Hmmm. Did you ask Plantronics to change the headphones with a new one? I have never heard of such problems as the ones you had. It is quite possible that it was a defected unit. I would have definitely tried at least a second one.
I was about to suggest you the Bose, let me know how do you like them. I think the vocal are well present and the overall sound is fresh. Highs are not sibilant but crispy, especially admirable in a non Aptx headphone. I have loved them quite a lot. And they have a very clear battery LED indicator and also voice prompts to tell you about that. They have multipoint too.
And are extremely comfortable.
When you wrote about present vocals I wanted to suggest the Audio Technica ATh-WS99BT but the fact is, they have thin earpads and many people complain that their ears touch the drivers and this is not comfortable. My ears touch them to a bit and after a couple of hours this become not comfortable. I am still looking for a new set of earpads.
Anyway I am in the process of returning them because I have discovered that they are semi closed and leak sound, and I use them mostly on the bus. People are not happy about it.
If I find new earpads I may be tempted to order them again when they are cheaper, because the sound is just extremely good.
The House of Marley have also a very strong presence in the mid region, vocals sound amazing. You need something with EQ anyway, because without EQ they severely lack highs. The bass is strong but not too much (for me). I liked them a lot. They have balls.
The Akg (you probably mean K845) have wonderful wonderful highs. A really pristine sound with plenty of detail. But mids were not very warm, and bass was for me quite lacking (and no response to EQ, unfortunately). I have found them somehow boring.
The 1RBT does not worth. Just, forget it. I would investigate on which seller is suggested for the MK2 and if they offer a return and refund policy which you like. If not, just leave Sony aside or wait till the ABT will be available.
The Jabra Revo could be good for big head. On my head they were too lose. So, you can't move too much. At least, no fitness. But they sound nice. The bass is punchy and warm, the mids are also warm and present. The highs need for my tastes some eq, and if you can apply some kind of reverb to make them more open is also good. In my Xperia there is something like that, Studio, Hall, etc. Otherwise they sound a bit, too closed. I remember that the difference with the Sennheiser MM400X and the Bose Soundlink On Ear was clear. Bose and Sennheiser were much more crispy and fresh and open.
I preferred the Jabra over the Sennheiser but not over the Bose.
The urbanite XLBT are ok for Techno. I am not sure about all what you listen. Their bass is a bit dark and somehow muddy. The highs are excellent, there is lot of detail, and mids are present and strong. But there is this darkness which I could never completely take away with the EQ. Some tracks (as said, Tecno) sounded divine. Then Dos Aguas from paco De Lucia was horrible, really horrible on them.
The Jlab Omni are cool. They have voice prompts. I do not like the design, a real imitation of the Momentum. Bad taste. But the sound was really good. Balanced, with good bass. A bit "turned off", not very lively. Like the Harman Kardon BT. But you can improve it with EQ. They are worth the price for sure. Even more.
If you try the Matrix2 let me know. I wanted to give them a try at least for reference. They have so good reviews. I think that they may fit your musical tastes.
I also think that the S1+ could be good. But I myself never tried them yet (this may change soon thanks to Mike of Pendulumic).
Now, coming to my ex love, the Fidelio M2BT. Do not buy them at their price. They are not worth that money. EVER. But, they sound excellent. I still miss them. Compared side to side with the ATH-WS99BT they did not sound so lively anymore. The ATH are even more lively, present and detailed, sound much louder and have much better range. But the Fidelio are more balanced, especially if you cannot EQ (the ATH have too much low mid) and have still, for my tastes, the best bass ever. Although in some kind of bass the ATH are better. But there is something in the body and depth of the bass of the Fidelio, which I have only found in the UE9000.
You may want to read my review of them to have more details.
A guy posted a link a few posts ago. The starter of the Thread on High End Bluetooth Headphones. n00b2. Have a look. Those Definitive Technology seem to be promising, with that description of feeling like inside a hall. He anyway prefer, overall, the Momentum.
I personally suspect that the Momentum will not have the quantity of Bass I need. And I am not ready to pay that much if I cannot have all what I need. This is why in the while I have ordered the Bang and Olufsen. I have the suspect that something described as with deep bass is what I look for. Besides, they are reviewed 4 and 5 stars. Costing 500 Euro, I would be extremely pissed off if they are not excellent, and I would review them 2 stars to include the terrible relation price/quality. So, they should be good.
I will let you know soon.
Lots of great information here, thank you very much.
I think I will forget about the AKG, Urbanite, and Sony, but may revisit Sony if/when the MK2 and/or the ABT become widely available in the US, and are easy to return. On Amazon, there is a listing for the Sony MDR-1RBTMK2, but it is questionable. There are some comments doubting the fact that they are actually the MK2 (at only $299), and I have my suspicions that the listing is incorrect.
The Definitive Technology Symphony 1 certainly caught my eye. No pricing yet, but they should be available this month according to the site. Sadly, I predict they will be at least $400.
Polk Audio has also just come out with the Hinge Wireless. But it is so new that I haven't found any reviews yet, and they are only available at the Polk site so far. They look quite stylish but have only one "dial" which controls absolutely everything. Click to pair, click up to increase volume, click down to decrease volume, click twice to advance, click three times for previous track, etc. And the dial itself looks like cheap plastic. Anyway, I will have to wait for some reviews.
I'm becoming more used to using EQ (I've been using Neutron and Poweramp), so that's not a deal breaker with the House of Marley. I'll keep them on my list. In fact, there are times when an adjustment to the highs is much needed with the Plantronics. They can be too aggressive, harsh and sibilant with some recordings. I find that an EQ setting which is great with instrumental music can create harshness with vocal music. So, it's trial and error. I think I've already made 15 presets in Poweramp.
The JLab Omni, Stance, and Matrix2 will also stay on my list.
The Bose did arrive today and they will get their first test run at work tonight. I'll get back to you on those. I may miss the enveloping sound of over-the-ear style, as well as ANC, but only time and testing will tell. And this may just be a necessary trade-off for comfort.
As for Plantronics...I spoke with customer service about the issues that occurred after updating the firmware. I think I posted about that in another thread, so I will copy it here:
"A couple notes about the BackBeat Pro, for anyone who may run into these issues.
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."
Now, that was what I originally wrote. Since then, as I wrote previously in this thread, I've found that both features are still not working exactly as they should. Sometimes the music does not pause when I take the cans off my head, other times it somehow starts playing again while the cans are resting on my neck. And sometimes I need to press the call button twice in order to hear the battery life indicator.
I could live with both of those issues, but most of the time I just can't keep a solid connection to my phone. So many dropouts! Almost endless. I try re-pairing, shutting off both the headphones and the phone, restarting, and also repeatedly following the tip provided by Plantronics customer support. Nothing seems to help. So, yes, they might be defective. I intend to return them to Amazon (which only offers refunds not exchanges), then perhaps order them again (money permitting). What won't change is the comfort of the headband. It's not terrible, but not super comfortable either. It does get painful after a while. So, all in all, I am undecided.
Congratulations on your purchase of the BeoPlay (H8, I presume?). They look quite elegant and it's certainly a well-regarded company. I look forward to your future review.
