[Giogio]

  Hi there,
 
new guy here from Hamburg/Germany.
Found this site while searching for new bluetooth headphones for my daily commute to work.
 
My old ones are Sennheiser MM450 On-Ears which served me well but after 4 years I thought it was time to upgrade to Over-Ears, ideally with the same specs, namely wireless and noise-cancelling.
 
Bought the Samsung Level Over:
 
Like
+ sound is pretty good,
+ NC works well
+ bluetooth connection is absolutely rock solid (no skipping and absolutely no audio delay when watching youtube videos)
 
Do not like
- those are very big and heavy cans, as has already been mentioned in this thread.
- the fact that I can't fold them doesn't help either.
 
Tried the Sony MDR-1RBT:
 
Like
+ Bass heavier than the Level Over which I like
+ Pretty light and very comfortable to wear, especially around the neck
 
Do not like
- problems with my iPhone 6 (iOS 8.1) and apparently Apple devices in general (skipping/stuttering, usually the beginning of a track), see also https://us.en.kb.sony.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/37416/c/65,66/p/40940,41713,70251/ (though I am not talking about fast forwarding here)
- audio delay when watching videos is very noticeable
 
Before buying the MDR-1RBT at a local onlinestore I had actually already ordered the MK2 version from South Korea (ebay), but unfortunately my local customs office thought it was funny to send them back (no CE marking, thus officially not allowed in the EU). So I bought the previous model instead.
I probably could still get my hands on those cans by sending them directly to Thailand or Philippines. Business travel is due early February.
 
My question to you guys:
Should I bother getting my hands on the Sony MDR-1RBT MK2, considering the issues of the previous model with iOS devices? Anyone with an iPhone/iPad who can confirm that those problems have been fixed? At least the skipping problems? Those I absolutely can't stand. Aptx is basically useless to me right now, but who knows, Apple might change their mind in the near future (Damn me for being an Apple slave, otherwise I would have a Samsung S5).
 
Thanks for reading!
 
Yappa

Can you please stop stalking me in Amazon?
I'm joking.
I am writing you a PM.
 
LG

 

[Yappadappadu]

Got it.

 

[smileyboy]

Man, I can't wait for my backbeats to come in! I keep hearing such good things about them. Quick question when you bend over do they fall off your head?

No, Thye don't fall of my head.  But I use mine for walking around the house or if I'm out and about.  I don't use them for exercise.  
 

 
There is no "best". Because not all can be measured objectively, mmusic is also emotions, and sound is also tastes, and there are no similar pair of ears.
So you will always get different answers from different people.
And it also depends from which kind of music do you listen to, and which features you need.
 
I have opened another thread about BT Headphones, because I could compare 18 among the best (and some less best, and some just less without best). Mostly side by side. For weeks.
I think is important to have more than one thread to discuss things, and the idea of my thread is mostly about comparisons, so, people who have tried at least two different BT Headphones (in this moment there are two people, me and Kelleytoons, who tried about 20).
But of course it is welcome if somebody gives his opinion about one single Headphone.
 
Now, my preference is the Philips Fidelio M2BT. It does not have the soundstage of the Plantronics, but has WAY better bass (the best bass of all those I tried), and a very good overall sound.
It is the only headphones which makes me smile. The only one which makes me say wow.
 
It is unfortunately not yet available in the US.
 
In the US I think that the Plantronics and the Harman Kardon are wonderful choices.
But I also love the Bose Soundlink On Ear (which sounds amazing for its size and without Aptx) and the House of Marley Liberate XLBT, which have the warmest mids I have found till now, giving some magical tone to vocals. But it definitely needs EQ to increase highs.
 
I canot really suggest any other. Apart maybe the Samsung Level Over for peole who do not need much bass, need a good ANC, and like a warm sound signature but not so warm as the Liberate, and with more detail and soundstage.
 
