Plantronics BackBeat Pro
MSRP $249.00
“For the die-hard traveler, the BackBeat Pro provides the right blend of cutting-edge technology and performance.”
Avg
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Best-in-class battery life
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Full of practical features
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Solid noise cancellation
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Superior sound quality
Against
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Passive sound quality is too dark
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Treble can be aggressive
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Loss of built-in controls for wired connection
When the BackBeat Pro landed on our desk, we weren’t sure what to think. The last time a Plantronics product sat on our heads was in a call center, so it would be an understatement to say that the headset didn’t trigger a flood of great memories. But then we took a closer look at the box and its pretty impressive list of specs: amazing battery life, amazing wireless range, amazing noise cancellation – amazing, really!
Plantronics has the engineering skills to pull off such tricks, and the BackBeat Pros aren’t the first time in the headphone rodeo either. The company has had some success with the BackBeat Go 2 and BackBeat Fit. In addition, the company has been producing reliable headphones for wireless communication for decades. In fact, it started making headphones for airline pilots back in 1961.
However, making headphones for communication and headphones for playing music are two completely different animals. First and foremost, the BackBeat Pro had to sound good, and we’re happy to report that it does – far better than we expected, in fact. If you travel a lot, you should give the BackBeat Pro a test drive. They’re one of the most comprehensive sets of noise-cancelling headphones we’ve tried so far.
Out of the box
The highlight of the BackBeat Pro’s packaging is its bold claims: Up to 24 hours of continuous wireless streaming, a range of up to 330 feet, and a “DeepSleep” hibernation mode that extends battery life up to 6 months. Can these headphones live up to any of those promises? Experience tells us: probably not. But we were going to have fun finding out anyway.
Although lighter than they look, the BackBeat Pros are still heavier. Some of the volume of cans comes from the headphones’ well-stocked ear cups, which are covered by control dials. On the inside, the earcups are very well padded, which you won’t hear us complain about.
In the box with the BackBeat Pro, we found a rugged travel case (seriously, this thing could be bulletproof) with super-plush purple padding, a purple headphone cable, and a purple charging cable. Unfortunately, the ¼-inch adapter isn’t included, which draws a big sad emoji out of us.
Features and design
If you’re looking for brag-worthy headphones, the BackBeat Pro certainly fits the bill. The cans can connect via Bluetooth to two devices at once, and when connected to another Class 1 Bluetooth device, can command a wireless range of over 300 feet. Of course, most smartphones and tablets are Class 2 devices, which makes Plantronics’ wireless range claims a lot less meaningful. Still, we’ve found that they outperform most of the Bluetooth headphones we have on hand in terms of wireless range, managing to stay connected when we’re moving around corners more than 30 feet away.
We used the headphones for almost 26 hours before needing to charge them.
Even more significant is the BackBeat Pro’s battery life claim, which is said to be a maximum of 24 hours with noise cancellation on and up to 60 hours with noise cancellation off. We’re happy to report that the BackBeat Pro delivers on Plantronics’ promise and then some. We used the headphones (with noise canceling and Bluetooth always on) for almost 26 hours on the flight to and from Berlin before needing to charge them. That should mean the phones will handle most return domestic flights with ease.
When it comes to interfacing with your smartphone, BackBeat Pro offers a best-in-class experience. When connected via Bluetooth, a scroll wheel around the left earcup lets you fast forward and rewind tracks. Pressing the disc-shaped button surrounded by a wheel plays/pauses the music. On the right, another wheel controls the volume, and another button answers phone calls. Plug in a headphone cable and the controls on the left side of the cans will be disabled in favor of built-in cable controls.
A favorite feature among commuters/commuters may be the mute switch on the bottom of the right ear cup, which not only muffles the audio signal passing through, but directs any sound picked up by the headset’s microphone, making it easy to place that drink order when the drink cart comes by.
