Jabra Evolve2 85 UC In Depth Review With Mic Test Videos

If you’re looking for a new headset that offers professional-grade audio, noise cancellation, and multi-device connectivity, then the Jabra Evolve2 85 Bluetooth headset should be at the top of your list.

Watch Or Read To Learn More

A number of features make the Jabra Evolve2 85 noise-canceling headset worth your consideration. To learn more about these impressive features, continue reading or watch our review video below. Either way, you’ll come away with a better understanding of this premium wireless headset, and I’m betting a sense of appreciation as well.

Below, we’ve categorized the key features of the Jabra Evolve2 85 wireless headset to help you easily scan through and find the aspects that interest you most.

Connectivity

Up front, you should know what the Jabra Evolve2 85 is designed to be used with. Here’s a quick overview:

Like many headsets, the Evolve2 85 can remember up to eight devices, and maintain a connection to two simultaneously. This means you can toggle between two devices seamlessly.

The Evolve2 85 is compatible with all the leading UC software like Microsoft Teams, RingCentral, Zoom, Cisco, Avaya and others. And there’s a Teams variant available to enhance the user experience with advanced features and controls.

Comfort

Weight; Lightweight or Heavyweight? The subject of headset comfort normally begins with how much a headset weighs. The Jabra Evolve2 85 tends to tip the scales a bit on the heavier side. It’s not alone in its heavyweight status at 10 ounces, because there are other competing models that are in this same weight class. Still, weight matters, and if you’re someone who’s looking for a headset to wear all day long, this may not be your best option when lighter choices are available.

Now before you begin to think that I’m throwing the Evolve2 85 totally under the bus, think again. For a stout headset, the Evolve2 85 is actually very comfortable, and I should know because this is my go-to headset.

Soft ear cushions. The Evolve2 85 has very soft, memory foam ear cushions that fully encircle the ears, which I find more comfortable compared to the cushions that push up against them. This design allows you to wear the headset longer, and provides some passive noise reduction in the process.

Padded, adjustable headband. The headband is fully wrapped with soft padding so wherever your head may come in contact with the headband, it’s met with a soft cushion. The headband, like the ear speakers, is adjustable which allows you to find the perfect fit. That too helps with comfort. 

If you’re looking for a headset that you can wear for several hours a day, but not one to be worn all day, as in eight hours, then the Jabra Evolve2 85 is a solid choice to consider. The headset wears lighter than its weight would suggest, and the padding has been thoughtfully designed with no corners cut in terms of the amount, and type of padding included. All in all, you’ll find the Evolve2 85 to be a comfortable headset that you can wear for long periods of time.

Microphone 

Most people don’t want a business headset with a long boom that may look funny, and at times, get in the way. Fortunately, that’s not something you’ll need to concern yourself with because the Evolve2 85 has a mini microphone boom that’s unobtrusive, and discreet looking. 

Boom or no boom, your choice. When you're not on calls, the microphone boom tucks neatly into the body of the headset. That keeps the boom arm out of the way when listening to a Podcast or music.  And if you're on a business call and you raise the boom arm up, the call you’re on will mute. Lowering the boom will then unmute the call. That makes muting the call easier than searching the headset for the mute button. 

So if you’re out of the office, and listening to music, tuck the boom away and your business headset transforms into a pair of entertainment headphones with no microphone boom visible. It’s like getting two headsets in one; a premium business headset, and headphones.

Microphone Sound Quality

Sound quality remains one of the most important features that customers look for when considering new headsets. So it would make sense to comment on how the Jabra Evolve2 85 performs in the area of sound quality. But before I share my views on this, keep in mind that sound quality, just like comfort, is subjective. What sounds good to someone else, might not sound as good to you.

Premium headset, premium sound? The Jabra Evolve2 85 was designed to be a premium headset, and along with that it carries a premium price. So it stands to reason that you should rightfully expect this headset to perform well in the area of sound quality. In other words, you pay a lot, so you should expect a lot, right?

The Jabra Evolve2 85 business headset delivers professional sound quality. Whether you’re on a Softphone call or in a video meeting, you’ll always sound clear and consistent. You’ll sound loud, clear, and consistent. Having said that, there are degrees of richness in headset audio, and I, for one, feel that the Evolve2 85 is a bit average when it comes to premium sound. Don’t get me wrong, it sounds good, but to me, not great.

