Plantronics Voyager PRO+ Bluetooth Headset
- A2DP streams music, podcasts, GPS and more
- Plantronics Vocalyst voice and text services
- Enhanced voice alerts for added convenience
- iPhone headset battery meter
- Dual-mic AudioIQ2 noise cancellation
Delivering premium sound quality, comfort, and hands-free convenience, the Plantronics Voyager PRO+ improves on the award-winning audio and design of the Voyager PRO. Thanks to A2DP technology, you can now listen to your favorite music and podcasts through your headset, and also stream GPS directions from your mobile device. Additionally, you can take advantage of Plantronics Vocalyst voice and text services, which allow you to manage your email, check the weather, and listen to news.Delivering
List Price: $ 99.99
Price: $ 64.99
if you don’t mind the BORG look, best overall headset out.,
Let me start by saying i’ve owned a lot of high end BT headsets, Plantronics Voyager Pro, Plantronics 975, Blueant T1, Parrot B250XT, Parrot Xpressway, and some cheaper Chinese Brands like the Gblue and Bluedio.
I was ISO the perfect headset that balances look, fit, sound, and also has A2DP. I find no matter how much technology, or how fancy the name of the technology, there’s substitution for a mic that gets closer to the mouth. The best phone only headset i’ve ever owned is the Parrot B250XT, but the thing looks like I’m taking drive thru orders at McD’s (but it works as well as the ones you see coaches wear at football games).
This headset seems to be the best balance of everything.
Call me a geek but here’s my LAB TEST. I used a 2nd phone using a wired sound isolation headset, put it on mute, and called my HTC EVO Bluetoothed to the Plantronics Voyager Pro Plus.
I started with complete silence. The headset works great. I can actually WHISPER and it picks up. This is great because I’m fairly soft spoken so at my lower than normal conversation voice it picks up great, sounds like i was talking right into the phone.
Then I added noise. I turned on the TV on an average volume and stood in front of it. I can definitely hear every word of the TV. But if I talked at a normal voice, my voice totally overpowered the TV sound and I was completely audible. If i walked about 6 feet away from the TV, the TV sound started to get warbled and much more quiet. I think this is more typical as I normally sit about 6 feet from the TV. I can now talk at low to normal and the I can hear myself great. I turned the TV to very high volume to simulate being outside. It UNFORTUNATELY picks up everything on the TV, but if I spoke, my voice was much louder than the TV.
Now I try Wind. You can put all the shiny foil you want on it, it’s not going to work as well as foam like on a boom mic. I put my small vornado fan on low. The wind noise was VERY noticeable. I started to NOT hear any noise after I was about 6 feet away. I tried turning my head to change the angle of the wind, didn’t seem to make a difference. That wind was about equivalent to a light breeze. However, it’s a consistent breeze, probably unrealistic. But even if I talked at normal volume, my voice would still overpower the wind noise, it was just annoying.
Okay, here’s my REAL WORLD TEST. I have to thank my girlfriend as I must have asked her 100 times “can you hear that?” I walked from my quiet street down a busy street, bought a few things at the supermarket, and walked back. Basically, I spoke at a normal volume the whole time, I didn’t have to talk loud at all, she heard me the whole time no problem. She could hear all the stuff around me as well, but my voice overpowered everything. She could NOT hear the LOW ambient noises around me, like far away trucks and low flying planes. She can clearly hear the high sounds, sirens, horns, shopping carts, and PA system in the supermarket.
I noticed this same phenomenon with the many of the advanced dual microphone headsets (other Plantronics and BlueAnt). When I was at home, you could annoying hear me crumple up a piece of paper or walking around my creeky hardwood floors.
A2DP is the reason why I bought this headset. I wanted to listen to Audio Books and Podcasts. Yes, when you get a call, it pauses the music so you can answer the call. With my other Headsets, I can hit the Multifunction Button and it pauses the sound. This headset does not. It also does not have any FF or REW buttons. However, the Sound is VERY GOOD. You can hear the deeps. I’ve tried headset sized A2DP before, if the Chinese brands have high tiny sound, the Blueant T1 sounds very good, this headset has excellent sound quality. Well, as excellent as outside the ear headsets can sound anyways. Btw, when I dial, I can hear the tones in the headset. I guess that’s an A2DP thing.
The volume control is interesting. It does NOT control the phones volume, it’s independent. This is a good thing actually. If you want it really high, you can manually pump up the phone’s volume, then manually pump up the headsets volume, it makes it REALLY loud. Often, when i’m outside on the city streets, no matter how high I put the volume, it’s not enough. This is MORE than loud enough at the highest setting.
As far as fit, I’ve been wearing this thing for 4h straight now. It went from noticeable to barely noticeable. Looks wise it’s bulky and totally obnoxious as far as today’s headsets go. But in today’s world, even the smallest headset if you wear it or use it in a public place is annoying. At least this one, you can talk QUIETLY and still be heard.
