Plantronics - BackBeat FIT 3100 True Wireless Earbud Headphones - Black

Plantronics - BackBeat Fit 3100 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** The Review ***** TL:DR Presentation - 5 Build Quality - 5 Comfortability - 5 Audio Quality - 3 The BackBeat Fit 3100 by Plantronics is their first run at attempting “true wireless earbuds”. The greatest question of all… Did Plantronics succeed? Let's find out. The very first thing I noticed with the BackBeat Fit 3100’s is that these were not created with the capability of noise cancelling. The eartips were designed so that it doesn’t completely block out outside sound around you. I would say this, if you’re going to be using this in the gym; you may hear some “grunts” here and there which may bother you. But, if you’re thinking about purchasing the BackBeat Fit 3100s for outdoor activities like running or biking, I would have to say that it's perfect. Why? Because that way you can hear some of your surrounding like cars, buses, and people; there’s less of a chance that you’ll get into an accident when using the BackBeat Fit 3100s outdoors. When it comes down to the sound quality of the BackBeat Fit 3100, I must say that they are decent. Even without the noise cancelling functionality, the BackBeat Fit 3100 did a decent job by providing me the tunes I needed during my workout. I personally feel like the earpiece design that Plantronics went with drowns out some of the audio quality. Although there’s bass, I felt like there wasn’t enough trebble. If Plantronics were to release different earpiece(s), it will definitely make a difference in the audio quality. What I do find appealing with the BackBeat Fit 3100 is the touch sensitive controls (left ear). The touch sensitive controls worked accurately and I didn’t encounter any issue(s) while using them. With the left earpiece, you’ll be able to control the volume. You can create custom shortcuts through Plantronics BackBeat app. As for the right earpiece, it’s an actual button as opposed to touch sensitive controls. On the right earpiece, you’ll be able to do things such as power off, pause music, and moving to the next or previous song. I’d like to mention here that I never once experienced any problems with fitting the earbuds in my ear and getting my workout done. The BackBeat Fit 3100’s fit is extremely comfortable and never once did I encounter issues where it fell out or anything; it was very stable within my ear. With the BackBeat Fit 3100, you also get the traveling/charging case. When I compare it to my Jabra Elite 65t's charging case; it’s definitely not as small/discreet. Nonetheless, Plantronics has done an excellent job with the design and build quality. The battery is rated to last up to 5 hours and you get two extra charges with the traveling/charging case; which means you get a total of 15 hours. When compared to my Jabra Elite 65t, you also get a total of 15 hours and I’ve never had any problems with my Jabras; I can say the same with the Plantronics. Overall I must say that I am pleased with the Plantronics BackBeat Fit 3100. When I compare them to my Jabra Elite 65ts that I really like, I can say that it's pretty decent. The only concern I can see for people that purchase the BackBeat Fit 3100 is the fact that you get outside sound come through the earbuds when you’re listening. But the way you look at it is that the BackBeat Fit 3100 was designed for more outdoor athletes as opposed to people in the gym. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend these to my friends and family that like to go on bike rides or runs. But if a friend that goes to the gym and only the gym asks me about these, I would tell them about the outside sound concern. Besides that, all in all; I’d say I enjoy the Plantronics BackBeat Fit 3100. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** Quick Features on the Product ***** Always Aware Eartips: Hear your surroundings for safer workouts Sweatproof and Waterproof: Engineered to withstand rain and sweat Maximum Comfort and Stability: Built with secure-fit eartips and behind-the-ear design 5 Hours of Power: Up to 5 hours of power and up to 10 extra hours with the charging case --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** What's in the box ***** Plantronics BackBeat Fit 3100 Travel/Charging Case USB to Micro USB Charging Cable Various Manuals

