HP Poly Mission 825 review: A comfortable wired headset built for busy offices

I have been using the HP Poly Mission 825 Stereo USB Wired Headset for the past two weeks, primarily for Microsoft Teams calls, in an open-plan office that has very little soundproofing. So, rather than testing it in a nice quiet home office, I have been using it in the environment it is actually designed to handle: people talking, phones ringing, conversations happening around me and the general background noise that comes with an office where everyone is working in the same space.

Overall, I have been pleasantly surprised by how easy these headphones have been to live with. They are lightweight, comfortable enough to wear for long periods, the controls make sense without having to think about them, and most importantly, I haven’t found myself constantly adjusting them or taking them off between calls.

Design and comfort

The Mission 825 is an on-ear stereo headset, weighing just 164 grams. It has memory foam ear cushions, a padded headband and a relatively lightweight construction. HP has specifically designed it for extended use, and after wearing them for several hours at a time, I can see why.

For me, comfort is one of the biggest positives.

In training for a new role, I spend a fair amount of time on Teams, and there is nothing worse than a headset that starts to feel heavy or uncomfortable after an hour. These didn’t do that. They fit nicely without feeling overly tight, and I didn’t experience that feeling where you are suddenly very aware that you have headphones clamped to your head.

In fact, one of the best things I can say about them is that I sometimes forgot I was wearing them. The ear cushions are covered in PU leather with memory foam underneath, which gives them a nice amount of cushioning without making the headset feel bulky. The headset is also fairly unobtrusive.

 

How does the HP Poly Mission 825 perform in an open office?

This was probably the part I was most interested in because I work in an open office with very little soundproofing. There is always something going on around me, whether it is people talking, phones ringing or conversations happening nearby.

HP says the headset is designed for open offices and has noise cancellation and four microphones to help reduce the background noise. I’m not technical enough to tell you exactly how all of that works, but after using it for Teams calls for two weeks, I can tell you that it seems to do a pretty good job.

It doesn’t completely block out the office, and I wouldn’t expect it to. I can still hear what is going on around me, but I found that once I was on a call, I wasn’t as distracted by all the background noise.

The microphone was probably the biggest surprise for me. I was expecting that working in a noisy office might mean people on my calls would hear everything going on around me, but that really wasn’t the case. I didn’t have people constantly asking me to repeat myself or complaining about the noise in the background.

For me, that’s probably the best test of whether a headset actually works. I don’t really care how many microphones or how clever the technology is if the person on the other end can’t hear me properly. With these, that hasn’t been a problem.

 

Microphone and noise reduction

According to HP, the Mission 825 uses four microphones and has a microphone bandwidth of 50 Hz to 16 kHz. The boom can rotate through 285 degrees, so you can wear it on either side. It also has a useful lift-to-mute function, meaning you can simply move the microphone boom upwards to mute yourself. I really liked this feature. There is something much more intuitive about physically moving the microphone away from your mouth when you want to mute yourself rather than having to remember which button does what. It is particularly useful when you are working in an open office. If someone walks up to your desk while you are on a call, you can lift the microphone and know you are muted without having to hunt around for a button.

Controls and Microsoft Teams integration

The headset has controls for volume up and down, mute/unmute, Microsoft Teams, answering, ignoring or ending calls, and switching ANC on and off. I found the controls very easy to use.

This sounds like a small thing, but I think it is actually quite important. There are some devices where you have to look at the buttons and think, “Which one am I supposed to press?” I didn’t find that with these. The controls are intuitive and quickly became second nature. There are also voice alerts for things such as mute status, incoming calls and volume levels, which gives you confirmation without necessarily having to look at the headset.

The dedicated Microsoft Teams button is particularly useful if Teams is where you spend most of your working day. The headset is Microsoft Teams certified, as well as being certified for Google Meet, Zoom Workplace Headset and other collaboration platforms. Basically, the certifications are a reassurance that the headset has been tested to work properly with those platforms, rather than simply being a headset that happens to have a USB connection.

Busy light for open-office calls

Another feature that makes a surprising amount of sense in an open office is the busy light.

The Mission 825 has a 360-degree visible indicator light on the earcups that shows when you are on a call, helping people around you see that you are occupied. I really appreciated this. In an office without much soundproofing, people can obviously see that you are wearing headphones, but the busy light gives a much clearer “I’m currently on a call” signal. It is one of those simple features that seems insignificant until you actually use it. However, it does rely on people being observant enough to notice the light, and considerate enough to understand that it means I’m on a call and come back when I’m free.

