We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-02 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a USB headset built for your own desk and long back-to-back video calls, choose Creative HS-720; if you need a tough, kid-proof on ear headset that survives a classroom of students, choose Avid Products AE-36. Both are wired USB on ear headsets with boom mics and passive noise cancellation, so the real decision comes down to one question: is this for one careful adult, or for many rough hands?
• Creative HS-720 — biggest strength: an inline remote with mic mute, a red LED mic-status light, call pick-up, volume and playback buttons, plus a mic-monitoring (sidetone) feature that plays your own voice back so you can hear how loud you sound.
• Creative HS-720 — biggest trade-off: it leans hard into software-call convenience (USB-A plug-and-play, long 2 m cable, 135 g build), so it is a desk headset, not something you toss in a school bag.
• Avid Products AE-36 — biggest strength: durability-first classroom design — permanently attached leatherette earpads that stay on after repeated handling, an adjustable headband that fits everything from young children to adults, and a 4-foot cord sized for a student workstation.
• Avid Products AE-36 — biggest trade-off: it is deliberately basic. There is no inline remote, no mute button, no sidetone — just a plug-and-play USB-A headset with an adjustable boom mic.
• Who each pick is for: Creative HS-720 for a professional or remote worker who lives in Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Skype or WebEx; Avid Products AE-36 for K-12 students, distance learners, teachers, and call-center or school procurement buyers.
The Creative HS-720 V2 is a wired USB-A on ear headset aimed squarely at the person on the other end of a video call. Its defining feature is the inline remote on the cable: a mic mute button that lights up red when the mic is live, a direct call pick-up button, and volume and playback controls. If you have ever scrambled to find the mute icon in a meeting app while someone was talking, that little remote is the whole point of this headset.
The second feature that separates it is mic monitoring, also called sidetone. The headset plays your own voice back into your ears, so you can hear how loud you actually sound to everyone else and adjust before you become the person who shouts through every call. Combined with the passive noise-cancelling condenser mic on the flexible boom, which you can bend to any angle, this is a headset designed around being understood.
On the comfort side, 135 g is light enough to wear through a long meeting block, and the 2 m cable gives you room to stand up and stretch without unplugging. The 30 mm Neodymium drivers cover a 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz range, and the flat padded on ear earpieces are finished in black plastic. Setup is genuinely nothing: plug the USB-A connector into any PC or Mac and it works, no drivers, no settings.
Who should buy it: remote workers, office staff, students in online classes, and anyone who spends their day in conference apps and wants mute control at their fingertips. Who should skip it: anyone buying for a classroom or a shared lab, where a long cable, an inline remote and a 1-year limited warranty are liabilities rather than features. Also skip it if you want wireless — this is a wired headset, full stop.
The Avid Products AE-36 is the opposite philosophy: it is built to be handed out, used hard, and handed back. It connects over standard USB-A with no drivers or software, so it works with Chromebooks, laptops and desktop PCs the moment it is plugged in — which matters enormously when you are deploying headsets across a school rather than setting up one desk.
Its headline design choice is the permanently attached leatherette earpads. On cheap classroom headsets, earpads are the first thing to go missing or fall apart after weeks of student handling; Avid engineered the AE-36 so the pads stay put. The padded, adjustable headband is sized to fit heads from young children up to adults, which lets a school standardize on one model instead of stocking three sizes. The white finish and low-profile build keep it from looking like a gaming headset in a testing room.
The flexible boom mic adjusts to wherever it needs to sit, which is exactly what you want for reading assessments, virtual learning sessions and standardized testing. Avid positions the AE-36 around computer-based assessment programs and district procurement, and the 4-foot cord is deliberately short — long enough to move at a student workstation, short enough not to tangle or clutter a desk. At 32 ohm impedance, it is an easy load for the modest audio outputs on laptops and Chromebooks.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for microphone control during calls → Creative HS-720. The inline mute button with a red status light and a call pick-up button are features the AE-36 simply does not have.
• Best for hearing yourself on calls → Creative HS-720. Mic monitoring (sidetone) is unique to it in this pair.
• Best for durability in shared or student use → Avid Products AE-36. Permanently attached leatherette earpads and an adjustable headband built for repeated daily handling.
• Best for one-size-fits-everyone fit → Avid Products AE-36. The adjustable headband is designed to span kindergartners through adults.
• Best for long personal work sessions → Creative HS-720. At 135 g with a 2 m cable, it is made for hours at your own desk.
• Best for tight student workstations → Avid Products AE-36. The 4-foot cord keeps the desk clear without excess slack.
• Best for plug-and-play simplicity → a tie. Both are wired USB-A headsets that work with no drivers or software.
• Best for conference-app users → Creative HS-720. It is built around Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Skype and WebEx workflows.
In my opinion, if this headset is for you and your own desk, buy the Creative HS-720. The inline mute with a status light, the sidetone monitoring and the 135 g on ear fit are exactly the features that make a day of video calls less annoying, and plug-and-play USB-A means it works the second you unbox it. I would only pick the Avid Products AE-36 if durability and volume deployment matter more than controls — a classroom, a lab, or a cart of Chromebooks. For a single professional, the HS-720 is the more useful tool.
what is on ear headset
An on ear headset is one where the earpieces rest against the outside of your ear rather than surrounding it. Both the Creative HS-720 and the Avid Products AE-36 use this on ear design, which keeps them lighter and more compact than headsets with large cups — the HS-720 weighs 135 g and the AE-36 about 4 ounces.
what is over ear headset
An over ear (circumaural) headset has earpads that fully enclose your ears inside a padded cup, which usually isolates more sound but adds bulk and weight. Neither headset here is over ear — both are on ear models, so they sit on the ear and rely on passive noise cancellation rather than sealing your ear inside a cup.
how to wear one ear headset
A single-ear headset is worn with one earpiece on your ear and the headband resting over or behind your head, leaving the other ear open. Neither the Creative HS-720 nor the Avid Products AE-36 is a single-ear design — both are stereo on ear headsets with two earpieces and an adjustable boom mic you position near your mouth.
how to open headset ear
"Opening" a headset ear usually means adjusting the earpiece so it fits properly rather than prying anything apart. On the Avid Products AE-36 you adjust the padded headband to size it for different heads, and on the Creative HS-720 you simply flex the flat padded on ear earpieces onto your ears and bend the boom mic to the angle you want.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
When you buy through links on this page, we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon or its affiliates. This site is an independent third-party review and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Amazon or the product brands mentioned.
See also: UKELALA U2 vs SUBSONIC, TOZO Earbuds vs EKSA E900BT, Groovz Plus True vs AYI Open Ear Air, VOLT PLUS TECH Pro Earbuds vs ZJchao Earbuds