In anticipation of a full-time Smart Working that will probably continue to accompany us for many months, we have searched the market for a pair of comfortable headphones to combine with the Mac and the iPhone, which aim above all at webinars: the choice fell on the Poly Voyager 8200 UC , a model that is not new but still has a lot to say.
Poly Voyager 8200 UC, the review
The legacy of a brand
We had already talked about the Poly Voyager 8200 UC here when the parent company was still called Plantronics. Then the merger with the Polycom brand and the birth of the new Poly brand, a brand that has a great and strong heritage and that focuses on communication in the business and sports fields.
In fact, the Poly price list includes videoconferencing systems, headsets, telephones (always for videoconferencing) and cloud services, basically everything you need to work in smart working (and not only), in association with the major platforms present today. in the market, such as Zoom and Teams.
The Poly Voyager 8200 UC do not take advantage of complex cloud systems, but offer a host of interesting features for those who are in front of the screen all day, at work or at home. Indeed, maybe more at home.
Elegant but decisive, the Poly Voyager 8200 UC have a perfect look for those who do business. Not too aggressive, not too serious
Important
Out of the box the Poly Voyager 8200 UC shows themselves as they are, an important pair of headphones: for the test we used the Black model (there is also a white variant) and once worn, frankly, the 289 grams do not feel, even thanks to the soft cushions of the arch.
The outer shell is a mixture of satin plastic, metal and soft leatherette, all elegantly harmonized with a very special character.
There are only two quirks: on the outside of the pavilion an imitation wood work and the red whisker embroidered with the “old” Plantronics brand (the model came out before the merger, the logo is also engraved just above the pavilions).
The headphones, circumaural, completely envelop the ear but as mentioned they do not weigh, it will be that the support of the bow is very well thought out: the writer has used them for work several hours a day for several days without feeling the blow, apart the need to let your ears breathe for the summer heat when the air conditioner was not on.
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Right and left
The controls are distributed between the two pavilions: the Power and Pairing button accompany the Mute button (orange), next to the right pavilion and leave room for the large call reception / stop button in the center of the same.
The other pavilion houses the playback controls, the NFC chip (for the Android world) and the noise reduction button, which has three positions.
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First time
The first connection can be done in the traditional way, using the Bluetooth signal of the phone or computer: by pairing the headphones, simply capture them and everything works. Among other things, the headphones use an interesting Bluetooth 5 which optimizes battery consumption.
Or, better, you can use the specific App for iOS and Android but also for Mac and Windows that offer a lot of more functions, together with the USB-A dongle supplied in the package which, as we have perceived it, has improved significantly the transmitted audio quality.
The mobile app does a bit of everything, while the computer app is used to update the firmware, pair the dongle and set some specific parameters.
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The for computer, here on macOS, is used for basic settings 
Mobile Hub
The mobile app is a bit austere, to be honest, but it has a lot of cool features: it works as a small manual for all the buttons and lights, it emits a sound (at an adjustable volume from the App) to track down the headphones if we have lost them and obviously allows you to adjust many options of the device.
In addition, it geolocates the last detected position of the headphones, so you know where we left them if we don't find them anymore.
The App is not strictly essential for a correct use of the headphones, a bit like the Dongle, however its presence is comfortable for a lot of reasons and we highly recommend its use.
The mobile app is serious in look, but really complete
With business in mind
One of the advantages of the Poly Voyager 8200 UC is the possibility of being associated with multiple devices at the same time: in fact, we immediately associated them with the Mac mini 2018, with an iPhone and also with the Lenovo X1.
After pairing, the headphones confirm, in Italian and in the headphones, the ignition status, the battery charge and which devices they are connected to each time.
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Another important factor is the full compatibility with different videoconferencing systems such as Microsoft Teams, Skype, Zoom, Cisco and many others: we have used them above all with Teams, appreciating the sound feedback that the headset received for each operation performed on the App.
Another benefit is certainly the noise reduction system (NC), which can be activated manually in two ways, loud and low.
The system works well, it's not the best on the market but it kills all the annoying low frequencies like cars, trucks, air conditioners and boring neighbors talking, leaving only the music and audio. However, activating the NC circuit showed a decrease in the vocal quality of the microphone, which is why during some webinars where we were vocal, we decided to keep it off.
The controls, in relief, are placed on the back of the headphones and distributed among the pavilions. They can be reached perfectly even without looking
All day
As we have said, the headphones can be kept in the head all day: among other things, by connecting both to the computer and to the telephone, they practically carried out the main activities in this regard: music, Teams calls and telephone calls, all without ever having to remove them.
Music listening is good, the bass is here and there perhaps emphasized a little and the higher tones a little muffled, however they remain easily in the non-Hi-Fi quality headphone range.
In our case they have made up for the working days made of Word, Teams, Photoshop, Excel, InDesign, Luminar and more with the notes of the Battlecry album by “Two Steps from Hell”, passing through the soundtrack of Tales from the Loop by Paul Leonard-Morgan and Philip Glass to sadly end with the latest album by Ennio Morricone, sadly passed away during this review.
It is practically impossible to get the wrong side of the headphones wrong. In case of breakage or damage, the pads of the pavilions are replaceable
Among other things, the headphones also show internal sensors and “notice” when we take them off, pausing the music to resume it once they are worn again. This system seems to have some problems only with web-based apps (such as Spotify used via browser), but it is a limitation of web platforms, because we have found it both on macOS and on Windows, and on a par with other tested models.
But they gave the best in the quality for which we sought them the most: the voice. These headphones are really great for anyone who spends many hours on the phone or talking on Teams or Zoom. The microphone is very good and as we said they are so comfortable that we never take them off, without problems for those on the other side, who in our case never had anything to say.
Last mention of credit for the battery: It's unclear how it does, however the built-in battery feels truly eternal. Without active NC, the duration was 3-4 days, an impressive figure for such a device; charging via MicroUSB is highlighted by a series of blue LEDs that indicate the status.
The only real “habit” is the writing PLT on a red background, sewn nalla perte rear. PLT stands for Plantronics, now Poly
Considerations
As mentioned, we looked for these Poly Voyager 8200 UC precisely because of the need to have a pair of headphones to keep on all day for, above all, voice calls and webinars, interspersed with musical moments in which you write, draw and create.
The mission seems to us completely accomplished, the headphones offer an impeccable quality for the voice and a good response for the music, with a truly incredible battery life (an important factor for us, since we often forget to recap them), seasoned with a sober and very (very) comfortable design, all at a price in line with the direct competition.
Pro:
• Very comfortable • Very good voice output • Exceptional battery life
Cons:
• Charging LEDs are a little too flashy • Noise Reduction (NC) limits microphone quality
Price:
• 440.66 Euro (on offer on Amazon at 257.86 Euro) • 21.38 Euro (Replacement bearings)
Plantronics Voyager 8200 UC is available in stores suggested by the parent company's website or you can find it with a strong discount also at Amazon.it in both the Black and White versions. If necessary, replacement bearings are also available, both in White and Black.
