Jabra Evolve2 85 UC In-Depth Review + Mic Test VIDEO

Headsets today are being used more than ever before. We’ve found ourselves jumping on video calls that in the past would have been unusual, where today it’s the norm.

Zoom has suddenly become a household word where it wasn’t just a year or two ago. Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and RingCentral among others are being used at a higher rate too.

Everyone who uses these platforms can benefit from having a good quality headset. You want comfort, reliability, and sound quality that helps to make you sound loud and clear consistently. 

With this in mind, I’m writing this blog to introduce you to a premium, high quality headset for your business calls, as well as for your leisure activities from one of the key players in the global headset space; Jabra. Specifically, I’m going to provide you with my review of the new Jabra Evolve2 85 wireless headset for business. 

But, before I begin my review of this Evolve2 85 headset, I wanted to let you know that I also recorded a video review of it as well.

In my video review, I do a sound test so you can hear how the microphone sounds, as well as how it performs in reducing unwanted background noise. So make sure to check that out. I’ll insert the video below for easy access. 

Let’s take a look at the Jabra Evolve2 85 and see what it’s all about. I’m scoring the Evolve2 85 in 9 key categories. These categories are: 

1. Design 
2. Comfort 
3. Ease of use 
4. Battery 
5. Price 
6. Speaker Quality 
7. Wireless range
8. Microphone 
9. Durability 

Let’s see how the Evolve2 85 scores in these key areas. 

Design - 10 

This is a high quality, premium headset and it shows from the moment you take it out of the packaging. It has a sleek, blacked out design that has a minimalistic look to it, yet modern and attractive. Moving the ear speakers and headband is very fluid and has a quality feel to it unlike lesser headsets that feel cheap. This one doesn’t. 

As an added bonus the Evolve 2 85 has ear speakers that collapse, and fold in. This makes for easier transport with a smaller footprint. All in all, this is a quality product that’s been thoughtfully designed and constructed. 

Comfort - 8 

If you intend on wearing a headset for a few hours at a time, then this model should fit the bill just fine. However, if you plan on wearing it for long, extended periods of time, this might not be your best choice. Is it comfortable when putting it on? Absolutely.

And, the speakers swivel and move up and down so you can have the headset conform to your specific head and ear shapes. The padded headband also adds to the comfort of this headset as well. 

I’d say most people wear a headset off and on throughout the day, rather than wearing the headset all day long. For those that do, this is a great, comfortable headset that won’t leave you disappointed or wanting something else.

For those who are headset power users, you might want to look at a few other models that give the promise of more comfort for long term wearing. 

Ease of use - 8 

All in all, this is an easy headset to use. The USB adapter that comes with it pairs up automatically which makes it easy and convenient. 

The only knock that I have with the Evolve2 85 involves the buttons that are located on the headset. They’re black just like the body of the headset, and there’s no reference to what each button does.

A short walk through the user guide helps to clear this up, but in my view, they should be clearly marked for easy reference. Icons come to mind. 

Buttons aside, this is an easy headset to get up and running and use.

Battery - 10 

Nobody wants a headset that has a battery that needs constant charging that provides only a short amount of use time before a recharge is needed. Instead, people want a headset that has a battery that gives them long periods of use.

The Jabra Evolve2 85 fits the latter description. It comes with a battery that delivers up to 30 hours of talk time with the built in busy light off, and up to 20 hours with it on. In terms of listening to music, for example, you can expect to receive about 37 hours. By most people’s standards for a robust battery, I’d say that this one checks that box nicely. 

You don’t have to look far to find headsets that offer less talk and listening time, so in my book, the Jabra Evolve2 85 scores well when it comes to providing you with a good amount of battery life. 

Price - 9 

Though the Evolve2 85 has a price tag of $449.00, which to some might seem a bit rich. You do need to remember that this price, and headset, needs to be compared to other makes and models in its class.

Once you go down that path, you’ll quickly see that this price is fair and reasonable. This is a high end, premium headset, and for anyone looking to own one, you should expect to pay this or more for anything that falls into this category. 

