Jabra Evolve2 85 Wireless PC Headset Noise Cancelling Review: The Definitive Verdict for Hybrid Work Professionals

I still remember the moment my old, consumer-grade headphones failed me. I was in the final stages of a critical client presentation from my home office. The stakes were high. Mid-sentence, the familiar sound of a delivery van rumbling down the street, coupled with my neighbour’s overzealous lawnmower starting up, bled directly through my microphone. My client paused, “Sorry, could you repeat that? There’s a lot of noise on your end.” The flow was broken, my confidence dipped, and I spent the rest of the call feeling unprofessional. This is the new reality for millions of us. The lines between office, home, and travel have blurred, and our audio equipment is often the weakest link. A headset is no longer just for listening to music; it’s our primary tool for communication, concentration, and collaboration. Finding a device that can seamlessly transition between a Teams call, a focused work session, and a relaxing podcast is no longer a luxury—it’s an absolute necessity.

What to Consider Before Investing in a Professional Noise-Cancelling Headset

A professional-grade noise-cancelling headset is more than just an accessory; it’s a key solution for productivity and clarity in an increasingly noisy world. It’s an investment in your ability to focus, to be heard clearly, and to maintain a professional image, regardless of your physical location. The core benefit is creating a personal “bubble of concentration,” allowing you to filter out distractions like office chatter, home life chaos, or the drone of a plane engine. This focus translates directly into higher quality work and less stressful communication. For those who spend hours a day on calls, a high-quality headset like the Jabra Evolve2 85 Wireless PC Headset Noise Cancelling isn’t just a gadget, it’s a fundamental part of the modern professional’s toolkit.

The ideal customer for this type of product is the hybrid or remote professional, the call centre agent, the open-plan office worker, or the frequent business traveller. If your day is a mix of video conferences, phone calls, and periods of deep focus, a dedicated Unified Communications (UC) certified headset is designed for you. However, it might be overkill for someone who only needs headphones for casual music listening or occasional calls. If your primary use case is hitting the gym or enjoying audiophile-grade music at home, other specialised headphones might offer better value. For pure music enthusiasts, brands focusing solely on Hi-Fi sound might be a better fit, while athletes would need something with water and sweat resistance.

Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:

• Comfort & Fit: You’ll be wearing this for hours. Look for plush, over-ear cushions made from memory foam or soft leatherette that don’t put excessive pressure on your head or ears. As one user who wears glasses noted, comfort is paramount, and a poor fit can cause headaches. A well-designed headset should be lightweight and highly adjustable to accommodate different head sizes.
• Microphone Quality & Voice Isolation: For a professional headset, this is non-negotiable. Look for models with multiple microphones and advanced noise-suppressing algorithms. A physical boom arm, like the one on the Jabra Evolve2 85, is often superior at isolating your voice from background noise compared to integrated mics alone, ensuring your colleagues hear you, not your environment.
• ANC & Audio Performance: Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) quality varies. Top-tier ANC can almost completely silence low-frequency sounds like airplane engines, while others are better suited for office chatter. For audio, consider the driver size (40mm is a good standard) and frequency range. While business headsets prioritise call clarity, a good one should also provide a rich, enjoyable experience for music and media.
• Connectivity & Battery Life: Seamless connectivity is key. Look for multi-point Bluetooth that allows you to connect to your phone and computer simultaneously. A dedicated USB dongle, like the included Jabra Link 380, provides a much more stable and reliable connection to a PC than a computer’s native Bluetooth. Finally, aim for a battery life that can easily last through several workdays—30+ hours is the new benchmark for excellence.

Investing in the right headset can transform your workday from a struggle against distraction into a seamless, productive experience. It’s about taking control of your audio environment.

