Uit een onderzoek van de Universiteit van Zürich blijkt dat mensen die regelmatig cocaïne gebruiken moeite hebben om empathie te voelen voor anderen en om te genieten van sociale interacties. Daarom gaan ze sociale contacten uit de weg. Dit kan leiden tot eenzaamheid en nog meer drugsgebruik. In vergelijking met gezonde controles hadden chronische cocaïnegebruikers meer moeite om zich te verplaatsen in het perspectief van anderen. Ze toonden minder emotionele empathie en hadden meer moeite om emoties te herkennen in de stem van anderen. Ook hadden ze minder sociale contacten en toonden ze minder betrokkenheid tijdens sociale interacties. Uit één van de experimenten bleek dat cocaïnegebruikers tijdens sociale interacties minder hersenactiviteit vertoonden in de mediale orbitofrontale cortex, een deel van de hersenen dat een belangrijke rol speelt in het beloningssysteem. Minder activiteit in dit hersengebied ging ook samen met minder sociale contacten in de weken voorafgaand aan het experiment. De resultaten van het onderzoek werden gepubliceerd in . De auteurs vinden dat een sociale vaardigheidstraining deel zou moeten uitmaken van het behandelaanbod bij cocaïneverslaving.
KYIV (ANP) - De Oekraïense president Volodymyr Zelensky heeft van de Verenigde Staten "dagen" de tijd gekregen om te reageren op een vredesvoorstel. Dat voorziet in het opgeven van grondgebied door Oekraïne in ruil voor Amerikaanse veiligheidsgaranties, schrijft de krant Financial Times. Die baseert zich op anonieme bronnen.
De Amerikaanse president Donald Trump hoopt volgens een ingewijde op een vredesdeal "tegen de kerst". Zelensky vertelde Europese leiders volgens de krant dat hij zaterdag telefonisch onder druk is gezet door de Amerikaanse onderhandelaars Steve Witkoff en Jared Kushner. Die stuurden naar verluidt aan op een snel besluit.
De Oekraïense leider overlegde maandag met leiders van Frankrijk, het Verenigd Koninkrijk en Duitsland en benadrukte een dag later op X dat "heel actief" wordt gewerkt aan mogelijke stappen om de oorlog te beëindigen. "De Oekraïense en Europese onderdelen zijn nu verder ontwikkeld, en we zijn klaar om ze aan onze partners in de VS te presenteren."
AMSTERDAM (ANP) - De gemeente Amsterdam wil de meldingsbereidheid rond antisemitisme vergroten. Dat staat in de dinsdag gepubliceerde Aanpak Antisemitisme. Ook moet er onder meer een Amsterdams-Jiddisch woordenboek komen. Dat "onderstreept niet alleen de langdurige aanwezigheid van de Joodse gemeenschap in de stad, maar ook de diepgaande invloed die zij heeft gehad op de ontwikkeling van de Amsterdamse taal en cultuur".
In de aanpak staat dat Joodse Amsterdammers zich door onder meer negatieve opmerkingen en bedreigingen belemmerd voelen in het uitdragen van hun identiteit. Hierdoor voelen zij zich vaak angstig en onveilig in Amsterdam. Daarbij is het volgens de gemeente opvallend dat de kloof tussen beleving en cijfers "groot" is. De politie en het meldpunt Discriminatie.nl ontvangen minder meldingen in vergelijking met de signalen die Joodse belangenorganisaties krijgen. In 2023 kreeg het meldpunt in de regio Amsterdam 48 meldingen van antisemitisme, vorig jaar steeg dit naar 88.
Om de meldingsbereidheid te vergroten, moet volgens de gemeente onder meer gewerkt worden aan de naamsbekendheid van het meldpunt bij de Joodse gemeenschap, die in Amsterdam uit zo'n 23.000 leden bestaat. Ook moet benadrukt blijven worden dat melden laagdrempelig is en moet de samenwerking tussen het meldpunt en Joodse organisaties als het CIDI versterkt worden. Volgens de gemeente stelt een hogere meldingsbereidheid Amsterdam in staat om ontwikkelingen rond antisemitisme beter te volgen en daarop in te spelen.
De gemeente streeft er ook naar om meer ontmoetingen tussen Joodse Amsterdammers en andere Amsterdammers te laten plaatsvinden, onder meer in de wijk en op scholen. Op die manier kan volgens de gemeente empathie en inlevingsvermogen groeien.
