Poly Voyager Free 20 True Wireless Earbuds

£85

Concealed in a super sleek, shiny black case, the Voyager Free 20 True Wireless Earbuds are Poly’s answer to affordable noise cancellation technology supported by an all-day comfortable fit. Now I’ve tested many earbuds over the years, with many boasting to offer noise cancellation for an affordable price point, but many fail to hit the mark with either the sound, battery life, or ANC being sacrificed in place of other specs. Thus, I was excited to give the Poly Voyager Free 20 True Wireless Earbuds a go, to see how well they deliver on noise cancellation, whilst keeping comfort, sound and battery life at the heart of the design.  

When you first open the Poly Voyager Free 20 True Wireless Earbuds, you can’t help but feel that they’re premium, with the earbuds enclosed in a lovely high-shine black charging case, with just the simple Poly logo on the top. Inside the charging case are the two small earbuds, with the logo on just one earbud. The true wireless earbuds remind me of many other brands on the market, favouring the very small earbud shape. This means that whilst in the ear, the earbuds have a super low profile, making them largely undetectable and ideal for those who like a more discreet look.

The earbuds connected super quickly to my device via Bluetooth, offering multipoint connectivity so I could also connect them to my laptop and flick between the two devices for audio output without issue. Once in the ear, the earbuds feel super comfortable, and you can pick between the range of earbud tips to get the most secure fit for your ears. This ability to find the most secure fit is super important for noise cancellation, as this gives the earbuds the best chance of delivering on cutting out background noise.

In terms of functionality, the earbuds are pretty intuitive to use, with the earbuds having touch controls, so with just a few taps you can play/pause your music, skip to the next song, and even answer calls. I like being able to control my media without having to get my phone out of my pocket, especially when I’m commuting or at the gym. The earbuds also feature a useful smart sensor technology, which means that you can answer calls by putting the earbuds in your ears, and pause or resume your music as you remove them. This means that you never miss out on your podcast or song when answering a call or if you have to remove your earbuds to speak to someone.

For sound, the Poly Voyagers were great, and whether listening to music or a podcast, or even on a call, the sound was crystal clear, supported by the earbuds’ 10mm powerful speakers. However, the sound quality is further enhanced thanks to the noise cancellation setting of the earbuds, which definitely are one of the big selling points of the Voyager Free 20 earbuds. The earbuds utilise the 3 speakers built into the outside of the earbuds, which automatically tune out the right amount of unwanted noise when listening to music or on calls. This adapts to the noise around you, and helps to improve the level of ANC, and on calls, filters out noise around you to the person on the other end can hear you better. With the ANC turned on, I have to say it was pretty good, especially when working in the office. I felt like I was in my own little bubble, blocking out the sound of the radio and kettle well. However, for louder noises whilst out and about, I could hear these a little. However, this is something I find with most true wireless earbuds with noise cancellation, as I think it has something to do with the fit in my ears, which means I can always hear noises over the ANC a little. Personally, only over-ear ANC earphones have ever been truly noise-cancelling, so this isn’t unexpected. 

For calls, however, the adaptive ANC was impressive. I often call my friend to catch up when walking home from work. My route takes me along a rather busy road, and the earbuds were great at filtering a lot of the traffic noise out so my friend could hear me a lot better, and I had to repeat myself a lot less – which was great! However, when not on call, I love that there’s also a transparency mode built into the earbuds, so I can listen to my music when walking home whilst staying aware of my surroundings for safety. Thus, this ability to flick between staying aware and shutting out the world thanks to the ANC is a big plus for the earbuds.

The final aspect I must mention is the battery life of the earbuds, as often this is the area most sacrificed, especially when it comes to using earbuds or even headphones with ANC built in. The earbuds have a total of 30 hours across the earbuds and charging case, with 12 hours in the earbuds alone. However, this is only when the ANC is off, and instead, with the ANC on, you’re looking at something closer to 8 hours in the earbuds alone. For me, this was a decent amount of time and covered pretty much a whole day at work. Plus, the case supports fast charging, and with just a 5-minute charge, you can get another hour out of the earbuds, ready for the commute home. Overall, the charge is pretty decent. Would have liked it to be larger? Yes. However, for the level of adaptive noise cancellation, it’s a balance I think is justified with the Poly Voyager Free 20 Earbuds and especially for the price point.

Overall, the Poly Voyager Free 20 True Wireless Earbuds provide a great listening experience, supported by intuitive controls, a decent noise cancellation that adapts to your surroundings, and a fair battery life for all of this. If you’re looking to step up your true wireless earbuds that still stay under to £100 mark but deliver a good level of ANC supported by a sleek, minimal profile design, then the Poly Voyager Free 30 True Wireless Earbuds are a good next step into the world of in-ear noise-cancelling earbuds.

Pros:

• Sleek, low-profile earbuds that feel comfortable in your ears for all-day wear
• Adaptive noise cancellation to adjust to your environment for the best listening experience possible and clear calls
• Touch controls for easy control
• Powerful sound for such small units

Cons:

• I just wish the charge was a bit longer with ANC turned on, but this isn’t a huge problem with the additional charge in the charging case