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Plantronics Voyager PRO Bluetooth Headset review

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CNET Editors' Rating

4.0 stars Excellent

CNET Editors' Rating

4.0 stars Excellent
  • Overall rating: 8.3
Review Date:

Average User Rating

3.5 stars 147 user reviews

The good: The Plantronics Voyager Pro is a comfortable headset with excellent sound quality. It has the best wind noise handling of any Bluetooth headset we've tried to date. It's easy to use and offers value for the money.

The bad: The Plantronics Voyager Pro is bulky and its retro design might turn off some people.

The bottom line: The Plantronics Voyager Pro might not look like much, but it has the best sound quality of any Bluetooth headset we've ever tried.

Four years after its introduction, the Plantronics Voyager 510 still remains one of the most popular Bluetooth headsets Plantronics has ever released. Despite its outdated design and the many more advanced headsets that have come along to replace it, it seems as if the Plantronics Voyager 510 has earned itself an incredibly loyal following primarily because of two things: unbeatable sound quality and comfort. It's one of a few headsets that prize both incoming and outgoing call quality, and even though it's big, you can wear it for many hours without a lot of discomfort.

However, Plantronics hopes to remove the Voyager 510 from the bestseller list with the introduction of quite possibly its best headset yet, the Plantronics Voyager Pro. The Voyager Pro makes no pretensions of its origins with a design straight out of the '90s, complete with a large swiveling boom mic reminiscent of telemarketer headsets. However, the sound quality simply cannot be beat; it's even better than the Aliph Jawbone 2 in our tests. It's also one of a few headsets that can really tackle wind noise without a noticeable loss in voice clarity. And at $99.99, we think the Voyager Pro is definitely worth the money.

If you place the Voyager Pro side by side with the Voyager 510 you will notice the two are nearly identical in terms of style. The whole thing measures 1.8 inches wide (though it's about 4 inches with the boom mic extended) by 2.3 inches long by 0.4 inch thick. Indeed, the Voyager Pro won't win any design awards with its large battery pack that wraps around the back of the ear, and its big swiveling boom mic that is not at all discreet. The Voyager Pro means business and it looks the part.

Despite its bulk, we found the Voyager Pro really easy to wear. Just place the battery pack around the ear, fit in the earpiece, and you're good to go. The arm that extends from the battery pack to the earpiece is very flexible and sits comfortably around the ear, even when we're wearing eyeglasses. The earpiece is covered in a soft rubber ear gel that sits very comfortably in the ear without going too deep in the canal. The Voyager Pro comes with two different size ear gels plus a couple of foam ear bud covers as well.

Extending from the earpiece is the swiveling boom mic. It can be swiveled up to a more compact position, or swiveled out so that the mic is closer to your mouth. You can also rotate the earpiece so that it fits in either ear. The power button is all the way at the back of the battery pack, so you have to reach behind your ear to get to it. The volume rocker is far easier to access, as it is located on top of the headset, at the top part of the ear. The call button is located behind the earpiece. At the tip of the boom mic are two die-cut WindSmart screens that act as a physical barrier against wind noise. A small LED indicator sits above the multifunction button.

 

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Quick Specifications

  • Release date04/23/09
  • Headphones Type Headphones - Monaural
  • Product type Headset
  • Design In-ear (with over-the-ear mount)
  • Weight 0.6 oz
  • Addtional features Volume control Answer/end button Mute button 20 band EQ AudioIQ QuickPair Noise canceling circuit
  • Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 1 year

Nicole Lee is a senior associate editor for CNET, covering cell phones, Bluetooth headsets, and all things mobile. She's also a fan of comic books, video games, and of course, shiny gadgets. Full Bio

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