Jabra Evolve2 40 PC Headset – Noise Cancelling Microsoft Teams Certified Stereo Headphones With 3-Microphone Call Technology – USB-A Cable – Black

Product Information

What is more difficult to gauge is the clarity of speaking for those at the other end of the line, as that’s potentially more important than the experience of the wearer. For those using these on a Windows PC or Apple Mac, Jabra provides Jabra Direct, a tool to manage the headphones and apply firmware enhancements when required. Softphone support is provided by default for Microsoft Teams, and Zoom on the MS Teams variant. These should also work well with Skype and Mitac, amongst other popular tools. The earphones were particularly ineffective against a recording of a busy restaurant with clanging dishes and boisterous conversation. In fact, it was difficult to tell whether the ANC mode was active at all. At least they manage to avoid one common pitfall—we didn't hear anything in the way of a masking hiss in quiet environments.

It’s tempting to wish these were cheaper, so someone sourcing headsets for many employees wouldn’t eliminate these from a procurement exercise-based purely on the cost per unit. The left side has pins that interface to the charging base, the power button that doubles for Bluetooth pairing, the USB-C charging port and a button that controls the noise-cancelling function.

Sculpted, Distortion-Free Sound

But being realistic, Jabra made the Evolve2 75 series with exactly this price point in mind, and they’re constructed and specified accordingly. And, therefore a cheaper version of this design probably wouldn’t perform as well or last as long in frontline use. You can adjust the control layout to a degree in the app by switching between various modes (Music and Media, Incoming Calls, or Active Calls). Within these subsets, you can reassign gestures to different functions. In testing, we found the controls easy to operate and never felt like we needed to shove the earpiece further into the ear canal to get them to work. One minor annoyance: There’s no way to add an off option to the ANC/transparency cycle, which means you have to use the app to listen without either. The big issue here is the price. Because almost everything else about the Jabra Evolve2 75 is suitable for those that need to communicate effectively during their working day.

The only downside to ANC is that it reduces battery life, reducing talk time from 24 hours to just 18 hours. That said, unless the shifts being worked are entirely illegal, this isn’t an issue that most wearers are likely ever to encounter. Those using the Jabra Direct software can make adjustments to increase or decrease the output across bass, the mid-range and treble as required. The four-mic MEMS array (which works in combination with dual bone conduction sensors in each earpiece) offers strong intelligibility. We had no trouble understanding every word from a test recording we took on an iPhone. The signal emphasizes clarity and seems to capture a bit more in the midrange than typical. It was a bit quieter than we prefer, but the in-ear mic levels help keep voices at an ideal volume for clear communication. Our experience on Zoom test calls was similar—ideal clarity, even if the signal could be slightly louder.

3 is the magic number

Typically, when headphone maker produces a second version of a successful design, they often retain much of the original structure and technology, primarily to reduce costs. While this headset might be inherently easier for a right-handed person to use, this bias isn’t as evident as we’ve seen elsewhere, and the button selection is reasonably well dispersed between the two sides. Jabra estimates the earbuds can last up to eight hours per charge with ANC on, or up to 10 hours with it off. The case holds up to an additional 25 hours of battery life, again depending on your use of ANC and typical listening volume level. The company claims you can recharge the earphones in about two hours and that five minutes of charging gets you roughly an hour of playtime.