PS: I will try the Parrot Zik 2 sooner or later. I cannot avoid it.
And you are right. I am also sure they will sound amazing. But we'll see

 
I agree that music is subjective to the user/listener.  the M2BTs were very well constructed.  But They are ON EAR headphones and not OVER THE EAR.  I think that drastically changes the sound.  I used mine about 2 hours and sent them back.  They sounded good, but not as good as the Plantronics.... The Plantroncis makes you feel as if you are in a concert.  If anyone is interested they can be purchased from Accesoryjack.com... Beware it will take 15-20 days to get them.  They ship from Hong Kong.
 
My test devices so far have been a 2013 Macbook Air (maxed out) and a iPhone 6 on 8.1.2, PS Vita

 

[Yappadappadu]

Well, after all the praise I just ordered the backbeats myself. Should be here next week.
I'll compare them to the Sony Level Over and the Sony MDR-1RBT (MK1). Maybe the backbeats are the best of both worlds (good bass with stable bluetooth connection and without skipping/stuttering issues when using an iPhone).
 
btw. still waiting for feedback by someone who tried the Sony MDR-1RBT MK2 with an iPhone/iPad. Anyone who can confirm that the iPhone stuttering/skipping problems of the previous MK1 model have been fixed?

 

[david8613]

A fellow forum member asked me about the headphones I have been using, here was my response.

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.

 

[Giogio]

  I agree that music is subjective to the user/listener.  the M2BTs were very well constructed.  But They are ON EAR headphones and not OVER THE EAR.  I think that drastically changes the sound.  I used mine about 2 hours and sent them back.  They sounded good, but not as good as the Plantronics.... The Plantroncis makes you feel as if you are in a concert.  If anyone is interested they can be purchased from Accesoryjack.com... Beware it will take 15-20 days to get them.  They ship from Hong Kong.
 
My test devices so far have been a 2013 Macbook Air (maxed out) and a iPhone 6 on 8.1.2, PS Vita

I think you should have given the Fidelio more time. I also needed more time to discover them better. Besides, some headphones need more time than other to reach their full potential.
You are surely right anyway, the Fidelio do not have the same soundstage of the Plantronics. There is no remedy to this.
But they have much better soundstage than ANY other On Ear I have tested and also than some Over the Ear.
What I like in them more than in the Plantronics are the bass: the bass of the Plantronics IS good, there is punch and rumble, but in the FIdelio there is same or a bit more punch, surely more rumble, and more wamrth. The bass is just more intense, and I talk especially of quality, of feeling, not only of volume.
No matter how much I could increase the EQ I never ever got with the Plantronics the quality of bass the Fidelio can give. EVER.
The Fidelio also sound warmer and more present than the Plantronics on vocals.
The plantronics sound more, soft, gentle, they are not cold, not absent, but a bit more soft and distant.
The Highs are better on the Pantronics, but I am totally satisfied with those of the Fidelio.
And the Fidelio are much more portable and better looking.
The Plantronics have more BT Range. This I miss it. I now have a blind spot just in my Kitchen, pity. But I can solve it if I go back to the Azio dongle which have more range than the Sennheiser.
I just need to get another mouse ot to sacrifice the special features of my mouse which the CSR Software disable for a bug when i use the Azio dongle.
 
A question: the Macbook Air does not support Aptx, right?
Because in this case it means you never listened to the M2BT with Aptx.
 

the ue 9000 open mic feature sounds better, and louder compared to the backbeat

make sure you visit the plantronics Web site and download the updater, the firmware on my set was an older one, 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.

Did you notice that while using open mic with the Plantronics you can increase the volume with the volume ring? It seemed pretty damn good to me at max volume, I could even ear my socks rubbing against the parquet.
 
I did not know of the update. ****.
Let us know which difference you hear.
But, I doubt they will offer different sound profiles, that is a very different kinf of beast. DO you think to what the Parrot Zik can do with their app?
I do not think that it is something easy to do. I think the plantronics have no interest in spending enough time and money in doing that.
But you are definitely right. It would be very cool if they do.