My weekly routine is running a 5K early in the mornings on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Sunday a 10K run. I am at the gym early on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and after work on Mondays. Take Saturday off – WooHoo! There are the four important pieces of equipment on my weekday runs: Good Running Shoes, Full Water Bottle, Charged Phone, and Quality EarBuds. And, working out in the gym I want to hear the music live and motivating to excite me. So, when I had an opportunity to review a pair of complimentary Plantronics BackBeat Fit 3100 True Wireless Sport Earbuds, I did not hesitate. After two weeks of daily use here is what I love about these earbuds: * Sound – This is why we buy quality earbuds in the first place. The BackBeat Fit 3100 produces incredible, true-stereo, channel separation. No matter what genre of music playing I can hear all of the subtle background nuances even though these earbuds are not noise-canceling. The clarity and depth of audio is impressive especially while jogging and bouncing up and down over rough terrain. Although the sound frequencies are targeted to the mid-ranges, the bass is rich, deep, and robust. Love it. * Fit – The over-the-ear and behind-the-ear clips design keeps these earbuds firmly attached to my ears. The clips are silicon-coated and there are no connecting wires to either earbud. Great! Coupled with the, appears-to-be, rubberized ear tips, I can run and do rigorous workouts all the while these earbuds stay securely and comfortably in both of my ears. They are lightweight and the tips are ergonomically designed. They fit firmly but, still allow nearby noises to make me aware of my surrounding conditions. * IPX57 Rating – Sweatproof and Waterproof. YooHoo! About a week and a half ago I was caught running in a sudden, 'Frog-Drowning' kind of rainstorm. It only lasted several minutes, but enough to thoroughly soak me from head to toe. Fortunately, I carry my cell in a plastic sealed bag. However, even though these BackBeat Earbuds are waterproof – they stopped working for approximately five minutes. They resumed working again near the end of my run. I found out later that Bluetooth devices are negatively affected by being immersed in, and or, under water. Be aware that these earbuds are waterproof, but you can't saturate them in water, or, swim in them and expect any Bluetooth reception 'till that wet environment changes. * Personal Customization – The BackBeat Fit 3100 App (PLT BBFIT3100) assists in BT pairing, shows battery usage, and allows me to toggle to other playlists (Spotify or Apple). This App can be downloaded from the IOS App Store or Google Play Store. You are not just limited to those two services. I use Pandora and I-Heart radio also. However, the most important feature to me is that two taps (I configured two, but could also do one) starts a 'Stopwatch' to display the starting and ending times of each of my particular runs. How cool is that? I always try to go under previous times by one or two seconds – this feature allows me to monitor that goal. I can configure one, and, or, two taps to Siri, my personal, Hands-Free Assistant, Battery Status, Timer, Real Time, StopWatch, Playlists, or Mute. * Hands-Free Phone Calls – I can use Siri (Google Assistant can also be utilized) to make or answer any calls while I am running or working out. Two way phone calls are clear and sharp without any interference. * Long Usage Time – The specifications state that I can get up to five hours of 'talk-time'. However, I have received approximately four and one half hours of 'listening-time' at best. But, that is more then adequate for any of my daily runs or workouts. * Protective Charging & Storage Case – The included charging case not only protects my earbuds while traveling, but also charges them up to ten additional hours. A full charge of both the earbuds and case can give me up to fifteen hours of usage. Great for when I am 'on-the-road'. The case also includes the shortest USB to micro-USB cable I have ever seen, approximately three and one half inches long, but it does the job of re-charging. * Volume Controls – I chose the 'Taps' feature over 'Volume' so I can start a 'Stopwatch' to time my runs. Fantastic feature for any serious runners. However, the maximum or minimum volume setting of your phone then determines the volume level heard in my earbuds. * Voice Activated Status – When BT Pairing is Connected, Low Battery, Fully Charged, etc. an internal voice will inform you.accordingly. * Easily Cleanable – I use an alcohol-free, hypoallergenic, and anti-bacterial wipe after each and every use. Mild soap and water will do the same. . . . . I thoroughly enjoy using these earbuds almost every day. They fit snug, but are still comfortable in my ears. The delivered sound over several Internet Music Services is fantastic. I highly recommend these Plantronic BackBeat Fit 3100 True Wireless Sport Earbuds. If you are serious about running, physical workout individual, or, home gym enthusiast – these earbuds are definitely for you. Buy them, you won't be disappointed.

