A brilliant top-end Bluetooth headset

The Plantronics Voyager Pro+ is the latest version of Plantronics’ successful Voyager Pro line. With superb sound quality, a comfortable fit, and clever features, it’s one of the best Bluetooth headsets available.

The Pro+ uses a powerful in-ear speaker, resulting in excellent sound quality is excellent. As well as providing ultra clear calls, the speaker also makes it quite worthwhile to listen to music, something that’s achieved through the use of the popular A2DP standard supported by many top-end car stereos as well as most smartphones.

On the other side of things, the microphone is also of high quality. Whilst the good quality components used in the Voyager Pro+’s construction contributes to this, the greater factor is the excellent AudioIQ² noise-cancelling technology used, which does well to eliminate background noise like air conditioners, engines and the like.

Another strong point is comfort; the headset’s low weight and clever design ensures that it’s comfortable to wear for long periods, despite its large size.

One last point in its favour is that the Pro+ integrates well with the iPhone, offering an app that displays the headset’s battery life.

The Voyager Pro+ is one of the few products on our site to have received a near five star rating on average, with eleven out of twelve reviews offering full marks to the headset and a 4.8/5 score overall. The Pro+ is also critically well regarded, scoring 5/5 from What Mobile, 4/5 from PC Magazine and 4.5/5 from Hexus.

If you’re looking for a top of the line Bluetooth headset, then the Plantronics Voyager Pro+ is an excellent place to begin your search.

• View the Plantronics Voyager Pro+ Product Page

If you have any questions about the Pro+ or indeed any Bluetooth headset, feel free to contact me via the social media options below, or just leave a comment in the blog itself.

• Reach us on our Facebook page at Love Your Mobile
• Talk to us on the Mobile Fun Twitter
• Reach me personally on Google Plus

There are numerous bluetooth headset manufacturers, but the top three are Plantronics, Jabra and Jawbone. I’ve already reviewed the Jabra Stone and Jawbone headsets, so I thought I’d take a look at the Plantronics Voyager Pro+.

Plantronics Voyager PRO+ Bluetooth Headset

In The Box

Plantronics are quite generous when it comes to the accessories in the box. As well as the standard mains adapter, you also get a continental adapter, a Micro USB charging cable, a car charger adapter and a supply of spare ear buds – more than I’ve seen in any other Bluetooth Headset recently.

Plantronics Voyager PRO+ Bluetooth Headset

Features

The Voyager Pro+ is more than just an everyday headset. It’s aimed at road warriors and heavy users that need a strong, clear and reliable headset. In terms of features, the headset packs a lot in to a surprisingly small shell. The pictures don’t really do much to convey the size of the headset, but I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box.

The Voyager Pro+ features a boom mic which houses dual microphones . The microphones have three layers of noise reduction built in to eliminate background noise, road noise and wind noise. One microphone listens out for your voice, while the other one picks up background noise – clever software then removes these noises from the voice microphone for exceptionally clear audio.

Plantronics Voyager PRO+ Bluetooth Headset

Another handy little feature that’s built in is the voice prompts. These audible alerts will let you know when your battery is running low and confirm when the microphone is muted. It works well, but it would have been nice if it also read out the callers number when you receive a call.

Battery life is also worth a mention here. It offers up to 6 hours talk time and five days of standby, so even the heaviest of uses shouldn’t have a problem with it running out of power.

Design

Not every one will like the design of the Voyager Pro+ as at first glance it looks quite bulky, but when you see it in the flesh you’ll be surprised at just how small it is. The bulk of the unit sits behind your ear, leaving just the earpiece and boom mic visible.

Plantronics Voyager PRO+ Bluetooth Headset

It can be worn in either ear and the microphone is fully adjustable, so finding a comfortable fit isn’t a problem. The number of buttons have been kept to a minimum, both to improve the look of the headset and to keep it simple to use.

Controls & Set Up

There are just 4 buttons on the Voyager Pro+, but they aren’t all that obvious. The answer/end key is exactly where you’d expect it, but the power and volume keys are a hidden away on the main part that sits behind your ear. For the power button, this isn’t really a problem as you’re not really all that likely to turn it off while you’re wearing it, but some people may find the volume keys a little on the small and fiddly side.