 

[n00b2]

  Well, after all the praise I just ordered the backbeats myself. Should be here next week.
I'll compare them to the Sony Level Over and the Sony MDR-1RBT (MK1). Maybe the backbeats are the best of both worlds (good bass with stable bluetooth connection and without skipping/stuttering issues when using an iPhone).
 
btw. still waiting for feedback by someone who tried the Sony MDR-1RBT MK2 with an iPhone/iPad. Anyone who can confirm that the iPhone stuttering/skipping problems of the previous MK1 model have been fixed?

Why don't you try PM one of the guys who tried out the MKII earlier on in the thread? Some of them must have had iPhones. Most of the contributers in the first 10 or so pages don't seem to post in this thread anymore. I only tried it with a Galaxy Note so I can't really help sorry.

 

[david8613]

did try the volume knob and yes it does get a little louder, but I like how the ue 9000 is at the right volume as soon as I press the button with music muted. I wish the backbeat pro would completely mute the music instead of shifting it to the background, even though I can pause the music and then hit open mic, I would rather be able to do this in one motion.

A little update to my thoughts, the back beat pro has very good noise cancelling. I did a better test in my car with my heater full bast driving on highway and car radio on, she cancels all low hum of the heater and road noise plus lowers radio voices to low mumbling. With no impact on sound quality. It definitely does a better job than the ue 9000 here. Comfort wise the ue 9000 is better it has slighty more padding its Alot more comfortable plus the shape of earpads helps too, the backbeats pads are softer but i wish they were a little thicker that would help the round shape pads feel better. Another thing I noticed is the ue 9000 is very smooth, kind of creamy sounding, darker, maybe a little looser bass wise. The backbeats are alot more articulate, sharper, brighter, faster, energetic in all frequencies, and she keeps up with the ue 9000 in bass deepness and quantity, but she is more revealing in the lows. so they might sound a little aggressive but its not really in a bad way. I could listen to the ue 9000 louder longer, the backbeats not so much, they give my ears a workout. Battery definitely lasts as long or maybe even longer than advertised, its long time! I'm so glad we have this thread, because I just hate wires!

 

[Yappadappadu]

Is it possible to deactivate both the blinking bluetooth light and the sensor that turns off the music when you take the backbeat pro off?
 
Quote:

 
Why don't you try PM one of the guys who tried out the MKII earlier on in the thread? Some of them must have had iPhones. Most of the contributers in the first 10 or so pages don't seem to post in this thread anymore. I only tried it with a Galaxy Note so I can't really help sorry.

I got the impression that none of them so far had an iPhone. But maybe I'll try my luck.
 
Wonder if Sony might show some new bluetooth headphones at CES?

 

[david8613]

There is no blinking blue lights on the backbeats, they have 5 little led battery indication lights, they only light up when you first turn on the unit showing battery level but turn off quickly, which is nice. Same thing with the anc a little white led turns on and shuts off quickly, which is nice so no annoying lights. Yes you can shut off sensors with the updater on plantronics website which does work. There is another way that you can shut it off by holding the open mic button and call button together for five seconds and you will hear a voice indicating sensors are on or off, I tried this method and heard the voice but it did not turn the feature on or off for me for some reason, not a big deal.

 

[david8613]

My logitech ue 9000 are officially for sale.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/749015/like-new-logitech-ue-9000-bluetooth-headphones-box-and-all-accessories-included

 

[Yappadappadu]

@david: Sounds great. The more customization options the better.

 

[CameronCrazy]

Great thread! Thanks for all the info.

I'm in the market for a good pair of over-ear BT Headphones. Budget is $350 or less. Prefer to buy on Amazon if possible.

Sound and Comfort are primary concerns.

- Will be used 98% of time with iPad & iPhone with Netflix & Music
- Headphones will probably not leave the house except for 2-3 long car rides a year
- Noise Cancellation not really a big deal
- Won't be used as a phone too much...great if it works...not a big deal if not,
- Can be charged daily if needed....battery life not a huge issue

- My music tastes are all over the map. Probably a mix of hip-hop, folksy music like Mumford and Sons, some old school rock, country etc. I do like bass but not a bass head by any means. I have an older pair of Bose wired on-ear that are ok butting blow me away.


