Poly Voyager 5200 vs Yealink BH71 - Battle of the Best Bluetooth Earpiece

Similar design, which is better?

When you put the Yealink BH71 Bluetooth wireless headset next to the Poly Voyager 5200, you can't  help but see their similarities. But, in spite of their near identical appearance, there are some differences between them, and in this blog, I'll attempt to point out how they're similar, and what makes them different.

Watch or read, your choice

If you're like a lot of people, you probably prefer to consume your content by watching video rather than reading text. If that sounds like you, then make sure to check out our review video below. 

You'll not only learn about these two headsets and how they stack up side-by-side, but you'll hear how they sound, and how well they remove background noise.

What comes in the box

We all want to know what you get when you order something. Nobody likes surprises when they open up a box expecting to get something, only to find that some of those things weren't included.

To help eliminate the chance of that heppening if you order one of these headsets, here's what you get with both headsets. The Poly Voyager 5200 contents are pictured on the left, and the Yealink BH71 on the right.

What they connect to

The Poly Voyager 5200, just like the Yealink BH71, connect to two devices simultaneously.

So whether you want to connect to two mobile phones, and switch between them, or to a Bluetooth enabled computer and a mobile phone, it's up to you because you have two connections available.

Connecting any wireless headset to a computer via Bluetooth isn't the best in terms of wireless range, reliability, and audio quality, but it is one way to get connected to a computer if you don't have a USB adapter available.The Poly Voyager 5200, and the Yealink BH71 both offer USB Adapters, but in different variants:

What drives these headsets

The Poly Voyager 5200 is supported by Bluetooth version 5.0, whereas the Yealink BH71 is driven by Bluetooth version 5.2.

If you'd like the 411 on the differences between these two Bluetooth versions, then check out this article that tells you what you need to know. But in a very rudimentary sense, the higher the version, the more Bluetooth refinements. In this case, that would give an edge to the Yealink BH71 with its version 5.2.

Walk and Talk, how far you can go

Essentially, both headsets are deisgned to give you the same amount of wireless range. 

Keep in mind that wireless range estimates are normally established using "line of sight" methodology, meaning testing was done where no obstacles were present. Naturally that's not a real world situation where obstructions are common, as well as varied. With obstructions in mind, both headsets should give you approximately 50 feet of usable wireless range, plus or minus depending on your specific environment. 

Side-by-side weight comparison

Nobody wants a heavy headset, especially one hanging on their ear. So how much do these two headsets weigh? Here's how they compare.

I don't know about you, but I didn't grow up using the metric system, so that forces me to Google a conversion to ounces so I can better understand how much 18, and 20 grams is.

Call me crazy, but giving an edge to Yealink here would be splitting hairs because the fact remains, both are lightweight, able to be worn for long periods of time.

Wearing style

Both of these headsets are worn over the ear, and include 3 sizes of ear gels that insert into the ear canal. Both models provide you with different sizes of ear gels so you can find the size that's most comfortable for you.

Both earpieces give you the choice of wearing it on the right or left ear. This is a minor, but important point because this versatility accommodates those with right/left ear wearing preference, as well as those who are hearing challenged in one ear.

The design advantage, to me, goes to the Yealink BH71 because the BH71 earpiece telescopes which helps to better accommodate ears of different sizes. 

Talk time, recharging & more

Here's how these two headsets compare in the battery power department.

The Poly Voyager 5200 battery provides you with up to 7 hours of talk time, and there's an optional battery charge case available that gives you two additional charges

7 + 14 = 21 total available hours if using the optional charge case

The Yealink BH71 battery gives you up to 10 hours of talk time (11 hours for music), and when using the optional battery charge case, you'll get two additional 10 hour charges.

10 + 20 = 30 hours of battery life when using the optional battery charge case.

The battery in both models takes 1.5 hours to recharge, and both recharge using different cables. The Poly Voyager 5200 uses a Micro USB cable, where the Yealink BH71 uses USB-C, which is newer.

And finally, worth mentioning is the Yealink BH71 comes with a hard shell carry case, whereas the Poly Voyager 5200 does not.

The advantage clearly goes to the Yealink BH71 with battery power almost 33% more. That extra battery time helps to keep you talking, or listening when the Poly Voyager 5200 has you waiting. And it's nice to have the newer USB-C cable, and the hard case included. Keep in mind the hard case isn't a charge case, just a carry case. The charge case comes with the BH71 Pro model.

Ear speaker 

Neither headset is designed to give you premium audio for listening to music. There's simply not enough space to pack in a speaker capable of giving that kind of audio. But, for what both headsets are designed to do, they do it well, which is to give you crisp, clear audio for your calls and meetings. Not to say you can't listen to music using either of these earpieces, but in doing so, don't expect Bose type audio quality.

There's not enough difference in the ear speaker size to give the advantage to Poly, which says that you should expect about the same audio quality from both. 

Adjusting the volume

How you adjust the hearing volume is one of the differences between these two headsets.

The Poly Voyager 5200 has a volume up, and volume down button, which can be hard to locate quickly. The Yealink BH71, by comparison, has a volume dial, much like the one found on the Apple iWatch.

Though this may sound like an unimportant thing to point out, in actual day-to-day usage, you'll  fiind its ease of access, and simplicity to be more impactful.

The volume dial is super easy to find, and it's very easy to adjust; just dial it up, or dial it down. To me, it's a better design.

Microphone comparison

The microphones found on both models rival each other.

The Poly Voyager 5200 comes with an omni-directional, 4 Mems, noise canceling mic array.

The Yealink BH71 Also features an omni-directional, 4 Mems beam forming, noise canceling mic array.

Both of these headsets will provide you with professional voice audio quality, and both do a solid job at removing background noise.

In our review video, which tested the sound and noise canceling qualities, I thought the Poly Voyager 5200 removed more noise. But in our other tests, outside of this video review, including blind audio tests voted on by our customers, the Yealink BH71 was voted to be better, the same as many of our other tests.

Sound quality, and noise reduction of course is very subjective, and can be swayed one way or the other through different things such as personal sound preference, hearing ability, (or inability), or the quality of the device used to hear the sound sample. 

Both of these headsets provide professional grade audio and solid background noise reduction. So it's my opinion that you can't go wrong selecting either model. But if I could choose only one for audio, I'd choose the Yealink BH71. But that's me. You might have a completely different view, because again, subjectivity.

Software to enhance the hardware

These days, having downloadable sofftware to enhance the features of the headset is becoming very common. Jabra, EPOS, Orosound, Poly and Yealink are a few of the companies that offer this software for use with their products.

The Poly Voyager 5200 utilizes Poly Lens, and with the Yealink BH71 you have the Yealink USB Connect software available. Both give you a convenient way to update the device firmware, as well as to make a number of device adjustments to enhance its features, and to better manage headsets.

Warranty & Price

How much a product costs, and how long of a warranty you get are two important things to know. So let's break down how the Poly Voyager 5200, and the Yealink BH71 Bluetooth wireless headsets compare in these two important categories. 

Also, when you use COUPON CODE BLOG you'll get a nice discount on your order.

Warranty:

As you can see, you get a warranty twice as long with the Yealink BH71. A longer warranty not only gives you longer peace of mind, but it can also help you to avoid any of those sudden, unexpected headset related expenses. 

Price:

Bottom Line

Both are good

Headset Advisor gives you more

Anyone can sell you a product, but not everyone can back it up with high level support. Headset Advisor was founded on the principle of providing the best customer service experience, and that's what we've been delivering for the past 30 years.

Don't settle for second rate service when a better option is available to you. Let our Advisors, and support team give you the service you deserve.