My first though was “Wow! The Jabra Speak 510 has grown up”. But the Jabra Speak 810 is not simply a larger version of the 510.

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The 810 is designed for small to mid sized rooms with up to 15 participants. This of course is an area that’s fast seeing more affordable devices come to market. Its not the kind of device you would pack into your bag and run off to your next meeting with, that’s what the 510 is for, although the neoprene case it comes with does allow you to do so if you wish. In my case the sheer size of the 810, about 38cm x 18cm, will have me thinking twice before attempting to take it on a road trip.

This beauty is better suited to staying in the room. That’s what its intended for, hence why it has no battery and requires a power adaptor.

Features

Plug-and-Play support allows you to connect just about any device. Connect options include:-

• USB – allows connection to PC (LED lights up to indicate that its connected)
• 3.5mm Jack – Connect to headset port on mobile devices
• Bluetooth – connect to Mobile phones and Tablets (NFC for quick connect)

Other features are:-

• Support for Kensington lock
• USB Charge out port (Charged my Lumia to satisfaction)
• Cables coil up and tuck away nicely below the unit

Its all about the Audio in the end. Doesn’t matter how good a device looks, if it sounds bad, its no good. So how does the Jabra Speak 810 measure up with Audio?

In a word, Superb! I was able to clearly hear participants at opposite sides of a room. The participants were around 3m from the unit. this must be the 6 x ZoomTalk Microphones doing their thing. Once the participants moved to about 5m the quality hardly deteriorated , clear evidence that the auto gain is working.

I also found that the maximum volume was more than adequate for the recommended room size (10m x 10m). Didn’t notice any distortion and very minimal echo, depending on the room acoustics.

Did I mention that the Jabra Speak 810 will remember up to 900 paired Bluetooth devices?

Updating the device firmware was a breeze using Jabra Direct found here.

Overall, this is a well designed device. Aesthetically it plays the part and certainly delivers on what’s promised.

Nice work Jabra!

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