Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 76
 Just what I was looking for. May 23, 2008
Coug Moog (Charleston, WV USA)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
The Plantronics Voyager 855 is the best gadget I own.
I do not listen to music over bluetooth--bluetooth is simply too "lo-fi." It is mega-compressed and distorts your music no matter what fancy headset you get.
However, it is absolutely wonderful for podcasts of AM talk radio. I listen to that stuff all the time--and now I can do it in any environment. Best of all in this type of application, you can remove the stereo earbud and you have a single-ear bluetooth cellphone headset that can also receive A2DP signals from your phone--the only mono device I'm aware of that can do this.
The only time I attach the stereo bud is when I'm mowing my lawn and want the extra sound insulation. I use the triple-flange Etymotic eargels for it. It's a fight to get them attached, but the great sound insulation that results is an absolute wonder. Makes the noise of the mower nearly disappear, and lets me enjoy my favorite talk show at the time of my choosing, while getting actual, noisy work done.
If you like to listen to talk but don't want to bother those around you who may not prefer it, this is an elegant solution. They just think you're a geek with a bluetooth on the side of your head, and you don't have to tell them you're listening to Rush if they don't want to know.
And when a call comes through, I don't need to jam this thing further into my ear with the call button to answer it. I just extend the little mic boom, and it connects. Others mention that this action can pull the thing out of your ear. But with the Ety eargel it has a good snug fit that stays secure.
My favorite sports podcast sounds better on this headset than it does on my car, even with its expensive Bose system. Same for every other radio show I download to my blackjack. How nice it is to hear a 3-hour show in just over an hour and a half with no commercials, and over my bluetooth to boot.
As you may expect, I charge my 855 when I'm not using it. I've only had it run out of juice once, and that was after a very long session of listening at relatively high volume with the stereo bud in. It charges up fast, and goes for a longer time than it ought to. If you want to listen to podcasts on your mobile, this is the best piece of hardware out there to do just that.
I couldn't get any of the included eargels to fit with this device, but with my weird-shaped head, that's no surprise. the Ety plugs are a lifesaver, and you can buy them in bulk from Etymotic so you can have a supply of clean ones. You are, after all, sticking it in your ear.
I love this product. It does more than I hoped it would, and enhances my life far beyond its low cost (got mine for $35). If you have an mp3-enabled phone with lots of memory (like a Q or Blackjack with a good-capacity MicroSD card) and you like talk radio, get one of these and prepare for a great experience. You'll find yourself leaving the iPod and headphones at home because they're just too much of a hassle and this stuff works great.
Love the functionality this item gives to products and services I already had.
Well engineered headset. April 6, 2008
M. Bonanno
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
The voyager 855 is a well-engineered, stereo headset. It's designed in such a way that many of its' features are optional, and it is shipped with all the components you need to customize it to your specific needs and likes. To start with you can just use the single earpiece with one of the different size ear buds. (It's shipped with 3 sizes of soft silicone rubber ear buds, and one expanding foam option similar to the moldable foam earplugs you use for noise reduction.)
It fits well into the ear, is light, and the angle between the earpiece and the microphone boom seems appropriate. For a more secure fit you can add one of the ear hooks; it comes with 2 different sizes and they can be installed for use with either the right or left ear. They attach securely to the headset and while using the ear hooks there is little risk of the headset falling off, even during an entire day of construction. When using only the single earpiece, I should note that you do not have a true monotone broadcast; you are just listening to one side of the stereo.
If you want to listen to stereo you plug in a different ear hook, which has the wire leading to the second earpiece coming out of the end of the ear hook. It loops from the top of your ear hook, back around your neck and to the second earbud. They've used a very nice braided wire, which remains flexible, does not kink, and seems to be the right length so as to give you freedom of movement, without getting in the way. If you are using both earpieces and you want to pull out the second earpiece to talk with one of your coworkers, it easy drapes around your neck and is small enough that you hardly notice it is there. The quality of the sound is good, although I have to admit I researched stereo headsets carefully before purchasing and this is the only one I've tried. But, it has a much better quality even for voice, than the single Samsung earpiece I purchased with my Samsung Sync.
