Plantronics was kind enough to send me one of their newest headsets, and let me test the Voyager 8200 UC. I've been using the Voyager UC Focus as my main headset for over a year, and I was really looking forward to test the new headset.
The headset came in a standard box, and had all the necessary cables and instructions required to get started right away. The battery was also charged about 50-60%, and it was possible to use it immediately.
Both the Focus and the 8200 are intended for travelling, and the 8200 also came with a nice little bag to stow your cable and headset when on the road. I liked the Focus bag better, but the 8200 bag makes more sense because of the size and shape of the headset.
The first impression of the headset is that is much bigger and seems more solid than the Voyager UC Focus. This is probably because the Focus is a "on-ear" headset, and the 8200 is a "over-ear". Otherwise, all the functions and features from the Voyager is right there.
To be honest, it took me some time to get used to the "over-ear" experience combined with the noise cancelling, it can be a bit difficult to control your voice without practice. But once I got the hang of it, it felt quite natural. The other thing I needed to get used to, was to talk without the boom. The boom on the Focus, was the one thing that looked "silly" when walking around and listening to music. I am pleased they got rid of it.
As a UC device, I find the 8200 as superb as as Focus, en even slightly better due to the better noise cancelling features. You may adjust the level of noise cancelling to suit you environment. If you're in an office with little noise, I think you will find the "low" level more than good enough. And using the "low" level actually feels "lighter" on you ears. I am sure many of you have noticed how wearing a noise cancelling headset all day can be slightly uncomfortable. The new "low" mode is created to avoid that discomfort. Setting the noise cancelling to high however, makes it a great headset to use when traveling. I have tested it on multiple flights the past month, and can finally pack only one headset for my trips. I've been looking forward to this.
Using the headset for both UC and listening to music can be quite draining to the battery. I was pleased to find that I was not able to drain the battery in one day, but by lunchtime the next day it was time to plug in the charger. And that was probably because I did not turn the headset off during the night. If in an "emergency" it is possible to connect the 8200 to another device using a jack cable. That will not give you all of the neat features, but it will help you out if you run out of power at a bad time.
Overall, I really enjoy the new 8200, and I think I have found myself a new primary headset. And this one can actually replace my old Bose headset for travelling purposes. I think Plantronics has raised the bar for standards of UC headsets with this one, and wonder how Jabra and Sennhizer will rise to meet the competition.
This post is a review of a product sent to me for testing.
