If you are like me, much of your work day is consumed with phone calls. There are calls you make with your softphone, calls you make with a landline, and calls you make with a computer. All are made better thanks to the Jabra Engage 75 Series headset. Various models are available. All share the same impressive DNA.
Jabra describes the Engage Series as “Engineered to be the world’s most powerful professional wireless headsets.” Each has:
- Industry-leading wireless performance and density.
- Advanced noise-canceling microphone for crystal clear calls.
- All day talk time
- An integrated busy light.
- The ability to connect to up to five devices simultaneously
- Meets Sykpe for Open Office requirements
- Has advanced noise cancellation
- A variety of wearing options to suit every work style.
The fact that you can connect as many devices as you can make this one of the most flexible headsets available. You can connect a desk phone, a cellphone, an analog phone, and the additional Bluetooth devices. Now tell me, what other headsets can be used with so many devices at once?
The Jabra Engage 75 Stereo I was sent is an impressive offering that, for $420, not only makes your work more efficient but is also comfortable to wear for hours at a time.
The headset is a light. Made of plastic with cushioned on-ear ear cups, it has a removable piece of soft plastic that sits on your head and a boom microphone that can be placed on either the left or the right ear.
There are a few controls on the headset and, as noted, an indicator light at the tip of the boom microphone that lets others know when you are on a call.
There is also a small, discreet mute button on the tip of the boom microphone so you can mute the outgoing audio when you want to have a conversation with someone near you and don’t want the person on the other side of the call to hear it.
As a bonus, since I was sent the model with two ear cups, it can be used to listen to music when connected via Bluetooth to a phone or tablet.
The ear cup with the boom microphone has a small silver disk that is used to accept, reject or hang up calls. A tiny “bump” above the small silver disk increases the volume while one beneath it reduces the volume.
The boom microphone swivels to either side so you can ear it on either ear. That’s important since, for example, Raina and I like the microphone on different sides.
The headset itself is light and extremely comfortable. It has an on-ear design and soft cushions that are comfortable to wear for hours at a time.
The second half of the Jabra Engage system is a base station.
It not only charges your headset when not in use, but it allows you to control many of the features. It has a small footprint but can do a great deal to control the phone/s you connect. Jabra describes it as having an:
Intuitive touchscreen base for ease of use, showing connected devices, battery life and call controls.
In addition to the power input, the back of the base has five points for connectivity. Each is well-marked and makes it easy to know which type of “phone” to connect to which input.
Modern base, small footprint: Intuitive touchscreen base for ease of use, showing connected devices, battery life and call controls.
- Simple to set up
- On-screen set up instructions will help you connect the headset to your computer, mobile device or desk phone.
- Effortless docking, every time
- The micro-USB charger in the base makes it easier to dock the headset correctly in one simple action and ensure it is charging.
- Easy hot-desking
- Pair your headset to a different Engage 75 or 65 Mono/Stereo base when using a different desk.
The front of the base has a lot more going on than one initially thinks. There is a mute indicator, a call answer “button,” a call end/reject “button,” an NFC pairing zone, volume up and down “buttons” and three “buttons” for accessing, controlling and accepting menu selections. All of them are part of a seemingly simple touchscreen interface.
The base has many excellent features, but it does pose one serious challenge. On the “good” side, it has a timer that lets you know how long you have been on a call. Also on the “good” side, the touchscreen is easy to read and use. It gives you a level of control that you won’t find with most other headsets. On the “not-so-good” side, there is the fact that the headset needs to be in range of the base to work. This isn’t an issue if you are using the headset at home or in the office since the Jabra Engage 75 has an excellent range of 150 meters. It does, however, mean you can’t take the headset and use it on the go. This became an issue when, for example, Raina and I went to a neighbor’s house to make calls for the upcoming election. Raina brought the Engage 75 (she’s been the one using it in her home office) but quickly found it was unable to connect via Bluetooth. That’s a bit of a bummer but, so long as you don’t purchase the headset expecting to be able to use it at the office AND on the go, you won’t have an issue.
When you first set up the Jabra Engage 75, you will want to access the setup wizard. This not only walks you through the setup process but it also indicates when there is a firmware update and walks you through that as well.
Industry-leading wireless performance: Work away from the desk and still maintain a wireless connection that won’t let you, or your customers, down.
As mentioned previously, the Jabra Engage 75 has an impressive 150 meters of wireless range. That means you can be almost 500 feet from the call source. That translates to a degree of freedom of movement that has previously been impossible.
There is, however, more to the wireless prowess of the Engage 75. For example, the wireless technology but into the headset allows for numerous worked to all be using the Engage 75 without the various headsets coming into conflict with each other.
The battery life on the Jabra Engage 75 is impressive too. It gets up to 13 hours of talk time and, in just 30 minutes it is recharged to 40%. A full recharge takes just an hour and a half. That means you can use the headset for hours at a time and, in the unlikely event that the battery runs down, you can be up and running a short time later.
Of course, the main thing you will want to know if you are considering this purchase is whether or not it delivers good call quality. The answer, of course, is that it does. This is Jabra after all, and they have years of experience creating some of the best headsets available. As they explain, the Jabra 75 delivers:
Crystal-clear calls: Advanced noise-cancelling microphone and enhanced speakers deliver crystal-clear calls even in noisy offices.
The headset meets Skype for Business Open Office requirements and delivers constant sound levels throughout the day. The speaker software built into it is even able to separate noise from speech. This, according to the company, reduces user stress. That’s important if you spend a lot of time on the phone. Also, the headset and base allow incoming calls to be adjusted to a user-defined sound level that stays constant. That adds to the all-day comfort of the headset.
The Jabra Engage 75 also takes security seriously by providing patented pairing, 256-bit AES encryption, 128-bit authentication and DECT Security Level C. Such security isn’t important for Raina or me but, if your calls are confidential, it is good to know the Jabra Engage takes this into consideration as well.
Features:
- Busylight acts as a do-not-disturb sign for colleagues.
- Connects to up to five devices at once including
A desk phone, a softphone, an analog phone, and two Bluetooth devices. - Modern base, small footprint.
- Intuitive touchscreen base for ease of use, showing connected devices, battery life, and call controls.
- Choice of wearing options to suit every workstyle.
- Soft ear cushions and additional padding on the headband give all-day comfort and secure fit.
The Jabra Engage 75 headset looks like a simple, updated headset but that isn’t the case. Jabra reports that 40 engineers spent more than 115,000 hours in Research and Development of the product. The result is the “world’s most powerful professional wireless headset” It even has four unique patents connected to it.
Jabra says the Engage 75 Stereo and Mono headsets were, “engineered to be the world’s most powerful professional wireless headsets.” I don’t know about “most powerful,” but it certainly offers more than any of the headsets I have previously reviewed. I’m impressed, and I think you will be too! Check it out here.
Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample of the Jabra Engage 75
What I Like: Light; Comfortable; Connects to a large number of different devices giving you incredible flexibility and freedom; Base lets you not only charge but also control your headset; Amazing range; Good sound quality
What Needs Improvement: Can’t be taken on the road and used on its own; Pricey