Image used with permission of the copyright holder
We also think users will love the fact that the BackBeat Pro goes into a sort of hibernation mode whenever the headphones are removed from the ear to extend battery life. A sensor inside the left earcup detects when the ear is present and enables/disables playback accordingly. You can play with this feature by simply lifting the left earbud from your ear.
It should be noted that the BackBeat Pro can be used passively with a headphone cable, regardless of the battery condition – even if you run out of power, you don’t have to worry about suffering in silence. As you’d expect, the sound quality you get with the headphones off is vastly different from what you get with them on, and even more so when the active noise cancellation feature is on.
Other great features include a 5-LED on-board battery indicator, smartphone battery status indicator display, clear left/right indicators on the inside of the earcups, and multilingual voice prompts covering power status, battery life, Bluetooth pairing status, maximum volume, and more .
Comfort
As with all headphones, comfort levels will vary based on variables such as head width and ear size. Still, we can say that the BackBeat Pro has a modest amount of clamping force and has enough padding on the ear cups and headband for comfortable long-term wear. We noticed that after about 4 hours of continuous wear, we were ready for a short break.
Sound quality
Any headphone that has a power button will sound different when it’s off than when it’s on – that’s what usually happens when you introduce an active circuit. Furthermore, active noise cancellation further shapes the sound, meaning headphones with ANC on will sound even more different. BackBeat Pro is no exception to these rules.
When turned on, the BackBeat Pro comes alive
When played completely passively, the BackBeat Pro has a laid-back, slightly two-dimensional sound that’s punctuated by a clear bass punch that makes the drums stand out. We also noticed that the upper mids/lower treble lacked a certain amount of zest, making the midrange sound a bit hollow and muffled. We wouldn’t go so far as to say that the BackBeat Pros are murky in passive mode, but they do lack a certain openness and engagement.
When turned on, the headphones come to life, adding excitement to the upper mids and highs that aren’t shy about biting too much. With this enhancement of the treble region, the BackBeat Pro exhibits a lot of detail and harmonic overtones. They are also spectacularly dynamic. Bass is also a major figure, but with the rest of the frequency range better balanced, it stands out less. The bass is also as harmonious as it is deep – you get a clear definition of the tonality of a bass guitar, for example, which sets a highly musical foundation for the rest of the sound.
Those who don’t understand how noise-canceling circuitry works might be surprised to learn that the BackBeat Pro sounds a lot different with ANC on – if no real noise cancellation, ie We noticed in our office testing that turning on ANC resulted in a loss of bass response and an extremely choppy upper-mid sound that seemed nasal. We suspected that the BackBeat Pro would sound significantly different when in an environment where their ANC circuitry could work as designed. We were right.
Image used with permission of the copyright holder
We took four separate round trip flights with the BackBeat Pro and took the Samsung Level Over along for the ride on one of those trips. Not only did the BackBeat Pro sound significantly different with the ANC circuit working hard to cancel out the rumble of jet engines, but they were also superior to the Level Over in terms of noise canceling ability and overall sound quality, expressing more dynamics and realism, slightly deeper bass and better isolation from background noise.
Our only real criticism of the BackBeat Pro would be their tendency to get a little more aggressive in the treble on high-treble tracks. For example, Rodrigo y Gabriela’s album,11:11, there are a lot of sharp transitions that come from hard hitting the guitar strings and playful snaps on the guitar body. With this song, the highs tended to hit our ears more than we would have liked. However, this effect was not a problem for 90 percent of our listening.
Conclusion
The BackBeat Pro may be bulky and industrial looking, but what they lack in aesthetics, they make up for with fantastic features and excellent sound. And while Plantronics’ latest can’t beat the Bose QC25 at their own noise-canceling game, they come very close and sound better. For die-hard travelers, the BackBeat Pro delivers the right mix of cutting-edge technology and performance, all at a price that’s lower than the competition.
Tall
- Best-in-class battery life
- Full of practical features
- Solid noise cancellation
- Superior sound quality
Falls
- Passive sound quality is too dark
- Treble can be aggressive
- Loss of built-in controls for wired connection
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Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn