Plantronics Bluetooth Single-Ear Headset

I've had a Plantronics Savi W730 over ear headset for years. It is one with the big base station that plugs into my phone and computer at work and uses DECT to transmit, meaning I can easily walk around the whole office. But with the recent quarantine and the need to work from home, I needed something that worked at home as well. I first used my Apple AirPods. I have the new AirPods Pro as well as the 2nd generation "regular" AirPods. These work well and are super comfortable. But I personally don't love the noise cancelling AirPods Pro for calls because I like to hear myself talking and the room around me when I'm at my desk (that's a different story in a coffee shop or on a plane, where the noise cancelling comes in handy). And the AirPods are not without flaws. A few Zoom calls in a row will suck the battery life out of them, and I found myself constantly worrying about charging them. And the act of switching between phone and computer is frustratingly cumbersome. I love my AirPods, but for working at my desk, I need something a little more purpose built for work and I found myself wishing I had my trusty Plantronics W730. That's why I purchased this Voyager 5200 UC headset. It solves my needs of having a long battery life and can easily and quickly switch between Zoom calls on my Mac and phone calls on my iPhone. The range is not as far as my beefy Savi W730, but I can't expect that with such a small transmitter (and definitely not over Bluetooth). I’ll run through a few of the features of this headset here, as these are some of the things that would have helped me make my purchasing decision, so hopefully they are helpful to you. SOUND QUALITY Technically you can use this to listen to music, but it is not made for that. The speaker seems to be tuned to voice, and for that it excels. I can clearly hear others on calls. It will work for the basic web video while browsing, but don’t expect the full range of audio that you get from your normal music earbuds. MICROPHONE The microphone on this headset is great. Any time you can get a microphone closer to your mouth, it is pretty much going to sound better than farther away. The noise cancelling works well too. I haven’t used this in a noisy environment, but it seems that it would do well to filter out background noise so it is not annoying to your callers. That would make this ideal for places like a coffee shop, according to other reviews. I have listened to my company’s Zoom recordings and I’d say I have the best audio of anyone due to this mic. GET THE “UC” VERSION There are a couple of versions of this headset. The “UC” version just means that it comes with a little USB receiver/transmitter (BT600) that plugs into your computer. It is tiny and nearly identical to the size of the little USB receivers that come with many wireless keyboards and mice. In my opinion, this is totally worth the added cost. The little receiver will likely give you better reception and range than Bluetooth alone. And, it enables the use of the Plantronics Hub app (more on that below). The UC version also includes a charging case, which is super convenient to have on your desk or throw in your bag. CONNECTIVITY I typically have this headset connected to my iMac Pro with the BT600 UC dongle and to my iPhone 11 Pro via Bluetooth. This enables me to pretty quickly end a Zoom call on the computer and immediately switch to my phone for a phone call. If I’m headed out with my laptop, I just grab the dongle to bring with me, immediately enabling the headset to work with another computer. I want to test having two dongles connected to two computers, but I have not had the time to do this yet. BATTERY LIFE I have never run the battery dry on this headset, however a couple of times after 4-5 hours of straight video calls it has told me the battery is low. But a quick charge will typically give it enough juice to move forward. CHARGING CASE The charging case makes it easy to keep the headset charged, much like I was used to with my Savi W730. When I finish a call, I typically take it off and pop it on the cradle to be quickly recharged. You can use the case two ways. One way lets you fold the headset and put it inside the case for travel (it also includes a place to hold the USB BT600 dongle). The other way lets you sit the case on a desk and charge the headset on the outside without the need to fold it. This is another benefit of the “UC” version because it speeds up the charging process. I’d rather not have cables laying around and having to fumble with little micro USB plugs all the time. The case itself has a battery inside, very similar to how Apple AirPods work. So if you are traveling, the case will charge the headset without it being plugged into anything. But when you are at a desk, you can keep the case plugged into a USB power cord and it will continue to charge the headset. This is super versatile. My only complaint with the case is that it sometimes takes a few tries to get the headset properly seated before it will begin charging. I’d like a more secure connection with magnets or something to make sure it always connects. But there are little blue charging status lights that help you know if it is connected properly. BUTTONS AND CONTROLS Part of the beauty of Apple AirPods is that they don’t have buttons. But in a professional setting, often times buttons are very helpful, and that’s the case with the Voyager 5200. The buttons on the device are in natural locations and are easy to find (much better than my beloved Savi W730, by the way). I can quickly find the volume up/down if there are loud or quiet talkers on a call. The answer button makes it super easy to answer or end phone calls. That button also works to invoke Siri on the iPhone. And best of all, there’s a physical mute button to mute your mic on conference calls! PLANTRONICS HUB APP If you take my advice and get the “UC” version, you should also take the steps to install the Plantronics Hub App. The app has kind of a weird interface, but it does its job well. It will let you do things like see the battery status of your headset and install new firmware. And you can select from a variety of settings to apply to the headset, such as sound quality vs. battery life, the ringtone, how the sensors work, etc. But by far the best part (for me) is that the app enables the mute button to sync with the computer. This means that I can push the mute button on the headset and it will mute my Zoom app on my computer. And I can use buttons interchangeably, so the Mute software button in Zoom will mute the headset. Or the keyboard shortcut to mute Zoom will mute/unmute the headset. This integration is great because it means I can be muted at the computer, and if I am up and moving around and get asked a question, I can quickly unmute myself by pushing the button on the headset without having the sprint back to the computer. BT600 DONGLE As I said above, the “UC” version of this headset includes a little USB dongle that plugs into your computer. It is an extra step over just using Bluetooth, but I think this is better than Bluetooth because it enables a lot of the features that I mentioned above. The USB dongle is about the same size as the one you might have for your wireless mouse or keyboard, so it is small and unobtrusive. It has an LED light ring around it that shows the status. This is super helpful to know, for example, if your headset is on (solid blue light) or muted during a call (solid red light). It also makes swapping between computers quick and easy. COMFORT AND FIT This is probably a personal opinion, but I prefer the over-the-ear style of headsets when I’m wearing it all day. It does not hurt or make my ear sore like some others because this headset is light. What little weight there is sits behind your ear, rather than on top of it, so there is less pressure. And the speaker sits just in front of your ear canal, rather than shoving an earbud into it. I can wear AirPods for a long time, but this is just more comfortable to me. And combine that with the battery life, and this is a perfect fit! The headset comes with different in-ear covers that are different sizes. You need to test each one and see how it fits for you. It is great having these options. Overall, I think this headset is easily the best conference call earpiece on the market right now. I recommend it all the time to my colleagues who ask me what they should get. (For people looking for a cheaper wired earbuds set, I recommend the Beats Urbeats3, and for wireless or all day use I recommend this Plantronics Voyager 5200 UC.) I hope this review has been helpful in making your decision!