Do you want the best headset? 
Headsets come, and headsets go, and this episode is about one that’s gone, but still finding its way into offices, and on heads of those who work in them.
Today, I’ll be talking about the Jabra Pro 9460, and what makes it a worthwhile legacy headset to consider. I say legacy headset because this series, the 9400 series, was discontinued back on October 3, 2018.
But as we all know, just because something is discontinued, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad, no longer relevant or as headsets go, unable to be used efficiently in today’s office.
Jabra Pro 9460 Review & Mic Test Video
Discontinued
Before you read further although the Jabra Pro 9400 series (9450, 9460 and 9470) is discontinued, and replaced by the Engage 75 Series, you still may be able to find either of these headset models in certified refurbished.
Make sure if you do purchase a certified refurbished headset, you're purchasing from a reputable company with atleast a 30 day money back guarantee and 90 day warranty. Ideally a 1 year warranty would be preferred.
You can get the Jabra Pro 9460 (certified refurbished) here that will include a 30 day money back guarantee and 1 year warranty.
What’s this headset designed to be used with?
The short answer is desk phones, and computers. And because this is a DECT headset, it’s not designed to be used with mobile phones or tablets. Though this could be one of those technological shortcomings that’s causing it to show its age, keep in mind that a lot of current DECT headsets aren’t Bluetooth capable either.
And if they are, they typically connect through the base, rather than directly to the headset. And because of this, you’re unable to use the headset out of the office. In fact, many will only give you 30 feet of Bluetooth wireless range.
What all that means is the Jabra Pro 9460, though discontinued, can still be relevant in today’s office. Many office workers rely on desk phones, and computers to carry out their daily communication tasks.
Given the 9460 connects to both suggests it’s still viable. Something to keep in mind if you’re feeling the urge to write this headset off.
How’s the wireless range?
This is an area where DECT headsets typically dominate Bluetooth models. The Jabra Pro 9460 is no exception because it delivers an impressive amount of wireless talk range up to 490 feet according to Jabra.
Something you should keep in mind though is the advertised wireless range isn’t the same as usable wireless range. That’s because you have barriers in most workplaces.
Barriers such as walls, doors, windows, partians, people, elevators and more. All of these things stand between you, who’s wearing the headset, and the base where the signal is coming from. That connection is in a straight line from the base to you.
When the signal encounters these barriers, or obstructions, it must penetrate them in order to maintain the connection. And in the process, the signal gets weakened, and the wireless range is therefore compromised, or I should say reduced.
In most cases you should expect to receive about half of the stated range. In the case of the Jabra Pro 9460, with a stated range of 490 feet, you should expect to receive about 250 feet, plus or minus, depending on your environment and the number, and type of obstructions.
What about comfort?
This is an area where I have to say that there’s good news, and there’s bad news. First for the good news.
The Jabra Pro 9460 weighs only 2.5 ounces, and that’s the double ear model. As double ear headsets go, that’s light. In fact, it’s very light. Many duo headsets weigh 6 ounces, and we’ve tested some that weigh as much as 10 ounces.
So as you can see, 2.5 ounces compared to 6, or even 10, makes this a very light headset. And the truth is, the weight of a headset is the foundation for which comfort begins being measured. So with that said, this is a headset that’s light enough to easily wear all day.
And if you check out the weight of the mono version, it weighs in at only 1.09 ounces, which is extremely light. So, that’s good news if a single ear model is the type that you prefer.
A lot of people do like single ear headsets because it allows them to keep the other ear free to hear their surroundings. That’s not the case for most people though that work in a busy call center. In those cases, reducing background noise is highly important, which makes the double ear headset the preferred wearing style.
A moment ago I said that I also have bad news, and that’s because the ear cushions on this headset aren’t overly padded, and as such, not overly comfortable.
Maybe in Jabra’s efforts to keep the weight down, they scaled back the amount of cushion used in them. I’m not sure of their rationale, but what I do know is these ear cushions sure could use more padding.
Not only is the amount of padding a bit insufficient, but the actual size of the cushion isn’t so big either. That means less of your ear is covered, and what is covered is met with insufficient padding. Not the perfect recipe for the perfect ear cushion.
Even though the cushions are less than ideal in terms of size and padding, the Jabra Pro 9460 overall is pretty easy to wear, even for extended periods of time.
Though I wouldn’t give this headset glowing marks for having extreme comfort, it is comfortable nonetheless. So if you’re someone who spends a lot of time on the phone, or on your computer, you’ll find the Jabra Pro 9460 to be light enough to wear throughout your work day.
Battery
The Pro 9460 has a battery that gives you up to 10 hours of talk time, and recharges in 2 hours.
When the headset is on the charger for 30 minutes, you get 25% charge, and when on the charger for 60 minutes, you get 50% battery charge.
Unlike a growing number of headsets that don’t allow you to change out, or replace the battery, it’s nice to see the Jabra Pro 9460 has one that does. All batteries at one point will cease to take a full charge.
What that means is over time, a 10 hour battery, like the one in the 9460, will eventually only give you, say, 8, then 6, then 5 and so on. It will then reach a point where you may only get 5 minutes of battery life before it needs recharging. This of course makes it non-usable.
