Jabra Engage 65 SE Wireless Headset

Jabra Engage 65 SE Wireless Headset

Jabra's much-loved wireless Engage headset for Desk Phone and PC/Mac, originally released in 2018, now updated in 2024 to feature new USB-C connections. Feature-packed, reliable, lightweight, and with excellent sound, this has been the headset of choice for the Simply team since it came out. Available in mono, stereo, and convertible styles, it connects via RJ phone style to most phones and to PC/USB desk phones via USBA cable. Certified for Teams and all major softphones. As with all standard desk phone headsets, an accessory is required if you want the freedom to answer calls by pressing a button on the headset.

NB: The new Jabra Engage 65 SE base units and desk charging stands have been upgraded from Micro-USB to USB-C ports. This means second edition (SE) Engage 65 headsets are not compatible with first edition Engage 65 base units or desk charging stands.

Likewise, first edition Engage 65 headsets will not fit SE bases or stands due to the new USB-C ports on all SE headsets.

Please double-check your setup to ensure compatibility. If you need assistance, our support team is here to help.

What We Love

• Easy to use and switch between devices - one less thing to think about
• Great quality sound both ways - makes busy days less tiring and ensures you sound professional to clients
• Noise cancelling in microphone is excellent - your client will hear ONLY you
• Wear with microphone on left or right side - suits all preferences
• Convenient mute button on microphone - no scrabbling around on your earcup when you're about to sneeze!
• Bright busy light on earcups AND on the end on the microphone - your colleagues will know when you're not to be interrupted
• Up to 13 hour talk time - enough for even your busiest days!
• Lightweight and comfortable for all-day use
• Microphone rated 5 out of 5 for use with Dragon in quiet and noisy environments. Independent testing by Viva Voce. The only wireless headset to get top marks!
• Use in the office with a desk phone & PC, and add a Link 400 to take just the headset home and use with a PC (only) - Hybrid working lifestyle sorted!

What We Don't Love

• SE headsets are not compatible with first edition base units or stands, and first edition headsets won’t fit SE bases due to the new USB-C ports.
• Not very portable for hybrid workers unless you also get the dongle, that's just the nature of headsets that work with desk phones.
• No option for Active Noise Cancelling in the earcups
• Ummmm... yup, that's it

In Detail

The Jabra Engage 65 launched in April 2018 to great fanfare and quickly became a customer favourite. It's now been updated to the SE model, which is the same great headset, just with new USB-C connections. It's still the perfect headset if you want to connect to a desk phone and your computer.

Please note that the first edition headset used Micro-USB ports on both the headset and base station. With the SE version now featuring USB-C ports (male USB-C on the base unit and female USB-C on the headset), SE headsets are incompatible with first edition bases, and first edition headsets cannot be used with SE base units.

The Engage 65 models come in 3 variants. All are compatible with Skype for Business and all major softphone applications: There is the Mono version, which is a straightforward over-the-head, ear cushion on one ear style. There is a neckband accessory available separately. Also available are the Stereo, a headband-only '2 eared' model, and the Convertible version which has an earhook and earbud only included but a headband or neckband are available as separate accessories. All of the options can be worn with the microphone arm on the left or the right. The Convertible has a shorter battery life and is lighter in weight & reduced range but apart from that, all the specs are mostly the same across the variants.

As with all wireless headsets, you will need an accessory to answer calls from the desk phone when out of reach. We know, it seems crazy that even such a sophisticated headset as this can't perform this apparently simple task but there are so many different phones all with different requirements that this functionality just can't be built into the headset. We call it a RAD (remote answering device). It could be a standard handset lifter or a special 'electronic hook switch' (EHS) cable that runs from the base unit to the telephone - it all depends on which make and model phone you have. If your phone has a USB headset port you may not need this but at time of writing, those phones are as rare as hens' teeth.

Simply Headsets strongly recommends you download Jabra software to get the most out of the Engage headsets. As far as the brand goes, Jabra is one of the most established and renowned leaders in the headset market, so you can't fault this headset, whichever way you turn. The Engage Series is a little more than the older Pro 9450 but it has some features that may well make it worth it for you.

The Engage series has top-notch sound both ways - the mono and stereo options are the first in their class to meet the Skype for Business Open Office requirements (trust us, that's a tough test to pass). It has a directional noise-cancelling microphone (G-MOS, Tx, CC 4.3, Dual Microphone - ECM Uni-Directional and Analog MEMS system for the tech-heads out there) and superior speakers (P-MOS, Rx, Silent 4.4) that switch automatically to optimise music sound when you're not on a call. As you'd expect these top-of-the-line headsets also protect your hearing against sound spikes.

Battery life - 13 hours of talk time and 52 hours of standby is amazing. There's also a fast charge feature (in case you forgot to power up overnight) which gives you over 5 hours of talk time in just 30 mins. As with all headsets, battery life decreases with distance - i.e. if you wander far from the base unit all time but you can of course replace the battery. However, the unique 'Powernap' feature of the Engage extends that standby time even further when it's not been used for 30 minutes.

One of the annoying things about wearing a wireless headset is that colleagues are never sure if you're on a call or not, so they will either blunder on in and you have to show them 'the hand' or (if they're a bit more considerate) there's the ever-popular over-exaggerated 'are you on a call?' mime. Happily, Jabra has banished this issue with a built-in busy light. On the mono and stereo versions, this light is on both the earpiece and on the end of the microphone boom (or arm). On the convertible option, it's just on the earpiece.

Density & Security - it's an important consideration when it comes to wireless, particularly if you're kitting out an office. Too many wireless headsets up close and personal to each other will cause interference and loss of sound quality. The Engage series has increased density capacity so you can have 3 times as many headsets in a small space as before. Additionally, this is a super-secure headset, with features going beyond DECT Secure Level C, which provides the highest protection. 256-bit AES encryption. 128-bit authentication.

Need a portable headset that will work at home with a PC or you can travel with from time to time? This is it too! Jabra released a firmware update in Dec 2018 that means you can plug the headset into a standard micro USB cable then a PC for use as a corded headset.

Other stuff we thought was nifty:

• Volume up and down function: The headset knows which way up you're wearing it so you know that the top button always means volume up.
• The mute button is on the mic making it easy to locate (and you can set a reminder so you don't waffle on forgetting your caller can't hear you).
• You can conference up to 3 additional headsets onto one base unit - great for conference calls or training.
• You can record calls made from mobiles or desk phones onto your computer (of course you'll need the caller's permission for that!) Great for call monitoring, authentication, or agreement to terms and conditions or important calls you need to refer to in the future (NB 3rd party recording software is required).

Unfortunately, the Engage 65s won't connect to a mobile phone, so if you're getting a lot of inbound calls coming through via your mobile phone, you're better off looking at the glorious new Engage 75 with more connections than you can shake a stick at.

If you have dense usage, need extra security or just want the top specs; this is your new favourite gadget!

What's the Same?

• Product quality
• Product performance (listen, talk, range, density)
• User interface (all the controls and buttons are the same)

What's New?

• New product name
• New SKUs
• Product name on box label and in Jabra Direct
• New packaging
• Metal on the earcup and boom arm is now titanium black (previous version was silver)
• USB-C charging port on the headsets
• USB-C ‘male’ charging port on the docking station
• USB-C port(s) on the docking station, providing a connection to a computer