You’re working in the home or office more than ever before, more virtual meetings, Zoom sessions conference calls. Using every platform known to the human race, the kids interrupting, dogs barking or in my case snoring loudly. You are trying to listen to all your team members whilst keeping the world around you as silent as possible, the virtual work environment has become the norm but are you prepared? Are you still using your old headset or like me using the headphones that came with your phone. It might be time to get the right tool for the job, so we reached out to our friends at Jabra and decided to take the Jabra Evolve2 40 for a test drive.
Overview
The Jabra Evolve2 40 has a premium stylish look with plush ear cups, smooth soft plastics and a modern matt black finish.
They are an on the ear headset with rotating ear cups, an extremely soft flexible headband, making putting them on or taking them off fast, smooth and hassle free.
The look caught the eye of all the members in my family, as I often found them missing from my desk constantly. Either being used by my teenagers for their Fortnite sessions, or my partner “borrowing” them for her daily Team Meetings.
Always a hint of the product quality in the packaging and the Evolve2 40 did not let us down, with an outer box sleeve and a soft protection pouch shows this product wants to be looked after.
You have the option of USB-A or USB-C connections eliminating the need for charging. However, if you have devices with different connections types you will need to purchase an adapter separately as one is not included.
Comfortability
Straight away, you notice the high quality materials used on this Evolve2 40, deep memory foam on the ear cups that isolate the majority of any external noise.
A soft gel like headband that moulds to your head shape, there is still pressure from the headband but only minimal due to the cushioning.
They are not something you forget you are wearing, but they also do not bother you if you leave them on between meetings, or listening to hours of music.
Features
The Jabra Evolve2 40 comes packed full of features, with 3-microphone call technology, creating clear and quality audio for your audience.
With an advanced digital chipset and latest signal processing technology, it eliminates the background noise so that barking dog or your partners meeting is not being broadcast to your clients, customers or team members.
The Evolve2 40 is also UC (Unified Communications) compliant, so it works with all your collaborating platforms including GoToMeeting, Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams, Cisco WebEx, Zoom, Google Hangouts and many more.
One of the best features is the “Busy” indicating lights, that can be seen both sides, front and back, letting anyone approaching you from any direction, know you’re on an active call and not just listening to music. I found this very handy in my work and home office environment.
Controls
Jabra have opted for physical buttons for volume control, play and pause, next and previous tracks. They are located on the back of right ear cup, took me a little fumbling to get used to the positions but after a few song skips and pauses it became second nature.
A great feature is the fold down\up microphone for muting, quick and easy when needing to answer your partner, kids or colleagues in a hurry. No fumbling here just a swift push on the mic arm and boom you’re muted.
Jabra have chosen visual aids on the Evolve2 40 with a mute indicating light on the USB plug to let you know when you are muted and no one can hear you, so you are not stuck talking to yourself (we have all been there). Of course, there is also a dedicated mute button on the headset.
There is also a dedicated pick up and hang up call button on the right hand side ear cup, that can also be used in conjunction with your Microsoft Teams notifications on the Microsoft Teams variant.
Setup
I found the Jabra Evolve2 40 fairly straight forward to install as it is pretty much plug and play, though I had to set it as the default listening device in a few of my apps.
For a little extra tweaking and personalisation there is the Jabra Direct desktop app allowing you to configure the headset to customise for your needs. It will also keep your headset up to date with any of the latest firmware.
Conclusion
The Jabra Evolve2 40 is a feature packed very comfortable headset that can be used in a range of environments. I thoroughly enjoyed using these headsets and really amazed by the audio quality. The only letdown is the headset is not universal, as the microphone has to be on the right hand side. Not a big issue but it is always good to have the option.
They are a great price for the quality of the product, and the perfect accompaniment to combat our new working world.
If it’s time for an upgrade or you want to bring some professionalism into your working environment, the Jabra Evolve2 40 are definitely worth a look.
The Jabra Evolve2 40 is available for around AUD$200. The product may be available elsewhere at cheaper prices, but buying through Amazon helps DigitalReviews so we appreciate you considering making your purchase there.
A big thank you to our friends at Jabra for providing the review opportunity to DRN once again.
Specification
• Speaker size: 40mm Ø
• Speaker sensitivity: 117dB @1mW-1kHz
• Speaker max input power: 30 mW
• Speaker frequency range: 20Hz-20.000Hz
• Speaker bandwidth – music mode: 20Hz-20.000Hz
• Speaker bandwidth speak mode: 100Hz-14.000Hz
• Microphone type: 3 Digital MEMS
• Microphone sensitivity: -26 dBFS/Pa
• Microphone frequency range: 100Hz-14kHz
• User hearing protection: Jabra SafeToneTM
• Certifications: Leading UC vendors; meets Microsoft Teams Open Office requirements*
* Microsoft Teams variants only
