Do you want the best headset? 
Looking for a reasonably priced wireless headset to use with your mobile devices and your computer?
Do you like listening to music, but you also have a need for a headset for your Zoom video meetings, or other communication applications for work?
You want a comfortable, great sounding wireless headset, but you don’t want to dip into the kids college fund in order to pay for it. Is any of this resonating?
If so, stick around because in this blog I’m going to show you a high quality, affordable wireless headset you really need to take a look at.
Before I begin singing the praises of this wireless headset
I wanted to let you know that I recorded a video on this exact subject. If you’re like the many people who prefer to watch content over reading it, then make sure to check out my video. In it, I not only show you the product, but I discuss the specifications and features, and finally I test the speakers and microphone for audio quality. I’ll insert the video below for easy access if you want to watch it.
Still reading? If so, please continue because I have a great wireless headset for you to consider that’s affordable, has great audio quality and your kids will still be able to afford college. I’m going to discuss the Poly (formerly Plantronics) Voyager 4220 Bluetooth wireless headset for mobile devices and computers.
What makes the Poly Voyager 4220 worth considering?
Let’s start by getting that thing called price out of the way right up front here. The Poly Voyager 4220 UC has a suggested selling price of $181.00, though you can likely find it for less.
When you see the features that this Bluetooth wireless headset offers, along with everything else, you should come away with the sense that this wireless headset is a good value. Check that, a great value!
Warranty
The Voyager 4220 comes with a 2-year warranty from Poly. Today, a 2-year warranty on a wireless headset is pretty common. In the past, these types of headsets came with a 1-year warranty. That’s been improved, by moving the bar to 2-years as the standard warranty for wireless headsets.
You can even find models that push the warranty envelope even further, such as the Discover wireless headsets which come with a whopping 3-year warranty. Still, a 2-year warranty is solid especially in a value priced wireless headset.
What does this headset connect to?
The Poly Voyager 4220 connects to mobile devices via Bluetooth 5.0, and it can also connect to computers via the included USB dongle. Some Bluetooth wireless headsets claim to have computer connectivity, but they connect via Bluetooth.
If you’ve ever compared a wireless headset that’s been connected to a computer via Bluetooth and one that’s been connected via a USB dongle, you’ll see a pretty big difference. With a dongle, you get better voice quality, connectivity, wireless talk range and remote call answering. All these things are compromised if connecting to a computer via Bluetooth.
That said, it’s very nice that the Voyager 4220 comes with the dongle. Other brands have that as an option, while others don’t offer a dongle option at all. Great job Poly!
Lastly, on the subject of connectivity, you can charge the headset and at the same time use it with the included charge cable. This means that if your battery is depleted, you can revert to using the headset via the cable while it recharges. Not all headsets are capable of doing this.
What’s the wireless range?
The wireless range is estimated to be up to 98 feet. In our extensive headset history, we’ve come to figure that half of the stated range is closer to the range you should expect to receive in a real world, office type environment.
As this applies to the Voyager 4220, we feel that you should expect to receive no more than 50 feet, and likely a bit less. Is that enough wireless range? That all depends on your needs. If you need more, then this may be insufficient. On the other hand, if your need is for a smaller wireless talk area, then this may prove to be just right.
Make sure to determine how far away from your mobile device or computer you need to talk. Once determined, you’ll know if the Voyager 4220 will meet your specific needs.
How long can I talk?
The Poly Voyager 4220 is rated to provide up to 12 hours of talk time, with a battery recharge time of 1.5 hours. For most people, this amount of talk time is more than enough to power you through even the busiest of days.
We see many wireless headsets with less available talk time, so 12 hours should work well in most situations.
Is this Bluetooth wireless headset heavy or uncomfortable?
No, not at all. In fact, the Voyager 4220 tends to fall into the lighter category. It weighs in at 150 grams, or 5.29 ounces. For an over the head, double ear model, that’s impressive. And no, it’s not light because it’s cheaply built. Quite the opposite.
It’s actually built sturdy. No doubt Poly used durable, lightweight materials in constructing the Voyager 4220 which gives it physical strength, but lightweight as well. This means that you can wear this headset for long periods of time without developing “headset fatigue”
On the subject of comfort, and weight aside, there are a couple of other things that help to make this headset comfortable. First, the headband is not only adjustable, so you can find the fit right for you, but it’s padded.