After testing numerous headsets, the Jabra Evolve2 85 headset for calls stands out for its microphone performance, though it may not be an absolute standout in premium sound. Professional sound? Yes. A show stopper, or sound that rises above the crowd? Not so much.

Hear for yourself. The sound quality you get from the Jabra Evolve2 85 is solid, just not amazing. And, if you'd like to hear how it compares in audio sound quality, and noise reduction against similar headsets like the Sony XM5, Poly Surround 80, and the Bose 700, then watch our comparison video below.

Noise Reduction 

That brings me to the topic of removing unwanted noise. With the Jabra Evolve2 85 that means two things:

Microphone noise cancellation. We tested the Jabra Evolve2 85 in a noisy environment, one that had a roaring blender, and it did a decent job to dampen the noise of the blender, though you could still hear it while on a call. So it’s safe to say it won’t remove all the noise, but in all fairness, no headset can. If the Evolve2 85 can do a decent job to dampen the noise of this blender, it’s safe to say that it will do a decent job with your noise. 

neep the noise. If eliminating unwanted background noise is a high priority feature you’re looking for in a headset, then you owe it to yourself to check out neep noise canceling software. neep picks up where your headset microphone leaves off, and removes the remaining noise. Best of all, it not only removes the noise in your background, so your callers get a quieter, more professional sound, but neep also removes the noise in your caller's background so you’re not distracted by it.

To learn more about how neep can give you better sounding calls, or to try neep for free, go to neep.com. 

Active Noise Cancellation (ANC).The Jabra Evolve2 85 includes a feature called Active Noise Cancellation. And if you’re unfamiliar with this technology, or perhaps want to know how it differs from, say, microphone noise cancellation, then check out our video below that explains how these two technologies are different.

To me, the ANC found on the Evolve2 85 is good and bad. It’s fantastic that it has it, because Active Noise Cancellation is a wonderful feature that dampens distracting background noise for the person wearing the headset. That allows for better concentration, and greater productivity.

More adjustment please. The downside, and admittedly, this is nit picking, is it only offers on/off which I’d rather see it with various stages of ANC such as High/Medium/ Low/Off. Still, it’s a premium feature, and this is a premium headset, so it makes sense that it has it. I’m a fan of the Jabra ANC even though it's onlly on/off.  I use the ANC feature all the time to help dampen the distracting noises going on around me. It really works, and it really makes a difference. So if ANC is a feature you’ve never used, I highly recommend that you put this on your list of must-haves when shopping for your next new headset. It’s an amazing feature.

Speaker Sound Quality

Not elite, but solid. Jabra did an admirable job with the speakers on the Evolve2 85. It comes with leak-tolerant 40mm loudspeakers that’s married up with the most advanced digital chipset Jabra has ever used.  And I have to say, it delivers a satisfying sound when listening to music. I won’t go so far to say that you audiophiles will be blown away by the sound, but keeping in mind that this is first and foremost a business class headset, it provides impressive sound. 

The mids and highs are clean, and it even provides a satisfying low-end bass bump that’s not present on most business grade headsets. So hats off to Jabra for engineering this level of audio quality in this multi-purpose, business oriented headset. 

Smart Sensors

This is a relatively new feature that’s appearing more frequently on headsets. It goes by different names like Smart Sensors, or On Head Detection for example. But here’s what this feature does, and it’s standard on the Jabra Evolve2 85:

These are smart features that provide convenience, and help to avoid the need for searching for buttons. One additional feature on the Evolve2 85 that underscores the fact that this is a premium headset.

Battery

All wireless headsets need to be recharged from time to time, so it begs the question how much battery life do you get with the Evolve2 85? Well, here’s the long and short of it.

Batteries are generally measured in three areas; 

It’s important to know how much battery life to expect in a headset you’re considering, because it helps you to know how long you can use the headset before a recharge is needed. You don’t want to discover battery shortcomings when in the middle of important calls.

Here’s what you can expect in talk and listening times with the Jabra Evolve2 85:

Talk Time: 

Listening Time:

Battery Recharge Time:

Certifications & Connectivity

Wireless headsets vary in their ability to connect to devices. For example, DECT headsets will typically connect to desk phones, and some to computers, but not to mobile devices.

Some Bluetooth headsets don't offer USB Adapters, and therefore rely on a wireless Bluetooth connection which can be limiting, and not as efficient compared to connecting via a USB Adapter. 

Below, you'll find information on what the Evolve2 85 is certified with, and what it connects to, and how.