I have needed a version of AirPods that will definitively stay in my ear when hiking, biking, and doing yard work. Yeah I know you can get those silly wings to go on them but then you always have to take them off to charge them. I've tried a few different pairs of true-wireless headphones, most of which stay in your ear via a rather invasive earpiece which I absolutely hate. Primarily I hate them because since I have kind of narrow ear canals, they always end up hurting relatively quickly despite having XS tips or being made out of ultra-soft silicone. Then many of them double down on this ear pain by making me jam them in my ears even more in order to advance a track, answer a call, or change the volume. My final complaint about many of these other in-ears is that they block way too much noise. Now this may be great for you if you primarily workout in a gym, but I hate the smelly, loud places; I'd rather be outside. With being outside though it can be a tad dangerous to block out all the noise (biker coming up behind you on a trail, or a car on the road, or the rattlesnake on the trail - not kidding, didn't notice it until after I had gone by and it moved - no bueno). The BackBeat Fit 3100 solve all my issues (at least the ones around headphones). They fit in my ears without being painful, they let in some ambient noise so I'm aware of my surroundings, despite the lack of a seal they still sound great (not audiophile quality, but if you are working out so lightly that you can tell the difference, I'm not sure you are really working out), and they don't move a millimeter despite me shaking my head like a wet dog. The BackBeat Fit 3100's also sync up seamlessly with my iPhone, have a nice compact case, and controlling them doesn't require such a hard push to activate that has me pushing them deep into my ear canal. The battery life on these is also great. Straight out of the box I ran them through my 4 hour and 10 minute headphone check playlist and they played the whole time straight without any loss of 'oomph'. I have no doubt they would last the rated 5 hour time. I've already charged them up 1 and a half times since that first playing and the case still has two lights out of four left on the indicator, so again, don't have any reason to doubt the 10 hour charge capacity of the case. On top of all this goodness the headphones are IP57 rated which means they are dust protected and can be submerged in up to 3 feet of water for 30 minutes. I sweat a lot but not that much. I have but one complaint on these and it's not about the headphones themselves, it's about the charging cable. It is short, like really, really short. Maybe 3 inches. It's great because it fits in the case and you can always have it with you but I'm just thinking of the case hanging from the wall on this short cord. I might save it for emergencies and just use one of my regular micro-USBs at home. I was also disappointed in the sound at the start of my headphone playlist because it runs through all the frequency sweeps and other detail tests and they weren't doing so hot but when I got to the test tracks I use, they sounded MUCH better. I am extremely happy with these headphones. They are exactly what I had hoped they would be, workout AirPods. I absolutely love my AirPods and now I absolutely love these BackBeat Fit 3100s. My wife really likes them as well and I will be going out and getting her a pair next time I'm at Best Buy. Pros: + Don't budge from your ears at all, ear tip and over-ear hook keep it locked down. + Don't hurt like many in-ears do. + Seamless Bluetooth connection and really good range (like other side of my house from my phone and no lost connection). + Strong battery life. + Nice, compact case with an extra 10 hours of charge available. + Easy controls without making you jam them in your ears even more. + Outstanding dust and liquid protection. + Nice sounding music. Pro/Con: +/- Very little sound isolation. Great for situational awareness when outside, perhaps not as good in a gym. Con: - Weirdly short recharge cable. But it does fit in the case so it will always be there.

Pros: * Solid connection between earbuds and phone. * Comfortable and stable fit. * Great battery life both in the buds and the charging case. * Good, clear sound. * Ability to hear surroundings without taking buds out or pushing buttons. * On-bud controls for basics like volume and track selection. Cons: * Volume doesn’t get really loud. * Slightly awkward touch controls for left bud. * Slightly annoying left/right positional swap in charging case. I have used many true wireless earbuds and its a given that they all have compromises in design or features. These buds, however; are the most balanced in those terms for me. The built-in ear hooks make them look a tad larger than some other models, but the hooks work great to keep the buds firmly in/on your ears so they don’t fall out during a run or workout without the need for replacement tips with different sizes of stabilizing pieces. On the right bud is a clicky button to do the usual; play/pause, track up/down, invoke voice assistance, etc.. On the left bud, however; is a clicky button that also has a touch-sensitive surface. While the right bud’s button is actually clicked, the left button is mostly just touched quickly (volume up) or touched briefly (volume down) as the click doesn’t do anything by default. You can customize that behavior in the app, though but doing so eliminates the ability to change the volume from the buds. One of the main advertising features of these buds is that they allow situational awareness by not intentionally sealing in your ears and blocking all outside sound. This is great for being able to know what’s going on around you, but the side effect is that these buds just don’t have the “oomph” or bass of other models. Sound quality is quite clear and good given the limitation of not having powerful bass. For my tastes, the volume doesn’t quite get loud enough- I usually have them set for almost the max volume and they sound “normal” for my workouts. Of course, your mileage may vary, but don’t expect these buds to drown your ears in loud music or deep bass. The battery life is really good for true wireless buds at about 5 hours before needing to put them back in the nice charging/carrying case. The case is better than most in that the buds securely snap in and the case has a zipper to keep it closed and the buds situated while charging. Some competing models sometimes pop open during transport allowing the buds to discharge so they are drained when you get where you’re going. My slight complaint about the case, though, is that the left bud stores on the right side and the right on the left side. Normally you take the buds out with one in each hand but in this case, the buds are in the swapped hands for wearing. Not major, but something to notice. In 10 hours of use at my local gym, the left bud lost connectivity with the right one just once and almost instantly resumed connection. The right bud never lost connection to the phone (iPhone XS). Overall, these are great earbuds for working out! They’ve got the goods where it counts; connectivity, battery life, secure fit and a really nice charging case. The sound isn’t the best I’ve heard but it’s no slouch, either. I’d highly recommend these buds for anyone who values their soundtrack while working out.

