Plantronics - BackBeat FIT 2100 Wireless Earbud Headphones - Black

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.

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.

The product is awesome and my wife loves them...!!!

These Plantronics Bluetooth headphones are designed to be used for listening to music while physically active, but they also are pretty good for listening to music while at home watching a movie. The BackBeat Android app has several options that the apps of other Bluetooth headphones does not, such as the ability to program the actions that the left button perform, which is a really nice feature. The BackBeat app even allows the simple wireless updating of the firmware. I have owned several brands and types of Bluetooth headphones, and these Plantronics BackBeat Fit Bluetooth headphones which wrap over the ears and around the back of the head, will definitely stay in the ears better than the truly wireless type of Bluetooth headphones, but as with many Bluetooth headphones that have a more secure fit, they have a tendency to be a bit uncomfortable after being worn for too many hours in a row. The left side button is the touch sensitive type, so that no actual pressing of the buttons is necessary, just a single touch of the button for volume up, and a touch and hold for volume down, it is the easiest volume control on any of the Bluetooth headphones that I have used. The power button on the right side is above average in its ease of use, mostly because of how lightly the button needs to be pressed. The button presses inward into the ear, and a simple two second press and hol, will turn on the headphones. This is a slightly more difficult process on most other Bluetooth headphones that I own, most of which have a longer amount of time needed to press and hold, before the headphone turn on. It is always annoying when the process of turning headphone on is more difficult than necessary. The audio quality of these Plantronics BackBeat Fit headphones is actually quite good, and it is as good or better than most of the other brands of headphones that I own, of which only the way more expensive Bluetooth headphones or earbuds have better audio quality. A really nice feature which is not available on most Bluetooth earphones, is the ability to connect to two audio sources at the same time. I normally use these Plantronics Bluetooth headphones for audio while connected to my Alienware desktop computer, and then when I want to make a phone call, I simply turn on the Bluetooth on my Pixel Smartphone, and then I am able to make a phone call. Once I am finished with the call, I turn off the Bluetooth on my Pixel Smartphone, and then the Bluetooth connection to my Alienware desktop is still active, and this way I am immediately ready to listen to whatever audio I was previously listening to, without the need to reconnect to my Alienware desktop. The newer versions of Bluetooth are more efficient compared to older versions, and these Plantronics BackBeat Fit headphones does have the newer Bluetooth 5.0, which allows for more efficient battery usage, and the battery on these does last for quite awhile before needing to be recharged. The micro USB charging cable does connect in a less than common way, in that most micro USB connections have a noticeable click once the micro USB connector is plugged in. When connecting the micro USB charging cable into the Plantronics Bluetooth headphones, the micro USB cable just slides in with no audible click. The first time I plugged in the charging cable, I did not think the micro USB connector was all the way pressed in, because I did not hear the usual click, so I kept on trying to press the micro USB connector in further, then I realized that Plantronics designed the charging port in such a way so that there is no click when the micro USB connector is inserted. Because these Plantronics BackBeat Fit Bluetooth headphones are the type which fits over the top of the ears, this product will likely not fit everyone’s ears, if a person were to have really small ears or really large ears, then a good fit might not be achievable There are more comfortable Bluetooth earphones on the market, which can be worn for longer periods of time with less ear discomfort, but they usually cost twice as much, and often they do not stay in the ears as well as these Plantronics BackBeat Fit headphones do. I am not saying that these Plantronics BackBeat Fit headphones are uncomfortable or anything, it is really a matter of what happens with most headphones after being worn for several hours, which is that in areas that the ears sense pressure, a slight aching develops. The type of headphones which have all silicone eartips, these usually fit in the ear with less discomfort after many hours. As with most things people design and use, some aspects of the design are better and some are worse, and with these Plantronics BackBeat Fit Bluetooth headphones, the overall design quality is above average, and this is rare for a product that is less expensive. I am rating these Plantronics BackBeat Fit headphones at 4 out of 5 stars.

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.

The good These are attractive and seemingly capable sport wireless earphones. They are made to use outdoors and are waterproof. They give the user the tons of control over the music they want to listen to from their mobile phone. The flexible wire connecting the two transducers is barely perceivable. The sound when pushing the earphones into my ears was very good with strong bass and clear vocals. The build quality is excellent as well. The not so good Though the earphones sound good when in your ears while holding them in place, once you release them they sound is weak with very little bass. The volume drops because there is no seal between the earphones and the ear itself. There is no way to get the ear piece to fit deep enough for the sound to be as good when holding them in place. If you can get a good fit then they may be for you. Otherwise look for a different pair with removable ear tips that may improve the ear fit

Ive been using these headphones for the last couple of days and I haven't really been that impressed with them. The packaging and display when I opened the box was excellent. They looked like top tier headphones. I like the reflective material on the ear buds that are supposed to be good when running at night. The headphones are extremely comfortable to wear and are pretty flexible to fit around my neck. I was surprised that there were no other size ear tips with these. I guess the idea is a one size fits all. Fortunately, these fit my ears fine, but not airtight but they are comfortable. When I paired them with my iPhone XS Max, it was simple and quick, no problems. I downloaded the app and it prompted me to update the software. This is where my frustration began. The app said the download would take about 50 minutes. Fifty minutes?? Seriously? I plugged them in and started the download. My phone screen is set to time out after two minutes which helps on my battery life, so about a half hour later, I checked on the download and it failed. I couldn't figure out why so I tried it again and when the screen timed out, the download failed again. I changed the settings on my phone so that the screen wouldn't time out at all. This time, the download went to about 76% and then it failed again. As of the time of this review, I have tried at least three times to download the update and have yet to complete it. After the failed update, I decided to just use them while I ran a couple of miles on the treadmill. A lot of sound escapes and these are by no means noise cancelling. You will definitely hear a lot of surrounding noise, but given that these are made for sport, that may not be a big deal for some. The quality of sound isn't really that great, almost a slight echo when listening to them. I also felt like the volume was kind of low, even at max level. I have earbuds from Bose, Jlab, Sony, JBL, Apple and Jaybird to name a few and these rank at the bottom of that list. I will admit that most of them have a higher price point than the BackBeats, but $100 isn't cheap for Bluetooth headphones. Overall, if I were shopping for a set of earbuds/headphones at this price point, I would look elsewhere. While they are comfortable and seem durable, the overall sound quality, lack of different size ear tips and poor update process turned me off with these. At this price point, I would look elsewhere.

I have an earlier version of these headphones and needed a second pair for my late night movie watching. The earlier version I have is kept in my truck for when I go on my jogs. This newest version has just a couple of little nit picky things that I don't care for. These tend to be pretty uncomfortable after a bit versus the earlier version. The ear loops are a little smaller and fit too snug. Also when you turn the headphones on you don't get how many hours of charge you have left. All you get is "Battery high". Then when you have been using them for a couple of days you get "Battery low". The earlier version would tell you how many hours of charge you had left. This version just keeps you guessing. Other than that they connected fine to my television and do the trick for my late night movie watching.