The controls on the voyager are small, but I have found them workable even when wearing nitrate work gloves. You have a mute/play button on the top side of the headset, and a volume rocker switch underneath which can be used for volume adjustment, or to select next or previous songs on your play list. There are two ways to answer calls. The microphone is located on the bottom, leading edge of the headset, and there is a sliding boom extension, which gets the microphone closer to your mouth and contributes to talk quality. (I've had very few complaints from those on the other end of our conversations.) If you receive a call you can either slide the boom down, which will answer the call, or press the power button on the top middle of the headset. I've found that sliding the boom down can dislodge the earpiece a little, especially if you use the tabs on either side of the boom which are intended for that purpose. A better way to extend the boom without moving it in your ear is to pinch the boom extension and the body of the headset between your thumb and forefinger, top to bottom, and while squeezing them together, slide the boom down using your finger or thumb. This holds the headset in place and still extends the boom.
One interesting feature of this headset, which I do not remember reading anywhere, is that when you turn it on the next day, it remembers what you were doing during your previous use and starts up right where you left off. As I head to work and turn it on in my truck, it connects with my phone and starts the music automatically. If I'm not ready for the music, I just hit the mute button and wait until I am. This headset is shipped with a handy little drawstring bag, which holds the ear hooks, second earpiece, and spare ear buds.
My only complaint about this headset is the battery life. If I want to use to it all day and I'm listening to music, I need to remember to charge it during lunchtime and it takes a good hour plus to fully charge it. It does not come with an automotive charger so you need to carry the one AC charger it's shipped with or purchase a second AC charger or a 12-volt charger to keep it working throughout the day. Other than that, the voyager is a great headset, and I cannot think of much I'd change about its' design........ good job Plantronics!
 Can't wait for the next version!!!! February 7, 2008
Khalid I. Paden (Chicago, Illinois)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I am very picky about my music's sound quality, and my electronic gear.
This is my review of the Voyager 855 after 4 days of using it.
PROs
It appears that the design team was right on.
The controls are easy to use, and very functional.
It works great as a bluetooth phone headset, especially with the boom mike. The styling is great. My officemates are jealous.
The rubber seals to close out external noise work great, maybe a little too well. The bluetooth pairing function is excellent!!!!
CONs
The sound quality is lacking. Sounds kind of tinny. The bass is not great, and the 855 does not produce much volume.
Also the Voyager 855 skips for a second every now and then. The music
continues as though someone had muted it for 2 seconds. My guess is that
they need a faster audio processor in the Voyager 855.
Overall a good first attempt at such a design. I hope the next version will be better.
 Great bluetooth headset, fair stereo performance. April 6, 2008
Band Guy (Missouri USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
In my opinion this is the perfect form factor for a stereo bluetooth headset. It is very small and light and paired quickly and easily with my Samsung M620 phone. The sound quality and volume were very good for phone calls, but like other bluetooth stereo headphones the music quality was just fair. This is perfect for use while working out or running, but I would stick with wired headphones for normal music listening. 5 stars for phone use, 3 stars for music.
Plantronics Voyager 855 February 8, 2008
Martin Andreansky
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Works well with my ATT 8525 and Garmin Rino 530 as well as my Motion Computing Tablet. Stereo sound is not great, but that is about what I would expect from this size headphones. Comes with several different ear piece sizes to fit different ear sizes and shapes. If you do not use the ear hook, likely to fall out of your ear, but with the hook secure. Very light, u can wear it for a whole day without problems. If you pick-up your incoming call with your phone, rather than with the ear piece, will not connect to the ear piece (at least with my ATT 8525.
Overall I am quite happy with it.
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