Two years ago, we reviewed the Jabra SPEAK2 55 portable speaker, and we found it to be a great speakerphone for the home office or the bonnet of someone’s car at a construction site. Its big brother has just been released, and we review the Jabra SPEAK2 75.
What is a Jabra SPEAK2 75 professional portable speakerphone?
The Jabra SPEAK2 75 is a wireless PC or smartphone rechargeable speakerphone for group conversations. It is a large hockey puck-looking device with an internal speaker and 4 inbuilt microphones ideal for conversations in small meeting room. It allows you to have a hands-free/headset-free conversation up to 2.5m from the microphone, whether at a boardroom table or the bonnet of your car. It is ideal if several people are at your end so everyone can join the conversation.
WHY should you consider the SPEAK 2 75 over the SPEAK2 55?
A speakerphone enhances the sound substantially compared to a PC or smartphone speakers and microphone. A larger speaker and numerous microphones achieve this sound enhancement to ensure everyone in the room is heard.
Whereas the SPEAK2 55 has an internal battery that will last up to 12 hours, the 75’s battery will allow you to stay wireless for up to 32 hours or four business hour days. It can be connected to your PC or smartphone by Bluetooth or plugged into a USB C or USB A socket with the included tethered adapter, which also facilitates charging at up to 15W.
Jabra supports full duplex, meaning you can talk while others speak. You will be heard, exactly like what happens in a normal conversation. The SPEAK2 75 allows you to link two 75’s together to increase the room’s size and allow more people to participate in a conference call. Let’s assume you have a long conference table, and more people are working from the office. Two SPEAK2 75’s can be linked at the press of a button to allow people at each end of the table to hear clearly and be heard on a call.
If you are worried that your voice will not be heard, you can now be alerted of this with a Mic quality indicator. This indicator is the green LED ring turns from green to orange if the speaker’s voice is not being heard properly, prompting the speaker to move closer to the microphone. (Feature needs to be activated in the App)
The 75’s size has also increased to 155mm diameter from 140mm on the 55. Its weight has also increased to 466 grams from 280 grams. Other than the bigger battery, the big change is a 6.5 cm speaker versus 5cm. This change has significantly improved the sound quality, especially the lower base sounds.
The 75 also supports Bluetooth 5.2, up from 5.1 on the 55, contributing to improved audio over Bluetooth connections.
What is in the Box?
The Jabra Speak2 75 is an investment at $600 but does come with a 100-day return policy.
The box contains only two items: the SPEAK2 75 and a felt carry pouch to protect the Jabra while traveling with it. The 70cm USB cable is built into the product.
The Jabra has a diameter of 15.5cm and is just over 5cm thick. It weighs 466 grams and is IP64-rated, meaning it is resistant to water and dust.
The USB cable winds around the base for storage and has a USB-C plug and a USB-A adapter tethered. Buttons on the unit allow you to Power on/off, answer a call, end or reject a call, increase and decrease volume, mute a conversation, pair via Bluetooth, check the Battery status and use a smart button. An LED ring of light helps you understand the status, such as mic quality, mute, battery and volume levels, depending on which button is pressed.
The smart button function can be configured to control the Play/Pause, Voice Assistant or Speed Dial of a single number.
Using the SPEAK2 75 speakerphone
When I turned the SPEAK2 75 on for both my PC and Android phone, I immediately saw and was asked if I would like to add the Jabra device. This makes Bluetooth installation easy. We recommend downloading the Jabra App to your PC or smartphone, as additional settings can be accessed and software updates added.
As expected, the Jabra works with Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google Meet. I have been using it for 3 weeks on my Team’s calls and found a richness in my colleagues’ voices and heard more nuances in their tones. My colleagues tell me they could not hear the garbage truck that went by whilst I was speaking, which is great on the noise-cancelling front from both Jabra and Microsoft working together. The difference from the lower model is significant when listening to music via the speaker. I was quite happy with the 55 compared to my PC speakers, but the 75 takes the music playback to the next level.
A feature we like is voice level normalisation, which means that the Jabra automatically adjusts each person’s voice to a similar level. Thus, if you have three people in a room at different distances from the microphones and speak at different loudnesses, the people at the other end of the connection will hear everyone’s voice at the same volume.
Running a small business means you cannot afford to provide all staff members with a SPEAK2. As the Jabra supports connecting up to 8 different Bluetooth devices, multiple people could share a unit without deleting the previous user.
Our Take Jabra SPEAK2 75 review
If your business wants its employees to be inclusive on video/audio calls and for everyone to be engaged and have their say, then the SPEAK2 75 will deliver that reality.
The Jabra is versatile with its long battery life, quality sound, and the ability to pair two units to include more people.
Last but not least, for your downtime, the music quality payback has lifted to a whole new level, whether on-site, off-site, or at home.