Plantronics Voyager 8200 UC Bluetooth headset with noise canceling review

My employer upgraded the various phone systems our many offices were using to an enterprise phone system at the beginning of November. It was the first step to creating a unified communication environment for the entire enterprise. The second step of the upgrade will be a phone app and windows app to allow all communication through either a smartphone or the computer (laptop). I volunteered to pilot this system in my office and I’m lucky enough to test the Plantronics Voyager 8200 UC headset on everything from noise-canceling during air-travel and office use, listening to music, conferencing, and voice communication – all through Bluetooth. Read on to see what I think!

Unboxing

The headphones don’t come in an elaborate package. Some of Plantronics other products come in packaging that has more retail focus but these just came in a brown cardboard box. After using these for a couple of weeks I have come to realize that the lack of a flashy exterior package does not detract from the enjoyment of what is inside.

The box comes with the following:

  • Headset
  • Carrying case
  • Quick start guide
  • BT600
  • USB Charging cable
  • 3.5mm audio cable

The carrying case is a fabric bag lined with soft fleece. It has an accessory pocket on the front that has a zipper closure about 1/3 of the way from the top, but actually encompasses the entire front of the bag – the compartment extends above the zipper. The main compartment also closes with a zipper. On the side there is a loop. The front of the bag has a black, stylized “PLT” logo imprinted on the dark grey material, and the side of the bag has an orange tag with “PLT” written on one side and “Plantronics” on the other.

I was initially concerned that the case was not a hard-walled design similar to the cases provided with some of the noise canceling headphones sold by Bose and Sony. However, on a flight from San Diego to Boston the traveler next to me accidentally sat on the headphones. I was prepared to lift a broken headset with a dangling ear cup, but these headphones are precision made and durable. The headphones emerged from under my neighbor’s rear unscathed. So maybe a soft case is all that’s needed; it will keep them clean and will prevent the cups from getting snagged on one thing or another.

Design

The design of the headphones emphasizes comfort, ergonomics, and usability but still remains fashionable. The headband is covered with leather on top and breathable suede on the head facing side. It is cushioned to rest against the scalp and has just the right amount of spring for my head. The headband expands with a metal leaf independently over each ear. A pattern etched on each metal leaf which represents the LEDs of a frequency spectrum display help ensure that the headband is centered on the head. The earcups can twist forward just a bit, but twist backwards to almost 90 degrees (which is how the entire set can fit in the carry sack). The twisting action doesn’t occur freely – it must be moved by hand. The earcups also pivot up and down, but this movement is a spring return to the neutral position. The earcups are angled slightly forward to follow the natural slope of the ear from the top to the bottom of the lobe. The cushions of the earcups are squishy polyurethane coated foam which provides good support and noise isolation.

The mostly black and charcoal grey colors are punctuated by smartly placed orange around the inside of the earcups. The inside of the earcups are labeled “L” and “R” in the stylized Plantronics font against a white cloth covering the speaker grill (and the capacitive sensors which can detect if the headphones are being worn). the cushions meet a metal bezel into which the 3.5 mm audio cable and USB charging cable can be plugged into on the right side. (See the featured image at the top of the story.) The bezel also surrounds the microphones used to pick up the wearers voice when being used as a headset. Around the outside of the earcups is a metallic screen that covers the area where ambient microphones are positioned. the back of the earcups are covered by a faux wooden laminate. On the left-hand side, the laminate includes operation buttons. On the right-hand side is an indicator light for pairing, battery strength, mute and low power. The LEDs are mounted below a glossy plastic ring.

Note that this review is for the black/charcoal colors, but that the headphones are also available in a beige color scheme:

Operation

With so many capabilities, one might believe that the operation of the headset may be complicated, but the sensible layout of the controls makes using the headset intuitive. The volume dial on the left-hand side increases volume by rotating forward and decreases the volume by rotating back. The volume adjustment occurs in 10 steps and the dial has a spring return to center after the adjustment is made. The headset has an optional setting that will play tones that correspond to the volume level.

The dedicated voice control button seems to work fine for Google Now on a phone or Siri on an iPhone. I wasn’t able to test Siri on a mac or Google now on a chrome book. It does not work to activate Cortana on a Windows 10 machine, but it can be used to dictate commands if the Windows-C shortcut or microphone icon is used.

Skipping tracks is a breeze with the dedicated forward and reverse buttons – no double pressing and triple pressing the play/pause button is required. It would be great if this allowed rewind and fast forward by holding the button down.

Active noise canceling (ANC) comes in two strengths: office and airplane. While the noise canceling is effective and noticeable, it does not perform as well as the Sony WH-1000XM2.

