How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
The Philips Over Ear is my top pick for computer listening because its 40mm drivers, 6m cable and included 6.3mm adapter make it the most flexible wired option for desk work, recording and TV-style listening from one chair. If you need a microphone for calls instead, the MKJ USB Headset is the one I'd reach for.
• Philips Over Ear — best for desk listening, podcasts and studio monitoring; pick this if you want a long 6m cable, a 6.3mm adapter for audio interfaces, and swiveling ear cups for one-ear listening.
• MKJ USB Headset — best for all-day calling in an office or call centre; pick this if you want plug-and-play USB-A, a noise-cancelling boom mic and a lightweight on-ear fit with an adjustable headband.
• Executive Pro Overture — best for dual-ear concentration on long softphone shifts; pick this if you want a binaural noise-cancelling boom mic, in-line volume and mute, and 360-degree swiveling ear cushions.
• EKSA 2.4GHz — best for wireless gaming and mixed-device setups; pick this if you want 2.4GHz and Bluetooth 5.3, a detachable mic, RGB lighting and a 50H battery rating.
This is a wired, over-ear stereo headphone built for listening rather than talking. The spec sheet tells you what it is: 40mm dynamic drivers, a 32 ohm impedance, and a frequency range of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. In practice that combination is easy to drive — a laptop headphone jack, a tablet, a keyboard's aux out or a guitar practice amp will all push it without needing a separate amplifier. The silver finish and over-ear cushions are the physical story; the 20 Hz–20 kHz range is the reason it works as a monitoring tool for podcasts and recording, where you want to hear the whole take rather than a bass-heavy version of it.
The feature I'd actually notice day to day is the 6m cable. That is unusually long for a computer headset, and it changes how you sit. You can leave the headset plugged into the back of a desktop tower and still walk to a printer, or connect to a TV across the room without an extension. Philips also includes a snap-on 6.3mm adapter, so the same headset moves between a 3.5mm laptop jack and a standard quarter-inch connector on home audio gear or an interface. There's a built-in volume control on the cable, which means you adjust level at your fingertips instead of reaching for the source unit.
The 90-degree swiveling ear cups are the second genuinely useful detail. Swing one cup back and you have one-ear listening — handy when you're monitoring a recording and need to hear the room, or when a colleague walks up mid-session. The ear cushions are shaped to sit around the ear rather than press on it, which Philips says reduces audio leakage and helps bass response; that's a design claim, but the shape itself is what makes long sessions less fatiguing.
The trade-off is straightforward: no microphone. This is a listening headset, so if you're joining Zoom, Teams or Jabber calls, you'll need a separate mic or a different pick from this list. It's also a wired-only design with no Bluetooth, and the touch-style volume control method means there are no physical buttons to feel for. In my opinion, buy this one if your computer time is mostly listening, editing, practising or watching — not talking.
The MKJ is the opposite tool: a corded USB-A headset whose whole reason for existing is conversation. It connects over USB rather than a 3.5mm jack, and the manufacturer states no driver installation is needed — plug it into a laptop or desktop USB port and the operating system recognises it. That matters more than it sounds. On a computer with a single combined headphone/mic jack, or one where the audio ports are awkward to reach, a USB headset sidesteps the splitter-cable problem entirely.
The microphone is the centrepiece. It's a noise-cancelling boom with a flexible arm, so you can bend it to a consistent spot near your mouth instead of hoping it lands in the right place. MKJ describes it as blocking ambient office noise such as chatter and keyboard typing, and the stated frequency range of roughly 50 Hz to 7 kHz is a voice-band tuning — that's a narrower range than the Philips, and it's deliberate. A headset tuned for speech prioritises intelligibility over music reproduction, which is exactly what you want on a call and exactly what you don't want if you're mixing audio.
Comfort is clearly the second design goal. It's on-ear rather than over-ear, weighs 3.53 ounces, uses a soft leatherette cushion, and has an adjustable headband plus a stainless steel band for sturdiness. There's an in-line control for volume and a push-button control method, so muting and level changes are physical actions rather than touch gestures. Compatibility is broad on paper: Windows XP through 11 and Mac, plus softphone platforms including Teams, Zoom, Cisco Jabber, 3CX, Zoiper, Avaya One X and FaceTime.
