Category Archives: Product Review

Product Review: Plantronics Voyager 8200 UC

20 Saturday Jan 2018

Posted by in Product Review, Skype for Business, Teams

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Firstly, I’d like to mention that I have had this device for just over 4 months. Usually I would have written a review long before now, but I have learnt that very often the first few months of any new product are prone to hiccups.

I am glad I waited, the latest (as of writing) firmware version 218 has resolved an issue that is related to Skype for Business. I will mention the issues I had at the end of this post.

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First impression was that it looks very elegant. Comes in either a white or Grey finish. The Over-the-head band is substantially more robust in look and feel. Its well padded Over-the-head with a breathable type of material finish resting on your head. The ear cup cushioning is soft and comfortable.

Highlights

  • I really liked that there are 2 levels of ANC, 1 for Office and another for noisy environments

  • Smart sensors allow you to answer calls by simply putting on the headset and automatically mute your calls or pause your music by taking it off

  • The controls have been well thought out and repeat the layout of the Voyager Focus UC.
  • A 3.5mm jack! So stoked that this has been included as it extends the usability massively
  • Open Mic to amplify background noise, I don’t use this too much but it is a nice feature I have played with from time to time. I feel like it amplifies my hearing
  • No boom microphone! This is only the second headset I have reviewed without a boom. Last time around I was just a little disappointed BUT Plantronics have done a great job with the 8200 UC. Its really set a new benchmark and in my opinion leads the market in this specific respect. A pair of dual Omni-direction microphones make this possible
  • Dynamic mute alert detects and notifies you when you talk while on mute
  • Doubles as a business headset and a music headset, don’t discount this fact!
  • The battery just goes on and on! I have had 2 days of good use (about 5-6 hours each) and 26 days on standby on my current charge..its still going!
  • The soft case is classy and I do like the additional pocket that stows away cabling. Which by the way , comes with a USB cable, 3.5mm cable, USB dongle and a flight adaptor

Testing included hundreds of Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams calls as well as at least 250 hours of listening to music on Spotify (via a combination of PC and iPhone)

I found that the call quality was really good. When in the office I didn’t really need ANC enabled but it certainly reduced the office noise callers were usually hearing when calling me. Working from the local Coffee Brewers I cranked up the ANC (very noisy environment) and although the audio experience was slightly less natural, the ANC took care of the noise so well that I could continue my conversation.

I also noticed that the inside surface of the ear cup is smooth and covered in a slightly padded material. So when your ear makes contact with the inner surface its not irritating.

Specifications

Talk Time Up to 20 hours
Standby Time Up to 1 month
Range Up to 30 Meters\98 Feet
Frequency Bluetooth v4.1
Audio Performance Active Noise Canceling
Call Answer/End Yes
Volume +/- Yes
Earpiece/Headset Weight 289 grams\10 oz
Wireless Technology Bluetooth
Connectivity Bluetooth/3.5mm
Connects To PC, Tablet and Mobile
Skype for Business Certified Yes
Lync/Skype for Business Yes
Device Type Bluetooth
Speaker Style Binaural
Wearing Style Over-the-head
Microphone Noise-canceling
Headset Family Plantronics Bluetooth
High Density Environments Yes
Integrated Busylight No
Digital Encryption 128-Bit
Limited Warranty 1 year
USB Port Yes
Mute Yes
Digital Signal Processing Yes
PC Wideband Audio Yes

Suggestions for improvement

  1. I would like to see an option for a hard case like the BackBeat PRO 2 SE has. I am even prepared to pay extra for that. It’s probably not necessary but would certainly give me peace of mind when I am out and about.
  2. I think it may be worth providing a larger ear cup option to avoid any wear fatigue with persons having a slightly larger ear. The inside of the cups measures 60mm\2.36in, this is the same size as other units I have tested so this seems to be a norm across most brands.

The only negative I can really mention is that this is not an entry level unit and so comes at a price and its not cheap. However, in this category its still one of the more affordable headsets.

NOTE

Do update the firmware when you receive your Plantronics Voyager 8200 UC. I got mine on the initial release firmware 115. After a lot of testing I was stumped by a clicking noise on Skype for Business calls. The good folks at Plantronics replaced the unit promptly but the issue continued. Once I updated to firmware version 218 the 8200 UC was brilliant!

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Review: Jabra Speak 710

11 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by in Jabra, Product Review, Speaker Phones

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There is a lot of competition in the small speaker phone range these days. Initially it was all about size and audio quality, but today we find that new features, extending use cases as well as aesthetics, is what driving popularity of these little gems.

Want to hear the audio quality recorded using the Speak 710 and Microsoft Teams on my local pc, click HERE

The Jabra Speak 710 is no exception. The usual default expectations are that its light weight, portable and just works. Aesthetically the Jabra Speak 510 (the 710’s predecessor) has always been appealing. It would be challenging to improve on this, however Jabra have done well in adding a mixture of metal to the plastic housing improving its appeal. More importantly, I think (IMHO) that the metal covered speaker has reduced the likelihood of audio vibration\distortion you might expect with an all plastic unit.

The arrangement of function buttons and status\indicator LED’s in a circular pattern around the unit perimeter has always caught my eye.

Simply a beautiful design.