HEERLEN (ANP) - Vakbond De Unie vindt dat de aangekondigde banenreductie bij pensioenuitvoerder APG op een ongelukkig moment komt. "Er is nooit een goed moment om slecht nieuws te brengen, maar zo kort voor kerst is bijzonder zuur", reageert bestuurder Joop Voesten van De Unie. APG kondigde dinsdag aan tot 1200 voltijdsbanen te willen schrappen tot 2030, als onderdeel van een nieuwe strategie.
"Dat gaat ook gepaard met onzekerheid bij de 4000 mensen die er nu werken", stelt Voesten. "De eerste vraag die je stelt is: ben ik een op de drie die het gaat raken?"
APG werkt in Nederland vanuit Heerlen en Amsterdam en heeft ook enkele kantoren in het buitenland. Op alle locaties zullen banen verdwijnen.
"Ogenschijnlijk is de arbeidsmarkt in Amsterdam voor de mensen die het daar betreft wat ruimer", aldus de vakbondsbestuurder. "Maar als je in Heerlen je baan verliest, vind dan nog maar eens gelijksoortig werk in de regio waar dit soort bedrijven minder vertegenwoordigd zijn."
NIINISALO (ANP/RTR) - Finland heeft honderden dronejammers aangeschaft. Die verstoren de navigatiesignalen van onbemande toestellen en worden opgesteld rond belangrijke infrastructuur, zoals militaire bases.
"Het is erg belangrijk voor de zelfbescherming van de troepen. Met andere woorden, het maakt het mogelijk om te voorkomen dat drones over de troepen vliegen", zei een hoge officier op een legerbasis in Niinisalo tegen persbureau Reuters.
Finland, dat grenst aan Rusland, kocht naast de jammers ook dronedetectors. Daarnaast beschikt het Noord-Europese NAVO-land over een eigen vloot van verkenningsdrones. Het wil jaarlijks ook honderden dronebestuurders opleiden.
NAVO-landen haasten zich om hun verdediging tegen drones uit te breiden na een reeks incidenten met onbemande toestellen boven Europese landen. Drones worden ook op grote schaal ingezet tijdens de oorlog in Oekraïne, waar ze snel doelen kunnen opsporen en uitschakelen.
‘Brussel’ wil al jaren concurrentie op het Europese spoorwegnet. Dat moet leiden tot meer, beter en vooral goedkoper railvervoer. Twee Nederlandse start-ups doen nieuwe pogingen.
De forse toename van het aantal kinderen met obesitas leidt tot zorgen bij kinderartsen. In Nederland kampen bijna 400.000 kinderen met overgewicht en ongeveer 100.000 van hen hebben obesitas. Volgens dokter Erica van den Akker van het Erasmus MC in Rotterdam komen kinderen met obesitas “zomaar een half jaar op een wachtlijst te staan.”
In the last years I always used a wired headset, because I didn't like the idea of having to recharge it and I am not moving away from my desk anyway. I am using a wired mouse and keyboard for the same reason.
However there are two things that break on headsets. First, the faux leather disintegrates – I can live with that. The thing that breaks next is the cable. So a wireless headset would remove that failure point. Also, I occasionally do need to get up and sometimes tangle up the cable.
So I decided to give a wireless headset a try? But which one? Read on for my personal comparison of six headsets in the sub 100 EUR range.
Why not just Bluetooth?
The fist question is why not simply use my Bluetooth headphones I use with my phone?
The issue with Bluetooth is that there are two different protocols
High Fidelity Playback (A2DP Sink)
Hands Free Head Unit (HFP)
The first one delivers high quality audio but is one way only. If you need a duplex connection, eg. you want to use your microphone, you need to switch to HFP. The audio quality is fine for phone communication but sucks if you want to play music over it.
On phones, the OS will automatically switch the profile depending on if an app requests the microphone1). On Linux, the microphone does not even exist as a device as long as you are in HiFi mode. So to use my Sony WH-1000XM3 I would to either use them in HFP mode always and suck up shitty audio quality, or I would need to manually switch profiles and the used input device every time I get a call. Annoying.
