When you mention Plantronics, most immediately think of high-quality hands-free headsets for their office or mobile phone. But Plantronics has been slowly edging their way into the entertainment and fitness space with the introduction of their Backbeat series of headphones. Their latest product, the Backbeat Pro wireless Bluetooth noise-cancelling headphones, puts competitor Bose in the crosshairs, providing a feature-rich alternative for travelers, commuters, or those just wishing to shut out the world and immerse themselves in music.
When my review sample arrived from Plantronics, the first thing I noticed was the premium packaging. The outer purple paperboard sleeve lists the product’s specifications, giving the consumer almost everything they need to know about the headphones. The sleeve boasts 24 hours of battery time, active noise cancelling, pairing of up to two devices, NFC pairing, 40mm dynamic drivers, Bluetooth 4.0, and the ability to stream up to 330 feet when using a class 1 Bluetooth device. Sounds intriguing.
After removing the outer sleeve, the headphones are packaged in a clear plastic box with cardboard top and bottom lids, seated in a molded plastic insert. Underneath the insert is a black ballistic nylon pouch lined with dark purple velour on the inside. In the pouch are a micro USB charging cable, a 3.5mm inline cable, and a quick start guide. I picked up the headphones and found them to be fairly lightweight and well-padded on both the earcups and headband.
The left earcup contains a play/pause button on the outer portion, surrounded by a notched dial for skipping forward or back within a playlist. On the back is a switch for Active Noise Cancelling, with micro USB and 3.5mm input on the bottom of the earcup.
The outer portion of the right earcup has a call button, allowing you to also use the headphone as a hands-free headset and take calls while listening to music, and the outer notched dial controls the listening volume. On the rear is a power button with lights to indicate the battery level at the time the headphones are turned on. On the bottom is an OpenMic button allowing the user to hear their surroundings without having to remove the headphones.
I followed the instructions to pair the Backbeat Pro with my LG G2 smartphone, which was a very simple task. I then placed the headphones on my head, adjusted the fit, and upon powering on the headphones, a pleasant-sounding female announces the battery level (high, medium, or low) and if the phone is connected. I then began listening to various sources of music, including selections from my phone’s library as well as streaming services like Pandora and iHeart Radio. Sound quality was rich and clear, with no noticeable added distortion or noise, even with Active Noise Cancellation turned on. And the noise cancellation worked extremely well, blocking out the meows of a noisy and very high maintenance cat, the neighborhood gardeners, and conversations taking place nearby. Turning Active Noise Cancellation on and off had little noticeable effect on the quality of what I was listening to. Pausing and skipping through tracks using the controls on the left earcup worked flawlessly, provided the application was in the foreground on my phone. Another nice feature is the automatic pausing of music when removing the headphones and automatic playing when placing the headphones back on your head. The pause/play and track skipping features are disabled when listening to music while playing a game or browsing Facebook. The volume dial moved smoothly, with the female voice indicating when volume as at the minimum or maximum settings. Listening range was also impressive, as I left my phone at my desk and walked to every room in my two-story condo without any loss of signal. The OpenMic button was a nice feature, allowing me to listen to my surroundings and hear someone speaking to me without having to remove the headphones. Simply press the button to turn the microphone on, and again to turn it off. You can adjust the volume of the OpenMic using the volume dial as a fader between streaming audio and the microphone.
Battery life was also impressive. Even though the headphones arrived with what appeared to be a full charge, I charged them for several hours with the provided USB cable before using them. I’ve had the headphones for almost three weeks, using them for a few hours each day, and are still at high (with the battery level lights showing four out of five). One of the nice added features of the Backbeat Pro is the 3.5mm input, allowing the headphones to be used wired or wireless, which, according to Lars Ahntholtz of Plantronics, also allows them to be used as traditional headphones should the battery become depleted.
I really enjoyed the Plantronics Backbeat Pro headphones. My only complaint, and it’s a minor one, is that Plantronics could have included a USB to AC adapter to charge the batteries for those who do not have a USB charging station, but you can pick those up at any electronics or mobile phone store for a few bucks.
4.5 stars out of 5
