Review - Jabra Evolve2 40 wired headset brings all-day comfort for all your audi...

Sunday, 03 January 2021 21:15

Review - Jabra Evolve2 40 wired headset brings all-day comfort for all your audio needs

Everybody needs a good headset, though not all headsets are created equal. COVID-19 saw massive work-from-home demand for headsets. Companies who chose a professional-grade headset saw their teams productive and comfortable while those opting for the lowest cost options invariably suffered “can you hear me?” all day long. If you're in the latter camp, here is a good option.

Danish audio brand, Jabra, part of the GN Group, is known worldwide for its consumer and business headphones, spanning wireless, true wireless and corded options.

The Jabra Evolve series is a professional headset that’s sold millions since it launched in 2014 and is the leading unified communications (UC) headset series for noise cancellation in open office environments. With this background, it was interesting to see the evolution in the Jabra Evolve2 series, with iTWire able to try out a Jabra Evolve2 40 model. This is a comfortable, wired and certified option, meeting the audio standards set by Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Cisco, Microsoft Teams and Unify.

These certifications represent the audio quality standards Jabra has met in its engineering, with the headset guaranteed to give you the best out of VoIP platforms. A dedicated Teams button lets you interact with that app in one touch. Free firmware updates via the Jabra Direct software application.

Office workers were sent home around the globe during COVID-19, scrambling to find whatever headset they could. Yet, for those taking up non-certified headsets found dropouts, echoes, noises and distractions the order of the day. If working from home during the pandemic had a mantra it would undoubtedly be “can you repeat that?” for these organisations.

For my money, you want quality headphones if you work from home or collaborate remotely with any regularity, and even if you enjoy music or other options to help keep your attention focused in noisy offices. This has to be non-negotiable, and iTWire found the Jabra Evolve2 40 a tremendous choice.

It's a USB corded device which means it’s ready for use in an instant on your PC or laptop or even smartphone or tablet. There’s no waiting for Bluetooth to pair or worrying about keeping it charged. It simply works and provides both USB-A and USB-C connectivity.

iTWire was also taken by its comfort, with noise-isolating foam oval ear cushions and angled ear-cup design covered in leatherette. It weighs 113g and includes three digital MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) microphones. The speaker is 40mm with max power of 30mW and with built-in hearing protection.

Along with the certifications listed above, the Evolve2 40 also meets premium open office standards when the boom-arm microphone is pulled down. This qualification is the strictest test requirement of how the headset microphone suppresses surrounding noise and office conversation from multiple directions. It is the ultimate reassurance that your headset will excel in an open office environment.

Another feature iTWire really loved was the red busy lamp. When you are on a call or otherwise using the headset, the lamp will illuminate so your co-workers know you are “on-air,” so to speak. This is a great inclusion, with this writer suffering many times in the past from well-meaning colleagues shouting “are you on a call?” while wearing headphones over the years.

Ultimately, the Jabra Evolve2 40 is elegantly simple. Sure, you can get truly stylish and lightweight high-end wireless audio equipment (actually, even from Jabra’s other product offerings) but for all-day comfort, ready-in-an-instant usage, and no battery life concerns this is a terrific choice. It’s a headset that’s deceptively simple in the modesty of its design but packed with noise-cancelling tech and solid microphones to keep you sane in the busiest of environments and deliver crisp, clear audio in every call you make - or in all your music and podcasts and other activities.

The Jabra2 Evolve 40 is available now from various retailers at prices ranging between $145 and $205.

Pictured: the Jabra2 Evolve 40 contains a dedicated Microsoft Teams button, and alerts you the first time you fire up Teams using it.

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