Luckily Gaming headsets usually come with a small dongle that speaks a custom(?) 2.4GHz wireless protocol. This is a duplex protocol and (probably) somewhere in the middle between HiFi and HFP quality-wise. In addition, some also speak Bluetooth so you can also pair them with your phone.
What I need
The headset is on my head for nearly the whole day. I use it to listen to music, watch YouTube videos and of course, since I work from home, it's the way I communicate with my colleagues.
I don't need super high end HiFi playback, but it should be decent. Since I wear it all day, it should be light weight and comfortable. Note that I also wear glasses.
Because Kaddi and I share an office, it should pick up my voice but ideally not Kaddi's when she's in a conference, too. At least my voice should still be clear and understandable.
Finally, I do like the flip microphone arm on my current headset to quickly mute myself and to have it out of the way when I snack.
For testing the conferencing capabilities I recorded a short snippet of myself (not tuning any of the default input settings). First without any background noise and then playing a podcast at full volume on my phone which lay on my desk (maybe 60cm from the mic).
All of the headsets seem to have some kind of Windows software, sometimes a phone app too, which allows you to tune things or update the firmware. Since I am using Linux, I did not try any of those. My tests are only testing what is available out of the box.
There is an OpenSource tool called HeadsetControl that can read battery levels and sometimes toggle features like RGB lighting. I will mention if it works with each headset.
HyperX Cloud Stinger (wired)
All the new headsets have to compete with my current headset. It's a HyperX Cloud Stinger and about 5 years old. It's wired to a cheap USB sound card and despite not having any batteries in it, weighs 260g.
The sound quality is okay, but it has trouble with the basses which sound a bit flat.
Here is what the microphone sounds like. The background noise is audible but does not overwhelm. However there is a lot of static noise audible throughout the recording.
Besides an analog volume slider and the the flip mic, this headset has no controls or LEDs.
Logitech G535
The Logitech G535 is their cheapest wireless headset at around 75 EUR. They are by far the most comfortable one to wear, probably because of their super light weight of 230g. Official runtime is 33h.
The sound quality seems more “washed out” than my current headset. The Diva's voice is not as clearly separated from the music as I feel it should be. The bass seems flat too. Voices like in Laura's video are fine though.
When recording, the headset picks up the background podcast very clearly, even while I speak. There is also a tiny bit of static in the recording.
It has a power on button and a flip mic, volume is controlled by a wheel that doesn't feel great. A single LED on the headset gives feedback when connecting or charging.
HeadsetControl can read the battery level.
Logitech G733
At around 85 EUR the Logitech G733 is slightly more expensive than the G353. It's still comfortable to wear but a bit heavier at 275g. Official runtime is 29h.
The sound seems to have more range here. And the bass is actually quite good. Not only did the music sound fine, Laura Kampf's voice sounded good too.
Like its cheaper cousin, this Logitech picked up the background voices and again there is a tiny hint of static. I'm not sure if I spoke louder in this one or if the relatively short mic arm is to blame.
Unfortunately the G733 does not have a flip microphone. For muting there's a button, but it's hard to know if you're currently muted or not. The LED on the dongle does not show it - it's permanently lit as long as the headset is connected. There's a volume wheel with a satisfying clicky feel and of course a power button.
The front features RGB lights that cycle through the rainbow. I think there's some more controls via a Windows app, but on Linux, HeadsetControl can at least read the battery level and turn the lights on and off.
Corsair Void v2
The Corsair Void v2 is a comfortable headset, despite its weight of 296g. With about 90 EUR it just barely made my budget limit. Official runtime is 70h.
The music sound is the best of the headsets so far. No mushiness, a deep powerful bass and clearly separated highs. I really liked this a lot. However watching Laura's video, her voice did sound a bit muffled – probably because of the bass heaviness.
There's a bit of a tinny echo in this recording, but no static. The podcast is audible, maybe a tiny bit less as in the Logitech ones, but maybe not.
Controls offer a flip mic, power button and a play/pause button that actually works (it paused media in Youtube and Feishin). Volume controls are via a “springy wheel lever” – I would have preferred a real clicky wheel.
The front of the headset features RGB lights randomly switching colors. The dongle has a single LED showing the connection status only.
I had occasional issues of the mic or the output not working after turning it on. At some point I even had to unplug the dongle to make it work again.
I followed Adding a Corsair VOID device but was not able to read the battery level or turn off the lights via HeadsetControl.