When you place the headset on, you get a nice cushion that rests on the top of your head compared to other models that give you a nice hard, steel band. Cushion or steel? I’ll take the cushion thank you.
The other thing that aids in the comfort of this headset are the ear cushions. Not all ear cushions are made the same. The design differs as do the materials that the cushions are made from. In the case of the ear cushions on the Voyager 4220, they’re extremely soft not only when you press on them with your hand, but when they press against the
ear. You can feel the softness of the padding. Little things like padding can go a long way towards helping to make a wireless headset comfortable, or not. In this case, they nailed it.
How well does the microphone work to pick up and cancel sound? I was a bit surprised here. For a budget friendly Bluetooth wireless headset, the Voyager 4220 performed as well as many of the wireless headsets we’ve tested that cost easily twice as much.
The voice picks up clear, crisp and without any clipping or distortion. It provides a professional sound that you need for your business calls without any compromise at all. You will sound great, period.
How well does it eliminate background noise?
Honestly, surprisingly well. I ran the headset through a couple of tests where I played office noises (typing sounds, people talking etc) at a fairly high volume. I then checked the Voyager 4220 to see how well my voice was picked up with that noise present. It passed with flying colors. I then wanted to know if you could hear that noise if I stopped talking.
Nope. No background noise detected. Finally, I ran it through my dreaded “blender test”. This is where I place a blender (no, I wasn’t making Margaritas), on my desk and fire it up. Of course this doesn’t represent a sound you’d normally hear in an office, but it is a loud noise that can test the upper reaches of the headset’s ability to cancel out loud noise.
The Poly Voyager 4220 did a superior job of killing off that blender sound. It didn’t matter if I was talking or silent. I was very impressed with how the microphones performed under this difficult situation. Well done Poly!
While on the subject of the microphone, the boom arm is bendable so you can position the mic in the proper position (2 fingers width from the corner of your mouth, and just below your lower lip). Some wireless headsets have mic booms that are made of rigid materials that make bending it difficult.
That’s not the case here. The boom arm on the 4220 bends easily. Proper mic positioning is one of those critical adjustments that plays a key role in optimizing your voice sound quality.
The boom arm can also rotate so you can place the microphone on your right side, or your left. Again, other models are limited to one side only. Here, you have the option where to place the microphone, which is nice.
Buttons, alerts etc
The Poly Voyager 4220 isn’t a defeatured, budget friendly headset. Quite the contrary. Here are the adjustments, buttons etc that come with this wireless headset.
- Power - shows green when on
- Call control - to answer and end calls
- Volume up
- Volume down
- Mute
- Track forward
- Track back
- Pause
- Play
- Audio alert for talk time remaining
- Audio alert for mute
- Audio alert for connection status
What are the drawbacks of this Bluetooth wireless headset, if any? No wireless headset is perfect, and the Poly Voyager 4220 isn’t. If I were to say what lacks in this headset it would be only one thing; wireless talk range. If the 4220 allowed for more wireless talk range, I think that would make this headset near bulletproof.
As it stands now, it’s pretty close, but because you can’t move that far from the connected device, it poses some limitations in flexibility. Am I nitpicking here? Maybe. But, having longer wireless range with this Bluetooth headset would make it near perfect.
Final thoughts
If you need a wireless headset for your music and business applications such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google meet, Skype for Business, RingCentral and more, then the Poly Voyager 4200 should be on your short list. Maybe even number one on your list, or maybe even skip the list entirely and just get his headset. It’s that good.
You’ll get great audio quality
You’ll get a comfortable headset to wear, even for long periods of time You’ll get a lot of great features
You won’t have your callers hearing unwanted background noise
You’ll have ample talk time
You can use the headset even when recharging it
Your kids can still go to college
Have headset questions, or need some help?
If you have questions about headsets, and you’re not sure where to turn to get answers, look no further than to Headset Advisor. We’ve been consulting with customers since 1994, and we can be a great resource for you.
Call us, email us, text us or chat live with us. We’re here to help you find the perfect headset that’s comfortable, sounds great, compatible with your system and within your budget.