OpenMic is a great feature to allow the wearer to have conversations without taking the headphones off. Pressing the button will conveniently pause any music playing and allow voice and sharp sounds to the ears while still filtering out noise using the ANC. While using the headset in a conversation the same button is used to mute the voice microphone.

Five LEDs on the right side indicate charge, pairing mode, call status, and button presses. When not wearing the headset, pressing on the right side will illuminate the 5 LEDs to correspond to the estimated battery capacity remaining.

The headphones come with a Bluetooth adapter, the Plantronics BT600. The headphones are pre-paired to the adapter and it has a LED on the end that can be used to indicate the status of the headset function:

  • Blue – Standby
  • Blinking Blue – Call
  • Blinking Purple – Music
  • Mute – Red

I stuck mine on a USB extension cable and mounted it above my desk so now my coworkers know if I’m rocking out or on a call.

Paring the headset to more than one device is relatively straightforward. I never needed to enter the Bluetooth PIN (“0000”) and when I turn the unit on the connections happen very quickly. I have the headset paired with my laptop and also I use the BT600 on this computer too. I may have to force pairing with the BT600 by pressing the pin on the side. This is more convenient than removing the pair settings from the Bluetooth that is part of my laptop. For some reason, the BT600 handles going between call and music better than my Dell so I’m using the BT600 over the built-in Bluetooth. The range of the BT600/8200 pair is right around 100 feet.

Using the BT600 in combination with the Plantronics Hub software also permits monitoring the status of the headphones from an icon in the status tray on the right-hand side of the screen on a Windows machine. The icon will display the remaining battery percentage as an icon, indicate if charging is occurring, indicate the mute status, and display the remaining talk time if the mouse hovers over the icon. Below are a few screens from the Hub software screen to show the customization the headphones are capable of.

 

The iOS app also supports nearly all of the same settings and also includes an extensive help section for quick reference when setting up and using the headphones.

One of the unique features on these headphones is that they will limit the volume to protect hearing and they will also limit the exposure of the user to noise to below a specified decibel level for a certain number of hours per day. It is unclear how the headphones accomplish this but it is good to know that there are features to protect the listener’s hearing.

The sensor is another great feature that works as an auto-mute and auto-pause when the headphones are removed from the ears. This works well about 90 percent of the time, but I’m careful to manually mute the headphones in a conference call rather than risk the embarrassment of talking over the people on call if I need to communicate with some one off of the phone. In the other 10% of the time, the music may still play even though the headphones are loose around my neck.

One other set of features is that the headphones can be used as Bluetooth headphones while charging. Also, installing the 3.5 mm cable into the headphones turns off the Bluetooth radio but does not disable the ANC.

Performance

Since these are wireless headphones an evaluation of their claimed charging capacity is important. After using these until the battery was completely drained, twenty minutes of charging provides over 7 hours of “talk” time.  While attempting to charge these completely,  After 1:39 of charging the hub reported that there was 20:12 of talk time but I could tell from my USB tester that there was no longer any charge being sent to the headset. I unplugged and re-plugged the headset into the USB tester and the accrued charge on the headset, as reported by the hub, went down to 18:34 but the charge resumed and completed after two hours and 655mAh were charged into the headphones. After the two hours, the capacity as measured by the hub went to 21:47.

I used the same songs I listened to with the V-Moda on these headphones. My first test track is Fantasy by The xx. The pure base tones (in the high 40Hz range) come through strong and without distortion. and are aided by the bass tubes in these headphones. You don’t just hear the bass, you can feel it.  I also listened to How Low by Ludacris which has some 32Hz tones that come through well amplified.

I wanted to hear how the subtly of an upright bass is delivered by the speakers so I listened to Bahia by John Coltrane. The V-Moda has a crispness and presence that is not communicated as well by the Plantronics headset. While the stereo separation is still present, the tones seemed a bit muted. This observation was made without any noise-cancellation, anti-startle, or noise exposure limitations active. Also, it doesn’t sound any better when plugged into the 3.5 mm port. The way the sound is reproduced doesn’t appear to be a Plantronics sensibility either because I also have a Plantronics .Audio 478 USB headset. It has stereo on-the-ear wideband 32mm drivers. I felt that the .Audio 478 headset had a better soundstage than the Voyager 8200. I noticed this lack of presence on each of the other songs from the V-moda review:  There’s No Underwear in Space by The Claypool Lennon Delirium, La femme d’argent by Air, and French Suites by Bach played by Murry Perahia. However, the sound quality and performance does seem to come through fantastically while listening to movies.

