Have you every tried something and instantly thought it is the very best thing of its kind you have ever seen?

That feeling hits you hard when you first clap eyes on a Plantronics PC/Mac DSP 500 USB headset.

The first thing you notice about the Plantronics PC/Mac DSP 500 USB headset is the cool design, closely followed by the slick, drop-down microphone that allows you to talk without all the annoying fluffs, faffs, clicks and clunks you get from a desktop stick.

Then you spot the sleek control pod and realise that somebody actually knew what he or she was doing when they designed this piece of kit.

Sadly, it appears that the Plantronics design team forgot to tell the person who builds the headphones to use nice, substantial materials because, although the headset looks fabulous, the quality of the sound through the 40mm, dynamic bass-response loudspeakers is excellent and the microphone is more than adequate, the general feel of the thing is rather cheap and cheerful.

I suspect the reason for this is a perceived need for lightness. The unit weighs next to nothing, and, in fairness, although it does feel extremely lightweight and flimsy the headset is actually quite robust. It is even fitted with hypo-allergenic ear cushions which sounds great - but I am not at all sure what they do. I thought they were a tad hard on the earholes though!

I fancy that headphone and microphone sets are a very personal thing and, if I was to be absolutely honest, I know I could easily live with this set, but would definitely prefer something that felt a little more upmarket.

Feelgood factor: 7/10 Price: £119.99 Contact: 0800 410014 or www.plantronics.com