Plantronics Voyager PRO+ Bluetooth Headset

They’re located on the top of the headset and are quite close together. You shouldn’t have any problems in pressing the wrong one, but as there are no raised markings, you might struggle to remember which is up and which is down!

Setting it up is incredibly easy. I tried one with the iPhone and pairing was almost too easy. The first time you turn the headset is on it goes into pairing mode, so all you have to do is search for Bluetooth devices on your phone. I wasn’t asked for a Passkey on the iPhone, most other new handsets don’t require one either.

Audio Quality

As you’d expect from Plantronics, the audio quality is excellent. The noise cancellation on the Voyager Pro+ is brilliant, I actually prefer it over the Jawbone (which can sometimes make people sound robotic) The ear gels fit well and are quite open in order to channel the sound into your ears, unlike some ear gels that partially cover the speaker.

I had no problems in hearing the caller or being heard even at 70mph on the motorway. It still worked well with the window slightly open, although road and wind noise were increased, but not to the point where the headset became unusable.

Why Choose

Plantronics have been around for a very long time and it shows in the quality of their headsets. The Voyager Pro+ is well built, easy to use and exceptionally clear. It is by far the best option if you spend a lot of time in the car making calls and don’t want a loud speaker.

There are a few features that I’d have like to have seen on the Voyager Pro+, Text To Speech, Support for music playback being the main two but neither are really that important and neither feature prevents the Voyager Pro+ from being an outstanding bluetooth headset.

Also Consider

Jabra Stone

Jawbone Icon

My Rating

Up until recently my answer would have been that the main differences were size, weight and battery life. While that’s still true for most headsets, advances in headset technology have meant that there is now something else to consider when choosing a Bluetooth Headset – Noise Cancellation.

Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Headsets

Now, you might be thinking that noise cancellation is nothing new, and technically it’s not – noise cancellation has been around for years and in a number of formats. From simple design changes such as foam covers over the microphone to clever software that makes your voice clearer, but the newer generation of Bluetooth headsets go one step further. Most of the latest noise cancelling headsets have 2 microphones built into them, one that picks up your voice and another that picks up background noise. Software in the headset then analyses the sound from both microphones and any sounds picked up by both microphones are removed so that your voice comes through clearly.

Not all Bluetooth Headsets currently have this feature, and trying to find the ones that do out of the 140 that we sell will take you some time, so to help you along I’ve listed below our top 10 noise cancelling headsets. Most of these headsets have the dual microphone technology, although a couple of them have some other clever technology to cut out back ground noise.

Jabra BT530
The BT-530 is a fantastic Bluetooth Headset from Jabra that packs in a lot of features at less than half the price of the latest Jawbone Headset.  As well as having 2 noise cancelling microphones, the Jabra BT530 has intelligent volume controls that will automatically increase the volume when you enter a noisy environment. The Jabra BT530 is a multipoint headset that allows you to use the headset with two mobile phones at the same time. For more information about multipoint, read our post on ‘What is Multipoint’.

Jabra BT530 Noise Blackout Bluetooth Headset

Plantronics Voyager Pro
Like Jabra, Plantronics specialise in Bluetooth headsets and their latest headset, the Voyager Pro is one of their best. It’s a lot smaller in reality than it looks in photo’s and rather than being worn in the ear, the Voyager Pro sits over and behind your ear, making it extremely comfortable – especially on long journeys. The Voyager Pro has two microphones mounted in the boom microphone and as well as using the technology described above to filter out background noise, the Voyager Pro has 3 layers of Wind Shield protection and Audio IQ technology to enhance the sound even further.

