Cisco Headset 700 Series vs Polycom RealPresence Group Series

Likelihood to Recommend

As an over-the-head, snug-fitting over-the-ear headset, the style of the Cisco Headset 700 series will not be to everyone's taste. For those that like the style, I can confidently say that the audio quality, noise cancellation, and noise isolating microphones, are among the best across the competition. While the price point is on par with other high-end wireless/BT headsets, the styling and build quality means that these headsets fit in with the look and feel of high-end consumer brands, while delivering the performance and long-term reliability that is expected from a business solution.

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Verified User

Manager in Product Management

Telecommunications Company, 10,001+ employees

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Polycom RealPresence Group Series has been the best system I've worked with thus far. I would highly recommend it for colleges/universities, hospital or wellness administrative areas, executive/corporate companies, and businesses that employ more than 25 people. I would recommend it if a group uses the phone frequently, and plans meetings and conferences on a regular basis. It would be less ideal in a work setting with few staff or one in which a staff does not interact frequently.

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Verified User

Professional in Professional Services

Higher Education Company, 1001-5000 employees

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Pros

Compact and comes with protective hard shell case.
Has music capabilities for skipping songs which some other headsets don't have.
Sleek and modern looking.
Noise cancellation is good compared to Plantronics but not as good as Jabra.

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Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology

Financial Services Company, 1001-5000 employees

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Polycom are still a high-end videoconferencing manufacturer and it shows. The build quality is very high, with quality components provided. In the current environment where 'huddle-room' systems are taking over and are a mix of solutions from multiple manufacturers, you can tell the difference when you open the box and get dedicated hardware that is designed to work as a single package.
The audio quality is very good. May sound like an odd thing to consider audio quality before video quality, but if the sound is poor, it doesn't matter how good the video is - you wont stay in the meeting.
Great video from the dedicated cameras. The image quality is high and the camera is silent when it moves to presets.

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John-James Worrall

Cloud Communications Specialist

ScanSource Imago UKTelecommunications, 201-500 employees

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Cons

The pressure on ears is a bit high, after some time ears start [to hurt].
Mute button is not conveniently located, sometimes it is difficult to find it.
Strange beep sound comes sometimes, don't know from where.

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Verified User

Paraprofessional in Social Media

Education Management Company, 5001-10,000 employees

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We needed to interact with the networking staff who were intent on using Cisco products, and this slowed down implementation.
Though it was easy to train users to operate the equipment those who were not trained frequently had difficulty starting up a meeting without assistance

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Alfred Brock

Communications Specialist

Yazaki, NAAutomotive, 10,001+ employees

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Likelihood to Renew

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

Polycom RealPresence Group Series 7.3

Based on 1 answer

We love the product and is totally integrated in our company.

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Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology

Retail Company, 10,001+ employees

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Support Rating

Cisco Headset 700 Series 6.9

Based on 2 answers

Too expensive and too heavy and too uncomfortable. It just didn't deliver the experience that we thought we would get based on the price. I can get the same features, for cheaper, with a more comfortable headset from another vendor. So overall this one just never got put on the final list.

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Joshua Baever

Sr. Systems Administrator

T-MobileTelecommunications, 10,001+ employees

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Polycom RealPresence Group Series 8.2

Based on 1 answer

They are responsive and very knowledgeable.

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Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology

Retail Company, 10,001+ employees

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Alternatives Considered

Plantronics Voyager, although it serves the same purpose, isn’t the same at all! The fact that we are a Cisco and Webex [shop] made it so simple once Cisco started offering headsets. Having to connect desk phones with Poly headsets required connectors and offered no visibility. Cisco managed to give a well designed and powerful headset alternative to everyone, but clearly a no-brainer for Cisco environment.

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Verified User

Account Manager in Sales

Internet Company, 11-50 employees

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The Polycom RealPresence Group Series was top of the line. It had a lot more features as well as the ability to integrate with Microsoft Teams. With Highfive, you had to pay to keep the device running and it was more like renting it. Although we pay maintenance with Polycom we will own the devices. The Highfive camera also didn't move. Lifesize was comparable but it did not integrate with Microsoft Teams at the time. It may as of now, I am not sure.

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Verified User

Administrator in Information Technology

Plastics Company, 201-500 employees

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Return on Investment

Although expensive, you get what you pay for with crystal clear audio on meetings.
Being able to use this headset for multiple scenarios also makes the cost easier to justify.

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Daniel Hosking

National Manager Architecture Services

NEC AustraliaComputer Networking, 1001-5000 employees

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Once pexip integrates Polycom/skype this will be a big win for us due to the RPTouch integrating the "one - touch join". This will increase adoption of video greatly.
Before the Group series with peripherals was implemented the cost of a video room was twice what it is today. Massive win.
Due to provisioning and automated firmware the IT involvement has been greatly reduced. No longer is there a need for manual changes to individual endpoints.

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Adam Bruneau

North America Audio Video Support Specialist

Analog DevicesSemiconductors, 10,001+ employees

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Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

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Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Entry-level set up fee?

No

General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

Cisco Headset 700 Series vs Polycom RealPresence Group Series