Bluetooth headsets differ from Bluetooth headphones due to the addition of a microphone - all the better to pick up your frenzied shouting over one kind of computer, and your tired muttering over another.
Whether you’re using it for work or gaming (and be warned, there are plenty of Bluetooth headsets marketed toward gamers), a Bluetooth headset’s value comes from cutting the cord between you and your computer. Whether you want to stride around, gesticulating wildly, during a video presentation, or take a break from your machine but stay connected while you go into another room (Bluetooth’s range is around 30 metres, so you can get quite far), there’s a headset available to suit you.
What are the different types of Bluetooth headsets?
There are a few types available: the extremely office-friendly sort that fit over one ear, allowing you some situational awareness for those times someone else offers to make the tea, the more neutral and slimline sort that fit in anywhere, and the sort designed for gamers, which tend to be made from chunky plastic and have extra features, such as colourful lights.
Some headsets have microphone arms, others don’t, but due to their use in voice communications what you’re really looking for is clarity, both from the earphone drivers and the microphone.
These are some of the best out there.
Jabra Evolve2 65
Comfortable to wear and with excellent sound quality, the Evolve2 65s make a great choice if you’re going to be wearing your headset for long periods and don’t want any background sounds encroaching on your discussions.
There’s a light that comes on when you’re connected to a call, warning approaching colleagues or family members that you’re not to be disturbed, and the headset itself is available in a variety of configurations, depending on whether you want stereo or mono sound, and whether you need a charging stand or a Bluetooth dongle.
Battery life is decent at 35 hours (seven hours a day for five days, so you’ll only be charging it at weekends), and the headset is compatible with just about any computer with Bluetooth. The only downside for a home worker is the price.
Buy now £216.00, Amazon
Razer Barracuda X
This is an affordable wireless headset that’s meant for gamers, and is widely compatible with consoles, smartphones and PCs. This is thanks to a 2.4GHz USB dongle and 3.5mm cable in the box as well as native Bluetooth. They’re also resemble a pair of quality over-ear headphones, meaning it won’t be out of place in a Zoom call with the C-suite.
Razer products often lack subtlety in their design, but the Barracuda X has branding on its headband and some embossed logos on the earcups, but no bright green lighting. This lack of superfluous illumination might contribute to the battery life, which at 20 hours is pretty good, though not the best we’ve seen.
There’s a hefty dollop of bass in the sound mix, which we’ve come to expect from headsets tuned for gaming, but that doesn’t mean there’s no detail or nuance. The microphone, which is detachable, gives a clear result, and the arm is easily repositioned.
Buy now £99.99, Amazon
Jabra Talk 45
Jabra makes a lot of different headsets, and this one, which looks like something we’d have used with our Sony Ericsson T610 in 2003, is designed purely for voice calls.
It fits in one ear and supplies only mono sound, but things have moved on since 2003, and the Talk 45 offers a companion app which will read out your text messages, and manages a whole seven hours on a charge, which might not sound much but is respectable for something so small.
The microphone lacks sound isolation, so it’s best used in a quiet office environment, and isn’t a particularly versatile headset - you won’t be picking this up to listen to music, but if you need something reasonably priced to do a specific job, this makes a good choice.
Buy now £69.99, Amazon
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless
An expensive wireless gaming headset, the Arctis Nova Pro offers broad connectivity, noise cancelling on both earcups and microphone, spatial audio compatibility, and an ingenious hot-swappable battery.
Probably best used to pinpoint enemies by their footsteps in games before gunning them down, but there is no reason why this can’t pull double duty between Call of Duty and your, um, duty to the boss over Teams.
Another all black set that looks the part if you need to appear on video while wearing it, the earcups are covered on the outside with a magnetic panel that pops off to reveal a USB-C charging port on one side, and a removable battery on the other. It comes with two batteries, meaning you can have one on charge in the base station - which also manages connections and offers presets and EQ adjustment - while you use the other.
Soft, well made and comfortable, the Arctis Nova Pro sounds great. It’s just a shame it’s so expensive.
