Richs Blogs: Review deal Products: Plantronics Voyager Pro HD - Bluetooth Headset - Retail Packaging

Plantronics Voyager Pro HD - Bluetooth Headset - Retail Packaging - Black

Customer Review
“Sound quality and comfort is very good.”
Thomas Gooden | 116 reviewers made a similar statement

“This new model, the Voyager Pro HD, is by far the best headset yet.”
J. Walsh | 83 reviewers made a similar statement

“I *really* liked being able to answer a call or switch to the headset just by putting it on my ear.”
M. Kobb | 37 reviewers made a similar statement

5.0 out of 5 stars Slick design, lightweight, solid noise cancellation and easy listening September 24, 2011

By Jerry Saperstein HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Product Packaging:Retail|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

In our era, the collection of matchbook covers from a thousand restaurants and bars has been superseded by the gaggle of abandoned and unloved Bluetooth headsets. My Plantronics Voyager 510, though, has seen a lot of Bluetooth headsets come and go in its time. For some reason, the 510 has remained my most often used BT headset, despite its very weird power adapter connector.

But the Plantronics Voyager Pro HD may be the new kid on the block and quickly become my go-to Bluetooth headset.

The Pro HD is a beautiful piece of design. It weighs practically nothing and the housing is perfectly designed to slip over and balance on your upper ear. I've worn it for several days now and, with one exception, have almost forgotten it was there. The exception is when I put on or take off my glasses - that requires some maneuvering simply because there isn't that much room between my skull and my ear. So I have to make sure everything is arranged just right.

Plantronics has winnowed down buttons and functions to arrive at an efficient and minimalist three buttons. The Power Button has three functions: 1) power on or off, 2) battery voice level alerts and 3) pairing activation. This last, after so many headsets that force me to remember arcane combinations of two buttons, is a blessing. Hold the power button down until the LED flashes red/blue and you're good to go.

The Volume/Mute Buttons also have three functions: 1) adjust volume level, 2) mute the mic (with a 1 second press of volume + and buttons) and 3) pause/play streaming audio. These buttons are generously sized and rise just a bit above the surface of the case for quick and sure operation.

Finally the Call Button allows you take or end a call, redial, initiate voice dial (if your phone supports it) and reconnect lost connections between the headset and device.

Set-up is dirt simple: hold the power button down for a couple of seconds until the LED flashes red/blue and pair I with your device. I paired it with my Lenovo laptop and Motorola Photon 4G phone in just a few seconds without hassle. The headset will support two device connection profiles.

The Voyager Pro HD is capable of A2DP so you can steam music, podcasts, GPS announcements and the like from a suitably equipped phone or other device. Remember, though, that not all phones and computers support A2DP. Mine do and the unit performed well with Pandora and other streaming audio. Volume could be higher but, frankly, if my hearing were better I probably wouldn't complaining. The headset, by the way, ships with a medium eartip installed and small and large ones in the box. I'm going to try the small eartip to see if I can get a better seal to block extraneous noise.

The microphone is supposed to be noise-cancelling and my tests to date indicate that it does a pretty good job. I tested it with a few online recording services, dictating to Audacity sound editing software and in chatting with people. The humans reported they could hear me clearly and I was, frankly, surprised by the clarity of my voice on the recordings. At some point, I will test it with Dragon Naturally Speaking to see how it works with voice recognition software.

The Voyager Pro HD has sensors and can recognize when the headset is being worn. This is pretty neat stuff. You don't have to keep the headset on your ear all the time. Leave it off and when you put it on to take a call, the headset turns on. Very neat! Likewise, if you leave the headset off and there is an incoming call, the headset will route the call to the phone.

As with many headsets, an incoming call stops audio streaming.

Battery life is excellent, in excess of four hours talk time and I don't know how long it will actually last in standby. Charging is via a standard microUSB port. Plantronics includes an AC adapter and a separate USB cable. Nice of them.

A one-year basic subscription to Dial2Do is included, under the Plantronics Vocalyst branding. Dial2Do is an interesting service allowing you to leave reminders, send and listen to emails and texts - if you pay for an upgraded subscription, post to Twitter and Facebook, connect to EverNote and a little more. It is a pricey service, so check it out thoroughly before you become too enamored of it.

Overall, this is a beautiful Bluetooth headset, not only in terms of the sleek and smooth design, but in the feature set as well. From the simple three-button operation to the excellent noise-cancelling microphone and the pretty good audio output. My favorite feature, though, is the weight and fit of the unit. I can put it on and wear it for hours without any discomfort. That, to me, is very, very cool.

Jerry

Technical Details
Product Packaging: Retail

Experience brilliant, HD streaming audio plus natural, clear calls
Smart Sensor technology manages your calls and automatically performs time-saving functions
Monitor your headset battery level on your iPhone or Android (3.0 or higher) smartphone
Up to 6 hours of talk time, up to 120 hours (5 days) of standby time
What's in the Box: headset, three sizes of ear tips, charger, USB cable, operating instructions
Delivers noise-free HD audio
Plantronics MyHeadsetapp for Android-based phones
Senses if you're wearing it
Streams music, podcasts and more

Product Details
Product Packaging: Retail
Product Dimensions: 2.3 x 4.8 x 9 inches ; 8.6 ounces
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.

Product Description
Product Packaging: Retail
Key Features

Revolutionary Smart Sensor technology manages your calls and automatically performs time-saving functions
Experience brilliant, HD streaming audio plus natural, clear calls
Streams music, podcasts, GPS directions, and other audio
Up to 6 hours of talk time, up to 120 hours (5 days) of standby time
Voice alerts announce talk time, volume, connection and more
Monitor your headset battery level on your iPhone or Android (3.0 or higher) smartphone
Plantronics MyHeadset app for Android-based phones

Smart Sensor Technology

Making and receiving calls is simpler with Smart Sensor technology in the Voyager PRO HD. The headset knows when you are wearing it so it cleverly routes calls to the headset when it's on your ear and to the handset when it's not. The Voyager PRO HD also has a locking call mechanism when it is not worn to eliminate accidental calling, and you can answer incoming calls simply by putting the headset on your ear--no buttons to press, applications to open or voice commands required. And if you are listening to music or other audio taking off the headset will automatically pause the stream. The Voyager PRO HD also features enhanced voice alerts that announce remaining talk time, connection status, battery-level, and mute.

WindSmart Noise-Canceling Technologies

WindSmart technology incorporates enhanced stainless steel windscreens and GORE acoustic vents, as well as an electronic filter within the mic circuitry, making call audio clearer and sound more natural.

Use Multipoint One Call at a Time

Once you have activated multipoint and paired your two phones, it's easy to answer calls from either phone. When already on a call, you will hear a ringtone notification of the incoming call from the second paired phone.

To answer a second call from the other phone, you must end the current call (tap Call button) so new call automatically answers. If you choose not to answer the second call, it will go to voicemail.

Get the most from your Plantronics headset with apps for Android

The MyHeadset app will do a sound check and familiarize you with the added functionality of your headset, such as streaming music.

One touch conference call connection

InstantMeeting automatically identifies conference calls and dialing details from your calendar, reminds you just before the meeting is scheduled to begin, and, with one touch, connects you to your conference call.

Specifications

Bluetooth version: 2.1
Bluetooth profiles: Advanced Audio Distribution (A2DP), Audio/Video Remote Control (AVRCP), Hands-free v1.5 (HFP), Headset v1.1 (HSP), Secure Simple Pairing (SSP)
Charging connector: Micro USB
Talk time: Up to 6 hours
Standby time: Up to 5 days
Service and support: 1-year limited warranty

What's in the Box