Plantronics - BackBeat FIT 2100 Wireless Earbud Headphones - Blue

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• Rated 3 out of 5 stars

  Only dedicated gym-rats probably need apply

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 100 Contributor

  PROs: - As a "semi-smart" product, I GREATLY appreciate the ability to update the headset firmware via companion iOS app--very user-friendly and easy to navigate - 'My Taps’ personalization via Backbeat App is actually very cool even if the choices of what happens after you tap are just slightly limited—the greater flexibility to expand functionality (stopwatch, start playlists, report headset status, etc.) without having to grab phone/player is a tremendous addition for someone not wanting to interrupt a workout with too many button presses and gestures - Very cool styling (in my opinion); understated but cushy/soft rubber grey assembly and cable are contrasted against the mirrored, chameleon-finish iridescent green/purple earpiece units--definitely stands out in a crowd - No garish or blinding LEDs (in fact, the LED is usually so subtle and infrequent that the indicator lights are easy to miss)…makes for a smooth and unbroken look that doesn’t detract from the mirrored finish on the earpiece - Played loud/clear enough to enjoy some workout music without sacrificing awareness of activities around me - Ultra lightweight yet they seem sturdy; I wadded them up in my gym bag with confidence and never had a problem - Bluetooth connection was solid with no hiccups in sound or drops in connectivity even when working out in a crowded/device-heavy fitness center - I don't know how they get decent quality voice pickup from a mic positioned so far away from the mouth, but there were no complaints on the other end regarding intelligibility when I was on the phone CONs: - The timer/stopwatch in the app is not the same as the one on the phone itself--it created some usability confusion as I wasn't sure what control to use to reset the stopwatch (for the record, I couldn't find a control to do so in the app itself which required a restart to actually zero out the timer I was using for my workout) - The tap function is cool enough--the left earpiece cover is touch sensitive and registers taps or long-holds. However, it's an odd interface choice on the same device that also requires a more forcible button press on the other earpiece...in the heat of a workout to either change volume or pause/FFW tracks, I invariably tried tapping the push-button too softly or pressing the touch-sensitive button too hard - Though pliable, the thick rubber that loops around the auricle or ”ear flap” does exert some inward pressure on the backside of the ear…at least for me, it became fatiguing after about 20-30 minutes though that’s been true of every behind-the-ear set I’ve ever owned. In all fairness though, my wife REALLY liked the way they felt and reported no such discomfort...so take that for what you will. - The little 'stable-fit wings” on backside of the silicone ear-tips didn't really help secure the earpieces in my ears; the headset still slowly drifted back to the rear of my ear canal's openings as I was working out (which, ultimately, affected the quality of the sound at the time) - Tap controls were not always smooth—the lightest touch was enough to register a tap on the left control surface...sometimes; and then other times, it wouldn't register even a prolonged press without resorting to greater pressure on the tap surface which then pushed the left earpiece uncomfortably into my ear - Volume control with the tap surface was also a little dodgy--you tap lightly to increase volume one increment--that was great--but you have to hold the tap surface to lower the volume...sometimes one increment, other times it would jump several levels lower...it was simply hard sometimes to find a happy and consistent medium These headphones have the classic Backbeat behind-the-ear styling that you'll either love or hate. The way they secure to your head involves some rubber assemblies bending, resting, and exerting ever-so-light pressure around the back of the ears/earlobes...the result is a very secure but personal fit that some may find uncomfortable (at least I did; my wife thought they were very comfortable, FWIW). At the very least, despite the light weight, you can feel the cable between the two earpieces flopping around the back of your head when you're working out...I got used to it, but it's noticeable enough to be worth mentioning. Still, I engaged in some pretty heavy exercise and yard work while testing these out and they never once fell out of my ears or slid off my head--there are very few earbuds/headsets I've tried over the years for which I could say the same thing. The 'My Taps' personalization is a wonderful inclusion--it allows you to customize certain actions/activities to one or two light taps on the touch-sensitive left earpiece. For example, you can set one tap to start and stop the audible stopwatch, the second to launch a custom playlist or tell you the time. I wish more Bluetooth devices would offer this kind of functionality as it actually came in quite handy on more than one occasion. The only drawback is that if you enable the taps customization, you lose your remote volume control entirely. Why they couldn't just provide a 3-way switch with the right earpiece button I'll never understand--touch the middle of the button for primary activities, increase the volume by pressing the top of the earpiece button, and lower it by pressing at the bottom...it would actually be more intuitive than the quick tap on the left to raise the volume, and then long/hold-tap on the left to lower the volume (which wasn't always 100% responsive or behaved as expected). Still, despite the mixture of button types (touch-sensitive on one ear, button-press on the other), the additional functionality is definitely appreciated and I ended up using the My Taps features for my workouts far more than I had expected to. One important note for those of you looking to use the app…there was, at least for me, a bit of branding confusion on the App Store. These are Backbeat Fit headphones, but the Backbeat Fit app didn’t recognize the headset despite having an image of a headset that looks suspiciously like the Fit 2100 (including the PLT logo) on the screen and in the App icon. Once I downloaded the “regular” BackBeat app, however, the connection was solid and all functions performed as advertised. Similar to the "Find my iPhone" feature in iOS, there's a “Find my headset” function that is pretty great in theory...you'll get a tone from the headset that is activated from an in-app option so you can locate your headset if you absent-mindedly lay it down somewhere in your room, lose it at the bottom of your gym bag, drop it behind the seat of the car, etc. The problem, of course, is that the only speakers available to produce the tones are the tiny earpieces...they play a loud tone to be sure...if you were wearing them at the time...but when they're off your head, you really need to be in a quiet environment to hear the beeping at all (at least that was my experience). Moreover, the function only works if you're still actively connected to your headset. I usually turned them off when I finished working out and turned them on only when I was about to start—but those are usually not the times when I would be likely to absent-mindedly lay the headset down somewhere and lose them. Still, it's a nice feature to have for that one-time-in-a-thousand when it really would come in handy. And in a BRILLIANT bit of truly usable design, a voice prompt tells you aloud your battery level when you power up the headset—no more hunting for a tiny LED indicator or guessing at when your headset is in need a little more juice...nice! All told, there really are some great ideas here with honestly just one glaring drawback (at least in my opinion)--but it's one that makes it hard for me to recommend these to anyone except those with VERY specific workout needs. In particular, this is the type of headset where the earpieces rest at the opening of the ear canal--they don’t seat/seal in place the way an in-ear monitor would. There are silicone ear-tips which can be rotated slightly to further personalize just how directly they squirt sound towards your ear canal; but without a good seal, it almost doesn’t matter how “good” the sound is natively because you're never going to hear it all anyway. True, this design choice gives you 100% awareness of your surroundings (cars, cyclists, rabid dogs, strangers who want to use your machine, etc.) 100% of the time, and it achieves it by physical design, not via technology (i.e. microphones pick up ambient sounds and actively pass them through the headset speakers). But the compromise is that the sound you get is just…okay…and will probably never be much better than that. Forcing them into my ear canals for some critical listening, I could tell that these speakers are probably tuned to be a bit bass-heavy—cool…I need a good bass line for a thumping-hard/inspirational workout. But the problem is that it just doesn’t deliver in spades under normal usage because what you really have is just a pair of earbuds suspended outside of your ear canals trying to play loud enough so that you can still hear the music over the din of the world around you. This honestly worked okay for music and was certainly fine for working out, but it was actually hard to make out some of the quieter dialogue in a movie I was playing on my iPhone...which was compounded even further by the noise of the elliptical I was using at the time! So…is this headset worth your hard-earned money? Maybe. If I was using them solely for workouts, yard work, or housework, or any situation where it was important for me to maintain awareness of the world around me, but I still wanted to crank some tunes to pass the time…sure, these will definitely do the job in style and offer some cool functions to seal the deal. But beyond that, I’d have a hard time seeing anyone use these as their everyday listeners.

