First time poster, and although I'm not sure how you determine that, I don't think I'd label myself as an audiophile. By abilities, not love for good sound
Anyway, I recently got Plantronics Backbeat Pro and thought I'd chime in. Unfortunately I can't describe them in as much technical detail as some of you here, nor do I have that much to compare (they are the best and most expensive headphones I've had so far, although I've listened to a number of them for short periods of time in stores). However, I notice there are a number of newbies like myself here too, who could find it useful.
In terms of features these are hard to beat, especially at this price point. I'm not going to go into details of what they sport because that can easily be looked up, and I'll try to just provide comments on these where I have something to add.
Noise cancellation
For me, it works well. This is one thing where I really have very little to compare to, but for muffling out engines it works pretty good. For normal home or office setting and while listening to music, I find passive isolation to work well enough to not even need ANC. But when riding in a bus or train, again with some music on (not loud), they make it sound like you are in a quiet room. It doesn't block sounds that are less constant like sudden noises or loud voices, but from my understanding that's to be expected and doesn't bother me personally at all. Haven't tried the plane yet, but compared to the train and bus I rode on so far, I think they'd be more than adequate, depending on your expectations.
However, this is also where I found the first big problem. With ANC on, my set produces buzzing/crackling sounds. It's not audible while music is playing, but can be heard between the tracks and I find it really annoying. It's not the light white noise that's normal for ANC, but more like some kind of interference, sounds almost like an old modem connecting.
Controls
Back/forward can be controlled using a wheel on the left headphone, and volume using a wheel on the right headphone. The included audio cable also has buttons for volume and works like the one you get with iPhone headsets. The cable works both when the headphones are on and off, while the earcup controls only work when the headphones are on.
Additionally, there is a play/pause button on the left earcup, and a "phone" button on the right. For me, the play/pause doesn't work in wired mode, even when the headphones are turned on. Works fine through bluetooth.
The one on the right is used for a few things. One, you use it to pair the headphones, by pressing and holding. This doesn't always work if I'm wearing them, but works normally every time I take them off. It also invokes Siri when you press and hold, lets you dial the last number, answer or decline a call.
Next, there is the "open mic" feature. On the right earcup there is a small (but easy to find) button which mutes and unmutes you during a call. More interestingly though, if you press it while not on a call, it activates its microphones and allows you to hear the outside world without taking the headphones off. I find this feature convenient and really cool, if far from essential. It helps you hear the outside sounds louder than you would normally, but it's a weird sensation because it tends to pick up some sounds more than others. I find it works better for sounds that are closer (even if they are quieter), and if you scratch your beard next to the left earcup where the microphone is...
All in all, I haven't found a missing control, and they all work well for me. Haven't tried with PCs or Android phones though, so I don't know what compatibility is like there.
Sensors
Another cool (and again, not really essential) feature is the headphones' ability to pause the music when you take them off and then resume when you put them back on. It's not a big deal to just pause the damn music using a button on your phones/computer/phone, but it's still pretty cool. Unfortunately, on my set it doesn't work that well. It pauses music without errors, but sometimes when I put them down on the desk they resume playing, and when that happens the play/pause button on the earcup doesn't work either. Since my set seems faulty in more than one way, it's hard to say if this is a general problem or just with this set.
Bluetooth
They can pair with up to two devices, and will switch between them automatically when you play something on one or the other. This all works pretty well, and I've had no problems pairing them (iPhone 6 and Mbpr). One thing I don't like is they assign "phone 1" to whatever is the first device it connect to when you turn them on, and regardless of the original pairing order. It's just a minor nuisance but worth mentioning.
Plugging in the audio cable turns bluetooth off automatically, and that works well too.
Unfortunately, this is another problem I have with my set. While it works perfectly with the iPhone, I'm having problem with the Macbook. It connects fine and works fine the first time, but then when something happens - either the headphones going to sleep, or Macbook going to sleep, or both or something else, I can't say for sure, the sound starts stuttering. It plays for a few seconds, then breaks for a few seconds, etc. I've found it sometimes help if I reset my computer, but not always. I've also found that keeping them turned off, then switching to internal speakers on the laptop for 15s, then switching back to the headphones works sometimes, but again not always.
Plantronics support was completely useless, and told me they can't support internal bluetooth adapters in PCs because there are too many, but only on phones and tablets (of which obviously there are only a few), and that I should buy their BT600 adapter if I want to have it working on the PC (which, btw, is $60). I'm not ruling out completely that the issue actually is with the laptop, but it's worked fine with a couple other (cheaper) bluetooth headsets.
Sound
This is their high point for me, although again not without problems. As I said, it's hard for me to describe this technically, but I find they reproduce the sound pretty faithfully, without much emphasis on any frequency range. I listen to metal and rock and for that, they work really well. I find vocals clear and guitars gritty, just as they should be. The bass is pretty good on these, but I don't find it's overpowering (with an exception, below) or at the expense of anything else. It simply makes you feel it, possibly because of the sheer size of the headphones.
With ANC on, the sound changes slightly, I would say with the bass widening a little bit at the bottom end and sounding a bit clearer. But I listen to them without ANC most of the time and have no complaints.
Personally, I can't hear the difference between bluetooth and wired, but just for reference, I also can't hear the difference between a FLAC and 320kbit MP3 that's properly encoded.
However, when they are turned off and connected with the cable, the sound becomes a lot more muffled and (undefined) bass takes over. It just drops to much much lower quality. I don't know why, but I suppose it's because the internal amplifier or processor gets turned off.
Ergonomics
One of their main downsides overall is the size. They are bulky and relatively heavy, and they don't fold (only turn backwards). To me however, they are pretty comfortable. Not as light as say Bose, but very soft and fit nicely. I have medium-sized ears, but I imagine most people won't have trouble covering their ears. The headband is also soft and comfortable, although that is one part where you can feel the weight after a while. Still, it's less uncomfortable than some lighter headphones I wore, probably just because it's nicely padded and has good shape.
Battery
I haven't measured, but mostly because it just lasts so long. I think their battery life rating is at least accurate, if not a bit conservative.
Problems
I've already listed a few: bluetooth connectivity issues, poor sound when turned off, play/pause doesn't work in wired mode and ANC buzzing. Another one is that, when both audio cable and usb are plugged in, there is even louder noise than with ANC. Additionally, when the usb cable is plugged in, they stop working in wired mode when turned off (but still work when turned on, with annoying buzzing).
Because of the problems, I'm returning them. I'd ask for a replacement, but I fear it's a general problem they all have, and because I'm moving in a couple of weeks I won't be able to return them again.
So right now, I'm considering:
1. Risking and just getting a replacement pair (I really like them and can't seem to find anything comparable for the price).
2. Getting Sony ZX770BN, which are slightly cheaper and with fewer features, but with both BT and NC. I'd take them if I knew the sound was as good as these and that I wouldn't have similar problems, the missing features are just nice to haves.
3. Denon AH-GC20. These are much more expensive, but I found a deal where I can get them for $280 (I paid $180 for Backbeats). It's still $100, but I'd go with it if it was worth it. The problem is, I found a number of complaints about them too, and I'm not entirely convinced they would be better at all than these.
Happy to hear suggestions and opinions
