If you want a real boom-microphone headset for clear voice pickup on calls, radio or dispatch, choose Plantronics 78712-101; if you need ultra-thin speakers that vanish inside a helmet, headband or pillow so you can listen to music on a ride without earbuds boring into your ears, choose MMUSS Thin 4mm. These two aren't rivals in the usual sense. One is a professional communications headset built entirely around speech. The other is roughly 25 grams of flat speaker driver designed to be sewn into something soft. When the job is cycling, that difference settles almost everything: one product is for the conversation before and after the ride, the other is the thing you actually ride with.
• Plantronics 78712-101 — biggest strength: a telescoping, pivoting boom mic plus over-ear leatherette cushions, made for people who talk for a living and need their voice to arrive clean.
• Plantronics 78712-101 — biggest trade-off: it's a desk-and-dispatch tool, not a riding tool. Wired quick-disconnect cable, a boom arm near your mouth, and a product title that flatly warns "Not USB Compatible".
• MMUSS Thin 4mm — biggest strength: speakers about 3mm thin (roughly 1/8 inch) on a 1.5 m braided cord, light enough to forget, sized to slot into a headband or helmet pad with nothing entering your ear canal.
• MMUSS Thin 4mm — biggest trade-off: it's a listening accessory. Nothing in its specs describes a microphone, and noise control is listed as none.
• Who each is for: the Plantronics for call-center, office and radio users who need to be understood; the MMUSS for riders and side sleepers who want audio pressed against the ear rather than jammed inside it.
The 78712-101 is the EncorePRO 710, a headset with a clear job description: customer service and voice work. The boom microphone telescopes and pivots, which means you can park the mic near the corner of your mouth and keep it out of your peripheral vision while you read a screen. The ear pads are leatherette over a nylon composite frame, and the whole thing weighs 1.9 ounces, so a full shift of wearing it isn't a fight. Plantronics backs it with a two-year limited manufacturer warranty, which is the kind of coverage you'd expect on equipment meant to live on someone's head eight hours a day.
How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-20 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
Here's the honest part: for cycling, this is the wrong shape of product. A coiled cable, a boom arm and over-ear cushions don't belong on a bike, and the title's "Not USB Compatible" note means you must buy the matching Plantronics quick-disconnect cable or adapter rather than assuming it plugs straight into a computer. Skip it if you want music in a helmet. Buy it if your day is calls — help desk, dispatch, sales, remote meetings — and you're tired of a mic that makes you sound like you're calling from a tunnel.
The MMUSS Thin 4mm is a replacement speaker set, not a conventional headphone. The model name says 4mm; the listing's own measurement says about 1/8 inch, or roughly 3mm, and that's the whole pitch — a flat driver thin enough to sit between your ear and a fabric surface without creating a pressure point. The perimeter is 40 cm, the cord is 1.5 m of braided cable, and the unit weighs about 25 grams. Wrap it into a headband, a helmet pad or a travel pillow and it effectively disappears. That's why the description also calls it a helmet headset and a headband headphone replacement.
On paper the audio side is more capable than the price-of-entry feel suggests: 32 ohm impedance, 20 Hz to 20 kHz frequency range, 120 dB sensitivity, 20 mW rated power and 50 mW maximum. Low impedance and high sensitivity mean it doesn't need much of a push from a phone or a small player. There's a volume control on the inline controller. What there isn't: a microphone, or any noise control, or a battery. This is a wired, passive, open-ear listening accessory.
For cycling specifically, the appeal is safety and comfort. Nothing blocks your ear canal, so traffic and your surroundings still come through — the opposite of noise cancelling. One practical warning the listing itself creates: the bullet points mention a 3.5 mm plug, while this particular variant is the Type-C version (the model number and color both say Type-C). Check which connector your device takes before you order, and check whether the volume control works the way you expect with it. Skip it if you need to make calls or want isolation on a noisy train. Buy it if you want music inside a helmet without earbuds.
• Best for voice clarity on calls → Plantronics 78712-101. The telescoping, pivoting boom mic and the speech-focused 6,800 Hz tuning are the point of the product.
• Best for riding with music → MMUSS Thin 4mm. 3mm-thin drivers, 25 g total weight, and a 40 cm loop that fits a helmet pad or headband.
• Best for staying aware of traffic → MMUSS Thin 4mm. Open-ear placement with no active noise cancellation means your ears stay open.
• Best for blocking out an open-plan office → Plantronics 78712-101. It lists active noise cancellation and seals over the ear with leatherette cushions.
• Best for long-wear comfort at a desk → Plantronics 78712-101. 1.9 ounces and adjustable fit, built for a full shift.
• Best for side sleepers and travel pillows → MMUSS Thin 4mm. That's the flagship use case in its own description, and thin drivers are the fix for ear pain when you lie on your side.
• Best for device flexibility → it depends on your port, not the product. The Plantronics is a quick-disconnect wired headset that isn't USB compatible as sold; the MMUSS variant here is Type-C. Confirm your port first.
• Best for durability coverage → Plantronics 78712-101. Two-year limited manufacturer warranty versus one year on the MMUSS.
If the question is specifically about cycling, I'd buy the MMUSS Thin 4mm. In my opinion, 3mm drivers and 25 grams are the right answer for a helmet or headband, and keeping your ears open matters more on a bike than sealing out the world. The Plantronics is the better-engineered product for what it does — it just does something else. If your rides are an afterthought and your actual problem is sounding professional on calls all day, buy the Plantronics 78712-101 instead and don't look back. Check the current price on Amazon for whichever one matches your day before you commit.
FAQ
No. On their spec sheets, both are wired designs — the Plantronics uses a quick-disconnect cable and the MMUSS uses a 1.5 m braided cord. If multipoint Bluetooth pairing is a hard requirement, neither one is the product for you.
The Plantronics lists active noise cancellation; the MMUSS lists none. But for cycling I'd argue cancelling isn't a feature you want — the MMUSS's open-ear design lets road sound through, which is the safer choice. Use the Plantronics for noisy rooms, not busy roads.
The description markets it as a helmet headset and headband replacement, and the 40 cm perimeter with 3mm-thick drivers is built for exactly that kind of fitting. Just confirm which connector version you're buying — this one is Type-C — and that your player supports its inline volume control.
Neither spec sheet makes a sweat or water-resistance claim, so I wouldn't treat either as sweat-rated. With the MMUSS, the speakers sit behind fabric rather than on your skin, which is a physical buffer, not a guarantee. If sweat resistance is essential, look for a product that states it outright.
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