Plantronics Voyager B8200 - Audiophile Features Meet Business Communications!

Plantronics Voyager B8200 - Audiophile Features Meet Business Communications!

28 Sep 2017

We all know the modern workplace is changing: more open plan offices, more collaborative team spaces, more information processing jobs, more online and mobile communications.

Audio experience is changing, too. Who doesn’t link up to an MP3 source on a smartphone, tablet, or PC, usually with a wireless connection? Walk down the street and around the workplace to see the earbuds and headsets everywhere.

The Plantronics Voyager 8200 UC (a.k.a. the Plantronics B8200) brings these two trends together in a WOW! experience for business audio. This tech-rich headset combines all the features of Plantronics’ top of the line Voyager experience for business communications, including ambient noise cancellation, with an over-the-ears super audio experience.

I’ve used a complimentary Voyager 8200 UC for a few weeks and find really solid benefits:

  • Automation, with Simplicity. All of the automation that I’ve come to appreciate and rely on with my Voyager 5200 UC is built into the Voyager 8200 UC. It pairs automatically with the Bluetooth USB dongle on my PC, and it can also pair via Bluetooth with my other devices. It is recognized by Skype for Business, WebEx, and Skype (and likely others, but those are the ones I use) so that the features such as answer/disconnect, mute/unmute and volume can be controlled either on the headset or from the application screen. Call answer is easy with a large button outside the right ear. Mute/unmute is an easy-to-reach right-side button.
  • Noise Cancellation: The noise cancellation is right up there with the best, maybe better. There are three levels of Ambient Noise Cancellation (ANC) – Off, Mid and High – depending on the environment. I’m reminded that Plantronics got its start making headsets for airline pilots, and I’m sure this will do the trick in an airplane as well as in a noisy work environment. ANC is set with an easy left-side button.
  • Clarity and Presence: This is my favorite. I’m often on calls with folks on mobile devices in all parts of the world. With the Voyager 8200 UC, those calls become much more clear and easy to understand. When in a meeting, the stereo over-the-ear design puts me right into the meeting room. Much easier to concentrate on the meeting.
  • Boom-less Audio: Here’s another great technology innovation. The dual-paired omni-directional microphones are built into the front sides of each over-the-ear headset. The audio is picked up and the noise is filtered out so that the other party, or a meeting, will clearly hear my voice and not the background noise.  
  • High-quality Music: Those MP3 files play right through the same Bluetooth connection and are muted when a call comes in. Easy touch controls for play, pause, skip forward or back, and volume are on the outside of the left headset. Can be learned quickly and easily. The Voyager 8200 UC also comes with an audio cable, if you would rather jack into your phone or player rather than use Bluetooth.
  • Long Battery Life: Plantronics claims the Voyager 8200 UC will play music or calls for up to 24 hours on a single charge. Obviously, there is more battery space in the over-the-ears model than in a single ear headset, so this seems logical. Charging is via standard USB, not a specialized adapter, which is also a good thing.

The important actions such as power on, device pairing, ANC, mute and more are announced via a very pleasant natural voice played through the headset.

The headset ear pieces rotate and slide up and down for a very comfortable fit. It was easy to forget they were on, after a few minutes. The headsets rotate flat and slide nicely into a carrying case that fits well in a backpack or briefcase.

And, then there’s one more feature that I like. The L and R labels are printed in big bold letters on the speaker cloth inside each headset. Gone are the days of squinting to find the L or R embossed on the plastic case to figure out which way to wear the headset.

You may have figured out that I’ve been a Plantronics fanboy for some years. And, this is not a comparative industry survey on office headsets. But, this Voyager 8200 UC is the tops, in my experience. It clearly brings a decade or more of innovations together into one cool, fun, and effective device. Enjoy! 

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