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  Posted 7 years ago by WyldeBlue

• Rated 2 out of 5 stars

  Plantronics - BackBeat FIT 2100 Wireless Earbud He

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  I replaced the older model to these due to the left ear speaker not working anymore. I have been using the Plantronics - BackBeat FIT 2100 Wireless Earbud Headphones for about a month now. I mostly use an elliptical and do calisthenics. They work good but I liked the older model better. Pro: The band on the BBF 2100 is a little shorter (about 1 inch, see photo), a little stiffer/firmer and thicker which I do like. Cons: Ear fit isn't as good as the older model. I seem to get more sweat that tracks into the ear. I don't know if this is due to the difference in the shape, or angle of the ear piece (see photo). Sound quality may be a little bit better when properly seated in the ear but the internal ear cone does not sit/stay in place as well. Battery life is quick. They say it should last 7 hours with continuous use but they don't. I had a full charge and used them for about 1.5 hours and turned them off (heard "Power Off"). The next day, I turned them on and the battery was "medium". It went from medium to "Power Low" to "Charge Headphones" within 2 hours. That is only 3.5 to possibly 4 hours on a full charge within 2 days. I would recommend the older model before this newer model.

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  This review is from Plantronics - BackBeat FIT 2100 Wireless Earbud Headphones - Gray

  Posted 6 years ago by Okay

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Better quality then expected !!!

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  • My Best Buy® Member
  • Owned for less than 1 week

  I’d advise to break in your headphones before blasting these. They need to run on medium volume till they warmed up. The bass is full and warm. The mids are not pushed to my likening but they are good. The highs and treble are okay but not sparkling.

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  This review is from Plantronics - BackBeat FIT 2100 Wireless Earbud Headphones - Black

  Posted 6 years ago by Headphonegekced