I’ve added a lot of accessories to my desk over the years, but I rarely come across one that ends up solving a problem I wasn’t looking to fix.
From a portable monitor with a touchscreen to a monitor light bar to make it easier to work in the evenings and even a foot pedal to execute keyboard shortcuts with a tap under my desk, I love trying out new gadgets and finding a way to incorporate them into my desk setup. However, this time around, I was just looking for a simple solution to keep my headphones out of harm’s way and ended up stumbling upon something even more useful.
When reviewing the best standing desks, one small feature that always stands out is when a company includes headphone hooks. Though I normally prefer to use a pair of the best computer speakers when at my desk, there are times when I reach for a pair of over-ear headphones, and it’s nice to have them right there on the side of my desk.
This was perfect when my son was still a baby, but when he became a toddler, he was immediately attracted to my headphones. Once he started routinely wearing one of my old gaming headsets around the house as a belt, I knew it was time to switch from a headphone hook to a headphone stand. To that end, I bought an inexpensive headphone stand to keep my Atlas Air headset safe, but during my search, I came across a slightly more expensive one that immediately caught my attention.
As it turns out, that headphone stand was actually a dual-purpose one. Besides keeping my headphones safe, it also lets me easily access those hard-to-reach USB ports at the back of my computer. Here’s why the Satechi Aluminum USB Headphone Stand has earned a permanent place in my desk setup.
A new home for my headphones
If you do a quick search for headphone stands online, you’ll find that most of them are quite simple and just provide a way to safely store your headphones. However, if you’re willing to spend a bit more, there are ones with wireless charging and even RGB lighting. As my Nothing Phone 2 is still going strong, built-in wireless charging isn’t something I was willing to spend a premium on. If that’s something you’re interested in, though, Satechi’s latest headphone stand ($80, Amazon) does, and it even supports MagSafe.
In my search for the perfect headphone stand, I stumbled upon the Satechi Aluminum USB Headphone Stand, which was launched in 2016. Besides its all-aluminum design, this headphone stand also packs in three USB-A ports and even a 3.5mm audio jack so that you can easily connect your wired headphones to your PC.
There are also two plastic hooks at the back so that you can store your wired headphones. Since I mainly use wireless headphones these days, I’m planning to use them to store the wired USB-C headphones that I picked up on a recent trip when my old Bluetooth ones just didn’t want to connect to my phone. Even though this headphone stand was first released eight years ago, it has a USB-C port at the back instead of a micro USB one to connect to your computer.
If you own one of the best MacBooks or any other Apple device for that matter, this headphone stand will fit right in with the rest of your gear. At launch, it was available in four brushed aluminum finishes but these days, you can find it in either space gray or silver on Satechi’s site. Coincidentally, I ended up buying mine on eBay when it was out of stock on Amazon, though at the time of writing, you can pick up a used one for slightly cheaper on Amazon.
Sound and storage combined
After unboxing Satechi’s Aluminum USB Headphone Stand, it took less than a minute to put everything together. I just had to insert the stand into its base, push down, and it was ready to go since there weren’t any screws. As for connecting it to my computer, I just plugged one end of a USB-C cable into the stand and the other into the mini PC I’m using for this particular desk setup.
This desk setup is a bit different than some of the others around my home, as I have one of the best mini PCs mounted to the back of the monitor pictured above. I love how my computer is entirely out of sight, but when I need to get to one of its ports, I need to go behind my monitor, which can be awkward. With this headphone stand, though, I can now access three USB-A ports and even a 3.5mm audio jack without all that hassle.
I doubt most people have a mini PC mounted to the back of their monitor like I do. However, if you have a desktop computer on the floor or mounted to the underside of your desk, a headphone stand with a built-in USB hub could be useful.
With everything plugged in, it was time to test out the Satechi Aluminum USB Headphone Stand’s ports. Since I take photos on a DSLR camera instead of my phone, my trusty microSD card reader from SanDisk always comes in handy. I plugged that in first, and everything worked fine. I often use the best USB flash drives to quickly move files and photos between all of my computers, so I tried plugging two in at the same time and they all showed up on my PC.
As all three of the USB-A ports on the front of this headphone stand are USB 3.0, you can transfer files at up to 5 gigabits per second (Gbps). If you’re working with really large files, this might not be fast enough but for most people, this should be fine.
I also tested out the 3.5mm audio jack on the far right of the headphone stand as the one on my mini PC is even harder to reach than its USB ports. The audio from several YouTube videos and a few of my favorite songs came across cleanly and with this jack so easily accessible, I might just stop neglecting my wired headphones and using them a bit more than I have in the past.
Not just for looks
Don’t get me wrong, aesthetically pleasing desk accessories are great, but it’s so much better when you find something that not only looks really slick but also helps solve another problem you may not have even known you had. This headphone stand checks both of those boxes for me, and I’m sure it’s the type of desk accessory people will ask about when they step into my home office.
While most of the world has moved onto wireless devices, I still have a penchant for wired ones. Not only are they a lot cheaper, but most of the time, they work as intended with no real effort on your part. Having somewhere to store my headphones and a USB hub in the same accessory suits my workflow better than just being able to charge my phone.
Unfortunately, though, as this is an 8-year-old product, I fear its days might be numbered. If you want a sleek headphone stand that comes with actual, usable ports, I suggest you pick one up while you still can. I know I’m glad I did.
More from Tom's Guide