Audio quality for Teams calls

The sound quality has been really good for Teams calls. I can hear people clearly and I haven’t had any issues with the volume or having to concentrate to make out what someone is saying.

I haven’t really tested them for music, so I can’t comment on how they compare to a pair of headphones specifically designed for listening to music. For what I have used them for, which is mainly Teams calls, they have been great.

The sound is clear without being tinny or overly loud, and conversations are easy to follow. I also like that I can adjust the volume directly from the headset rather than having to reach for my computer. For me, that’s really all I need from a work headset. I want to be able to hear the person I’m talking to clearly, without having to think about the technology behind it, and these have done that really well.

USB-C wired connection

The Mission 825 is a wired headset, connecting via USB-C and supplied with a USB-C to USB-A adapter. The cable is approximately two metres long which gave me plenty of flexibility at a desk without being excessively long and getting tangled everywhere.

For an office environment, I actually think the wired connection is a positive. There is no Bluetooth pairing to worry about, no battery to charge and no wondering whether the headset is going to die halfway through a Teams meeting. You plug it in and it works.

Obviously, the trade-off is that you are physically connected to your computer, so this isn’t the headset I’d choose if I wanted to wander around the office while talking. For sitting at a desk and working, though, I don’t mind the cable at all.

Carrying pouch and portability

One of the nice little extras is the carrying case. The headset comes with a soft grey fabric pouch, along with the USB-C to USB-A adapter and the usual quick-start and warranty documentation.

The pouch isn’t anything extravagant, but I like having somewhere to put the headset when I’m not using it. It also makes the headset much easier to take between the office and home without simply throwing it into a laptop bag where it can get squashed or tangled up with everything else.

Platform and software compatibility

The Mission 825 is compatible with Windows 11, macOS, Chrome OS, Android and iOS. It is also certified for Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Works With Chromebook and Zoom Workplace. For someone who uses Teams as their main communication platform, the Microsoft Teams certification is probably the most relevant part of that list.

There is also an HP Poly Studio app for managing the headset, although I found that the basic headset controls were straightforward enough that I didn’t feel I needed to download the app to change things.

What I liked about the HP Poly Mission 825

After two weeks of everyday use, the things that stand out to me are actually quite simple.

• The weight – At around 164 grams, they are light enough that wearing them for several hours wasn’t an issue.
• The comfort – The memory foam ear cushions and padded headband make them comfortable without feeling bulky.
• The microphone – The four-microphone AI noise reduction is particularly useful in my open office environment.
• The controls – Everything is where I expected it to be, and the buttons are intuitive.
• The lift-to-mute microphone – Very handy and much more natural than having to find a mute button every time.
• The busy light – A genuinely useful feature when you’re sitting in an open office and don’t want people interrupting a call.
• The fact that they are wired – No charging, no pairing and no battery anxiety.
• The carrying pouch – A simple inclusion, but one I will actually use.

What could be better?

The biggest limitation for me is simply that these are on-ear headphones rather than over-ear. That isn’t necessarily a criticism because the on-ear design is part of why they are so lightweight and comfortable. But if you are looking for complete isolation from your surroundings, an over-ear headset would probably be a better choice. The ANC helps, but it isn’t going to completely remove the sound of an office around you. Personally, I think that is a reasonable compromise. I don’t necessarily want to be completely isolated from the office anyway.

The other obvious limitation is the wired connection. Again, for my use that isn’t really a problem, but anyone who likes to get up and walk around during calls will probably prefer a wireless headset.

HP Poly Mission 825: My overall impression

After two weeks, I would describe the HP Poly Mission 825 as a very practical work headset rather than a flashy piece of technology.

And I mean that as a compliment.

It does the things I actually need a work headset to do. It is comfortable for long periods, it handles the background noise of my open office reasonably well, the microphone does a good job of keeping my voice clear, the controls are easy to understand and I don’t have to think about charging it.

Most importantly, it doesn’t become annoying.

I could wear it for a long Teams call, finish the call and carry on working without feeling like I needed to take the headset off immediately. In fact, there were times when I realised I’d forgotten I was still wearing it.

For anyone working in an open-plan office, particularly someone who spends a significant part of their day on Teams calls, I think the Mission 825 is a very solid option. It isn’t trying to be everything to everyone. It is a lightweight, comfortable, purpose-built communications headset that does its job without making a fuss.

And sometimes that is exactly what you want from office technology.

With thanks to HP for the opportunity to test this unit. You can grab a set here HP Poly Mission 825 for A$189.95.