By: Erik Vlietinck
Thu, March 13, 2008 - 7:35:00
Pros: Good sound, lightweight, doubles as headset and earphones
Contras: So light and small you can easily lose it

http://www.plantronics.com
Score:

Plantronics has a tradition of releasing good-quality sound devices. The Voyager 855 is no exception. It’s a Bluetooth headset that works with most Bluetooth capable mobile phones, offering excellent sound quality in stereo. 

The Voyager 855 is an in-ear lightweight headset with a microphone “boom” that extends about 2 centimetres when you slide it out. The microphone boom makes your voice clearer at the other end of the conversation. The really unique feature of the Voyager 855 is its add-on: a second earplug that converts a simple headset into a stereo sound experience.

I was very curious about the stereo quality of the Voyager 855, and so, instead of connecting it to my phone, I hooked it up with my Power Mac and tested it while playing a couple of iTunes songs. First let me tell you that I’m not much of a modern music lover. Never have been. From Bach to Philip Glass, I’ll listen to anything you care to throw my way, but anything else is lost on me.

My demands on sound systems are therefore relatively high --I’m not the audiophile person who gets a stroke when his amplifier can’t reproduce frequencies as low as 5Hz or as high as 30,000 Hz, but I do expect clear, well-defined sound. My expectations with the Voyager 855 were low. Not only is the device extremely small, it’s also not meant to play classical or baroque music.

Nevertheless, I gave it a try and lo and behold, while it didn’t sound like I would want to throw my Sennheiser 650HD with the garbage, it did a decent job. Of course, bass was a little skinny, the overall impression was quite good, with a clear sound and even a relatively clear stereo image. And yes, you can also use the Voyager 855 as a headset to call and receive calls on your mobile phone.