The Jabra Speak 710 is a medium-sized portable speakerphone with flawless audio quality and an extended Bluetooth range. And this is without mentioning the battery that lasts up to 15 hours.
It is safe to say that the Speak 710 lives up to its premium positioning in nearly all aspects.
Table of Contents
Variations
There are two variations to the Speak 710 – MS and UC version.
The MS version is specifically preconfigured for Skype-for-Business.
The UC version is not optimized for one particular platform but works perfectly with platforms such as Cisco, Avaya, and others.
If your business is not using Skype-for-Business, the UC version should be the obvious choice.
First Impressions
The Speak 710 comes with a neoprene carrying case. This is a nice little accessory to house the Speak 710 while on the go.
Unlike the Yealink CP900’s carrying case, these walls are not made of hard material. Instead, they are slightly padded.
In addition, the case has a little pocket on its back. This pocket is intended for the optional Jabra Link 370 dongle.
The device itself only comes in a black/silver colorway. Nevertheless, it is a thing of beauty. Its body is solidly built, while the overall design is quite stylish.
The Speak 710 is a speakerphone that will feel equally adequate in a coffee house and a conference room.
The upper part of the Speak 710 is reserved for its speaker and buttons. The device is quite easy to operate. There are 10 buttons around the speaker, most of which should be familiar.
Perhaps the only two buttons that need to be explained are the Link and Smart buttons.
The Link button is pressed for pairing two Speak 710 devices at a distance of 6 feet from one another. This is a particularly useful feature for conference rooms.
A single Speak 710 can handle a conversation with 4-5 participants. Having two Speak 710 working in tandem can handle 8-10 participants.
Although they look alike, Speak 710 and the older Speak 510 have a noticeable price difference. Comparing these two models, we found that Speak 510 cannot use two speakerphones simultaneously. You can find out more about Jabra 510 in our review.
The Smart button: This is a programmable button. It can be set as a speed dial button or a shortcut for voice virtual assistants (e.g., Siri, Google Assistant, Cortana).
To program this button, all users must download the Jabra Direct app (the app is freely available on Jabra’s official website).
The Speak 710 also has in-built LED dots. These dots are interactive and light up whenever a certain function is performed. For example, they light up in blue when Bluetooth is turned on and in red whenever a call is muted.
Moreover, the flashing dots also show up to indicate both the battery and volume levels. Thus, users can intelligently regulate the call volumes.
The in-built USB cable is located at the lower part of Speak 710. The cable is used to charge and connect the device to PC/laptops.
The USB cable is wrapped around the device’s cable management system when not in use. This is one little design aspect to be appreciated. The cable clutter around the workspace can get overwhelming, even in the home office.
The Speak 710’s other connectivity is the built-in Bluetooth 4.2. According to Jabra’s promises, the Speak 710 should exhibit a superb wireless range of 100 feet.
Fortunately, Jabra’s promises were not empty. The Speak 710 maintains connection across a few rooms apart (this is less than 100 feet, but the walls even up the calculation).
To put this in perspective, the Bluetooth range of another premium product – the Speak 510 – amounts to just 55 feet.
Connecting the Speak 710 to other devices via Bluetooth was trivially simple. The Bluetooth must be activated on the speakerphone and then selected from the other device’s Bluetooth panel.
Users wishing to wirelessly connect the Speak 710 to devices with no Bluetooth connectivity must use the Jabra Link 370 Bluetooth dongle.
This dongle is a USB adaptor plugged into the other device. Afterward, it must again be linked with the Speak 710 via the Jabra Direct app.
However, the app is necessary only when the dongle is purchased separately. If it has arrived as a part of the Speak 710 package, it must be pre-paired with the speakerphone.
Unlike its smaller counterpart – the Speak 510 – the Speak 710 has a kickstand at its back. This is a small but very useful feature. It allows the Speak 710 to be adjusted so the sound can be concentrated in a certain direction.
The Acoustic Experience
It should not be a big surprise when a Jabra product showcases excellent two-way audio. Such was the case with the Speak 710 as well.
Whether used for personal use or within a conference room, the Speak 710 delivers and sends out high-quality audio.
The Speak 710’s audio system combines advanced acoustic components such as the Wideband Audio system, the DSP (Digital Signal Processing) technology, and the omnidirectional microphone. What does each do?
The wideband audio system is an audio system employed for all business hardware. In effect, the wideband audio transmits a life-like and rich-sounding voice.
It is so because it is optimized to pick up a greater frequency range than the systems in consumer devices.
The second, advanced component is the Digital Signal Processing technology. This component works as something of a barrier. One that prevents any undesired noises from reducing the on-call clarity.
And indeed, the Speak 710 successfully isolated background noises and some sound distortions. The DSP is quite sensitive, distinguishing human speech from other noises fairly well.
The Speak 710’s third advanced audio-related component is the omnidirectional microphone. ‘ ‘Omnidirectional means the microphone has a 360° voice pick-up system. It can detect and pick up speech from all sides.
Of course, such a feature is invaluable in conference room environments.
Also, the Speak 710 performed flawlessly when used for music as well. The crisp sound and the light bass contributed to an even more immersive experience.
Battery
The Speak 710 has a built-in rechargeable battery. The battery lasts for a total of 15, regardless of using the Speak 710, mostly for music or calls. This is superior in comparison with many products by other brands.
Users must plug the USB cable into a nearby device to charge the battery. This can be a laptop or – a power bank.
The Speak 710’s battery takes 3 hours to charge fully. This is one more hour than the smaller Speak 510, which only charges 2 hours. However, given that the Speak 710 is almost twice as big, this makes sense.
Three hours is pretty low for charging time. In comparison, other similar products may take up to 6, which gets slightly impractical at this point.
Warranty & Security
As with most Jabra products, the Speak 510 has a 2-year warranty from when the product was purchased (only applies to authorized resellers).
Also, remember that Jabra maintains a very high level of online support.
Also, the Speak 710 has a Kensington Lock adaptor. Users owning Kensington Locks can be further reassured in their investment.
Final Word
The Speak 710 is the ideal portable assistant. It is not the most compact one, but it compensates for its ability to ‘power’ a meeting with up to 6 people. With this in mind, it does seem quite compact now.
Regardless of it being used for conference rooms or as a personal device, the Speak 710 will deliver a flawless on-call and audio music experience.
More reviews of Jabra products: Speak 410 UC, Speak 510, Speak 810.