Ceritifications. The Jabra Evolve2 85 comes with UC certifications across multiple providers. Here’s the list of certifications it has:

Connectivity. You can use the Jabra Evolve2 85 with desktop computers, laptop computer, and mobile devices. It will remember up to 8 devices, and connect to 2 simultaneously.

You can connect via the included Link 380 USB Adapter, or via Bluetooth 5.0 connection. Though you can connect the Jabra Evolve2 85 to Bluetooth enabled computers without using the USB Adapter, it’s recommended that you use it. Here are a few of the key benefits of using the Link 380 USB Adapter over connecting to a computer using Bluetooth:

The Jabra Evolve2 85 also comes with a 3.5mm audio cable for connecting to even more devices. So as you can see, this is a highly versatile Bluetooth wireless headset.

Software For A Better Experience - Jabra Direct

There’s a general perception that you plug in a headset and whatever it can do out of the box, is all that it can do. And though that may be true with some headsets, many today can be personalized through free, downloadable software.

Take the Jabra Evolve2 85 for example, you can download the Jabra Direct software to personalize the headset to your preferences. Some of the things you  can do include:

As new generations of headsets release, they’re coming with an increasing number of advanced features to help make the device more personalized to your preferences. Jabra Direct is your gateway to customizing the Jabra Evolve2 85.

Final Thoughts

There’s no denying that the Jabra Evolve2 85 is a premium grade business headset. It comes will a nice assortment of features that are designed to provide comfort, sound quality, and convenience. And with the fold away microphone boom, it's like getting two headets in one; a professional business headset, and headphones for casual listening.

Thoughts on comfort. Though a bit on the heavy side, it does feel lighter when wearing it which makes it a headset you can wear for long stretches of time. After a couple of hours, I find that I need to remove the headset for a quick break (scratch my ear, let a little airflow etc), but after a quick pause, I’m fine to resume. I don’t really find it heavy, even after wearing it for quite awhile.

Microphone. The mic audio quality is decent, and as noted in this blog, not exceptional. Still professional sounding though. The noise cancellation works fairly well, though it doesn’t remove all the noise (my dog is pretty noisy at times). But as mentioned earlier, look into neep noise canceling software to pair up with the Evolve2 85, or any other audio device, for a noise reduction experience like you’ve never experienced before.

Thoughts on Active Noise Cancellation. I like the Active Noise Cancellation feature on the Evolve2 85. It’s easy to turn on and off, and it does a decent job to lower the incoming noise. Back to my dog example, when the barking picks up, I just turn the ANC on. Though it doesn’t remove all the noise I hear, it does make the noise far less distracting. Hopefully future versions of the Evolve2 85 will come with adjustable ANC. If so, my dog won’t stand a chance if her intent is to distract me.

My perspective, my headset. My comments in this blog on the Evolve2 85 are a bit different compared to my headset comments on other blogs because this is the headset I use most often. It’s comfortable, it passively, and actively removes ambient noise, and the microphone sound quality is professional. It connects to the devices I need connecting to, and the battery lasts a long time before needing to be recharged.  So all things considered, I’m a fan of the Jabra Evolve2 85. Does it do everything perfect? No, but I have yet to find a headset that is. All things considered, this is a very solid headset that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to anyone.

Discount & Ways To Save

If the Jabra Evolve2 85 is a headset you have interest in, then why not save some money by using Coupon Code BLOG at checkout on our website? 

We all like saving money, and we don’t want to pay full price if a better one is available. So use Coupon Code Blog and claim your savings. 

Want to save more? Sure you do!

Trade in old headsets. Round up those old headsets that are parked away in your storeroom gathering dust, and let us know what you have. We’ll give you a trade-in quote which you can use to lower the price of the Jabra Evolve2 85 even more. It's sort of like a double coupon because you can use the trade-in credit in combination with the coupon code. Double dipper special!

Monthly Lease. And for those who prefer a monthly program, Headset Advisor offers an affordable monthly headset lease program for those who qualify. Our lease program can help you overcome budget limitations, and help to get your team outfitted with new headsets affordably. Contact us today to find out more.

Have Questions, Or Need Some Help?

Finding the right, compatible headsets can sometimes be a confusing thing. If you have questions, or need some help, don’t hesitate to contact us, and one of trained, knowledgeable Advisors will be happy to help. We’ve been assisting customers with the communication needs since 1994, and I know we have the answers, and solutions you’re looking for. 

Jabra Evolve2 85 datasheet 
Jabra Evolve2 85 Tech Sheet