OPN Sound Chat Pro Wireless Headset with Mic — Open-Ear Office Headset, ENC Noise-Cancelling Boom Mic, USB Direct Connect Dongle, 17-Hour Battery (OS5050BL)

The OPN Sound Chat Pro is a wireless headset with mic built for the person who lives on back-to-back calls and is done with the dull ache that sets in after the third meeting of the day. Nothing goes inside your ears. The Chat Pro rests just outside them and uses directional audio to aim sound at your ear canal, so your ears stay open, the pressure that on-ear cups build up over a long day never starts, and you still hear the doorbell when the package arrives. It is an open-ear headset, not an in-ear one — and unlike bone conduction, there is no vibration against your cheekbones.

The flexible ENC boom mic is the reason this is a headset with noise-cancelling microphone rather than just a pair of headphones. It swings into place beside your mouth and cuts the room out of the call, which ends the "sorry, can you repeat that?" loop that in-ear buds create in an open-plan office or a kitchen with a dishwasher running. A USB-A Direct Connect dongle is included: plug it into the computer and the headset connects on its own, which sidesteps the flaky laptop Bluetooth stack that causes most dropped meeting audio. Bluetooth 5.3 handles the phone side, with a 33 ft (10 m) range.

Battery runs 17 hours on a charge — a full working day with room to spare — and standby holds 150 hours. A magnetic charging cable snaps on; a full charge takes about an hour, and 10 minutes gets you to 80% if you forgot overnight. The whole thing weighs 36 g, which is roughly a AA battery, and an ergonomic loop hooks over and behind the ear so it stays put. IPX5 covers sweat and rain, so the same headset works for the walk at lunch. A silicone strap is in the box for smaller heads, and a single button toggles between communication and music sound modes.