When Plantronics offered to send me a Voyager PRO to review, I was hesitant to accept. I’ve always hated the big-body style Bluetooth headsets, favoring the smaller ones. In fact, my first Bluetooth headset was the NextLink Bluespoon – at the time, the smallest Bluetooth headset on the market. However, they promised that what the Voyager PRO lacks in style, it more than makes up for in functionality and comfort, so I accepted and gave it a go. Keep reading to find out whether this headset is worth the size.
Design
For starters, the Plantronics Voyager PRO isn’t necessarily an ugly headset. In fact, its sleek lines, silver accents, and honeycomb microphone grill look quite nice. The bulk of the headset hides behind your ear, and is covered in a soft-touch rubber material that makes it incredibly comfortable. The headset measures 10.1mm (4in) long and only weighs a scant 17g (.6oz), which means after a short time, I often forgot I was even wearing it.
The part that goes over your ear is made of flexible rubber and did not bother me at all, as some over-the-ear solutions normally do. If you wear glasses, it’s usually recommended that you put your glasses on before putting the headset on, to avoid conflict there. The boom microphone extends nearly 3 full inches from your ear towards your mouth, which helps improve the audio quality for your callers, and you can easily swivel to adjust the angle.
The eargel on the Plantronics Voyager PRO is designed to fit any ear and enhance the acoustic sound quality. Unfortunately, this was one of my complaints about the headset. The eargel does not fit in your outer ear at all, instead laying just on top. While this might be more comfortable for some, I personally prefer one that slips slightly inside my outer ear, for a more secure fit. I found myself constantly trying to push this eargel further into my ear, which obviously didn’t work.
Battery
Plantronics claims that the Voyager PRO will last for 6 hours of continuous talk time, and they’re right on the money. In my tests of active phone calls, I was able to get within 5-10 minutes of their estimate. Standby time is estimated to be up to 5 days. In my real-life tests, with a few calls each day, I was able to go a solid 2.5 days before the Voyager PRO prompted me to recharge it. Luckily, the headset uses a standard microUSB port for charging, so giving it a bit of juice wasn’t a problem.
Audio Quality
The biggest selling point of the Voyager PRO is its ability to cancel out background noise and deliver a crystal clear audio experience. There are two proprietary technologies that combine for this solution: dual-microphone AudioIQ and WindSmart.
AudioIQ technology uses a three-pronged approach for clear audio. First, there is an adaptive 20-band equalizer that constantly tweaks itself to deliver the best clarity. Second, the dual-microphone setup is able to intelligently filter out up to 80dB of background noise. I tried this with various noises in the background and found that, in most cases, whoever I was talking to could tell a noticeable difference when I was using the headset. Last, the AudioIQ technology adjusts the sound levels to ensure that the entire conversation is heard at a comfortable level. Note, this does not mean it is ‘yell-proof’, but rather, it compensates for unexpected changes in volume through the line.
WindSmart technology is really rather cool. First, the honeycomb grill on the microphone is stainless steel, to help break up direct wind coming in. Second, there is a layer of acoustic fabric, much like modern stage microphones have, to eliminate pops from wind gusts. Last, there are electronic filters in place to detect increases in wind noise and eliminate them.
The result of AudioIQ combined with WindSmart is a really clear call, regardless of where you are calling from. With the headset on my right ear, I was able to drive with the windows rolled up and have clear sound for both sides of the call. When I rolled the driver’s side window down, my caller was unable to tell that I had done so, which is impressive. Standing in an open area with medium winds, the WindSmart technology really shined, as again, my caller was unable to detect that I was outside.
There are three buttons on the Plantronics Voyager PRO – power, volume up/down, and a multifunction button. The multifunction button can be used to answer, end, or initiate a call with a single press. If you hold the button down for a second, it will initiate voice control, so you can use the speaker-independent voice-dial on your Symbian-powered smartphone.
Issues
One major annoyance, however, has always been present when using Plantronics headsets with Nokia’s smartphones. The headset emits a double-beep when the Bluetooth audio channel is opened or closed. For some reason, on Nokia’s smartphones, when a Bluetooth headset is connected, the phone will automatically close the audio channel after a few seconds of silence, and re-open it when you begin talking (or the phone emits a sound). This is likely to preserve battery life, which is obviously appreciated. However, it also creates the unfortunate experience with some headsets (such as Plantronics) where the headset is almost constantly double-beeping in your ear, specifically when you are not in a phone call. I have spoken with Plantronics, and used the headset with another phone to confirm that it’s an issue with Nokia’s Bluetooth implementation, and not with the headset.
Conclusion
Overall, while the Plantronics Voyager PRO headset is indeed rather large, the size is more than acceptable given the awesome audio quality and comfort. If you need your headset to perform perfectly in nearly any situation, loud or quiet, then you need to at least try out the Voyager PRO, even if you typically prefer smaller, less conspicuous headsets.
If you’d like to win a FREE Plantronics Voyager PRO, be sure to follow @SymbianGuru and @Plantronics on Twitter. We’ll post the announcement shortly. If you’re new to Twitter, check out The Guru’s Ultimate Guide To Twitter On Symbian Phones.