I recorded the following track to test the various functions and to provide the reader with some understanding of what wearing the headphones is like:

Also, After reading Andy Chen’s review of the Plantronics 3200 I made the following test recording to demonstrate the voice isolating sound processing of the headset:

Positives

  • Unified communication
  • Noise Cancelling
  • Two device Bluetooth Pairing

Negatives

  • ANC not industry leading
  • Crispness of musical playback

Final thoughts

These headphones have quite literally taken the place of three headphones on my desk: a headset for my phone, a headset for Webex, Skype and other computer-based conferencing, and headphones for listening to music. The fact that all of these things are now wireless is a huge benefit. It is quite liberating to be able to get up and walk over to someone else desk to discreetly get their opinion during a conference call, jump into a private office if I get a personal call, or make a work call from my desk phone without being tethered. My only complaint is that I wish the audio presence was crisper. That being said, there are a lot of noise-canceling headphones out there with excellent acoustics at the same price point (Sony, Bose, B&W). If the main reason for getting these does not include voice communication then one of the other models may provide better value. But if you are looking for one headphone that can do everything then the Plantronics 8200 UC may be just what you’re looking for.

Price: $379.95
Where to buy: Plantronics and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Plantronics.

Don’t panic, here are 7 last minute gift ideas

There are only 11 shopping days until Christmas day. If you haven’t even begun shopping, I can imagine that knowing that the big day is so close is stressing you out. But there is still plenty of time. Amazon‘s last standard shipping day for people who don’t have Prime, is next Monday the 18th. If you are a Prime member, you can procrastinate until Friday the 22nd or for those in select cities, you can wait until the 24th for same day shipping. But don’t wait, start or finish your shopping today. For some inspiration, enjoy this gift guide and check out all of our other gift guides for 2017.

Surecall Fusion2Go 2.0 4G LTE signal booster for vehicles

Do you have someone on your gift list that has problems with dropped phone calls when they are driving? The Surecall Fusion2Go is a signal booster that has been designed especially for cars. It sets up in minutes, requires no special cradle for the phone, and will boost a weak existing 3G or 4G signal for all North American cell carriers, including AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile. Less dropped calls and better reception guaranteed or they will refund your money back within 60 days. The unit is also backed by a 3-year warranty.

Price: $379.99
Where to buy: Amazon

Kobo Aura One eReader

I love reading eBooks and normally do it on my smartphone. But I ran into a problem when I was on vacation in Florida several weeks ago. I was all set to tuck into Gerald’s Game by Stephen King (here’s a tip: don’t read this book, it’s lame) while sitting on the beach of Sanibel Island when I sadly realized that I couldn’t see the screen due to the sun making the screen of my Pixel 2 XL too dark. Jeanne ran into the same problem with her iPad. So much for reading on the beach. If we had each had a Kobo Aura One, we could have comfortably read our respective books with no problems at all. And we wouldn’t have had to worry about rain or ocean splashes either because the Kobo Aura One is HZO Protection which makes it waterproof from the inside out. The Aura One has 8GB of storage which means you’ll have plenty of room for books and digital comics, and it also has ComfortLight PRO which adjusts the backlight so it won’t affect your sleep patterns.

Price: $229.99
Where to buy: Kobo and Amazon

808 Audio XL-V Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa

The XL-V is from 808 Audio who are known for their high-quality audio product. This is their first Alexa enabled smart speaker which features multi-room audio so you can pair additional speakers for audio throughout your home and a reflex port that enhances the dynamic bass output for people who enjoy a little thump with their tunes.

Price: $129.99
Where to buy: 808 Audio or Amazon

SodaStream Aqua Fizz

If you’re trying to kick the sugary soda habit, SodaStream’s sparkling water makers are a great alternative to diet soda. Their Aqua Fizz is the newest luxury model in their line of sparkling water makers and features a snazzy glass carafe and a streamlined design. After a daily diet Coke habit, I quit cold turkey a couple years ago and switched to making my own sugar free sodas using bottled seltzer. 2-liter bottles of plain seltzer isn’t that expensive, but storing them and then disposing of the plastic bottles was an inconvenience. With a SodaStream, you can make fizzy water on demand whenever you like with no waste. SodaStream units range in price from $79.99 to $199.99 so they are great for most budgets.

Price: $179.99
Where to buy: SodaStream and Amazon

OxyLED Solar Torch Light with dancing flames

We’ve all seen solar lights that you stick in the ground to light a pathway, but these lights from OxyLED feature a flicker effect that makes the lights look like little torches with a realistic live flame inside. They are waterproof, wireless, and use the sun for power. The 96 LED lamp beads absorb 5-8hrs of sunlight to power them when it gets dark for up to 10hrs.