The trade-off is that this is a single-purpose headset. The mono USB design and voice-tuned frequency range make music and gaming sound thin compared with a 40mm over-ear pair, and the USB-A connection means newer laptops with only USB-C ports will need an adapter. It's also corded, so there's no walking away from the desk mid-call. If your day is back-to-back meetings, I'd pick this over anything else here.
The Executive Pro Overture is the dual-ear option, and the design brief is written all over it. Binaural cups cover both ears completely, which the brand frames as immersion for calls, Skype and webinars — but the practical effect is isolation. With both ears covered you hear less of the room, which helps in an open office where you're trying to concentrate on a customer rather than the conversation two desks over.
The feature list is built around shift work. The boom microphone is noise-cancelling and stays where you put it, so you're not re-adjusting it between calls. The ear cushions swivel 360 degrees, which lets the cup sit flat against a range of head shapes rather than clamping at one angle. The leatherette earpiece is described as keeping ears cool for all-day use, and the whole thing weighs 2.56 ounces — light enough that the headband isn't the thing you notice at hour five. In-line volume and mute sit on the cable, so both controls are one hand movement away, and the connection is USB plug-and-play for Mac and PC.
There's also a stated 2-year full replacement warranty from Leitner Headsets, which is the kind of detail worth knowing if this is a work purchase rather than a personal one. The frequency range is listed as 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, the same full-range figure as the Philips, but note that the data sheet lists noise control as none — the noise cancellation here is in the microphone, not active cancellation of what you hear.
The main trade-off is that it's a corded USB office headset first and everything else second. No Bluetooth, no 3.5mm jack, no wireless freedom to leave your desk. It's also the pick where the "on ear" and "over-ear" descriptors in the spec sheet don't agree, so if cup size is critical to you, treat that as something to verify rather than assume. For a busy call centre or a softphone-heavy home office, though, this is the one I'd recommend for people who want both ears covered and a mic that behaves.
The EKSA is the wildcard here, and it's the only wireless option in this group. It runs dual connections — a USB and Type-C transmitter for 2.4GHz low-latency audio, plus Bluetooth 5.3 with a stated range of 15 metres. The transmitter approach is the interesting part for computer users: 2.4GHz over a dedicated dongle avoids the lag that Bluetooth can introduce, and the brand cites 30ms latency. The spec sheet also lists a 3.5mm jack and wired connectivity, so you have a cable fallback when the battery runs down.
The hardware is gaming-first: 50mm drivers, 20 ohm impedance, 115 dB sensitivity and a 20 Hz–20,000 Hz range. Low impedance and high sensitivity together mean it gets loud easily from a weak source, which is useful on a console controller or a phone. The microphone is detachable, so you can pull it off for solo listening, and the box includes a 3.5mm audio cable, a Type-C charging cable and the transmitter. Controls are push-button, there's environmental noise cancellation, and RGB lighting is part of the look.
Battery is rated at 25 hours average life with a 2.5-hour charge time. One thing worth flagging honestly: the title mentions a 50H battery while the spec sheet lists 25 hours average — treat 25 hours as the working figure and charge accordingly if you're doing long sessions. The trade-off beyond that is weight and bulk. An over-ear gaming headset with RGB and a transmitter dongle is more gear to manage than a simple USB headset, and the 2.4GHz connection is tied to the dongle, so it isn't as grab-and-go as plugging into a headphone jack. For someone who games on PC and PS5 and takes the occasional call, I'd pick this one.
How We Picked
Yes. The Philips uses a 3.5mm jack with a 6.3mm adapter, while the MKJ, Executive Pro and EKSA's transmitter use USB or USB-C. Most computers will let you pick the active output device in the sound settings, so switching between them is a software choice rather than a physical one.
No. If you're not on calls, the Philips Over Ear is the sensible pick — you get 40mm drivers, a 6m cable and swiveling cups, and you're not paying for a boom mic you'll never use.
No, and the spec sheets show the difference. The MKJ and Executive Pro list sound isolation with noise-cancelling microphones, meaning the mic filters background noise on your voice. The EKSA lists environmental noise cancellation. None of these are the active noise cancellation that quietens what you hear.
The MKJ and the Executive Pro Overture are both described as plug-and-play over USB for Windows and Mac, with no driver installation required. The EKSA's 2.4GHz connection uses its own transmitter rather than drivers.
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