Do you want the best headset? 
Wireless headsets for the computer and mobile devices are more popular today than ever before. The Covid crisis of 2020 helped to accelerate an already developing line of wireless headset products.
One of those popular products is the Plantronics (now Poly), Voyager Focus UC wireless office headset for computer and mobile devices.
The intent of this blog is to provide you with our impression of the Plantronics Voyager Focus UC office wireless headset. In this blog, I’ll cover:
- Comfort
- Sound Quality
- Battery
- Wireless Talk Range
- And more
Before we begin, I wanted to let you know that we created a video that covers this product review. If you’re one of the many people who prefer to watch videos over reading content, then this video is for you. Here’s a link where you can view this Plantronics Voyager Focus UC product review
For everyone else, let’s get started with this Voyager Focus UC product review.
To begin, did Plantronics (Poly) produce a good wireless headset when they created the Voyager Focus UC? Absolutely! Is it perfect?
Absolutely not, but in reality, is any headset, by any manufacturer perfect? No. So let’s go through some of the key points of the Plantronics Voyager Focus UC to see where it shines, and where it doesn’t.
Comfort
Let’s start with something that’s always high on most people’s headset shopping list; comfort.
Weight
Overall, the Plantronics Voyager Focus UC is a very comfortable office wireless headset. It weighs a paltry 5.5 ounces, which helps to make it a winner in the category of lightweight and comfortable. Other headsets can weigh up to twice as much, such as the Plantronics Voyager 8200 for example.
The 8200 headset weighs in at over 10 ounces. When it comes to comfort, the weight of the headset does play an important role, and the Voyager Focus UC scores well here.
Padded headband
Something else you’ll notice on the Plantronics Voyager Focus UC is the headband. It has a typical metal band that’s used to support the ear speakers, but it also features a padded band with suspension.
This keeps the top of your head pressed against a cushion that moves upwards as needed, rather than against a hard metal band.
When you put this headband on, you’ll feel the difference. It’s soft and more or less snugs your head comfortably. Most office wireless headset headbands aren’t padded.
Others are, but they don’t include the suspension feature. When you add padding with suspension, your head is in for a treat. High praise for the comfort of this headset headband.
Ear cushions
The ear cushions rest against the ear and can give you a comfortable wearing experience, or they can give you a painful one. I’ve experienced both, and believe me when I say, ear cushion padding and design matters in a big way.
The Plantronics Voyager Focus UC has adequately sized ear cushions that are padded using memory foam. The degree of comfort against the ear is good. Not the best, but good enough to say it’s a comfortable cushion that delivers a pleasant wearing experience. Could the ear cushions be a bit larger and softer? Yes, but again, we found them to be adequate. A solid C+
Ear speaker adjustment
While on the subject of ear cushions, the speaker assembly these cushions are attached to rotate a full 180 degrees. This provides good adjustability to anyone needing a precise fit. Other models are far more limited in this adjustment which causes the wearer to adapt to the headset rather than the other way around. Flexible in the movement and versatile enough for anyone to find a good fit.
Connectivity
The Plantronics Voyager Focus UC is designed to connect to computers via the USB dongle, and to mobile devices via Bluetooth. That makes this office wireless headset a good candidate for anyone using RingCentral, Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
Bluetooth version & range
The version of Bluetooth used in the Voyager Focus UC is version 4.1 which is rated to provide up to 98 feet of wireless talk range. When it comes to range, what you can expect to receive will vary depending on the environment the wireless headset will be used in.
For example, rooms that are constructed of concrete, steel or say, bricks, will give you less wireless range when compared to rooms constructed of sheetrock or glass. So, be flexible in your wireless range expectations.
In our tests, the Plantronics Voyager Focus UC connected easily whether to a computer, or to a Bluetooth enabled device. You should expect the same simplicity and ease of connection if this versatile office wireless headset is on your short list.
Microphone & Sound
The look
The Plantronics Voyager Focus UC has a microphone boom that’s about half the size of other brands. Don’t be concerned about this microphone’s ability to pick up your voice volume adequately.
It does a great job, and contrary to popular belief, a microphone doesn’t need to be located right near your mouth. This is one example, and there are many others, including some that don’t have a microphone boom arm at all.
To me, the microphone boom arm is sleek looking, stylish and unobtrusive which in my way of thinking, makes this one of the attractive features of this wireless headset.
Sound quality
Aesthetics aside, how well does this microphone work? In our tests, the microphone performed well to pick up the voice but it also did well to remove unwanted background noise.
Both features are important because you want to be heard well, but you also don’t want your callers to hear the distracting noises around you.
The Plantronics Voyager Focus UC scored well in our sound tests.These high marks could be as a result of the Voyager Focus UC having DSP technology built into it, along with 3 onboard microphones for audio enhancements.
ANC. Active Noise Cancellation.
The Plantronics Voyager Focus UC has a nice feature that’s not commonly found on your everyday wireless headset. Active Noise Cancellation is a built in electronic feature that can be turned on or off at will.
It’s designed to electronically help to filter out unwanted background sound so that the headset wearer is less distracted by noises going on around him or her.This means that you can keep your focus and get more work done with being distracted.
Battery
Here are the specifications for the Voyager Focus UC battery
- Up to 12 hours of talk time
- Up to 10 hours of talk time if using the Active Noise Cancelling feature
- Up to 15 hours of listening time
- Up to 12 hours of listening time if the Active Noise Cancelling feature is on
The Plantronics Voyager Focus UC comes with a convenient charging stand that not only provides you with a place to store it when not in use, but also a place to recharge the internal battery.
Battery downside
While on the subject of battery, it’s important to know that the battery is not customer replaceable. This means when your headset battery will no longer take a charge, or when it only gives you a short amount of talk time, you can’t replace the battery. Instead, you are required to replace the headset.
Without question, the cost of a battery replacement is less than the cost of replacing the headset itself. We feel this isn’t the best design, but something you should know about if you’re considering this wireless headset model.
Other
The Plantronics Voyager Focus UC comes with a 2-year warranty. This is good, as many other wireless headsets offer a 1-year. Longer is always better.
MSRP is $279.99 though this headset can be purchased for less. Visit our website to see your pricing.
Final thoughts
If you’re in the market for a good quality, well built, great sounding, comfortable UC wireless headset, you really can’t go wrong to consider the Voyager Focus UC.
It’s a wireless headset that sounds good, fits well, is comfortable, connects to many devices and platforms, and should provide you with consistent performance. The only real knock on this product in my view is the battery not being replaceable. Other than that, this is a solid headset well worth your consideration.