Price: $39.99 for a 2pk
Where to buy: Amazon

Swann Smart Security Camera

Swann’s latest smart security camera (SWWHD-INTCAM) is a wirefree and rechargeable home security camera that has been designed to be used indoors or outdoors. It’s weatherproof with an IP65 rating and can be used on either 2.4GHz & 5GHz networks which is nice because the majority of security cameras that I review still require that you use them only on 2.4GHz. The camera saves up to 7 days of 10-60 second video clips to its internal memory plus 2 days of free cloud storage. The 6000mAh rechargeable battery means you only need to charge the camera every few weeks, not every day.

Price:
Where to buy: Swann and Amazon

Deadsoxy socks

Ok, I know what you’re thinking… no one wants socks for a gift Julie! But you’d change your mind if you put on a pair of Deadsoxy socks. They are made 100% in the US of high-end yarn that gives them an over the top soft and comfy feel. Deadsoxy socks are available for men, women, and kids in a variety of colors and styles and guaranteed not slip off your foot!

Price: Varies but men’s socks start at $14 a and go up
Where to buy: Deadsoxy and Amazon

 

Pad & Quill introduces the first all-leather bumper case for iPhone X

Three years ago, Brian at Pad & Quill found his father’s old leather coin purse.  He was intrigued by the walled leather construction of the purse, and he set about incorporating that design into an iPhone case.  It took three years to develop their propriety tension method of containing the phone in the all-leather case, but they are finally ready to launch the Traveler Leather iPhone X Bumper Case.

This bumper is made only of full-grain leather – no plastic, metal, or silicone.  All ports and cameras are left uncovered, and all buttons are easily operated through the leather.  This handmade bumper case has UV-resistant nylon stitching.  Your iPhone X snaps into the protective leather case, and after a couple of days to break in, the Traveler will fit your iPhone X like a glove, and it will fit comfortably in your hand.  The Traveler Leather iPhone X Bumper Case is $59.95 at Pad & Quill.

RHA T20i in-ear headphone review

A couple of years ago, I reviewed the RHA (Reid Heath Audio) T10i earphones.  I liked them for their sound quality, but mostly I like them because I could swap filters to make the earphones sound more bright, bassy or neutral, depending on what I was listening to or even my mood. It was like having 3 earphones for the price of one, which was a novelty then. Now, that’s not so unusual anymore as many earphones have replaceable audio filters. RHA has since canceled the T10 earphone and now offer the T20 and T20i. Is it worth it to upgrade from the T10?

When the T10 and T10i earphones were released, they were a departure from what RHA had previously done. The T10s were different in design and manufacturing. A new injection-molded stainless steel process used to manufacture the T10i was revolutionary and RHA has continued this process for the T20 and T20i earphones. Injection molding allows the T20i to have a more organic shape. Combine that shape with a black color and you get something that looks like it came from another world—in a good way. Plus, this organic shape fits into the ear quite comfortably. Many metal earphones sold today can be less than natural-feeling. Not these.

Note: The difference between the T20 and T20i is that the “i” model has a built-in Apple specific microphone with music controls. Also, the T20 is silver and the T20i is black. The T20i costs $10 more. Otherwise, they are identical. For simplicities’ sake, this review will use the term T20 instead of T20i. Using these controls is easy and intuitive. The mic also works quite well for phone calls. Truthfully though, I don’t use wired mics or controls all that much with earphones.

The wires from the T20 wraps around the back of the ear. This can reduce microphonics—that sound you hear when tapping on the cord. The wire has a memory when curved to fit behind the ear. It holds its shape which can help keep the T20s in place. It feels like RHA also improved on this memory wire over the T10 earphones. Its smoother feeling and holds its shape better. The T20s are not noise canceling, but they do isolate quite well.

 

Like other RHA earphones, the T20s come with an almost embarrassing array of extras. Are ten pairs of tips in many sizes and shapes enough for you? How about an aluminum tray to hold them all? Let’s not forget those three filters that can screw into a thick metal holder for safe keeping! Also included is a shirt clip and a roomy case to hold literally everything. The soft case is a zippered faux-leather material with elastic bands and a mesh pocket inside. I would have preferred a harder case at this price, but even so, it will help keep the T20s free of dust and moisture.

The tips all fit snuggly into individual slots punched out of the holding tray. As long as they stay on the tray, there is little chance of losing them. RHA improved the filter holder by simply bending it. This simple change keeps the threaded part of the small and delicate filters away from any surface reducing the chance of nicks which could make it difficult screwing them into the earphone. Ingenious.