While the Jabra Evolve2 85 Wireless PC Headset Noise Cancelling is an excellent choice, it’s always wise to see how it stacks up against the competition. For a broader look at all the top models, we highly recommend checking out our complete, in-depth guide:

First Impressions: Unboxing a Masterclass in Professional Design

From the moment you open the box, the Jabra Evolve2 85 Wireless PC Headset Noise Cancelling signals its premium intentions. There’s no flimsy plastic or frustrating packaging here. Instead, you’re greeted by a sleek, sturdy, zip-up hard case. The feel of the case itself—a soft, leathery material—is a tactile pleasure. Inside, every component has its place: the headset is nestled securely, alongside dedicated compartments for the Jabra Link 380 USB-C dongle, a 1.2m USB-C to USB-A charging cable, and a 3.5mm audio cable for wired use. This level of organisation is a small but significant detail that frequent travellers will appreciate.

Picking up the headset, the build quality is immediately apparent. At 286 grams, it feels substantial and durable without being heavy. The matte black finish, metallic swivel arms, and plush leatherette on the headband and earcups exude an understated, professional elegance. It doesn’t scream for attention; it quietly asserts its quality. Setting it up was refreshingly simple. Plugging the Jabra Link 380 dongle into our laptop resulted in an instant, rock-solid connection. The headset was already paired out of the box, and Microsoft Teams immediately recognised it as the primary communication device. This plug-and-play experience is exactly what a busy professional needs. You can see its full list of features and user reviews to understand why the unboxing alone feels like an upgrade.

A Deep Dive into the Jabra Evolve2 85’s Real-World Performance

A spec sheet can only tell you so much. We spent over a month integrating the Jabra Evolve2 85 Wireless PC Headset Noise Cancelling into every facet of our workday—from chaotic team-wide video calls and one-on-one client meetings to deep-focus coding sessions and after-hours music listening. This is not just a headset; it’s a meticulously engineered productivity tool that aims to solve the core challenges of the modern workplace. It succeeds on almost every front, establishing a new benchmark for what a professional communication device should be.

Crystal-Clear Communication: The Power of the 10-Microphone Array

Let’s be clear: the single most important feature of a professional headset is how you sound to others. This is where the Jabra Evolve2 85 Wireless PC Headset Noise Cancelling doesn’t just compete; it dominates. Jabra has packed an astonishing 10 microphones into this device, all working in concert with an enhanced digital chipset to distinguish your voice from background noise. During our tests, we intentionally took calls next to a running coffee machine and with windows open to street traffic. Colleagues on the other end consistently reported our voice was crisp, clear, and centred, with the background distractions reduced to a faint, unintelligible murmur.

The true magic, however, lies in the hideaway boom arm. While the headset works for calls with the arm tucked away, deploying it is a transformative experience. As one savvy user pointed out, you must lower the boom arm to achieve the absolute best microphone performance. Lowering the arm brings two of the high-performance mics closer to your mouth, activating an advanced algorithm that provides a level of voice isolation that is simply best-in-class. Flipping the arm up automatically mutes the mic, and lowering it unmutes—a wonderfully intuitive physical control. Another brilliant touch is the integrated red LED “Busylight” on both earcups, which automatically illuminates when you’re on a call. It’s a universally understood “do not disturb” sign for colleagues or family members, a feature that proved surprisingly effective at preventing interruptions during crucial conversations. The dedicated Microsoft Teams button is the final piece of this communication puzzle, allowing us to join meetings and bring the Teams window to the front with a single press. This level of professional integration is a game-changer.

All-Day Comfort Meets Week-Long Battery Endurance

A headset with amazing features is useless if you can’t stand wearing it. Jabra clearly obsessed over the ergonomics of the Evolve2 85. The earcups are crafted from multiple layers of foam, including a soft memory foam that conforms to the shape of your ear and a firmer foam on the exterior for passive noise isolation. The result is a secure seal that feels plush, not constricting. We wore this headset for a continuous 6-hour stretch of meetings and focused work and experienced no ear fatigue or uncomfortable pressure points. This finding was echoed by multiple users, including one who specifically praised its comfort for those with larger heads and another who, as a glasses wearer, found it eliminated the common issue of the headphone arms digging into their head. The clamping force is perfectly calibrated—firm enough to stay in place when you move your head, but gentle enough for all-day wear.