Plantronics Voyager Pro

iVoice GX-7
Despite iVoice being relatively unheard of, the GX-7 is an excellent little bluetooth headset. At just 42mm long and weighing less than 9g it’s one of the smallest and lightest headsets you can get, but that doesn’t mean it compromises on features. The GX-7 has dual microphones and echo and noise reduction software to eliminate background noise and automatic volume control that increases the volume when you enter a noisy environment. What makes this headset really special is that it supports caller ID, not by way of a screen on the headset, instead it calls out the callers name or number when a call comes in.  The GX-7 comes with a USB charger that can be used to charge the headset in the car, at home or using your PC/Laptop.

iVoice GX7 Bluetooth headset

Jawbone 2
Jawbone changed the way that noise cancellation in bluetooth headsets worked. Jawbone’s work slightly different to other noise cancelling headsets, as they use a ‘voice activity sensor’ to help make your voice stand out. This sensor needs to maintain contact with the side of your face as it picks up vibrations as you speak. It then uses this information with the sounds picked up from the two microphones to eliminate almost all background noise.

Jawbone 2

Jawbone Prime
Jawbone Prime is almost the same as the Jawbone 2, but adds multipoint and it doesn’t rely on the voice sensor making contact with your face.  The other technologies in the headset have been improved so that you still get excellent results even when the headset isn’t touching you. When it is making contact it gives the noise reduction a boost, improving the audio quality further. Jawbone Prime are available in a wider range of colours too. Named ‘Ear Candy’ the Jawbone Prime is available in Black, White, Yellow, Brown, Red, Green & Purple.

Jawbone Prime

Blueant V1
BlueAnt make several very clever Bluetooth Headsets and the V1 is incredibly small when you think of how much is packed into it. While the V1 is promoted more for its voice capabilities, the BlueAnt V1′s noise suppression technology is excellent. It has dual microphones as well as wind noise reduction and echo cancellation.  The BlueAnt V1 is a multipoint headset so you can use it with 2 phones at the same time, or have it connected to your PC or games console and quickly and easily take calls from either device. The V1 keeps controls to a bare minimum, with most functions being controlled by talking to the headset. If you get stuck, just ask it for help and it will talk you through most functions!

Blue Ant V1

Blueant Q1
The BlueAnt Q1 has everything in it that the V1 has with a few extra tweaks and improvements. You can store speed dials in the headset which allows you to quickly and easily call people without having to touch your phone. The noise cancellation technology has been improved too.  While it’s not as tiny as the V1, the new shape of the headset helps reduce wind noise and the dual microphones can cope with wind speeds of upto 10mph. The Q1 is also a multipoint headset and can be used with 2 devices at the same time.

BlueAnt Q1

Nokia BH-602
Nokia don’t currently make any dual microphone headsets, instead they rely on Digital Signal Processing to improve the qualilty of the audio. The BH-602 stands out from the rest of the Nokia range as it’s the only headset with automatic volume adjustment, so while it’s not going to do as much as the other headsets on this page to make sure that your voice is heard by callers, you won’t need to fiddle around with volume controls when you walk into a noisy room.

Nokia BH 602

Motorola H15 Moto Pure

Motorola haven’t done much in the way of new handsets in the last 12 months, but they have managed to produce some great accessories. The MotoPure H15 is a compact Bluetooth with a fold away microphone that will answer calls automatically when you unfold it. As with most headsets here it has dual microphone technology to help eliminate background noise. The MotoPure H15 comes with a handy charging desk stand that will charge the headset, but keeps the headset accessible for when a call comes in.

Motorola MotoPure H15

Motorola Endeavor HX1

The Motorola Endeavor is due to be released in the next few weeks and is different to any other noise cancelling headset. It features a stealth mode which can be activated as and when needed to really make sure that you’re heard. When the stealth mode is activated, a sensor mounted on the part that sits in your ear uses true bone conduction technology to relay only your voice while knocking out the most extreme noise and wind for a revolutionary premium headset experience. The HX1 is a multipoint headset that can be used with 2 devices at the same time and has voice prompts for ease of use.

Motorola Endeavor X1

If you’ve not seen the headset here that does what you want, take a look at our full range of Bluetooth Headsets. If you’re looking for a Bluetooth Headset that will allow you to listen to music in Stereo using a Bluetooth Headset, then take a look at our Guide to Stereo Bluetooth Headsets on the Blog or view all Stereo Bluetooth Headsets on the main site.