HyperX Cloud Stinger Core Wireless
The HyperX Cloud Stinger Core are pretty close to my current wired headphones. They are comfortable to wear and weigh just 247g. They cost about 80 EUR. Official runtime is just 17h.
The music sounds good, there is a bit of bass but not as much as in the Corsair. However the voice in Laura's video sound similarly muffled as in the Corsairs.
The microphone sounds pretty decent, but again the background sounds are clearly picked up.
The controls are pretty minimal. There's a power button, a flip mic and a decent clicky wheel for volume. Unlike most other headsets, this one does not play a little melody when muting or unmuting by flipping the mic up. One annoying thing is that you have to hold the power button for slightly too long to turn them on and off.
There is no HeadsetControl support for this headset.
Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen3
When putting the Stealth 600 on, coming from the previous headsets you immediately feel a difference. The pressure on the ears is much higher and while not directly uncomfortable, I feel relief when taking them off. With about 60 EUR they are actually quite affordable. Official runtime is 80h which explains their hefty weight of 316g.
The music sound is pretty good but not as good as the Corsair. I guess I am a sucker for bass and that's what seems to be lacking here – however this also means Laura's voice sounds more natural.
The headset features 4 equalizer modes, but to be honest, I didn't hear much difference between it's default “Signature Sound” and the “Bass Enhancement”.
This is the only headset advertising “AI” voice filtering to remove background noise and they are absolutely right. While I speak, the podcast in the background is barely audible.
This headset has the most controls, but is also the most confusing to operate without seeing the buttons. I even have trouble to find the microphone flip arm when it's in the muted position. There are a lot of buttons:
Power
Equalizer Mode (switching between 4 modes)
Bluetooth
Switch between bluetooth and wireless (and doubles as play/pause)
A click wheel for volume
A click wheel for mixing in ambient sound
The last one is a bit weird. The Stealth 600 does not have active noise cancelling, but does block ambient sound pretty well. With this second wheel you can have it pick up ambient sound and mix it back into the output. It seems not to influence what is recorded at all but allows you for example to hear your colleagues in the same room if that's what you want.
The dongle it comes with is pretty nice. A RGB LED shows you if you're in wireless mode (green), bluetooth mode (blue) or muted (red). It will also signal low battery. Useful if the dongle is not hidden behind your PC but in a hub at your desk.
HeadsetControl does not know this device.
Sony WHG500 Inzone H5
The Sony Inzone H5 is comfortable (though I wouldn't mind the ear cushions to be a tiny bit larger) and weighs 262g. Official runtime is 28h. At about 100EUR it is the most expensive headset in my test.
The music sounds good and well defined, but there is not much bass. Accordingly the voices in Laura's video sound good.
A pleasant surprise was the microphone. The podcast in the background is audible but very muted.
Controls are simple, there's a flip mic and clicky volume wheel on one side and a power button and chat/game buttons on the other. The chat/game buttons seem to be meant as a way to mix voice chat and game sounds, eg. making the voice chat more audible above the game sounds, but I think this requires special (Windows) software? Like the HyperX no sound is played for muting/unmuting by flipping the mic arm.
The dongle's LED only shows the connection status. The dongle also has a flip switch to toggle between PS5 and PC mode. Not sure what that does - both modes work under Linux.
Unlike any of the other headsets, turning the volume wheel does not turn down my PC's volume (as indicated by XFCE's PulseAudio Panel) but seems to work internally only. That's basically how my wired headset worked too, so I don't mind. The H5 is also the only headset that comes with a 3.5 jack to used in wired mode.
Also unique about the Sony H5 is that short pressing the power button will tell you the battery level as voice output. Very welcome, since this device is not recognized by HeadsetControl.
Decision Time
The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 has by far the most features and I kept coming back to it. I really liked its “AI” background filter. It is so unfortunate that it is held back by it's lack in comfort and usability. I tried to wear them through a full day of work, but gave up after about 4 hours.
I really enjoyed the (music) sound of the Corsair Void 2. It was super comfortable to wear despite it's weight. I am also confident that HeadsetControl support would be somewhat easy to add. However the little bugs and the somewhat tinny sounding mic put it at second place only.
The Sony H5 are the ones I finally settled for. They are unassuming without any flashy lights, they are comfortable, have decent sound and good noise suppression and no major flaws.
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