After reading a ton online and in this thread I'm leaning towards the following but very open to feedback based on how they'll be used, etc.

1. Sony MDR-RBTMK2 - I am seeing two listings for these on Amazon....they have much different pricing and look different. I have not had a chance to listen to these as not many local places carry them. I did listen to the Sony MDR-10RBT and was not overly impressed.


http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-1RBTMK2-Bluetooth-Headphones-Earphones/dp/B00K7Z1V9C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420407103&sr=8-2&keywords=sony+mdr-1rbtmk2+bluetooth+wireless+stereo+headphones

http://www.amazon.com/SONY-Wireless-stereo-headset-MDR-1RBTMK2/dp/B00FJISZ0A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420407103&sr=8-1&keywords=sony+mdr-1rbtmk2+bluetooth+wireless+stereo+headphones


2. Samsung Level - I listened to these at Bestbuy and thought they sounded very good and comfort seemed just ok.

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Cancelling-Wireless-Headphones-Smartphones/dp/B00KGGK738/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420410301&sr=8-2&keywords=samsung+level+over

3. Beats Wireless Studio - I have no predetermined opinion of the beats line...their brand etc.… obviously there's a wide range of opinions on them on the Internet. How the headphones look is not overly concerning to me as I probably will not have them out in public but maybe once or twice a year in the event I'm lucky enough to find the poker room when we travel to Pittsburgh a couple times a year. I have had a chance to listen to the wired Studios several times and thought they sounded pretty decent but the Bass was a little too punchy for me to be honest.


4. Plantronics Backbeat Pro - gets pretty good reviews and I know a lot of it comes from a lot of the features that the headphones offers but I don't know how they compare sound-wise to the others I'm considering.

Thanks again....any feedback is greatly appreciated!

CC

 

[dieselvrr]

I've been keeping up with this thread in a quest to find the perfect set of BT headphones.  I'm in the U.S. and purposely stayed away from "grey market" headphones (M2BT, MK2).  With electronics, you never know when things will stop working.  So I ordered a pair of Phiaton MS 530.  I thought they sounded great off my Galaxy S4 with Aptx.  It had all the features I wanted with buttons that were easy to operate and access.  Call quality was great, people I was talking to didnt even know I was on a headset.  I thought I was going to keep them but after about 1 week of using them regularly, I started to realize they were a little heavy and the on ear configuration wasnt that comfortable.  So I returned them.
 
Then I picked up a pair of Matrix2 AF62.  These were a pleasant surprise, they sound great.  I think the MS 530 sounded a little better but the AF62 really held its own in terms of SQ.  The AF62 are really light and pretty comfortable with an over ear configuration.  The form factor and case it comes with is awesome, really slim and easy to throw in a bag.    At its price point, its really a good buy as primary or secondary headphones.  However I found a few things that bothered me.  The buttons were hard to operate and difficult to access with them being so close to each other.  Next, there are several features I really missed when comparing to the MS 530s such as  Multipoint connection and battery life notification.  Call quality was a disappointment as well.  So I will be returning these.
 
Just ordered a set of Plantronic Backbeat Pros..more to come.

 

[Yappadappadu]

@CameronCrazy:
 
Well, if you're looking for a more widely available Sony model to try in a local store, then look for the older Sony MDR-1RBT. If you like those, then you should also like the newer MK2 phones, even more if your music player supports aptx. The Sony MDR-10RBT are a lower class of Sony headphones, so they won't give you a good idea of what the Sony MDR-1RBT MK2 sound like.
 
To some of us the Samsung Level Over lack in bass (compared to the other headphones in your post) and for being big and thus no good choice for commuting. The latter obviously of no concern to you since you plan to use it at home mostly.