Headsets with non-replaceable batteries require that you replace the headset when the batteries no longer hold a charge. The new headset will come with a new battery installed in it, but to me, it seems unfortunate that you must replace a perfectly good headset, just because the battery needs replacing. Still, that’s how many headsets are designed today, and one good point of the 9460 is you can replace the battery.
Interactive touch screen
The Jabra Pro 9460 was among the first, and only, headsets to come with a built-in interactive touch screen.
The touch screen is used to execute a host of commands, and it not only works well, but you have to give credit to Jabra for being forward thinking when they came out with this feature.
This touch screen is not only useful for accessing headset features, and making different adjustments, but it also introduced another level of technology to the headset space.
The only other company that I’m aware of that has a touch screen is Yealink with their WH67 model. I personally really like having a touch screen on a headset base, and Jabra was clearly ahead of the competition when they introduced the touch screen used on the 9460.
Sound Quality
Sound quality is subjective. I might think a headset sounds great, and someone else might think it doesn’t sound good at all which makes it hard
to be 100% accurate on this. Still, we all have our opinions, and I’ll be happy to share mine as it relates to how the 9460 sounds.
Sound quality can refer to these things;
- The sound quality of your voice when speaking into the microphone
- The sound quality of your voice when the microphone is working to reduce background noise
- How well a headset microphone does to remove noise
- How the ear speakers sound
I’ll address all of these things.
First, how do you sound when speaking into the microphone with no background noise? To me, it sounded pretty good. I’ve heard better for sure, but I’ve also heard a lot worse. The overall sound quality was professional, as well as loud and clear.
So the 9460 is perfectly suitable for use in business. I personally would prefer a sound that’s a bit richer, but no knock on the 9460 because a lot of headsets leave me feeling this same way, and those headsets are among the latest models.
As for the sound quality of your voice when there’s background noise present, the Jabra Pro 9460 did a good job. The audio quality of the voice was clear, and easily heard, without any clipping or distortion.
Some headsets may do a good job to reduce the background noise, but they might struggle to maintain the voice audio quality in the process. The 9460 isn’t one of those because it held the voice quality when dealing with noise.
Next is how well did the Jabra Pro 9460 do to remove background noise? Well, we threw office noise, barking dogs and of course, our signature, and I might add, noisy Vitamix blender test at it, and I have to say, it did a decent job at removing all these sounds.
The barking dogs seemed to give it a bit more trouble because I could hear some of it in the background, but it was dampened quite a bit. So overall, a solid job at reducing noise.
Lastly, how do the ear speakers sound?
Well, the quick answer to that question is Bose and Sony don’t have anything to worry about.
Can you use the Jabra Pro 9460 to listen to music and other audio? Of course, but in the process, you shouldn’t expect to get premium sound. What you do get is just ok, not great, and certainly not bad.
In all fairness, business grade headsets aren’t typically designed to give you premium audio comparable to brands like Bose or Sony. The focus on business headsets generally centers around voice sound quality, comfort and noise reduction.
With that said, it’s important that your expectations are in alignment with what the Jabra Pro 9460 can offer in terms of speaker audio quality.
Available wearing options
The Jabra Pro 9460 comes in two configurations:
- Over the head, double ear. This is referred to as a duo, or binaural headset design that has two active ear speakers. This wearing style is preferred by a lot of contact center workers because it helps to shield them from surrounding noise. It’s also helpful to those who have hearing issues.
- Over the head, single ear. This is referred to as a monaural, or mono for short. It comes with a single ear speaker. This is a favorite for those who want to keep one ear uncovered so they can hear their surroundings. This headset also comes with an ear loop which allows you to select between a headband, and earpiece wearing choices. You can also get a behind the neck neckband as an optional accessory.
Software
Yes, there sure is. The Jabra Pro 9460 is compatible with the Jabra Direct, and Jabra Xpress software for doing firmware updates, updating drivers, and customizing your headset. Not all headsets can be used with software, even new models, so it’s nice that the 9460 has that available.
You can download the software using either Windows, or MAC operating systems.
So is the Jabra Pro 9460 still viable for the office professional?
Even though there are newer, more technologically advanced headsets available, I’d say that the 9460 is still relevant in spite of it being discontinued almost four years ago.
Today, a lot of professional office workers use desk phones, and computers and the Pro 9460 is designed to be used with both. That alone keeps it relevant. You could add that the very long wireless range of up to 490 feet, 10 hour battery, light weight, and professional sound all help to strengthen the argument.
This is especially true when you stop to consider that many modern day headsets fall short in some of these categories when compared to the 9460.
Yes, you can get a new wireless headset that looks better, and has more contemporary features such as Active Noise Cancelation for example, but at the end of the day, the Jabra Pro 9460 gets the job done, and it does it efficiently, and professionally.
Have a question, or need some help?
Maybe the Jabra Pro 9460 isn’t what you’re looking for. Maybe you need some help finding the right headset, or help getting your headsets up and running. Well, even if you didn’t buy your headsets from us, we’ll still lend a hand.
So whether you have a question, or need some help, we have headset experts standing by ready to help, so contact us today and we'll be here to assist.
