Plantronics Voyager pro Plus

Sound quality

Excellent sound quality, but average noise reduction. Reviewers agree that the Voyager Pro Plus produces excellent sound quality, with a natural-sounding voice timbre. Its noise cancellation system is based in three layers of protection from wind noise and the second generation of Plantronic's noise suppression system. However, the noise cancellation receives only average reviews from PCMag.com, whose reviewer says it's not as good in very noisy environments as the noise suppression on the Aliph Jawbone Icon.

Comfort

The go-to headset to wear all day. The Plantronics Voyager Pro Plus receives rave reviews for comfort, and both professional and user reviewers say this makes it the headset of choice for business people who wear headsets for extended periods. PCMag.com says it's the one to choose if you "need to wear a headset all day every day." The unit comes with three different sizes of rubber gel tip earbuds and two foam ear tip covers. CNET says the bulky headset may not fit well if you wear glasses, but despite its size, the Voyager Pro Plus is lightweight and well-balanced.

Usability

Dedicated volume buttons easy to use. The Voyager Pro Plus can be worn on either ear, if you need to switch it around during the day. Experts are pleased with the dedicated power switch and dedicated volume buttons; some other well-reviewed headsets like the Jawbone Icon and Era have no volume buttons at all. On the Pro Plus, all the buttons are easy to find and press. PCMag.com praises the Voyager unit's swiveling boom microphone which, although large, is positioned "just about better than any competing headset." Like other Plantronics headsets, the Pro Plus comes with a one-year free subscription to the Vocalyst web-based service, which allows users to listen to their emails and tweets, and to send replies, including to Twitter and Facebook, as audio attachments.

Appearance

A distinctive look. The Voyager Pro series of headsets are almost renowned for their large size and distinctive, elongated microphone. The Pro Plus is made of black and silver plastic, with a hard rubber edge around the ear-hook. Plantronics has put sound quality and comfort ahead of style here; this unit won't win any fashion awards.

The bottom line

If you need to wear a headset for several hours a day, the Plantronics Voyager Pro Plus provides excellent sound quality and hours of comfort. Although it's large and bulky, this headset is lightweight and well-balanced, and the free year of Vocalyst service adds text to voice features.