Buy now £329.99, Amazon
EKSA H1
Having an over-ear cup on just one side makes for an unconventional design, but does mean you can hear a packet of biscuits being opened across the office.
This is another headset that’s tailored for professional uses rather than sitting back and soaking in Tchaikovsky before being interrupted by your mum calling. Still, you get some interesting features that make it a good choice for those working in a noisier environment. Perhaps a biscuit factory.
There’s noise-cancelling, while having the over-ear cup completely encircle the left ear helps to shut out background noise too, and the mic also benefits from this technology. It offers 30 hours of talktime, the padded material makes it comfortable to wear and sound quality from the 40mm driver is excellent, albeit mono.
Buy now £59.99, Amazon
Plantronics Voyager 5200
An absolute classic from a headset specialist. The Voyager range comes in many shapes and sizes, but this is the best Bluetooth version. It brings together wireless capability with noise cancelling and an ergonomic design to create an extremely office-friendly headset.
The majority of the headset sits behind your ear, with an earbud and microphone arm. There are some controls and a micro USB charging port tucked out of the way, but this is a headset designed to be worn and almost forgotten about. The reversible design means it can be set on either ear, and while sound quality can be extremely good, it depends on how well you can get the earbud to fit.
Battery life is decent - though while a charging cable is included, note that you don’t get an actual charger in the box - making this a great choice for an office or home worker who doesn’t want to be tethered to their laptop via their ear.
Buy now £92.00, Amazon
AfterShokz OpenComm
Something a little different, and ideal for environments in which the opening of biscuit packets is harder to hear, as it allows both ears to be left open to detect the approach of snack time. This oddly shaped headset doesn’t rely on traditional earcups housing tiny speakers, but sends sound to your eardrums using bone conduction. This means it uses the bones in your head to conduct the sound, which works well, a pad sitting just in front of your ear taking the place of an earcup.
This, along with their slender and light construction, makes them comfortable to wear for long periods, as well as makes you look slightly futuristic on video calls. They’re also useful for cyclists and others who need to maintain awareness of what’s around them. Bone conducting headphones are often noted for being quieter than regular ones, but as long as they can get a good fit on your cheekbone they’re perfectly fine, and come with noise reduction too.
Annoyingly, charging the headset requires a proprietary connector rather than a standard USB, which is just asking to be lost or ruined by the wheels of an office chair, but apart from this they make a good choice for a home office - but you’ll find traditional headsets that are much cheaper.
Buy now £159.95, Amazon
Razer Kraken BT Kitty Edition
For those who want to inject a bit more personality into your video chats with your team, what better way than with light-up kitty ears? The headset doesn’t come with a microphone arm, hiding a beamforming microphone inside one of the earcups instead, which makes these a good choice for anyone streaming video, as there’s nothing to get in the way of your face.
The Kitty Edition is a spin off of Razer’s Kraken headset, which comes in black, silver or radioactive green. The soft pink and distinctive triangular protrusions (which are not detachable) of the Kitty Edition marks it out, but underneath it’s a gaming-focused headset with heavy bass, 7.1 positional audio if you use it on the right system, and a battery life of up to 50 hours if you use it with the lighting effects turned off (and 20 hours with them on). Kitted out with memory foam and cooling gel in the earcups, as well as a thick padded headband for comfort, this headset is designed to make a statement.
Buy now £99.99, Amazon
Verdict
The market for Bluetooth headsets contains something for everyone, you can be an efficient office worker, a laid-back gamer, a cat, or something else entirely. Bluetooth technology has matured nicely, and is now able to transmit excellent quality sound across 30 metres or so, more than enough if you’re moving around in the average home.
We’ve chosen headsets that look like normal headphones for the top two positions on this list, as we like the idea that they can double up as wireless headphones you’ll want to use for music or podcasts, but if you prefer to keep a headset purely for business use, we’ve got you covered too. The slim headsets that fit over only one ear have been freed from the tyranny of having a wire connected to the headphone port on your computer, and you’re now just as free to wander around the office while on a call as you are while at home.
