I have a particular grá for Poly’s collaboration devices – grá is Irish for love, and given that we’ve just cleared Valentine’s Day, it seems fitting for this review.
A couple of years ago, the good people at Poly sent me a treasure chest of goodies to try out – headsets, cameras and a videobar that, while absolutely stunning in every way, I could not justify keeping in a home office – it was too damn good for it.
With that in mind, and with a trusty Voyager Focus 2 headset already holding pride of place on my cluttered desk, I was keen to test out the Voyager 4320 UC, an upgrade on the 4220 that I tested out the last time.
My first thought is the concern that I’ll mistake it with my Focus 2. Where the 4220 was distinguishable from the Focus 2, the 4320 is almost identical, save for the headband where, on the 4320, the cushion is connected to the frame; and the moveable microphone which, on the 4320 is malleable by comparison to the Focus 2’s rigid boom structure.
The 4320 is slightly tighter on the head than the Focus 2 but that’s about it. The 4320 will even charge on the Focus 2 stand, which meant I didn’t have to disrupt the contents of the box too much.
The tech in the headset is a bit different too – you’ve got no noise-cancelling options on the 4320 but this probably won’t matter too much unless you’re in a very noisy office environment.
I started off with just a couple of YouTube videos to test out the sound quality – it’s clear and crisp and while there’s still some ambient noise outside, it wasn’t enough to draw my focus away from what I was listening to (ironically, a video about writer’s block!).
That’s another thing to mention – connection to devices is via Bluetooth or using a USB connector in a laptop. The connector is small and easy to lose so I’d recommend keeping it taped to something or permanently connected to a device. In any event, you don’t even really need it, it’s just handy to have if you’ve got a tempestuous device that doesn’t play well with Bluetooth.
The initial connection of the device took about two minutes, for connection to both phone and laptop. Now, when the power is switched on, on the headset, both devices connect automatically and will alternate between the various media – i.e. a phone call on your mobile will cut in over music playing on your laptop.
All very well that you can hear through them but, the big question is: can people hear you?
All evidence suggests… Yes!
My first two-way call was facilitated through connection to my phone, rather than laptop as I had initially thought…
Regardless, the sound was clear and speech coherent and, while it wasn’t really a conversation to discuss the merits of our respective technology, the other caller reported no difficulty with hearing or understanding me.
To get an idea of the cleanness of the sound, I used the headset to record some audio straight onto the laptop and it performs very well here as well, giving clear, enterprise-grade, sound for any meeting space.
The average office worker might be inclined to buy the headset, plug it in and think no more about the device features. But I need to draw the reader’s attention to the Poly Lens app, which is available for Windows and Mac at the moment. For the tech savvy among you, this is where you can change settings in the headset, including limiting noise exposure if you’re a serial user, adjusting tone alerts, and more.
There’s also advice on setting up your workstation, your camera, and your headset’s boom positioning etc for optimal use – essentially a short and sweet How To guide right on your screen.
And finally, the really cool section is the Health and Wellness section of the app. In here, you can add soundscapes to your headset background, you can set up reminders to hydrate properly – every 30 minutes, and you can set vision break reminders.
It seems that when you buy Poly, you don’t just buy the product, but the whole mentality.
All in, for a price tag between $110 and $150, this headset is a solid investment for a hybrid worker. While it doesn’t boast ANC like the Focus 2 headset, at less than half the price of that unit, you’ll be hard pressed to find something with this quality to price ratio. Poly’s devices are wonderfully durable and the Poly Lens app, although a little invasive when you first start using it, really does push you toward better work habits, and that’s good for everyone.