This supreme comfort is paired with truly epic battery life. Jabra claims up to 37 hours on a single charge, and our testing validates this. With ANC on and a mix of calls and music, we easily sailed through an entire 40-hour work week before needing to recharge. For the modern professional, this removes a significant point of friction. There’s no daily scramble to find a charging cable or anxiety about the headset dying mid-call. You can travel for a multi-day business trip and confidently leave the charging cable at home. When you do need to top up, the USB-C connection offers a fast charge, providing 8 hours of battery life in just 15 minutes. This combination of marathon endurance and effortless comfort makes the Jabra Evolve2 85 Wireless PC Headset Noise Cancelling feel less like a device you have to manage and more like a reliable extension of your workspace.

Active Noise Cancellation and Audio: A Professional’s Balance

The Jabra Evolve2 85 features Digital Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), a sophisticated system that uses four of the headset’s microphones to monitor and counteract ambient noise. In practice, we found the ANC to be highly effective, particularly against the mid-range frequencies common in office environments—the murmur of conversations, the clatter of keyboards, and the hum of the air conditioning. It creates an immediate and noticeable bubble of quiet, allowing for deep concentration. As one user aptly put it, it’s “soundproof and noise free,” meaning you can concentrate even in a noisy place. When you need to be aware of your surroundings, the “HearThrough” mode uses the external mics to pipe in ambient sound, which is perfect for briefly chatting with a colleague or listening for an announcement without taking the headset off.

When it comes to music playback, the 40mm drivers deliver a pleasing and well-balanced audio experience. The sound is clear, with solid bass and crisp highs. We found it more than enjoyable for listening to playlists on Spotify or catching up on podcasts between meetings. However, it’s important to set expectations. As some experienced users have noted, when compared directly to dedicated audiophile headphones from brands like Sony or Bowers & Wilkins in a similar price bracket, the Jabra’s audio, while very good, isn’t quite as rich or dynamic. This is a deliberate trade-off. The Evolve2 85 is engineered first and foremost as a communication tool. It prioritises vocal clarity and call quality above all else, and its music performance is a very strong secondary benefit, rather than its primary purpose. For its intended user, this balance is exactly right.

Smart Features: The Double-Edged Sword of Automation

Jabra has packed the Evolve2 85 with intelligent features designed to make the user experience more seamless. One of the most prominent is the on-ear detection, which automatically pauses your music or video when you take the headset off and resumes it when you put it back on. In theory, this is a fantastic convenience. In reality, its execution drew mixed reactions. We found it worked reliably most of the time, but as one user highlighted in their review, the sensor can be overly sensitive. Merely shifting an earcup to adjust the fit could sometimes trigger the pause function, leading to momentary frustration. While this is a minor niggle, it’s a valid criticism for a device at this price point. Thankfully, many of these settings can be customised within the accompanying Jabra Sound+ mobile app, allowing users to tailor the headset’s behaviour to their preferences.

The physical controls are another area of thoughtful design. The right earcup houses volume controls, a play/pause button, and the dedicated Teams button. The left earcup features the power/Bluetooth button and a button for cycling through ANC, HearThrough, and off modes. This tactile approach is intuitive and far more reliable than ambiguous touch controls, especially when you’re busy. The ability to connect to two devices at once (e.g., our laptop via the dongle and our phone via Bluetooth) worked flawlessly. We could be listening to music from our laptop, and the headset would intelligently switch over to our phone when a call came in, then switch back once the call ended. It’s this collection of smart, professional-focused features that truly elevates the Jabra Evolve2 85 Wireless PC Headset Noise Cancelling beyond a simple pair of headphones.

What Other Users Are Saying

Scouring feedback from a wide range of users, a clear consensus emerges. The overwhelming majority praise the Jabra Evolve2 85 Wireless PC Headset Noise Cancelling for its exceptional comfort and professional-grade microphone. One long-term user, who identifies as a “tech gadget user” with a large head, stated these are “the best comfort so far,” capable of being worn for over four hours straight without issue. Another echoed this, saying, “I can’t say a bad word about it I love them, the noise cancellation is the best I’ve ever heard… voices are crystal clear.” The build quality and seamless MS Teams integration are also frequently cited as major strengths.

