Jabra 9450 and 9460 Headsets for Lync

This past week I had the chance to try out two different wireless headset options for Lync that are available from Jabra. I wouldn’t have guessed it based on the model numbers, but the 9460 is the older headset of the two. It has a touchscreen control and mute button which l thought was a huge bonus.

9460 headset and base station:

photo 1

The charging stand for the headset has a docking station that swivels, but I found the angle options you can put the headset at weren’t very thought out. It’s impossible to turn the headset to 90 degrees so the boom mic ends up behind the touchscreen in order to save some space. Oddly enough, they do let you turn the stand completely the opposite way in case you wanted to make the dock and headset take us as much room as humanly possible.

After using it for a bit I have to say I was pretty disappointed with the quality of the screen. It sure looks nice, but the touchscreen itself was not very responsive. I found I usually had to hit the button a few times before it would register. There also seemed to be a bit of a delay between the time I would press the button and when it would be marked as a mute in Lync.

9460 touch screen:

photo 2

I was a bit wary of that touchscreen up front so I had also ordered the newer, 9450 model as a backup option. The base station and headset itself are identical to the 9460 and it has the same swivel restrictions. It doesn’t look nearly as slick, but it does have physical buttons for mute and the ability to switch between a desk phone and softphone. I’ve found these physical buttons to be much more responsive and was much happier with this model.

9450 headset and base station:

photo 3

9450 physical buttons:

photo 4

The headsets each have a charging connector on one of the ears which docks on to the charging station. I found it a little awkward to place the first few times, but it got easier the more I used it. It would be swell if you could point the boom mic up or some other direction than the default because I kept knocking it into my desk when trying to get it charged.

Headset and charging station:

photo 5

I should also say that both headsets were extremely comfortable to wear and the sound quality was fantastic. If you’re looking for a new Lync headset I’d probably suggest the 9450 at this point. The models are roughly the same price, but the base station on the 9450 seems like much higher quality and it is a more recent piece of hardware, for whatever that’s worth.

In the end I found the sweet spot for me was resting the free end of the headset on top of my Polycom CX600:

photo

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Hi there. My name is Tom Pacyk and this is my small home on the web. I love the intersection of design, technology, and communication, which is a combination that led me to a career in sales and marketing roles at places like Zoom and ServiceNow. They're a bit old now, but I also had the opportunity to publish a couple of books along the way.

Portland, Oregon is home for me, my wife Beth, and our three kids, but I'm actually a Midwestern transplant—I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and went to school at Purdue and Illinois. When I find some free time I'm probably going to concerts, rooting for the Portland Timbers, or working on my Sunshine Burn Photography project.