How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a plug-and-play wired headset for calls, classes and video meetings, choose Logitech H111; if you need wireless over-ear headphones with long battery life, active noise cancelling and rich music playback, choose RCA Wave-56.
• Logitech H111 — biggest strength: wired 3.5 mm simplicity with a 180° rotating noise-cancelling boom mic built for voice, not music.
• Logitech H111 — biggest trade-off: no Bluetooth, no battery, no active noise cancelling — the mic is the point, and the sound is stereo, not hi-res.
• RCA Wave-56 — biggest strength: up to 40 hours of playback, Hi-Res Audio tuning with enhanced bass, and switchable noise cancelling plus transparency mode.
• RCA Wave-56 — biggest trade-off: it's a wireless Bluetooth headphone first — voice calls are possible via its 3.5 mm jack, but the design is aimed at listening, travel and commuting, not all-day desk calls.
• Buy the Logitech H111 if your day revolves around talking: students, call-centre-style work, remote meetings, shared classroom devices.
• Buy the RCA Wave-56 if your day revolves around listening: commuting, travel, study sessions, music, podcasts and gaming on the move.
The Logitech H111 is a wired stereo headset that does one job extremely well: getting your voice into a computer or tablet cleanly. It connects through a universal 3.5 mm jack, so it plugs straight into Chromebooks, Windows laptops and PCs, iPads, and phones with a headphone socket. No pairing, no charging, no app. You plug it in and you're on the call. Logitech lists it as a certified Works With Chromebooks product, which matters if you're buying in bulk for a school or a team that standardises on Chromebooks.
The microphone is the real story here. The boom rotates a full 180°, so left- or right-handed wearers can position it on the side that suits them, and it can be tucked out of the way when you're just listening. Logitech describes the mic as noise-cancelling with positioning for better voice capture and background noise reduction — in practice that means it's tuned for speech intelligibility rather than studio warmth. The headband adjusts, the leatherette ear cushions sit over the ear, and the cable runs 7.71 ft (235 cm), which is genuinely long. That length is the detail people underestimate: you can stand up, stretch, or pace during a long call without yanking a laptop off the desk.
Who should buy it: students in online classes, anyone who lives in Zoom, Teams or Skype meetings, teachers and trainers, and buyers equipping several people at once — the cleanable leatherette cushions and the Education theme in Logitech's own styling point squarely at shared use. The 32-ohm impedance and 20 Hz–20 kHz range make it easy to drive from basically anything with a headphone jack.
Who should skip it: if you want to enjoy music properly, walk around untethered, or block out a noisy train, this isn't the tool. There's no Bluetooth, no battery, no active noise cancelling — Logitech's noise control is listed as sound isolation, which is passive. And it's wired, full stop. If a cable across your desk or down your front bothers you, you'll resent it by week two. It also won't help on a phone or laptop that has ditched the 3.5 mm jack unless you supply your own adapter, which isn't included.
The RCA Wave-56 is a wireless over-ear Bluetooth headphone built around endurance and immersion. RCA rates battery life at up to 40 hours, which is the headline number: that's a full week of commutes, several long-haul flights, or a term's worth of library sessions between charges. Bluetooth 5.3 handles the connection, and the earcups fold, so the whole thing collapses into a backpack, a carry-on or a case without much fuss.
Sound is pitched at listeners rather than talkers. RCA describes Hi-Res Audio drivers with crisp highs, balanced mids and enhanced bass, and the spec sheet backs the range claim with 20 Hz to 40 kHz — double the top end of the Logitech H111. Whether you stream music, game or work through podcasts, the tuning is aimed at a fuller, more energetic presentation than a plain stereo voice headset.
The second feature worth your attention is the dual-mode noise control. Active noise cancelling minimises constant background noise so you can focus; transparency mode flips it so traffic, voices and announcements come through. That combination is genuinely useful on a commute or in a shared office, and it's a capability the H111 simply doesn't have. The over-ear design uses cushioned pads and an adjustable headband for long wear, and RCA markets it as travel-friendly. A 3.5 mm jack is present as well, so you can go wired when you want to.
Who should buy it: commuters, frequent travellers, students who study in noisy places, and anyone who wants one pair of headphones for music, podcasts, gaming and the occasional call. The green finish is a look — you either like it or you don't, and it's the only colour listed.
Who should skip it: if your priority is being heard clearly on back-to-back calls, this is the wrong shape of product. It's a listening headphone, and its 2.5 lb listed weight is substantially heavier than the Logitech's 128 g — noticeable over a long day on your head. It's also wireless-first, which means charging becomes a routine you have to remember.
• Best for voice calls and meetings → Logitech H111. The 180° rotating boom mic with noise-cancelling positioning is purpose-built for speech; the RCA is not.
• Best for battery life → RCA Wave-56. Up to 40 hours of playback versus a wired headset that never needs charging but never leaves the desk either.
• Best for music and media → RCA Wave-56. Hi-Res Audio drivers, enhanced bass and a 20 Hz–40 kHz range against the Logitech's 20 Hz–20 kHz stereo tuning.
• Best for noise control → RCA Wave-56. It offers active noise cancelling and transparency mode; the Logitech offers passive sound isolation only.
• Best for all-day comfort at low weight → Logitech H111. 128 g with an adjustable headband and soft leatherette cushions is a very different proposition from a 2.5 lb over-ear.
• Best for plug-and-play reliability → Logitech H111. Universal 3.5 mm, Works With Chromebooks, no pairing, no charging, no dropouts.
• Best for travel and commuting → RCA Wave-56. Foldable, wireless, 40 hours, with transparency mode for platforms and pavements.
• Best for shared or classroom devices → Logitech H111. Cleanable leatherette cushions and a long cable suit hand-to-hand use between students.
In my opinion, these two aren't really competitors — they solve different problems, so the honest answer is to pick by what you do most. If your day is calls, classes and meetings, I'd buy the Logitech H111: the rotating noise-cancelling boom, the 235 cm cable and the 128 g build are exactly what that job needs, and the wired connection never lets you down mid-sentence. If your day is music, podcasts and travel, I'd buy the RCA Wave-56: 40 hours of battery, Hi-Res tuning and switchable noise cancelling make it the far more enjoyable companion. If you need both, buy both — they're cheap enough in different ways to justify it, and check the current price on Amazon before you commit.
FAQ
Its feature set is built around listening — Hi-Res Audio, 40-hour battery, noise cancelling and transparency mode. RCA doesn't present it as a call headset the way Logitech presents the H111, so if voice quality is your priority, the H111 is the safer pick.
It depends what bothers you. The Logitech H111 is far lighter at 128 g with an adjustable headband and soft leatherette cushions, which suits long desk sessions. The RCA Wave-56 is listed at 2.5 lb but uses cushioned ear cups and an adjustable headband, so it's built for hours of travel listening rather than all-day desk work.
Yes, within reason. It uses a universal 3.5 mm jack and Logitech lists it as a certified Works With Chromebooks product, and it works with Windows laptops, PCs and iPads. If your device has no headphone jack, you'll need your own adapter, since one isn't included.
That's arguably where it's strongest. Up to 40 hours of battery covers long journeys, active noise cancelling cuts engine and carriage drone, transparency mode lets you hear announcements, and the foldable design packs into a carry-on.
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