When I think Plantronics I think, headsets, call centers, skype, perhaps some gaming. But generally: phone calls. Who knew this company can deliver an excellent sounding headphone for listening to music!
This is one of those headphones where everything sounds accentuated, the backbeat pro never sounds dull or boring, they are energetic, spicy-poised in the upper mids, treble has sparkle, it sounds detailed for a wireless noise canceler. Bass is punchy, extends down low, and has authority but never bleeds into the mids, for HiFi purists it might be a touch boomy and not super fast enough, but only on select tracks and only when it hits. Nevertheless this is a very CLEAR sounding headphone, nothing ever gets muffled, smokey or dark. Vocals are forward and rendered very naturally. However the treble can be a little splashy when the track gets busy, on those occasions it sounds a hair, and really just a hair artificial. Overall balance is excellent to my ears. Imaging is slightly above average for a closed headphone, at least compared to those I owned.
For 155€ from Amazon germany these are a real winner!
I can't say much about the active noise cancelling, the only comparison I have would be the Bose QC25 I had before, and I recall the QC25 being better in that department. The Backbeat Pro does a good job with the lowest frequencies, but the Bose was able to cancel noise a touch higher up the spectrum as well as to a greater extent in general. HOWEVER the Backbeat Pro mops the floor with the QC25 in terms of sound quality!
the only real con I found is the call quality, for reasons I dont know the call quality with whatsapp is horrible, tinny, distorted. Didn't test other programs yet. It is listenable, but nothing for hour long conversattions.
another cool feature is that the music is muted if you put the headphones around your neck or take them off and put them on the desk, and then resumes playback when you put them back on your head.
There is some nice quality pleather on the earpads and headband, otherwise the plastic is okay, it doesn't scream high end but it also doesn't feel cheap. They do come with a serial number printed on the inner hinge as well as the box.
I think the carrying bag should get a special mention, it is no hardcase, but the outer material seems durable, and the inner material is a really soft velour type material.