Can you find UC headsets that cost less? Absolutely. But, you won’t be getting a premium headset like you are here with the Evolve2 85. 

Speaker Quality - 8 

When you forking over the money to get a premium headset, among other things, you do expect to have sound quality that’s a cut above. Rest assured that the Jabra Evolve2 85 delivers.

The audio quality is crisp, clear and serves up some decent bass tones too. So it’s unlikely that your ears will come away disappointed when they get laid on the speakers of the Evolve2 85. 

One thing to keep in mind here is this headset is designed to be one targeted to the professional office worker first, and an entertainment headset second. If you keep that in the forefront of your mind, you’ll come to appreciate the versatility of this model.

Is it the absolute best for listening to music? No, it’s not. But, it’s not intended to be. With that in mind, I do think it does a pretty good job in that department. And, your work phone and video calls will be amazing. Props to Jabra for their accomplishments in this area. Well done.

Wireless Range - 7 

Given that this is a Bluetooth wireless headset, it comes with wireless range limitations. When I say limitations, I’m referring to how far you can go compared to other wireless headsets, DECT models in particular.

DECT wireless headsets will go about 3 times further than Bluetooth. It’s simply a difference between the two technologies. DECT headsets are geared towards office phones, and core office functions, where Bluetooth is aimed at computer connectivity and entertainment. 

Still, the Jabra Evolve2 85 makes claim to a wireless range of up to 100 feet, which is in the outer fringe of what Bluetooth wireless headsets can deliver. That puts the Evolve2 85 at the upper end of wireless range for Bluetooth headsets.

As a footnote, I do need to say that wireless range claims for Bluetooth and DECT headsets should be cut in half if you want to arrive at a more real world range estimate. That puts the Evolve2 85 in the 50 foot range area, which I feel is realistic for most environments. 

Microphone - 7 

When it comes to evaluating a microphone, we look at two things: 

1. How does your voice sound? I look for things like the volume, the tone, and clarity for example. 
2. Noise cancellation. How well does it do to remove unwanted background noise? 

With that said, I’d say that the Jabra Evolve2 85 scored pretty well. It picked up my voice well, and the tone and clarity was quite good. One area that could be improved is in background noise suppression.

Though it did a fairly good job to remove the annoying blender sound I threw at it, I felt that there’s room for improvement. Yes, I do understand that businesspeople are firing up a blender at their desk.

I use the blender because it’s loud and makes for a good test of a microphone’s ability to eliminate it or not. If so, then it stands to reason that it should do an even better job to remove your typical office noises. 

All in all, I felt that the Evolve2 85 mic performed very well which you’d expect from a premium product like this. 

Durability - 9 

Though this is somewhat subjective, I did want to share my thoughts on this aspect of the Evolve2 85. 

This is a well made wireless UC headset. You’re paying a premium price, and without a doubt, you’re getting a premium headset. It’s a high quality headset that is made from

good quality materials, and the fit and finish is first class. It not only looks good, but it’s made very well and it’s easy to classify it as a high quality product. 

The buttons are well positioned. The look is sleek and modern. Where there’s movable parts, they move smoothly and give you a sense of quality in its movement. It feels durable with everything fitting tightly together.

This being a new model, it’s hard to say what the long term durability results will be. But, I can say that we haven’t seen any returns on this product as of yet which is a positive sign not only for product acceptance, but also suggests a well built headset. 

Final Thoughts 

Out of a possible 90 points, the Jabra Evolve2 85 earned a total of 76 points. That’s a solid score for a headset that’s joining an expanding group of premium UC wireless headsets. 

The Jabra Evolve2 85 is a very good UC wireless headset. It’s built well. It’s comfortable. It sounds great, and it’s versatile. You can use it for your video conferencing calls, your Softphone calls using applications like RingCentral, or, you can listen to music while you work.

However you might end up using this headset, it’s my belief that you’ll find the Evolve2 85 to be a loyal business partner that will faithfully serve your needs for years to come.