Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC Wireless Earbuds and Case Review
We have been testing wireless earbuds of all shapes and sizes for the past year. Some with active noise-canceling features, while others offer high-quality sound experiences at an affordable cost. Some had significantly bulky wireless charging cases, while others provided sleek Qi-certified wireless charging cases. And almost all of them came with decent battery life and a comfortable fit. But recently, we got to test new wireless earbuds from Poly (Plantronics brand) that not only provide all of these features, it also came with a BT700 Bluetooth adapter which would allow you to use the earbuds on your laptop or computer for Zoom or Microsoft teams calls. They are called Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC Wireless earbuds, and here is our review.
Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC Wireless Earbuds with Touchscreen Charging Case unboxedGearBrain
Poly's latest wireless earbuds are the Voyage Free 60+ UC earbuds, a wireless Bluetooth in-ear headphone with a pro-grade design, hybrid and adaptive Active Noise Canceling (ANC), and advanced noise blocking algorithms to ensure you get crystal clear audio on both sides of your phone calls or video meetings. Other features include Bluetooth Multipoint connectivity, long battery life, SoundGuard DIGITAL protection, and smart sensors which can help you control your earbuds. They can help you pause and resume music when removing earbuds from your ears.
Other unique features of the Ploy Voyager Free 60+ UC include a touchscreen wireless charging case and a Bluetooth BT700 adapter. Poly's charging case is the first one with a touchscreen that can control your audio content and is Q1 certified. There have been other wireless earbuds that came with charging cases with an LCD screen, but it was mainly used for monitoring the battery life of your case and earbuds. This is the first case we tested that can keep track of the power in each earbud, help you switch listening modes, pair with your smartphone, and offer controls for your music and source of content.
Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC Touchscreen Charging Case unboxedGearBrain
The Voyager Free 60+ earbuds work on a Bluetooth 5.3 wireless connection, and the supplied BT700 Bluetooth adapter can be used on your laptop or computer for listening to music or virtual meetings. These earbuds are Microsoft Teams and Zoom certified, plus designed for enterprise use. Also, the earbuds have an IP54 dust and waterproof rating. This means these earbuds are water resistant and can be worn outside, but they are not advised to be worn during heavy workouts (not sweatproof).
Another new Voyager Free 60+ US earbuds feature is a USB-C to 3.5 mm audio cable. This will be handy when using your earbuds on a flight or in the car. Connect the 3.5 mm audio cable to the charging case and your inflight entertainment port. Select the Bluetooth icon on the charging case's touchscreen and then the BT Transmitter. This will allow the inflight movie or programming to be transmitted through the charging case to your earbuds. And if traveling with a companion who has a Bluetooth headset, you can easily connect them to the charging case. The charging case can support two users streaming content simultaneously. But remember that the earbuds come with 5.5 hours of battery life (32 hours with the charging case.)
Controlling these earbuds is similar to other wireless earbuds we have tested. Touch controls allow you to turn the volume up and down, pause and play, fast forward, go back, answer calls, and activate voice assistants. The earbuds come with easy-to-use touch-sensitive slide controls for volume adjustment and a separate button to answer or end calls. What is nice about these controls is it is the same for both earbuds. You don't have to worry about memorizing the function of each earbud.
The Voyager Free 60+ has two adaptive ANC modes: standard and adaptive. The standard mode is perfect for when you are in the office and want a more natural audio experience with enhanced sidetone comfort. The adaptive mode is used when outside and can adapt the sound quality based on your movements for a quiet call with no background noise.
As for transparency mode, the Voyager Free 60+ comes with two modes: environment and speech. The environment mode allows users to hear what's happening around them, while the speech mode is optimized for face-to-face conversations inside. Both can be controlled using the touchscreen on the charging case or in the app.
Use the Poly Lens app to customize your earbuds settings.GearBrain
Setup is relatively easy with these wireless earbuds. First, make sure the charging case and earbuds are fully charged. If you have a Q1-certified wireless charging station, you can place the earbuds in the case and the case on the Qi station. You can then monitor the charging process on the charging case's touchscreen.
Once fully charged, download the Poly Lens app from the App Store or Google Play. You can also get the app on the company site: www.poly.com/software. If you plan to use your earbuds with your computer on video calls, you must also download the desktop soft from the Poly site. There is also a QR code on the charging case's touchscreen if you want to access Poly support.
Next, pair your devices with the Poly earbuds, and you are ready. The Poly app will help you customize the settings such as ANC mode, ringtones and volume, sensors, Equalizer, and swipe sensors.
