Is Jabra Evolve2 85 worth it? Review And Mic Test 2024

Headsets today are being used more than ever before. Routinely jumping on video calls in the past was less common than it is today.

Zoom is one of the UC applications that's become more or less a household word where it wasn’t several years ago. Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, RingCentral and others are popular applications as well.

Everyone who uses these platforms can benefit from having good quality Jabra headsets. That's because we all want comfort, reliability, and professional grade sound quality so we sound our best when on voice calls, or video meetings.

This blog will introduce you to a premium, high quality headset for your business calls, and casual listening, from one of the most recognized names in the headset space; Jabra, and the Jabra Evolve2 85 wireless headset.

Watch Or Read

If you're like a lot of people, given a choice of watching video content, or reading content, you'd probably choose video. If that sounds like you, then make sure to watch the Jabra Evolve2 85 review video below that compares it to other comparable headsets with sound quality, and noise reduction tests.  

Scorecard basics

Let’s take a look at the Jabra Evolve2 85 and see what it’s all about. I’m scoring the Jabra 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 Jabra 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 box. It has a sleek, blacked out design with a minimalistic, modern look. The ear speakers, and headband adjust very easily so you can find the fit that's right for you, with the ear cups fully enclosing your ears. This helps to passively remove background noise, and makes for a more distraction free musical listening experience.

As an added bonus the Jabra Evolve 2 85 has ear speakers that collapse, and fold in. This makes for easier transport with a smaller footprint that takes up less roomin your bag, making more room for other things. All in all, this is a quality product in its look and feel, one that’s been thoughtfully designed and constructed. 

Comfort - 8 

If you intend on wearing a headset for a few hours at a time, then the Evolve2 85 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. It weighs 10 ounces, which by headset standards isn't light. I will admit though that for a few hours at a time, you may find this headset to be more comfortable than the weight might suggest.

The speakers swivel and the headband can be adjusted up and down so the headset conforms to your specific head and ear shapes giving you a custom fit. The fully padded headband enhances the comfort of the Jabra Evolve2 85 professional headset making it a solid choice for prolonged use. 

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 Jabra headset that won’t leave you disappointed.

And for those who are tasked with wearing a headset a full 8 hours in a day, you might want to look for a headset that weighs less like the EPOS 860 that weighs 6.6 ounces, or the EPOS 1000 that weighs 6.3 ounces.

Ease of use - 8 

The Jabra Evolve headsets are easy to use The USB adapter that comes with the headset is pre-paired, so all you need to do is plug it in. No downloads, and no complicated setup. 

One area that I feel could be improved involves the Evolve2 85 buttons. There's no reference as to what each button does, and it can be a little confusing what they do until you become more familiar with it. 

A short walk through the user guide helps to clear this up, but in my view, they should be clearly marked or use icons for example. 

Battery - 10 

Nobody wants a headset that has a battery that needs frequent charging that only provides limited talk or listening time. Most of us want a headset that has a long life battery so that rechargins isn't a daily thing.

Here's what the battery in the Jabra Evolve2 85 provides:

You can also use the Evolve2 85 when it's plugged in for a battery recharge, so you'll still be able to use it when the battery needs recharging. The headset comes with a charge cable, or you can get an optional charge stand.

All in all, the battery performance of the Jabra Evolve2 85 ANC headset for calls is impressive, lasting up to 37 hours.

Price - 9 

The Jabra Evolve2 85 top-rated headset comes with a $449.00 price tag, which reflects its premium quality. But it's important to keep in mind that for this type of headset, it's in the same range as other premium headsets.

This is a high end, premium headset, and for anyone looking to own one, you should expect to pay this or more for any headset that falls into this category. 

Can you find UC headsets that cost less? Absolutely. But UC headsets in general vary a lot in terms of their features, functionallity, comfort and price, with headsets like the Jabra Evolve2 85 being at the top of the food chain.

Speaker Quality - 8 

When forking over the amount of money to get a premium headset, among other things, you do expect to have sound quality that’s a cut above. Rest assured, the Jabra Evolve2 85 crystal-clear calls headset delivers audio quality that's a cut above. The Evolve2 85 comes with 40 mm ear speakers and AAC codec that are designed to give you a more satisfying audio experience.

The audio quality is crisp, clear and serves up some decent bass tones too. Having said that, don't expect Bose audio quality here because you should keep in mind that the Jabra Evolve2 85 is a business first and entertainment second headset, which isn't the case for Bose or Sony headphones. So with that in mind, the Evolve2 85 holds its own, and delivers solid audio especially considering this is a business headset.

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 Bluetooth range compared to DECT headsets.

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 pretty typical to what Bluetooth wireless headsets deliver these days. So it's pretty much what you'd expect in a headset like this. No extended wireless range, but no compromised range either.

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 a more real world range estimate. That puts the Jabra Evolve2 85 in the 50 foot range area, which I feel is realistic for most environments. And if you'd like to learn a bit more about the differences between Bluetooth and DECT, then make sure to watch this video overview.

Microphone - 7 

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

1. How does your voice sound? Specifically, the tone, clarity and volume
2. Noise cancellation. How well does it do to remove unwanted background noise?
3. The voice audio quality when the microphone is busy removing 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 felt that it could have performed better. Yes, I do understand that most people aren't blening smoothies at their desk, but it is a challenging noise test that can give insights into the capabilities of a microphone. Besides, if a microphone can remove blender noise, it's reasonable to assume it can remove most office noise.

All in all, I felt that the Jabra Evolve2 85 microphone performed very well which is what I'd expect for a premium headset.

One last thing on the microphone. You can use the short boom mic, or, when it's not needed, you can fold it away out of sight. It's like getting two headsets in one; a business headset, and a pair of headphones. When the mic boom is hidden, there are additional external mics that you can use to take calls. And finally, raising the boom when on a call mutes the microphone, or pauses music. Lowering it resumes music, and  unmutes the call.  

Durability - 9 

Though this is somewhat subjective, I did want to share my thoughts on this aspect of the Jabra 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 looks good, with a high-end fit and finish.

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.

Overall durability is hard to know because there are variable that can go into this. For example, is the headset used heavily on a daily basis, or is it use lightly and not daily? Is it handled with care, or is it carelessly handled? Is it used by one person, or is it shared among several people? Many things go into durability besides the build, so our rating is based solely on how we perceive it will last based on what we see in its construction. 

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 Microsoft Teams, Zoom and RingCentral, or, you can use the headset for casual listening.

This is a headset that's packed with features:

And it connects to desktop and laptop computers, as well as to mobile devices.  So you can use it in the office, or on the go. And with it's portable, folding design, it's a natural to take with you when working remotely. The bottom line is there's a  lot to like about the Jabra Evolve2 85.

3 Ways To Save

If you like saving money, like most people do, and the Jabra Evolver2 85 has your interest, then here are some ways to make this headset affordable for everyone.

1. Coupon Code. When checking out on our website, make sure to use Coupon Code BLOG for a nice discount on your order.

2. Trade-in. If you have old headsets in a box somewhere, why not convert them to some cash or credit that you can apply towards new headsets? And, you can use the trade-in credit in combination with the Coupon Code for even greater savings.

3. Headset lease. If you need new headsets but the budget is tight, you can lease the new headsets for a low monthly rate. No waiting until next budget year, or having to compromise for headsets that cost less, but don't fully meet your needs. Leasing new headsets preserves your capital, and gives you one low, easy to manage monthly rate.

Have Questions Or Need A Recommendation?

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Download

Jabra Evolve2 85 datasheet 

Jabra Evolve2 85 Tech Sheet

Jabra Direct Software datasheet