I was slightly concerned initially that over-ear headphones won't provide enough noise cancellation and would become uncomfortably warm to wear after short use, but the Jabra Evolve2 65 Flex proved me wrong. This hybrid working headset offers excellent sound quality, comfort, active noise cancelling, and more for a reasonable amount of money. The three-mic array offers superb intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 8, we could understand every word perfectly clearly, with zero hint of Bluetooth distortion. The recording was crisp and clear, with a little bit of low-frequency depth to it. Not only is the mic of solid quality, but the boom placement also helps tremendously here. You can also customise the level of Active Noise Cancelling using the slider in the app. I often go with the strongest ANC setting, especially while I'm in the office, as there are some people there who talk all day, and since I spend most of my day trying to write, it can be distracting. You can turn it down, though, if you wish.

The Bose QuietComfort 45 are excellent noise-cancelling folding headphones with fewer extra features than the Evolve2 65 Flex can offer, but Bose' crowd-pleasing sound is hard not to recommend, even though the cans cost more or less the same as the Jabra. Read Yasmine's full Bose QuietComfort 45 review.

Business Telephones

On calls, people on the other end could understand us without issue, and noted the mic’s strong clarity. Likewise, our in-ear call audio was ideal, both in terms of understanding people on the other end and also hearing just enough of ourselves to facilitate speaking at natural, lower levels.Despite claims that the headset can passively drown out surrounding noise, however, we were able to hear nearby car horns and sirens quite easily.

Anyhow, you can certainly improve the sound quality of your virtual meeting with the Evolve2 65 Flex, not least because the microphone is right next to your mouth, unlike when you use your laptop's built-in microphone. The mic's sound quality is good for video calls, although I found it too sensitive in outside environments. I appreciate the Evolve2 65 Flex wasn't designed for calls in bustling outdoor settings, but I would've appreciated a bit better performance here; after all, hybrid working involves people performing tasks on the go. The mic system is actually a three-mic MEMs array with a frequency range of 100Hz to 8kHz—more on this in the next section.I imagine these corporate-first headphones won't be the number one choice for non-office workers, and for them, I'd probably recommend the Jabra 45h instead because of the lower price point. However, the Evolve2 65 Flex folds down to a more compact size than the Jabra 45h and also has a better microphone, so if portability and call quality are high on your priority list, choose the former. Jabra Evolve2 65 Flex review: also consider

I have comparatively large hands and found the buttons to be a little on the small side. They are raised only slightly, making it harder to locate them without 'stroking' the edge of the earcups first. This is especially true for the volume control buttons; I often activated the voice control instead of raining the volume.