I do not have an iphone, so i cannot comment on those wahzoo tech features. Personally, I think they are pointless because with A2DP you can use apps to do the same thing…
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|Had Potential But Plantronics Fell Short (Detailed Review & Comparison to BA Q2),
+++ Pros:
-Excellent Microphone
-Great Battery Duration
-Very Quick Charge Time
-Adjustable Mic Boom
-Announces Remaining Charge Time
-Good Range
-Very Natural Fit
— Cons:
-No Caller ID Announce
-Communication With Phone’s Voice Command Ineffective
-Hard to Hear (in car/noisy environments))
-Vocalyst Service Expensive, Cumbersome and
Limited Compared to Competing Services
-Lack of Adaptation to Landline Phones
-Similarly Priced Headsets Offer More Features Without Requiring Additional Subscriptions
I have owned multiple bluetooth devices over the years, and my all-time favorite was the Voyager 510S, when it was cutting edge in its technological era. I was thrilled when this model came out, figuring it was the 510S evolutioned to today’s standards. Although it’s good, it fell short of my expectations given the price tag and especially because of the need for an additional monthly/yearly subscription that no one else requires.
I purchased it for use with a Motorola Droid X, to replace the BlueAnt V1, which served me very well for a couple of years, although I hated its bulkiness, and the fact that the Caller ID feature only announced the number, not the contact name – but it gave big shoes to fill. The main feature I was looking for at the time of purchase was A2DP, which this headset handles well, and Caller ID by contact name, which the Voyager Pro+ does not have (which I should’ve researched better prior to purchase, but took for granted it’s not a “standard” feature).
Overall, I had a good experience with this headset. I love the design which is lightweight, comfortable and the long mic boom makes for my voice sounding very clear to my callers. It can also be adjusted with ease. For bluetooth headset standards, it charges very quickly (60-90 mintues from no charge to full charge), and its talk time duration is unrivaled. I think its size is a fair tradeoff for the larger battery. Although it’s bulky compared to other headsets, it looks perfectly normal – very professional and conservative when worn, and you truly ofetn forget you’re wearing it. The noise cancelling technology is quite impressive. A2DP works very well with very clear sound. I also love the fact I could pair it with my PC via a USB bluetooth adapter (using IOGear GBU421 which was a real pain to set up on Windows 7, but I got it working) which allows me to roam around the office while on Skype calls without being tied to my chair by my old wired headphones. It keeps a good connection all the way to my car parked behind my office. When it does lose connection, it automattically reconnects as soon as it’s back in range. The Vocalyst Android application is great on text-to-speach reading of text messages, but if you forget to turn it off when not using the headset, your text messages get read out loud, so be careful!
My first turnoff is that although callers can hear me perfectly well, I often have a hard time hearing clearly while driving or in other noisy environments. This may be due to the fact that the earpiece is not well-designed for the ear canal, and I often find myself pressing it closer to my ear.
The next disappointment is the headset’s inability to handle communication with my device’s phone commands feature. Commands through the headset are unintelligible to the phone, and in order to speak directly to the phone I end up having to turn off the headset, instruct the phone, and then turn the headset back on, which is extremely inconvenient, cumbersome and time-consuming. Very distracting while driving. I don’t know if it’s poor information transfer, or whether the feature is simply unavailable.
Cannot speak directions to the phone’s Google Navigation. (spoke to Plantronics, who said not possible).
Another shortfall is the lack of Caller ID. It simply beeps when a call is coming in, which means I have to pick up the phone to know who is calling. For the price, I expected this feature.
The final major disappointment is the lack of integration to use with my landline phone in the office, like the old voyager 510 had, which has a communications base which doubles as a charging stand, and an optional handset lifter. No such option seems available for the Voyager Pro+.
Also, I purchased the Plantronics USB bluetooth adapter (BUA-100, retails between $50-120), only to find out it’s incompatible with Bluetooth 2.0 standards, or Windows 7. Plantronics offers no UC (Unified Communications) support for this headset. Although they offer it for the older Voyager Pro as a bundle with their newer adapter (BUA-200/201), they do not offer the adapter separately. Fortunately, as I mentioned above, I got it to work with a 3rd party adapter (which only cost $13.99).
Plantronics offers a free android app called vocalyst which…
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|Excellent Clarity & Wearability.,
When first taking it out of the box you wonder how you could possibly wear a Bluetooth headset that will, as my wife put it, make you look like a phone operator, especially coming from wearing smaller headsets. However, you quickly forget about this once you start using the headset.
While it takes a few tries to get used to putting on the Plantronics, the fit is very comfortable. This is probably the most comfortable Bluetooth headset I’ve ever worn. After hours of wearing it, you do not notice that it’s on, and once taken off, there is no aching or period of readjusting to normal. There are a few different eargel sizes and foam covers. I like that the ear gels go into your ear, but do not fit into your ear canal, which makes for a tough time finding a perfect fit.
Perfect. It sounds like I’m holding the phone to my ear, and not on a headset. Callers all thought I was on the phone, not using a headset. When I’m using a headset to speak with my wife, I usually need to enunciate very clearly for the words to come through. With the Plantronics I can ramble away and she hears me clearly. I’m sure having the microphone closer to your mouth helps somewhat.
Other things to note: There is definitely a learning curve with the headset. It took me a few days of regular use to be able to throw the headset on quickly, locate the power button, volume buttons, etc. Once you’ve got that down, you’ll love this headset.
If you want a headset that’s comfortable and has good sound quality, buy this one.
** UPDATE ** 03/08/2011 **
I just replaced my phone with a Nokia X6 and could not pair the Voyager. I tried everything, then I emailed Nokia for support. It isn’t my phone, its the Voyager. Plantronics does not support the Nokia X6. This caused a loss of 1 star, otherwise still a great headset.
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