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Pros

My favorite features include:-

  • The combined metal\plastic finish, both beautiful and solid
  • The kick stand that tucks away very well (also metal improving robustness)
  • Dedicated Bluetooth Dongle slot below the unit (this was my biggest concern – I have lost a few of these little suckers in the past)
  • Its the only Touch-based control interface (no physical buttons) in this range and also boasts backlit buttons which are auto dimming when in use
  • Smart Button to activate my mobile phone voice assistant (Compatible with Siri, Cortana and Google Now)
  • A new link button allowing you to pair two units together via Bluetooth to create larger coverage and a much richer audio experience, and yes its stereo.
  • I like how the USB cable wraps around the unit, out of the way, neat and tidy. Hate looking for bits when getting setup
  • Connect via Bluetooth or USB (great when power is low on the unit)
  • Bluetooth will connect to two devices simultaneously (in my case, my iPhone and PC)
  • I like how the device announces that its connected (and connects automatically when I plug the dongle in to my PC – no guessing if its connected or not). That said, I’d like to see controls where this can be turned off
  • Ridiculous Bluetooth range, my test was a tad further than the Jabra stated 30 meters. Only started glitching at about 34 meters
  • Superior sound quality! Not only is it very noticeably better than the 510, but I found it to be better than both the Plantronics and Sennheiser equivalents (and that’s before pairing two together)
  • Good for listening to music, again two paired units took this to a whole new level
  • When listening to music and a call comes in, music is automatically paused. Also resumes automatically when the call completes
  • 12 person Con call by pairing two 710s or 6 with a single unit
  • Microphone quality is noticeably improved from the days of the 510 (arguably the best in this range of small form factor devices

Cons

  • The output base is slightly low when listening to music
  • Cost, at around NZ$518 its not cheap, that’s almost twice the price of the 510 at NZ$273, considering the improved quality its still well worth the purchase
  • No 3.5mm jack (for those days when Bluetooth just isn’t playing nice). This feature was present in the 510 but has been dropped
  • USB Cable is attached to device (same as the 510),this  increases the risk of cable damage with movement. Would love to see a detachable cable

In Conclusion

What got my attention was the ability to daisy chain the Jabra Speak 710’s. Typically device daisy chaining is by means of cables, although that’s considered more reliable, its untidy and makes the hardware look like a last minute slap together. The Jabra Speak 710 however has that elegant boardroom device look and feel. Dare I say, it looks expensive.

Overall, this is an outstanding device and I believe that its become a real contender to the “Spider”  conference phone ranges. A new baseline has been set, well done Jabra!

References

http://www.jabra.co.nz/Business/speakerphones/jabra-speak-series/jabra-speak-710

Product Review: Sennheiser MB 660 UC

21 Tuesday Mar 2017

Posted by in Product Review

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Let me start by saying that as of this moment the Sennheiser MB 660 UC is my new favorite headset. Let me explain..

MB 660 UC

At first glance you could be forgiven for thinking that this is predominantly a music headphone. The absence of a boom microphone is what concerned me as soon as I started unpacking this beauty. I was expecting the MB 660 UC to pickup all the surrounding office sounds as it attempts to find my voice. This was not the case. Not even close!

It was actually quite the opposite. Not only was the MB 660 UC able to find my voice clearly, BUT it was able to filter out all other office sounds so effectively that callers were unable to hear me typing away on my keyboard (I tend to strike the keyboard in a less elegant fashion than most). I have a fairly loud neighbor to my desk (hello Travis) and in my daily Skype for Business calls he is often heard over my voice, despite my best efforts.

That’s no longer the case..

A good headset in my opinion needs to be comfortable, must have great music quality and needs superb conversation audio too. A decent battery life is appreciated and of course if it looks cool and doesn’t fall apart after rigorous use then I am happy.

The MB 660 UC stands above the rest with the use of an adaptive ANC (Active Noise Controller), *SpeakFocus  and  Advanced Own-Voice-Detector. Collectively these innovative technologies are the reasons why this headset is a superbly awesome device. The use of these 3 innovative technologies contribute to the removal of ambient noise while focusing attention to the speaker. Since ambient noise can vary, an adaptive ANC is particularly effective in adjusting to the ever changing ambient noise. Its a lot more technical than that, but you get the idea. Also all ANC claims are not equal, I tend to trust my ears and not the brochures.

The Plantronics Voyager UC has been my go to device in the office because of being wireless and fairly good at ANC. I have also used the Jabra EVOLVE 80 at my home office, primarily because of it being a lot better when it comes to ANC, filters out my squawking cockatiel to some extent but mostly creates a quite space for me to work in.

Don’t get me wrong, BOTH these headsets are really good. However, what has been missing (IMHO) is a device that is a hybrid of these two products. The Sennheiser MB 660 UC does that well.

What I liked:-

  • Touch Pad Controls – really cool to interface to functionality via touch pad
  • very comfortable – despite wearing it all day
  • no boom, I tend to snack at my desk and the boom can get in the way. Pushing the boom up on other headsets works but I do often forget to bring it down again
  • NFC pairing
  • Audio cable with answer button (2.5mm and 3.5mm jack plugs) and in-flight adapter
  • Battery time is great at 30 hours
  • Battery run down? No problem, switch over to cable mode
  • The 3 “braille” like dots on the left hand side of the headset – get left and right correct in the dark. You don’t want to put this puppy on back to front, cause the boom will be projecting to the back of your head 😉

* SpeakFocus and Advanced Own-Voice-Detector are unique to Sennheiser

Areas for improvement:

  • Although the touchpad is really cool, I found that at times I either accidentally disconnected a call or placed the headset on mute.
  • The mute function doesn’t place the Skype for Business call on mute, just the headset, this can be confusing
  • Love the idea of no boom, however it comes with a slight degradation in transmitting audio
  • Would like to see more obvious indication of left and right, you can get these on back to front quite easily if you not paying attention
  • The MB 660 doesn’t pair correctly 100% of the time to my PC, every now and then I have to turn it off and on again before it connects properly
  • The reception range isn’t quite as impressive as my Plantronics Voyager UC

References

https://en-nz.sennheiser.com/wireless-headset-office-phone-mb-660-uc

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