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Business Info (BI)
: You have crammed
a lot of technology into the MB 660.
In your view, what is the one feature
that really stands out?
Brian Brorsbol (BB):
For me, it’s the MB
660’s adaptability. This increases user
comfort, which is really important for
people in business – if you are going to
be wearing a headset for a long time
you need it to be comfortable.
The three main elements of the
Sennheiser experience are leading
sound quality – for communication
in both directions and for listening to
music; the user focus, which is where
adaptability and flexibility come in; and
design quality. Achieving the right mix
of these qualities is what gives you the
Sennheiser experience.
Adaptive ANC brings a new
dimension to the user experience. Some
people can get a little dizzy with ANC –
they appreciate its benefits but might
not want it on all the time. The ability to
adjust the noise level at which you want
ANC to kick in gives real flexibility and
lets the MB 660 accommodate users’
different preferences and different needs
in a really flexible way.
BI:
Do you think ‘cans’ are an
appropriate feature for an office
headset?
BB:
The younger generation coming into
the workplace is technology-driven and
expects to use these kinds of device
at work. Ultimately, the design of any
product has to meet the expectations
of the user. There is also the question
of video collaboration; people don’t
want solutions that make them look
silly; they want to look
good. So it is important for
us to have these kinds of
versatile, stylish options in
our CC&O (Contact Centre & Office)
portfolio.
Organisations today have different
user types with different needs, which is
why we have a full line-up of products.
They will not choose one or two models
of headset; they will choose a whole
range to suit different user profiles. It is
really important for customers to find
out what their needs are and we will
help them do this. It’s not just about
selling headsets; it’s about selling the
right headset to the right person, so that
everyone in the organisation gets that
Sennheiser experience.
BI:
Do you think employers will want
to spend £400 or so on what could
be perceived as an entertainment
solution?
BB:
Unified communications are
being deployed in more and more
organisations, from large enterprises to
SMEs. If they can choose a product that
meets user needs in their entirety, so
they don’t have to buy one headset for
music and another for communication,
so much the better.
If your employees complain about
noise, about getting interrupted, about
finding it hard to concentrate, consider
what you pay them and compare that
to the cost of an MB 660. I don’t believe
this device, which addresses so many
of the challenges of work today, is an
expensive solution. I believe it is very
good value for the flexibility it offers.
frequency noise.
For those who prefer a low level of
background noise, Adaptive ANC allows
users to specify the sound level at which
ANC kicks in. This is done by moving
a slider along a bar in Sennheiser’s
Captune app, which can also be used to
customise music settings.
Another interesting feature of the MB
660, TalkThrough, aids communication
and stops headset wearers from
unnecessarily raising their voices by
opening a clear communication channel
between the headset wearer and their
surrounding environment. Instead of
having to take off your headset when a
colleague comes up to ask a question,
just double-tap the touchpad to hear
clearly what they are saying, then
double-tap again to close down the
communication channel.
TalkThrough is also useful when
travelling, as it makes it possible to listen
to announcements or communicate
with cabin staff without removing one’s
headset.
Other features that contribute to a
more natural user experience include
Room Experience, which creates the
impression that the person you are
communicating with is in the same
room – this also reduces listener fatigue
when using the headset for long periods;
the SpeakFocus array of three digital
microphones for filtering out surrounding
noise; and Advanced Own Voice
Detection, which detects when a person
is speaking and reduces microphone
sensitivity when they are not so that the
sound of typing or paper-shuffling is not
picked up.
The latter is particularly interesting
in light of warnings from the University
of California, Irvine (UIC) about the
dangers of ‘typing and Skyping’, following
research showing that it is possible to
record background typing noise and then
convert that sound into text.
UC headset
Despite its attractive consumer qualities,
the MB 660 is at heart a business-grade
UC headset. It works easily across and
between multiple devices and platforms;
it is supplied in two versions optimised
for Microsoft and for other UC systems;
it comes with a choice of connectivity
– Bluetooth, NFC and USB, for charging
and wired back-up when the battery
runs low; and it can receive UC system
updates and be managed by the IT
department remotely.
The MB 660 costs £385 (ex VAT).
Flexibility and choice
Business Info
asks Sennheiser Communications
Director of Product Management Brian Brorsbøl
what he likes most about the MB 660
In brief
Hearing aid compatible
Also new from Sennheiser is the SC 660 TC premium double-sided wired headset
developed specially for people who use hearing aids. In addition to a high-quality
neodymium speaker, the SC 660 TC has a hearing aid-compatible telecoil transmitter
on each side of the headset.
These send a magnetic
field that can be
picked up by any
standard, telecoil-
equipped hearing aid.
Brian Brorsbøl,
Director of
Product
Management,
Sennheiser
Communications