You can use Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC Touchscreen Charging Case to pair your earbudsGearBrain
Poly's latest earbuds, the Voyager Free 60+ UC, has an MSRP of $329.95 and are available on the company website as well as on Amazon. There are two other Voyager Free 60 models, which cost less. The Voyager Free 60 UC has an MRSP of $279.95 and comes with everything you get with the Fee 60+ UC earbuds except no touchscreen wireless charging case, no 3.5 mm cable, and no airplane mode input. The other mode, Voyager Free 60, is the entry-level model with a basic charge case, Qi wireless charging, and connects to your mobile device. It is not certified for Microsoft Teams or Zoom calls. But it costs only $229.95.
How well did the Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC wireless earbuds perform for us? After testing these earbuds for several weeks, we got a good feel for how they work and who would want to use these wireless earbuds. The setup for these earbuds was simple. We had no issues with connectivity to our mobile devices. We did experience some problems at first with connecting the BT Transmitter to our Apple MacBook Pro. But we were able to get connected the sound quality in our ears when using the Free 60+ earbuds was good.
We did take the earbuds outside for long walks in the wind to test its Windsmart technology. As I have said in most of my earbud reviews, reducing the wind noise in the earbuds is challenging. Poly's technology reduced the wind noise significantly compared to other earbuds we tested. When wearing them outside, I would recommend activating the adaptive ANC mode. It will help.
As for sound quality, it was one of the better sound experiences we have had with earbuds. We tested them on Zoom calls, just walking around listening to music and getting phone calls. Both sides of our calls sounded clean and natural. No "sounds like you are in a box" sound experience. You can easily hear the other person even when there is a lot of background noise.
Taking the ear tip off the Voyager Free 60+ UC earbuds was not easy. Just twist the ear tip or use your fingernail to snap off the ear tip. GearBrain
We had a few issues with the Voyager Free 60+ UC earbuds. The earbuds fit in the ear and were ok but not tight enough if you plan to do any activities when wearing them. We understand that earbuds are not designed for workouts, and we can understand why. When we moved our heads around, the earbuds tended to come loose and fall out. We did try to get a tighter fit by removing the ear tips, and this is when we ran into the second issue. Removing the ear tips is not easy. At first, we tried twisting the ear tip. Then we tried using our fingernails to loosen the ear tip. Eventually, we did, but the experience was a little frustrating. Once we found the right ear tip to fit our ears, it was still a little loose and didn't hold the earbuds in place as we wanted it to.
Lastly, the controls of the earbuds. We like how there are two sets of controls: sliding and button. The sliding controls are very sensitive and took time to get used to using. The button offered more accessible controls, and we found ourselves using them mainly. The controls on the wireless charging case were unique and something we had not seen before. They came in handy when we were stationary or wanted to change ANC and Transparency modes. We found using the case for these two modes was easier than using the sliding controls on the earbuds.
The controls on the Voyager Free 60+ UC earebuds are on the side: a button or sliding motion control the earbudsGearBrain
After weeks of testing the Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC earbuds, we found the ANC effective at blocking out background noise, making them ideal for use in noisy environments like offices or airplanes. We like how you can use the earbuds on planes as a Bluetooth Airplane headphone adapter. The Poly Voyager Free earbuds have a long battery life (32 hours with a charging case), providing up to 16.5 hours of talk time on a single charge. The charging case is Qi certified, which is nice and something we have never seen with wireless earbuds.
The Voyager Free 60+ UC have a high-quality soundstage and clear audio reproduction, making them perfect for enjoying your favorite tunes. And they also have three built-in microphones per earbud so that you can communicate a crystal-clear sound. on a phone or virtual call. We also like how you can adjust the sound mix, transparency, and ANC modes to fit your environments when using the earbuds, especially on Zoom or Microsoft Teams calls.
However, all of these features come at a cost, and it's expensive. Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC wireless earbuds are expensive. Most wireless earbuds with customizable EQ and sound experiences, like Apple AirPods Pro 2 or Bose QuietComfort ANC earbuds, cost between $200 and $250. Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC costs over $300 and is a decision you must make. However, remember that these other wireless earbuds are not certified for use on Microsoft Teams or Zoom calls, have a long battery life, and don't have a wireless charging case that can also function as a Bluetooth Airplane headphone adapter.
Overall, the Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC is a great choice for anyone looking for a versatile pair of wireless earbuds that can be used for both work and play. They offer a variety of features that make them well-suited for both environments, and they are easy to use, whether sitting in your home office or at 30,000 feet above the ground.
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What are Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC Wireless Earbuds? How to control your Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC earbuds? How to set up your Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC earbuds How much do Ploy Voyager Free 60+ UC earbuds cost? Performance Summary Pros Microsoft Teams and Zoom certified Long battery Life Function as Bluetooth Airplane headphone adapter Touchscreen wireless charging case Windsmart technology Cons Price Not fit for workouts or active movement Hard to remove ear tips