Commuting in larger cities like Boston has its perks. I haven’t needed a car in nearly a decade thanks to the fleets of busses and subway trains that zip across town, which is awesome. But I could really go without that piercing, screeching noise each train makes as it grinds to a halt at the station. Subway rides are often deafening from start to finish, and packed with commuters who are louder still.
For the last two months, wearing Plantronics' Voyager 8200 UC Bluetooth headphones has calmed my commute. Like a trip to Never-never Land, they made me forget. I’ve legitimately missed my subway stop several times because I was so lost in what I was hearing—and, just as importantly, what I wasn’t hearing. A switch on the left earcup lets you toggle between two levels of active noise cancelling, which does a Bose-level job of retaining audio quality while tuning out the ruckus around you, whether that’s on a train or airplane (another place I loved using these). Usually, I set it the active cancellation on max because I couldn’t notice any degradation in my tunes.
Even with noise cancelling turned off, the leathery memory foam cups provide a nice seal around the ears, hushing much of the clamor of the outside world. A soft microfiber band with adjustable sides keeps it in place. You can twist the cups to the side and rest them around your neck when you’re not listening.
I like the design of these a lot more than the ubiquitous Bose QuietComfort headphones, but there’s nothing remarkable about their look, which makes the $380 asking price hard to stomach at first. (The white and tan version looks a bit classier than the black and orange set I have.) Almost nobody has complimented their style, and most are surprised when I say how much I like them. After I explain everything these cans can do, their tone changes.
To start, the sensors work well, automatically pausing and playing tracks if you take the headphones on and off. Even lifting one cup off your ear will trigger this function and it's so, so cool.
The four microphones that help cancel all that noise also make the Voyager 8200s fantastic for taking calls. Even outdoors on a windy day, I could hear and be heard on the phone. Syncing is simple too, because the Bluetooth button is also the power button on the right earcup. Turn it on and you’ll naturally press up enough to trigger pairing mode, which is smart enough to let you auto sync to two devices at once, letting you use it on a computer and your phone, or share them with a significant other. Pairing is usually an arduous task. Here, it’s a cinch.
