I feel like I’ve written the following statement a number of times on Ausdroid, but I’ve become a bit of a snob when it comes to wireless headsets these days. Before 2020, I didn’t really care for them all that much – sure, I had a pair of buds to wear to the gym, and I’ve kept a pair of Bose QC noise cancelling over-ear headphones for travel and other times when I need a bit of peace and quiet … but they were always in the background.
Over the last two years, when many have had to adopt to some measure of working from home / remotely / online, the wireless headset has gone from a “nice to have” to a “you must have”.
For me, I have a few criteria for a mission critical wireless headset:
- Long battery life, so you don’t find yourself needing to charge during the day
- Multi-point connectivity, so you can seamlessly pair to a mobile for calls and a laptop for Teams / Zoom / media consumption / whatever else.
- Stupidly quick power up and pair
- Super simple interface – easy to turn on and off, mute and unmute
- Smart integration
For me, Jabra’s Evolve2 75 meets every single one of these requirements, and they are now unequivocally my one and only recommendation for quality wireless headsets for the work environment.
Here’s all you need to know – and yes, I’ve kept this brief, because there’s really no need to say any more than what I have:
Long battery life and simple charging
Evolve2 75 battery lasts what feels like forever. Even when I’ve been using them literally all day, I’ve never once experienced a battery issue. That’s with Teams calls, mobile calls, watching a video in the background while working and more. They just last all day.
For when they don’t, there’s a convenient USB-powered dock that the headphones easily and comfortably slot into when you’re not wearing them. Taking a loo break? Drop them on the dock. Going to make lunch? Do the same.
Follow a super simple regime like this, and your headset will always be charged and ready for you, without fail.
Just don’t forget to turn them off when you get up and walk away at the end of the day … or you may find your phone still connected, making it a bit hard to answer an after hours call when not at your desk.
Multi-point connectivity
This is a 100% non-negotiable must have for me; any headphones that don’t offer me multi-point connectivity I simply will not use or entertain in the work context. I don’t mind if my gym buds only connect to my mobile, because I don’t take my laptop to the gym… but if my headset in the office can’t connect my phone and laptop together, I don’t want to know about it.
Fortunately, Evolve2 75 not only offers multi-point connectivity, but it connects stupidly quickly. From power on to connected to both devices is a second or two, and it doesn’t carry on like some other brands with long, meandering announcements – all you hear is “two devices connected” and you know you’re good to go. I know which two – I only set two up – so I don’t need the headphones to tell me “Phone connected. Laptop XYZ connected.”
The other worthwhile feature? The range. Jabra claims 30 metres, and while I didn’t measure it precisely, I could walk everywhere in my house – upstairs and down – and still remain connected. Neat.
This is connectivity done right for the busy professional.
Super simple interface
Look, there’s an app you can use to change some settings, but who cares. I want headphones I can put on, and that just work .. perfectly .. without having to fiddle with anything. These are a tool, not a toy, and you don’t sit around playing with a drill .. you use it, and move on. Same here.
Turn the headphones on, they connect instantly, and you’re ready to go. Need to talk? Fold the microphone down and your un-muted on phone calls or conference apps. Want to talk to someone else and mute yourself quickly? Flip the microphone up and it’ll mute you.
Had enough? Press the side button and hang up.
There’s also easily accessible volume and power controls.
These are no-nonsense headphones that just work, and work very, very well.
Smart integration
This isn’t a must have, but it’s a bloody useful to have.
For example, if I’m watching media on one of my screens and my phone rings, Evolve2 75 detects this, pauses the media, and you’re ready to answer the call. Once you’re done, end the call and your media will resume.
You’d be familiar with this on a single device – obviously your music playing on your phone will stop when you answer your phone, and it will (usually) resume when you end the call. It’s another level of awesome to have this happen across devices.
- Watching TV on your laptop? It’ll pause when your phone rings, and pick up where you left off when you hang up.
- Listening to Spotify on your mobile, and a Teams call comes in? Your phone will be told to pause while you talk on the laptop, and start again when you’re done.
It’s a simple thing, but it’s a beautiful touch.
There’s also head detection – if you take the headphones off (e.g. to talk to a colleague) your media will pause until you put them back on.
Conclusion
Perhaps these aren’t headphones you want to wear in a casual setting, though the press kit includes photos of some chap wearing them on the train. I guess you could.
While they do offer active noise cancellation, these are on-ear phones rather than an all-enclosing ear cup of the Bose QC45 style. This is good – it lets you hear a bit of what’s going on around you – but also bad. If you really want to hide the background noise, you might need something else.
However, for all day comfort, great audio quality, and every single one of the features the busy remote / home worker needs, these are simply unstoppable.
Yes, they’re expensive. You might find them for around $500 – places like Scorptec sell them online and in-store for $499, but you could also buy them online from Jabra where they range from $635 to $715 depending on colour, configuration and whether you order the optional charging stand (which, frankly, you really should).
If you can splash out and claim them back on tax (which you probably can), or get your boss to buy them for you, these are an absolute no-brainer and your ears and mind will thank you for months and years to come.
