Poly recently launched the new Voyager Surround 80 UC as the natural replacement of the old Voyager 8200 UC Bluetooth headset, and it comes with a bunch of improvements that easily can make the competition to gain envy and today we will discuss them and analyze as well.
The Poly Voyager Surround 80 UC follow the same steps of the previous generation by being a Bluetooth class 1 headset with a boom less microphone style with 10 omni directional built in microphones which make an amazing job by blocking unwanted noises on the user’s background while on live calls and that we will describe how they work as they are in 2 groups, one of them designed for the end user and the other group designed for the other end of the call!
Thanks to 6 of those built in microphones allows the Surround 80 UC to block the most unwanted noises in the background, this is the group designed for the other end of a call, designed for daily calling and wind noises as this can be worn and on the go creating the best sound quality for road warriors looking for a discrete design headset. The other 4 built in microphones belong to the second group, that is designed to help the user, as these microphones work together to create the best Active Noise Canceling (ANC) feature on the headset, with Adaptive ANC, that allows the user to modulate the feature depending on the environment the headset is being used, these 4 microphones will subtract the unwanted noises coming from the outside so the user can focus on the call all the time. Thanks to its over the ear design, the ear cups surround the user’s ears in order to isolate the unwanted noises and offer the best and richest sound quality without the compromise of offering comfort on all day use.
Thanks to its latest version of Bluetooth, being a Version 5.3 offers now a further range compared with the previous generation of Poly Bluetooth wireless headsets. This being up to 170 feet on line of sight and keeping the connection to its included BT700 dongle at all time, thanks to its UC certification, the call quality incoming and outgoing from the headset is one of the best ones and fully compatible with major UC platforms as Microsoft Teams or RingCentral for example.
As you can see, the elegant design of the headset offers only 2 physical buttons which are Mute (Red/Orange) and Power on/off/pairing and the reason of that is that all the volume and call controls are now touch sensitive on the earcups of the headset, allowing user to control volume, play/pause, answer/end among others and they can be fully customizable using the Poly Lens app on your smart phone or the computer.
The foldable design allows the Surround 80 UC to fit perfectly in its included case and to be stored away and have it ready to be used on the go. The case offers compartment for the included accessories which will dissect next, and offers a nice touch as the fabric made of allows not only protection to the headset but offers easy to clean in case of a light spill or light dust comes across.
Speaking of the included accessories, we had mentioned the included carrying case, the BT700 USB-C Dongle, that allows to be used with any MacBook, laptops or desktops with USB-C and Android based cell phones. To make it everything easier to order and to make a smaller footprint Poly Surround 80 UC comes only with the BT700 USB-C dongle and it comes with the USB-C to USB-A adapter, this is designed for a faster interaction with any computer in the market This adapter does not compromise the performance of the BT700 dongle as it was designed from scratch to work with the dongle. The included USB-C to USB-C cable has 2 purposes, the first one is to charge the headset when not in use as the headset offers fast charging (full charge in 1 hour) and thanks to the Voice over USB feature, it allows to use the Surround 80 UC as a corded headset with the computer if the BT700 is not on hand. You will find a USB-C to 3.5mm jack cable as well, this cable allows the Surround 80 UC to be used as a corded headset with any 3.5mm jack devices such as tablets or laptops. This cord can be used on airplanes/trains as it’s fully compatible with their inputs on the seats, perfect fit for users wanting to stream music or movies using the airplane/train media system. The perfect solution for user’s wanting the best performance at work and the best sound quality for leisure in one package.
Thanks to its new technology, the Surround 80 UC offers up to 21 hours of talk time or up to 24 hours of music time in a single charge, and offering pairing to 2 devices at the same time without the need to pair/unpair every time and can remember up to 8 different Bluetooth devices. And thanks to its lightweight of only 9.7 oz. despite the size, makes it one of the best Bluetooth headsets for daily use and to have on all day long.
Thanks to its certification by Microsoft Teams Open Office software, makes it a strong ally for remote users in need of something without compromising voice over bad connections/microphones. Fully compatible with Windows, MacOS, Android and iOS so can be used thru all the different platforms in the market.
Thanks the Poly Lens app on the cell phone, the headset can be customized with different options that go from level of ANC all the way to Find my device. This feature will activate an audible alert on the headset and will even show the closest location where the headset was left using the built in maps of the smart phone on real time.
The smart sensors built in the Surround 80 UC, allows to answer calls by simply putting the headset on, so no need to make anything else, and of course, those smart sensors can be customizable as well using the Poly Lens app. Get yours HERE.
