Poly Voyager Surround 80 UC Review

Verdict

In case you are available in the market for a premium set of over-ear headphones that target calls, the Poly Voyager Encompass 80 UC ought to be in your radar. With a snug match, nice name high quality, good audio high quality, a number of connectivity choices and extra they really feel definitely worth the outlay of over £200. The place they fall down is in versatility, they gained’t be one of the best headphones for most individuals, however then they don’t attempt to be. However for a bit extra portability and data on the audio they might be a simple suggestion.

Introduction

It’s a well-trodden trope by now. Work from House is right here to remain and as a consequence it pays to have a high-quality dwelling set-up, whether or not that be a pointy webcam or a trusted set of headphones.

The query as as to whether you must have a house set-up is now moot, what now wants answered is kind of how a lot individuals are keen to take a position. Is it sufficient to make do with the £10 wired headsets, or is it value spending over £100, and even over £200 to realize absolute name high quality?

Poly, owned by HP, has solutions for each value bracket, however its newest all bells and whistles providing is the Voyager Encompass 80 UC. These over-ear headphones purportedly sport superior microphones, excessive decision audio and all the mod-cons one would anticipate of headphones on the value level.

Whether or not it lives as much as the promise is what I’ll discover in my full evaluate, however the different questions are: does it do greater than a extra consumer-centric set of headphones costing much less? Is it definitely worth the value premium over extra mass-market choices?

Design

• Laborious, fibre case
• Very snug match
• Give attention to contact controls

From the second I decide up the Poly Voyager Encompass 80 UC, the thought that has gone into its design is evident.

These headphones are as slick and trendy as any in the marketplace. They don’t sport any prospers of observe, and for that precise motive they’re completely workplace acceptable as may be anticipated. They’re constructed from a sturdy soft-touch plastic that’s nice to the contact and which repels grease effectively.

One criticism I’ll make issues dimension and portability. These are huge headphones with massive comfortably padded earcups, however they appear just a little like an air site visitors management headset. That is exacerbated when travelling. Although they’ve a useful onerous carry case, they’ll’t fold down and turn into smaller. It isn’t a giant challenge, but it surely impacts their versatility just a little.

They is probably not moveable, however they’re snug to put on. Utilizing them throughout a full workday there was no warmth build-up that we observed and no pores and skin irritation. It’s completely attainable to place them on and neglect them, although you gained’t fully given their dimension. To prime it off they really feel sturdy and well-constructed.

Coming to the controls, Poly takes an fascinating tack, with most interactions the headset makes use of contact inputs. There’s two buttons on the appropriate cup, one a slider that turns the headset on and permits pairing over Bluetooth, whereas the opposite merely mutes the microphones.

For quantity, answering calls, ending calls, skipping tracks and extra, swipes on the earcups are required. The gestures required are usually easy sufficient, the floor space is large enough to simply swipe on, and the headset is usually adequate at deciphering your enter. There are nonetheless a number of unintentional presses – ending a name when adjusting it in your head is an embarrassing mistake to make, however for essentially the most half these are straightforward to manage. Contact controls are almost at all times fraught with points, and the Encompass 80 UC don’t escape them, however right here the execution is best than a lot of the competitors.

As may be anticipated there’s no acknowledged stage of water resistance or waterproofing, however these aren’t supposed for use for train. In case you are commuting, they could face up to a brief bathe of rain, however I wouldn’t assure it – these are supposed to be utilised at a desk.

Options

• Free app
• No adjustable EQ
• Expenses over USB-C

As may be anticipated for a premium trendy headset, the Poly Voyager Encompass 80 UC doesn’t scrimp on options.

To start, there’s extra cables and paraphernalia included within the field than one might shake a sensibly sized stick at. There’s a USB-C Bluetooth dongle that additionally has a USB-A adapter, there’s a USB-C to three.5mm headphone jack cable and a USB-C to USB-C cable, supplying you with a number of choices to connect with your machine of alternative. The latter cable additionally fees the headphones whilst you pay attention. These can all simply be bundled within the included onerous case; they are often taken anyplace you want.

Given that decision high quality is a spotlight of the Encompass 80 UC, there could be no shock that it sports activities at least ten ‘boomless’ microphones on the entrance, 5 on every cup. In observe I discovered these labored very effectively to offer crystal clear voice name high quality, although with an enchancment when utilizing the wired USB-C to USB-C possibility.

As these are supposed at first as a name headset, right here they succeed with aplomb.

The Energetic Noise Cancellation (ANC) is equally efficient if not fairly nearly as good as the perfect on the market. The likes of the Sony WH-1000XM5 can block out extra, such because the drone of an aeroplane, however the Encompass 80 UC will work effectively to tune out the hum of the common workplace.

Bluetooth 5.3 is supported, as is multi-device connectivity – it’s attainable to be paired to 2 gadgets without delay which could be very helpful if working from a cellphone and a laptop computer. As soon as a connection was in place, it was rock-solid, even by means of a number of partitions. Battery life is a acknowledged 22 hours for calls, and I discovered this to be largely correct. In case you use these for work, you’ll have to recharge each couple of days or so.

Poly Lens is the app provided to customize the headset by means of your smartphone or laptop. Regardless of its barely bizarre identify, it means that you can regulate settings, replace the headset, see the guide and extra. It’s additionally attainable to ‘discover’ your machine utilizing the app, taking part in a tone by means of it in case you can’t see it. That is depending on a Bluetooth connection as may be anticipated, but it surely does an honest job of serving to you discover the headset underneath a pile of papers when needed.

Sound High quality

• No acknowledged superior codec assist
• Good sound high quality
• Surprisingly heat bass

With such a deal with name high quality and on being a name headset, whether or not the Encompass 80 UC also can perform effectively as a set of headphones is a reputable query to ask. That is very true given there is no such thing as a acknowledged superior Bluetooth codec assist. The place most would put on proudly that they assist the likes of AAC, SBC, LDAC or AptX, the Encompass 80 UC leaves me at nighttime.

It’s a pleasure to report then that this doesn’t appear to have affected the standard of output. As may be anticipated, there’s an emphasis on voice and trebles, that means that the likes of calls sure, and audiobooks work very effectively. Although they is probably not designed for the commute, they perform effectively within the position of bus-companions, the 40mm drivers proving their value.

For different genres of music, it usually shines. There’s sufficient heat and vitality within the bass to work effectively with punk and dance, sufficient readability within the trebles to permit particular person devices to be picked out in additional advanced orchestral tracks. There’s a good diploma of stereo separation, in all you’ll be effectively served utilizing these to hearken to music between calls whereas working.

It will have been good to see just a little extra pizazz on this space and acknowledged assist for high-resolution audio, however the Encompass 80 UC are completed sonic performers.

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