I'm no audio expert by a long shot but I know what I like. For a long time I have been using the logitech ue 9000, I'm actually on my third pair. I kept trying to upgrade and failed each time,. The innerfidelty review was spot on, I just love those headphones so much. I just received the plantronics backbeat pro yesterday., they sound really good out of the box, they have a very clear energetic sound were the ue 9000 are more laid back, warmer sound. The backbeats bass is very, very good, she can go low no problem and sound strong, the ue 9000 can also go low easily and shows slightly more strength, and muscularity in this department. Mids are right up front and very clear on the backbeats. They are alot faster more energitec here compared to the ue 9000. The ue 9000 mids are more laid back but also sound very good, different flavor I guess. The treble is were these cans are very different, the backbeats have very good, very detailed highs, but to my ears are a slightly sharp/bright sounding, were the ue 9000 treble are nicely rolled off, and warmer, less bright but still very nice treble. They just don't have the same level of detail that the backbeats show in the highs which I like. When I say the highs sound sharp its mostly when the volume is higher or the track has alot of that treble frequency. Due to the treble difference I think I can wear the ue 9000 longer easily with less fatigue. I'm doing a burn in now, so I'm hoping the highs will soften up some. The sound stage is excellent, nice, wide and layered on both the ue 9000 and the backbeats, this is what was sorely missing on the sony MDRXB950BT when I had them, they sounded very closed in to me, I didn't like that. All the features work great on the backbeat, although the ue 9000 open mic feature sounds better, and louder compared to the backbeat that sounded a little low volume wise, I wonder if I can fix that with the plantronics updater software. The backbeats are heavier than the ue 9000 on the scale, but in your hands and on your head the backbeats felt alot lighter for some weird reason, maybe because the ue 9000 has more metal, denser plastic. Both are very comfortable and fit well but I prefer the ue 9000 oval shaped cans better than backbeats round cans they just feel better on my ears, the backbeats pads are noticeably softer. I noticed the ue 9000 block outside noise passively better because they have zero vents, the backbeats have small vents all around the cups so i can hear outside noises easily even someone speaking to me is clear. When turned on with music this was a none issue so its just an observation. Having vents they should leak noise but the backbeats do not. The ue 9000 also seal very well in this respect. Noise cancellation works great on both units when turned on, backbeat might be slightly better. The backbeats bluetooth range is about the same as the ue 9000 maybe even slightly shorter, I expected it to be alot longer but nope it is not! I think the ue 9000 signal passes through walls better it seems. This is the first head phone besides the ue 9000 that I really liked, I will be happier if I can get the treble to calm down a little we will see after some more burn in time. Overall I really like the backbeats alot, I think plantronics have a winner here, 2 thumbs up for sure! If you do buy these make sure you visit the plantronics Web site and download the updater, the firmware on my set was an older version, with the newer one improving sound quality and some other things. I hope in the future plantronics can provide different sound profiles through the updater, it would be a cool feature to have just like my gaming headset. The devices I use are samsung galaxy note 3 and samsung galaxy note 12.2 with neutron app and flac files or the milk music app. No equalizer were used, I don't like using them, they change the sound to much for me.
Reviews by david8613
CCJ22
@headcoatman thank you so much.
First, to address david8613's comment about the open mic not being very loud--I felt the same at first, until I watched a YouTube video which described that the volume dial can also be used to increase the sound entering through the mic. Seems fairly obvious now, but I never would have thought of that. Perhaps you already knew and are still unsatisfied with the mic, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to pass on the tip. I thought it made a dramatic difference.
BTW, I too am hoping the treble calms down over time. I'm not sure how long a burn-in period is supposed to take, on average. I've used these for four nights totalling about 15 hours I'd say (and the battery level is still at "high"!!), but do find the very bright treble to be fatiguing. I can usually find a nice EQ adjustment that will take care of that, but every record is different. What works for one playlist or artist might not work for another. And I do hate constantly adjusting EQ just to enjoy my music.
Second, I updated the firmware last night to the latest version. I was hoping it might fix the issue with what I consider to be slightly more than occasional dropouts and stuttering, but sadly, no. At least not that I've noticed yet. I can't say I hear any difference in the sound quality with the update, but it did create a couple short-lived issues.
After updating, the feature where the music stops playing when you take the cans off your head and then resumes when you put them back on stopped working. The music would still pause but would never resume. Had to hit the play/pause button. Also, the feature where you can click on the right ear piece and hear the battery status started working differently. Out of the box, this feature worked with a single click when the music was paused. After the update this was no longer the case. I figured out that I had to hold down the call button until it beeped a second time. Then I had to click it once more. At that point it would finally indicate the battery level. I tested both of these issues several times and it was always the same.
I contacted Plantronics Live Chat support and was told the following:
1. Delete the headset from your cell phone's list of paired devices.
2. Once deleted, power your phone completely off, then power it back on. This resets the Bluetooth stack in the Bluetooth software on the phone.
3. Re-pair the headset with your phone.
If this does not fix your issue, we suggest pairing the headset to another cell phone as a test. If the issue is not present on the second phone, then the problem may be with the first phone, rather than the headset. If the issue exists on the second phone as well, you will need to replace the headset.
I was skeptical but lo and behold, it did work. Features are once again working as they are supposed to.
Hope someone may find this helpful.