Our pick for the best (home) work headset

With the advent of working from home, it has become painfully clear how dependent we really are on a good internet connection, wifi and let's not forget: a good headset. How often does it happen that someone in a meeting can't be heard properly and has to find a good headset? Or worse, that they have to use the laptop's speakers and microphone? In practice, this often happens!

But even with a good corded headset like the Jabra Evolve 40, you feel limited by being constantly tethered to the workstation. How nice would it be to be able to walk to the other side of the house and continue your conversation? That's why we commissioned ourselves to research the 'best' (home) work headset.

The selection includes some headsets we already had "lying around" and some we purchased based on other reviews. Are you ready for it? Let's go, because colleague Sander will take you through it now! 

The tested headsets

• Logitech Zone Wireless
• Logitech G933 Gaming headset
• Jabra Evolve 40 MS (wired)
• Jabra Evolve2 65 MS
• Jabra Evolve2 85 MS
• Valco Wireless VMK19
• Sony WH-1000XM3
  

What did we test for?

• Comfort
• Sound during a call
• Sound while listening to music
• Connectivity
• Ease of use
• Build quality
• Microphone quality (in quiet and noisy environments)
• Quality of Active Noise Cancellation (if equipped)

We simulated the noisy environment by combining the background noise of a coffee shop with a session of 'the WAN Show' by Linus Tech Tips. This combination was quite similar to the situation in an office garden.

Unique features

• Active Noise Cancellation
• Call/busy lights
• Mute on boom up
• Wireless charging (Qi)
• Size
• Software/integration with MS Teams

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Specifications

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Scores

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Mic Boom

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The review

We were looking for the 'best' headset that not only gives you the freedom to work from home and maybe even get a cup of coffee or tea, but is also able to deliver loud and clear in a busy office environment. Unsurprisingly, the Jabra Evolve 40 (corded) immediately dropped out due to the freedom requirement. But we left it in the test to serve as a baseline for the microphone.  

It will also come as no surprise that both the Valco and the Sony did not come out of the test as well as they did due to the lack of a 'mic boom'. Especially if you work in a noisy environment, this is exactly what you need. If you are in a quiet room at home or at work, then in many cases they are better than the microphone and speakers of your laptop. But the spaciousness of the microphone does not necessarily make you better understood.

The Logitech G933 Gaming headset didn't do badly at all. The microphone was perfectly trackable in the quiet environment, and because it's an over-ear headset, you can wear it for long periods of time without ear discomfort. Unfortunately, they do work a bit like ear muffs... but that might be a plus rather than a minus in the winter in the attic! The battery life is something that can get you in trouble because you can barely make it through a workday with it. So the headset needs to be charged every night. You can use the headset while it's charging because the included cable is long enough. But then again, that comes at the expense of your freedom of movement.

The Logitech Zone Wireless seemed to be "the best of both worlds. Active Noise Canceling, microphone boom, reasonable battery life. But unfortunately it was a bit disappointing. The microphone is what you would expect from a 'fit for purpose' headset. It is able to filter out background noise without making the person less intelligible. However, the voice of the person becomes a bit flatter. The Active Noise Canceling is poor. Partly because the headset does not seal well, you still get a lot of the world around you. I did not expect miracles for this price. But if I had the choice to buy the headset for less money without ANC, it would have been a better deal for me. So all in all not a bad headset, but certainly not the best in comparison.

Yes, now we come to the winner! Or should I say winners? The difference between the Jabra Evolve2 65 and 85 is present but minimal. In terms of music, comfort and the availability of Active Noise Canceling, they do differ. But we need to keep that in perspective. Up to this point, we haven't talked about money, and that's intentional. A headset, just like a laptop, mouse, keyboard and perhaps an extra monitor, is an IT professional's tool. And although you could test many more and especially more expensive headsets, we initially focused on the price range between 150 and 200 euros. The idea was that we could find something good for that. And that was true. But yes, comfort... The Jabra Evolve2 85 was purchased later because the 65 tested so well. But on one point it was still not 'perfect' and that was on comfort. The 65 is an on-ear and the 85 is an over-ear and that makes a big difference on several levels.  

After an initial test of all headsets, we asked colleagues to test the Jabra Evolve2 65 and 85 and say what they thought of them plus which one they preferred. More than 90% of people chose the 65 despite the better comfort and extra features on the 85. Arguments for this were the weight, size and in a few cases the fact that the ANC made them nauseous.

The Jabra Evolve2 85 is really something you have to consciously choose for its distinguishing points, because in terms of microphone, connectivity, battery life and sound quality while calling, it is practically nothing better than its 'little brother', but almost twice as expensive.

The best (home) work headset

So... there we are... the actual winner is: the Jabra Evolve2 65 (on ear) combined with the Jabra Speak 510. Now I hear you thinking... in combination with the what? Hang on, I'll explain.

No headset from the test is comfortable enough to have on your head all day. So a combination with a separate speakerphone is actually the best solution, especially for working from home.

Testing is fun, using is better

After a few weeks of using the Jabra Evolve2 65 and speakerphone, I have to say that you don't know what you're missing if you've never tried it. My house is not very big, but I can still reach the kitchen (two floors below) from my workstation in the attic! So for me it is possible to just 'grab a cup of coffee', stretch my legs and just participate in the meeting. That may sound strange if you compare it to the way we normally confer, but welcome to the new normal! Meeting after meeting without a break is more the rule than the exception and this new freedom is more than welcome. Although some colleagues may be surprised when you suddenly step out of the picture in the middle of a conversation.

I managed to do a whole week (+/- 80% of 36 hours) of meetings on 1 charge. During the last meeting on Friday I got the message that the battery was almost empty. An additional advantage was that after a few hours on the charger the battery was already full again.

I still struggle a bit with the multi-pair option when my phone wants to set up an MS Teams call and my headset, in the middle of a call on the laptop, suddenly cuts out. Fortunately it comes back reasonably quickly after hanging up, but it's still a bit awkward.

The first week I had some ear discomfort after a day of meetings, but I soon found out that the angle of the headset's ear canal is very important for reducing the discomfort. It may sound obvious, but it's really worth paying attention to.  

More tips on what you can do with these headphones? Did you see our post on LinkedIn yet?