Poly just launched a couple of headset for those who work on the computer and smart phones or tablets. The new 4320 and the new Focus 2 and today we will review them in the deep.
Poly Voyager 4320 UC Bluetooth Stereo USB-A Headset w/Stand
We start first with the new Voyager 4320, that is the new and improved version of the outdated Voyager 4220. This is so far an amazing headset for users that want to get their hands in a wireless solution without breaking the bank. The 4320 now offers a talk time of 24 hors, however in our latest test we found that is more time, as matter of fact we had achieved 24 hrs. and 44 minutes of talk time, which is more than vast for people that are in the need of the best talk time. This talk time can be translated as 47 hours of listening time only for example. The bigger earcups offer an amazing and rich sound, we tested them using different applications, including YouTube, Sirius XM and 8X8 and in all of them this guys didn’t let down.
The Voyager 4320 comes with the new BT700 Bluetooth dongle, that offers a new and improved range. In our tests we could verify that the range of this dongle is further that the previous version, by approximately 30 percent, which is acceptable considering that is a Bluetooth Class 1 dongle and without a booster antenna. We were able to even go outside our offices with the headset and still stream music and use the microphone with no issues.
A nice feature of the 4320 is that it comes with a USB-C to USB-A cable, which allows you to charge it faster and allows you to use it as a corded headset as well!
You have to simply turn off the Bluetooth in the headset and plug in the cable and you can use it as a corded headset. Pretty nice option for people if they forget the BT700 and need to keep using the headset on their laptops. As matter of fact the performance of the microphone gets improved as its a more direct connection into the computer.
And speaking of the microphone, the new 4320 now offers the newest technology of Acoustic Fence Noise canceling, that translate in 2 microphones facing the user and one towards the opposite, and with this the microphone in the headset will block the noises in the environment and will focus in the users voice. The easy to mute key is located under the arm boom, personally find it a little to small as it can be hard to locate if you wear the microphone boom on the left side.
Over all the 4320 is a really welcome entry level wireless headset for the use on the majority of the UC applications. I’ll will rate it as a solid “B-“, where it falls short would be in the mute key, hard to find if you wear it on your other side and the volume controls make it hard to find as by default you have to turn on the level tone to make sure you are adjusting the volume. Get yours HERE.
Poly Voyager Focus 2 UC USB-A Bluetooth Stereo w/Charging Stand
Poly offers the next step up in the food chain of wireless headsets, the Poly Focus 2 gets huge improvements over its old model. And we will discuss them and the compare with the 4320 .
On of the new improvements is the improved talk time of 19 hours in one charge. A new improvement as well is the range, this thanks to the BT700 Bluetooth Class 1 dongle that we discussed with the 4320, this is the same range that we tested and we actually got a really improved range compared with the competition.
What calls the attention is that the stand that we find in the 4320 is exactly the same that can found and in the Focus 2. The curiosity of this comes in the shape that the Focus 2 does not have a USB-C port as the 4320, but has a micro USB, and if you wonder why the “entry level” has that feature but not the more expensive is because the Focus 2 was created before the 4320, so Poly took all the feedback and comments of the Focus 2 in order to have headset that marks all the checkboxes. The micro USB cable included in the Focus 2 can be used as well for charging or using it as a corded headset by turning off the Bluetooth.
One main difference that I lied is that the Focus 2 has a smaller microphone boom, but
this doesn’t affect its performance, as matter of fact the Focus 2 offers a better Acoustic Fence technology as it has 3 microphones facing the user and 2 to the outside. This bad boy had been tested in a live call with a vacuum cleaner next to it and you couldn’t hear it at all. And offers the new Digital Hybrid Active Noise canceling with 3 levels of graduation, so you decide how much ANC want to have in your ears.
The smaller sturdy microphone boom offers the muting of the mic by simply bringing the boom up, and un mute by bringing it down, which is a nice feature as you don’t have to be looking for the mute key. Busy light can be found in here as well as its really useful if working on an open office environment or at a front desk. The headset is certified to work with the majority of UC platforms and applications, personally I have been using it with my cell phone and with my tablet, as it can remember up to 8 devices!
Some of the flaws of the Focus 2 are, when compared with the 4320 falls short with the talk time 19 hours versus over 24 hours, which can be a little less with the ANC on (16 hours). The second flaw here is the missing of the USB-C port and just having a micro USB, but one again, this headset was created from scratch and the 4320 got feedback from this for its creation. I will give the Focus 2 a solid “B+”, as it offers the better Acoustic Fence, ANC, and a more discrete boom arm. Get yours HERE.
