Configuring the Voice VLAN setting is pivotal for enhancing the performance of communications over IP-based voice devices. This setting allows the switch to prioritize voice traffic over other types of network traffic, which is critical for reducing latency and ensuring clear audio transmissions. Though 802.1Q tagging helps in identifying traffic from different VLANs, it does not prioritize traffic. Link aggregation and Speed and duplex settings optimize bandwidth and connection quality respectively, but they do not prioritize voice traffic which is critical for performance in communication scenarios.