As with the T10 earphones, the T20s come with three filters: Treble, Bass, and Reference (neutral). Each filter is self-explanatory. The filters are identical as on the T10s except that since the T20’s sound signature has changed a bit, its effect on how the filters behave is slightly different. For instance, when the bass filter is used on the T20, it is less bassy and a bit more accurate sounding than when used on the T10. The same differences are true on both the treble and reference filters, but less noticeable.

What is noticeable is the quality of the audio. The T10 earphones have a custom dynamic speaker driver that has a warm and inviting sound. This works well with modern recordings. The added accuracy of the T20s makes whatever song I’m listening to sound more refined and relaxed.

Silly audiophile terms, I know—but that’s the best way to describe it. Part of the reason for this improvement is what RHA calls a dual coil driver. RHA states that “The T20’s dual coil driver features two independent voice coils, each responsible for producing part of the frequency range for refined, high-resolution audio.” Basically, it means that the speaker can be more efficient by equally split the workload of delivering audio. Granted, the resulting difference between the older T10 and T20 is not as dramatic as one might think, but it is noticeable—especially when you listen to the T20s for a while and then go back to the T10.

The T20 requires more power to drive than the T10 earphones do. As a result, the T10s will sound a tiny bit louder than the T20s—all things being equal. However, the difference is slight and doesn’t matter much.

Boy George’s version of “The Crying Game” packs a surprising emotional punch. The bass undercurrent is just powerful enough to be felt without overpowering the mids or high frequencies. The T20s help give this song an ethereal aura that I don’t hear when compared to regular speakers. It’s an advantage good earphones can have over external audio speakers.

If the opening thunderclap from The 12” mix of Bryan Ferry’s “Slave to Love” doesn’t wake the dead, I don’t know what will. This aural assault demands that earphone speakers react quickly and then recover just as fast. It’s not an easy thing for speakers to do and usually requires expensive materials. The T20 earphones handle this pressure—letting the power of the thunder come in at full force without competing with the heavy backbeat that follows. Everything remains separate and clean sounding.

The Cars song, “Moving in Stereo” is always a fun headphone test simply because of its—well, stereo. Because this is a good test song, I can forgive the slightly tacky 80s style keyboards and electronic drums. There is both complete left/right separation as well as more subtle effects sprinkled throughout the song that the T20s bring out quite well.

“Magic Bus” from The Who’s album “Live at Leeds” rocks so hard that it’s almost a completely different song than the original from the album “Tommy.” Listening to this song on the T20 earphones makes you feel like you’re sitting in the audience right in front of the stage. Not only do the T20s let you hear every guitar string being plucked, you can also hear guitarist Pete Townsend’s mistakes as he plays, which makes this song even more fun to experience.

Positives

  • Excellent sounding
  • Three filters can tune sound
  • Improvement over T10
  • Same price as older T10 earphones
  • Well made

Negatives

  • Hard case would be better at this price

Final thoughts

With the T20i earphones, RHA has produced a worthy successor to the T10i earphones. Sometimes the improvements are subtle, sometimes more noticeable. How much improvement is noticeable depends on the song or album. The build quality is as good or better than the T10i and the black color scheme of the T20i looks cooler and more bad-a** than the silver-colored regular T20. If you already have the T10 earphones and they are still in good shape, save your money. But if you are looking to replace older earphones and want to try what RHA has to offer, you can’t go wrong with the T20 or T20i earphones.

Price: $199.95
Where to buy: RHA and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by RHA.

Cubcoats: stuffed animals your kids can wear

You won’t have to worry your young child will lose her favorite lovey when she’s wearing it while out of the house.  Cubcoats are stuffed plush toys in the form of bears, foxes, puppies, whales, and other animals.  They are perfect playthings until it’s time to go, then you can open up the plush toy into a premium heather gray cotton-blend hoodie to keep your child warm – and his toy safely with him on your travels.  The hood will even have small animal ears to match the plush animal’s form; the whale will have a “blow hole” instead of ears, of course.  When you get back home, you can transform the jacket back into the plush toy.

No matter which animal you choose, it always opens into a heather-gray jacket.  The plush animal shell hides away inside a zipper compartment inside the hood.  If your child doesn’t like the little ears on the hood, they can also be hidden away inside the zippered hood compartment.

Cubcoats are available in a variety of animal shapes and colors and in unisex little kid sizes 2, 3, or 4-5.  They are $59.00 directly from the Cubcoats website.