However, the feedback isn’t universally perfect. The most common point of criticism, which we also observed, revolves around the over-sensitive on-ear detection. One user found the feature so “annoying” that it “ruined the experience,” as slightly shifting an earcup would constantly pause their media. Another recurring theme is the question of value for money, specifically for those not using it primarily for work. A reviewer noted that while the headset is “nice,” the ANC and sound quality are “just good,” and perhaps not a huge leap over competitors that cost significantly less. This feedback is crucial: it confirms our assessment that the headset’s premium price is justified by its professional communication features, not by being the absolute best for pure music or ANC.

How Does the Jabra Evolve2 85 Stack Up Against the Competition?

While the Jabra Evolve2 85 Wireless PC Headset Noise Cancelling sets a very high bar for professional use, the market for noise-cancelling headphones is fiercely competitive. Understanding where it fits among its rivals is key to making the right choice for your specific needs.

1. JBL Live 660 NC Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones

The JBL Live 660 NC represents a more budget-conscious, all-rounder alternative. Its main strengths are a very respectable battery life of up to 50 hours (without ANC) and JBL’s signature bass-forward sound profile, which many will find engaging for music. While it features noise cancellation and a built-in microphone for calls, it lacks the sophisticated 10-mic array and dedicated boom arm of the Jabra. This makes it a solid choice for general commuting, casual listening, and occasional calls, but for a professional who spends hours a day in virtual meetings, the vocal clarity and noise rejection of the Jabra will be noticeably superior.

2. 1Mii Y8+ Noise Cancelling Headphones 75H Playtime

The 1Mii Y8+ carves out its niche with one standout feature: a staggering 75-hour battery life. This makes it an incredible option for long-haul travellers or anyone who simply despises charging their devices. It also supports the LDAC codec for Hi-Res audio over Bluetooth, which will appeal to audiophiles with compatible source devices. However, like the JBL, it is designed as a consumer headphone first. While it has noise cancellation and microphones, it doesn’t have the UC certifications, the stable PC connection via a dongle, or the advanced voice isolation technology that makes the Jabra Evolve2 85 an elite business tool. This is for the music-loving traveller; the Jabra is for the travelling professional.

3. Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2e Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones

The Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2e sits at a similar premium price point to the Jabra but targets a different user entirely. B&W is a legendary audio brand, and their focus is squarely on providing a luxurious, high-fidelity music experience. With support for Qualcomm aptX Adaptive and custom-tuned drivers, the audio quality for media consumption will likely surpass the Jabra’s. It’s built from premium materials and offers excellent noise cancellation. However, its six-microphone array is designed for general-purpose calls, not the mission-critical clarity required in a business setting. Choose the B&W if your priority is exquisite sound quality for music and you make occasional calls. Choose the Jabra if your livelihood depends on flawless communication.

Final Verdict: Is the Jabra Evolve2 85 Worth Your Investment?

After extensive testing, our conclusion is definitive. The Jabra Evolve2 85 Wireless PC Headset Noise Cancelling is an outstanding piece of engineering, but it is a specialised tool for a specific user. If you are a remote worker, a manager in an open office, or any professional whose day revolves around Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Slack calls, this headset is, without question, one of the best investments you can make in your productivity and professional presence. The unparalleled microphone clarity from its boom arm, the all-day comfort, the marathon battery life, and the seamless UC integration combine to create an almost frictionless communication experience. It removes audio as a point of stress, allowing you to focus on what truly matters: your work.

However, if your primary need is for the absolute best-in-class noise cancellation for frequent flights or for the most dynamic, audiophile-grade music reproduction, other specialised headphones might be a better fit. The Evolve2 85 is not trying to be the best at everything; it is unapologetically focused on being the best for professional communication. For its target audience, it absolutely succeeds. If you’re ready to elevate your work-from-anywhere setup and eliminate audio frustrations for good, we wholeheartedly recommend it. You can check the latest price and secure yours today.