong Kong. But it looks like they are listed again here.3. Audio quality for music. In between calls, I like to listen to music while I work. The sound quality of these is surprisingly good - better than the XM4s.4. A nice long cable. Yes, you are physically shackled to the audio interface, but I think the cable must be at least 3m long. Unlike any other wired sets I tried, with this kit I can stand up and move around during calls. I don't find it heavy and I don't find it pulls down on one side like one reviewer mentions.The headphones plug into the audio interface, which plugs into my laptop with a USB-C cable. You need to download some software (clear instructions in the pack) and then it just works.I have owned these for almost 2 years now and I feel I can give a reasonably detailed review on them. First of all I would recommend getting an audio interface/mixer interface in order to get the best overall sound quality out of this headset since the microphone uses an XLR connection and the headphones use a 1/4" connection.I have been using this headset for live streaming to Twitch for the most part but it can work well in a pinch for voice over work and commentary. The microphone is extremely well detailed for a headset mic and overall leaves a lot of potential headroom if you wish to process the audio, although it's not entirely necessary to do so. The headphones themselves aren't the best but they do give clear audio that is at the standard you would expect from Audio Technica. The main issue with this headset is the comfort (or lack of). Wearing this headset for more than an hour will start to cause some discomfort but this issue can be fixed.I will split all the pros and cons that I can think of and list them below.Pros:- Great microphone quality (especially for a headset) and can be used for a number of applications- Good headphone quality (clear and crisp but slightly too muddy on the lower frequencies)- Construction is solid (built very well and from high quality materials)- Overall great price for the performance of the headsetCons:- Becomes extremely uncomfortable after wearing for extended periods of time- Cable becomes tangled up pretty easily and can be a pain to straighten outOverall I would say this headset is great for the price and it will last a very long time if looked after (as all equipment should be).The issue with comfort can be fixed as I stated earlier by simply purchasing some new ear pads. I got some from a company called "Brainwavz" which can be bought right here from Amazon for a reasonable price. With the custom ear pads the headset is extremely comfortable and can be worn for hours on end.Up to now. I’ve found the headphones to be very good. I wouldn’t say they were exceptional but for the price they were definitely good enough to not regret the purchase. I make YouTube videos and stream gaming. The comfort was poor after long periods of use but I bought aftermarket ear pads which solved that issue.However, after 9 months the audio stopped working. Channels have cut-out and the audio is tinny or non-existent. I have contacted audio-technica as I’m covered by warranty but after 9 days still no response other than an automated email acknowledging my query.I believe the cable is the issue but based on my experience so far I do not recommend these headphones. Poor Customer Service, especially given the cost of the headphones and given the price I would look for a different setup had I known I would have had these issues after just 9 months.Edit: 6 weeks since returning this to the retailer for a repair or replacement. It’s still not been dealt with. I’ve been without a working product for 6 weeks! There’s still no timeline from them on getting it fixed and back to me!First things first. These headsets are aimed at the professional broadcasting market not for gamers or the likes thereof.The headsets have a 3-pin male XLR for the microphone and a 3 1/3" TRS jack for the headphones.This headset is amazing value for money, the sound produced by the microphone is crisp and near perfect, and the quality of the headset is beyond what is expected for the price. I use the headsets in a professional sports broadcasting environment for commentary on boxing, muay Thai and MMA events so you could imagine the amount of background noise in such a setting, the microphone is very efficient at blocking out said background noise so all that is heard is the person on commentary. Headset mics of this standard normally cost £400 upwards, so for less than £190 a unit, you are getting a huge bank for your buck.I have also used these in a podcast setting and again the results were amazing, even using just the headset to monitor audio levels is great due to the noise cancellation aspect.For my use I had two options buy these headsets or spend upwards of £500 on coles mics. Im glad I went for this option as I have two items for the price of one. A great quality boom mic, and a great pair of headphones too.Well worth the price tag, but remember these are professional headsets so don't think you can get away with using them for gaming on a PS4, they are not designed for that use. You could use it for that purpose on a PC but you'd need an additional mixer and the means to send audio from the mixer to your PCs input, then somehow get the output into the mixer without it causing a feedback loop. Doing this isn't worth the effort and you'd be better off just purchasing a purpose built headset for such a task.Microphone arm is too short, it barely reaches left side of my mouth. If it was 2-3cm longer I could have that mic in the front of my mouth, as it should be.Cable plug too long - it hits my arm from time to time, I cant comfortably move my my head.However, the sound quality is good both sides, so I'm not returning it.
