Introduction
Jabra has been dominating the market of professional headsets for years now, and Evolve2 85 is their most extensive offering. It offers a blend of audio quality for listening music and other audio files and professional-grade performance as a call microphone to those working in open offices, home offices and on the go.
The professional headset market has always required an unfortunate sacrifice: good microphones would offer bad audio quality, whereas the consumer headsets provided decent performance as audio equipment but terrible performance as microphones for calls. The idea behind the Evolve2 85 was to create a product that is able to meet professional certification requirements when functioning as a microphone for calls and compete with premium headphones in terms of sound quality when functioning as a listening device.
Call Quality: The Differentiator
The product comes with six beamforming microphones built in each earcup, which create a 3D sound map to filter out everything else except the person’s voice. In a café with background music playing and people talking around, my voice was perceived as being transmitted from a quiet room. The directional noise reduction is outstanding: even when playing music at conversational volume, typing on a keyboard from arm’s length away, and surrounded by people talking, only my voice got to the listener while everything else was filtered out.
Jabra’s Speak2 software allows for filtering background noise from the recipient’s side. If your remote colleague was working in a noisy environment, Evolve2 85 would apply its filters and remove unnecessary noises from his/her side of the call as well. The product is certified by numerous unified communication providers, including Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Cisco Webex, and eight more.
Two ANC Modes and Audio Quality
One mode offers maximum isolation when you are working in the focus mode; the other one reduces mechanical noises and leaves voices unfiltered, making it ideal for work in open office conditions because it allows you to concentrate on work and ignore distracting noises but still hear if someone needs your attention. The HearThrough mode processes the surrounding sounds through the microphone array and transmits them using the speakers to enable you to make small talk without taking off the headphones.
Jabra managed to improve the Evolve2 85 music performance greatly compared to its predecessor. While the 40mm speaker drivers produce a sound frequency response curve, which cannot be compared to Sony XM6 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra, it is still quite pleasant for listening to music, podcast episodes, and watching videos.
Battery Life, Connectivity Options, and Conclusions
37 hours battery life, quick charging for 15 minutes providing you with 8 hours of battery, dual connection via Bluetooth, and a connector (for USB-A and USB-C) for smooth lag-free connection in enterprise environments limiting usage of Bluetooth devices. The latter point should be highlighted as it will be particularly useful in IT corporate environments where the usage of any Bluetooth devices is strictly limited by the company’s security policies.
Jabra Evolve2 85 is undoubtedly the best professional headset for hybrid workers with an emphasis on call clarity. It really distinguishes itself in terms of microphone performance in comparison with consumer headphones, trying to cover the gap, and the battery will not let you down for as long as 37 hours. At $499, Evolve2 85 is worth its price considering its professional nature.
Introduction
Jabra has been dominating the market of professional headsets for years now, and Evolve2 85 is their most extensive offering. It offers a blend of audio quality for listening music and other audio files and professional-grade performance as a call microphone to those working in open offices, home offices and on the go.
The professional headset market has always required an unfortunate sacrifice: good microphones would offer bad audio quality, whereas the consumer headsets provided decent performance as audio equipment but terrible performance as microphones for calls. The idea behind the Evolve2 85 was to create a product that is able to meet professional certification requirements when functioning as a microphone for calls and compete with premium headphones in terms of sound quality when functioning as a listening device.
Call Quality: The Differentiator
The product comes with six beamforming microphones built in each earcup, which create a 3D sound map to filter out everything else except the person’s voice. In a café with background music playing and people talking around, my voice was perceived as being transmitted from a quiet room. The directional noise reduction is outstanding: even when playing music at conversational volume, typing on a keyboard from arm’s length away, and surrounded by people talking, only my voice got to the listener while everything else was filtered out.
Jabra’s Speak2 software allows for filtering background noise from the recipient’s side. If your remote colleague was working in a noisy environment, Evolve2 85 would apply its filters and remove unnecessary noises from his/her side of the call as well. The product is certified by numerous unified communication providers, including Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Cisco Webex, and eight more.
Two ANC Modes and Audio Quality
One mode offers maximum isolation when you are working in the focus mode; the other one reduces mechanical noises and leaves voices unfiltered, making it ideal for work in open office conditions because it allows you to concentrate on work and ignore distracting noises but still hear if someone needs your attention. The HearThrough mode processes the surrounding sounds through the microphone array and transmits them using the speakers to enable you to make small talk without taking off the headphones.
Jabra managed to improve the Evolve2 85 music performance greatly compared to its predecessor. While the 40mm speaker drivers produce a sound frequency response curve, which cannot be compared to Sony XM6 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra, it is still quite pleasant for listening to music, podcast episodes, and watching videos.
Battery Life, Connectivity Options, and Conclusions
37 hours battery life, quick charging for 15 minutes providing you with 8 hours of battery, dual connection via Bluetooth, and a connector (for USB-A and USB-C) for smooth lag-free connection in enterprise environments limiting usage of Bluetooth devices. The latter point should be highlighted as it will be particularly useful in IT corporate environments where the usage of any Bluetooth devices is strictly limited by the company’s security policies.
Jabra Evolve2 85 is undoubtedly the best professional headset for hybrid workers with an emphasis on call clarity. It really distinguishes itself in terms of microphone performance in comparison with consumer headphones, trying to cover the gap, and the battery will not let you down for as long as 37 hours. At $499, Evolve2 85 is worth its price considering its professional nature.
