Often when we travel for work, the old landline is often unused. In fact some residents in modern apartments often don’t bother installing them preferring to use their mobile phone or some Voice over IP (VoIP) solution like Skype or Facetime.
But while sound quality may be adequate when used normally or with a earpiece, broadcasting over the speakers has often left a lot to be desired.
This is a void that the Jabra Speak 710 seeks to fill.
The beauty of the flying saucer shaped Jabra Speak 710 is that it can connect via Bluetooth to your smartphone or be connected to your computer through a wireless USB dongle to provide a high quality speaker and microphone to simulate conference facilities.
Connectivity was indeed simple when we went from unwrapping to use in less than 10 minutes. One setup feature we particulary liked was a smart assistant button that connected with Siri, Google Now, or Microsoft’s Cortana on a smartphone. Unfortunately, like the iPhone 7, the speak 710 also lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack. Newer devices should have no problem connecting to it, but a wired connection would have been nice for users with older laptops or the like.
From call to record
To ensure that all calls made from the Speak 710 are loud and clear, Jabra has used a special omnidirectional microphone in the Speak 710. The omnidirectional microphone picks up sound from sources all around the speakerphone, and can comfortably host six people on one device, speaking from a distance ranging from half a meter to two meters away. If you have a larger area, you can link a pair of devices to act as if they are a single unit or even use them in stereo mode as on it’s own, the 710 functions as a mono speaker device.
We tried it as a microphone to record some interviews in a small room and had no issues with it at all. There was no difficulty in telling who was speaking and all the voices were recorded with little distortion.
Giving voice to music
As a music player, we found the Speak 710 a decent performer.
The bass for heavy songs felt a little flat and was a little on the light side. The midrange and treble was about perfect enough to be clear and give off little distortion or reverb.
Speakers that work with your smartphone have been around for several years now. Speakers that have a built-in microphone for voice support have also been in use for a while. But one that can perform well at both hasn’t been seen yet. But the Jabra Speak 710 comes closest thus far to being the best at both so far.