We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-25 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a complete, ready-to-use USB headset for calls and meetings, choose Creative HS-720; if you need a bulk supply of replacement foam earpads to refresh the on-ear headsets you already own, choose D & K Exclusives Replacement Foam Earpads.
• Creative HS-720 biggest strength: A full plug-and-play USB headset with a noise-cancelling boom mic, sidetone monitoring and an inline remote — everything a work call needs in one box.
• Creative HS-720 biggest trade-off: It is a wired, USB-A-only headset, so it won't suit phones, tablets or anything without a USB-A port.
• D & K Exclusives Replacement Foam Earpads biggest strength: A 50-pack of 45mm foam cushions that lets you replace worn pads on many on-ear headsets and telephone headsets.
• D & K Exclusives Replacement Foam Earpads biggest trade-off: It is a consumable accessory, not a headset — it adds nothing if your current headset is the problem.
• Who each pick is for: Creative HS-720 for anyone who needs a working headset now; D & K Exclusives Replacement Foam Earpads for anyone maintaining a fleet of existing on-ear headsets.
The Creative HS-720 V2 is an on-ear USB headset built around one job: making you sound clear on a video call. Its passive noise-cancelling condenser mic sits on a flexible boom, so you can angle it toward your mouth, and the design is meant to pick up your voice over background noise rather than the room around you. That single feature is what separates it from a random pair of earbuds you happen to have on your desk.
The details that matter for real work use are the small ones. The inline remote puts mic mute, call pick-up, volume and playback at your fingertips, so you don't have to hunt for a button inside Teams or Zoom. When the mic is live, the mute button lights red, which is a genuinely useful cue before you say something you regret. There's also a sidetone (mic-monitoring) feature that plays your own voice back so you can hear how loud you sound to everyone else — handy if you tend to drift into shouting during long meetings.
Comfort is clearly a design priority. At 135g (4.76 oz) it's light enough to wear through a long session, and the flat, padded on-ear cushions are shaped for an on-ear fit rather than clamping around your whole ear. The 2m (6.56 ft) cable gives you a little room to stand and stretch mid-call. Inside, 30mm Neodymium dynamic drivers cover a 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz range, which is a normal, sensible spec for speech and general audio.
Who should buy it: remote workers, students, call handlers and anyone who spends hours a day on PC or Mac video calls and wants a fuss-free wired headset with a proper boom mic.
Who should skip it: if you need wireless freedom, a 3.5mm jack, or something to use with a phone or tablet, this isn't the one — the connection is USB-A, wired, full stop.
D & K Exclusives Replacement Foam Earpads: Who It's For
The D & K Exclusives Replacement Foam Earpads are exactly what the name says: 50 black foam cushions, each 45mm (1.8") across, sold as disposable covers for standard-size office telephone headsets and on-ear headphones. They are not a headset, and they won't turn a bad headset into a good one. What they do is solve a very specific, very common problem — the pads on your existing headset have gone flat, cracked or grimy, and replacing the whole headset feels wasteful.
The foam is described as soft and high-elasticity, with a breathable, spongy feel aimed at reducing ear fatigue over long listening sessions. That's the whole point of fresh pads: worn foam compresses, stops cushioning and starts pressing on your ear. Because these are stretchable, they go on quickly over an existing ear cup and are meant to be swapped out rather than cleaned.
There's an audio angle too. The design minimizes sound leakage and blocks ambient noise, which improves clarity on calls and music by tightening the seal around your ear. On a chattery office floor or a classroom, that's a meaningful difference — a loose, tired pad lets noise in and sound out.
Compatibility is the detail to check before ordering. The 45mm size is stated to fit most on-ear and over-ear stereo headphones and headsets, with named matches including MDR-G45, MDR-222KD/PIN, PMX60, PMX100, PX100, PX20, HD15, HD36 and HD56, plus other models with a similar ear cup diameter. If your headset isn't listed, measure your ear cup before you commit.
Who should buy it: anyone running a call center, office or classroom with a stack of on-ear headsets that need refreshing, or a home user whose favourite pair just needs new cushions.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for making calls right away → Creative HS-720. It's a complete headset with mic, remote and USB plug-and-play.
• Best for maintaining headsets you already own → D & K Exclusives Replacement Foam Earpads. Fifty 45mm cushions keep a fleet going.
• Best for clear voice pickup → Creative HS-720. The flexible noise-cancelling boom mic is designed to focus on your voice, not the room.
• Best for mic discipline during meetings → Creative HS-720. Sidetone monitoring and the red mute indicator both help you control how you come across.
• Best for comfort on long sessions → Creative HS-720 for the wearer, D & K pads for the cushion. The headset is light at 135g; the pads target ear fatigue directly.
• Best for multi-device flexibility → D & K Exclusives Replacement Foam Earpads. Because they're passive foam, they fit whatever compatible headset you plug in.
• Best for replacing worn-out, leaky pads → D & K Exclusives Replacement Foam Earpads. New foam restores the seal and cuts sound leakage.
• Best for a PC or Mac with a USB-A port → Creative HS-720. It's the only one of the two that carries audio and a mic.
In my opinion, most people searching these two names should buy the Creative HS-720. If your problem is "I need to sound professional on calls and I don't have a proper headset," the D & K pads can't help you — they assume you already own a working headset. I'd only steer you to the D & K Exclusives Replacement Foam Earpads if your headset is fine and it's purely the cushions that have given up, or if you're refreshing several headsets at once and want a pack on hand. Check the current price on Amazon for whichever fits, and confirm your ear cup diameter before ordering the pads.
what is on ear headset
An on-ear headset sits on top of your ears rather than surrounding them. The ear cups rest against the outer ear, so the pads — like the 45mm foam ones here — touch your ear directly. The Creative HS-720 is an on-ear design with flat, padded cushions.
how to wear one ear headset
A single-ear headset is worn with one cup over or on one ear so the other ear stays open to your surroundings. The Creative HS-720 is a two-ear on-ear headset, so both cups rest on your ears with the boom mic angled toward your mouth for clear pickup.
what is over ear headset
An over-ear headset has cups large enough to enclose your ear inside the cushion. On-ear and over-ear designs both typically use a round or oval ear cup, which is why a 45mm foam pad is listed as fitting most on-ear and over-ear headphones with a similar cup diameter.
how to open headset ear
Opening a headset ear usually means removing the ear pad to access the cup. With stretchable foam pads like these 45mm cushions, you work the pad off or on by stretching it over the cup edge — no tools needed, which is what makes them quick to replace.
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See also: Top Stage 3 vs Krone Kalpasmos Replacement Earpads, HTINDUSTRY Earpads Replacement Cushion vs YDYBZB White Ear Pads, LEFXMOPHY Mic Replacement vs WQAPVHBG Headphone Mic Attachment