I've got so many headphones for my phone and tablet so why would I need another? Simple, because I'm trying to get back into shape and I don't have time for wires is why I need a new set of wires. Plus, with my new Iphone Max X S I figured it was also time to pair the awesome new phone with some awesome new beats. My new routine is walking about 2 to 3 miles a day. I would be remiss if I just said I was doing this for my health, my work is offering a contest in which if you walk each day you can win $250. So there is that.. And to just walk without any music is sort of boring but by the same token you really need to be able to sort of hear what is going on around you when you're out and about so you don't end up as road kill. Enter the Plantronics BackBeat FIT 3100s. Plantronics has been on a bit of a roll lately as I just recently got their RIG 500 Pro HX headset for the Xbox One and it was awesome so I was optimistic these would be as well and guess what? They are. For starters out of the box these are pretty awesome looking. They look like a $300-$400 pair of headphones so Plantronics definitely really nailed the aesthetics. The case is really cool too and when you open it up you realize it's not just a case but a charging station as well. Pairing these is pretty easy. I'll admit that it took me a few times pressing the button, it says to hold it for 2 seconds, it's more like 5 seconds in my opinion, but in the end it paired up nicely with my iPhone Max. There is no need for a special app to use these, they work just great once paired, but Plantronics does offer you an app with some basic abilities to re-assign functions of the buttons on the side of each of the headphones if you so desire. Speaking of which, the left side and right side both do different functions, one side is for volume control and the other side is for track control so you don't have to mess with your phone if you're out and about. Now the music quality. As mentioned before these do not go all the way into your ear and create a hermetic seal but they do go into your ear. This allows you to hear music and your phone but also be able to hear around you. That is very important to know because of the advantages and disadvantages that brings to the table. The advantage is, as mentioned above, that it allows you to hear around you and not become roadkill. The disadvantage is you are simply not going to get quite as much volume or bass. However, the volume is plenty loud, so loud in fact when I gave these to my wife she complained they were too loud at the near loudest setting. But the lack of bass is there. There's sufficient bass of course but you're not going to be deep-banging bass to Public Enemy or 2Pac using these either. For working out these are waterproof, clip around your ear and stay put, providing good sound and I think that's exactly what I was looking for when I looked at these initially. So if that is what you are looking for then come on in, the water is fine, but just be aware as to how these function and how they are a little different than most headphones in this genre. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

At first glance the packaging design and look of these earbuds is very sleek and well thought out. Pairing them with my phone was a breeze. They are designed mainly for outdoor use it seems, seeing as they're water/sweat resistant, and they let you still hear your surroundings, which obviously is perfect for running outside. They are super comfy to wear, which for me is important because I have picky, sensitive ears. The sound quality is very good, could be slightly better, but that's probably because I'm not used to the Always Aware feature just yet. I love that the case is also a charger for the earbuds, though the cable is SUPER short, which works for it to fit in the case but not so great for charging. There are touch sensitive controls on the left ear for volume and such, the right earpiece is where you power off, pause, and skip to the next/previous song. I didn't time it but the earbuds needed charging somewhere between 4-5 hours of use, so pretty accurate to description. They stayed in place flawlessly, even with bending over and in different directions, they didn't budge. All in all I would say these are very nice earbuds.

The BackBeat Fit 3100 are the true workout/running headphones. They are light and feel very comfortable in the ear, and the best part they stay put. There are two things in my opinion that make this headphones standout, one of them is the ear loops, they feel soft and are very flexible to maneuver them around your ear, that what makes them stay put. The second one is that Always Aware feature which let you hear your surrounding with the headphone on. I though that was a gimmick but it does work, that was one of the main reasons I did not like to wear headphones during cardio workout, because I could not hear my surroundings, but these headphones they took care of that problem A+. These are also good for the gym, especially when lying flat on the bench, they just feel normal without the needs to adjust them like some other workout headphones. On the audio side for their size they sound great, music sounds very well balance between base, mids, and treble. Battery life manufacture suggest 5hrs, mines lasted around 5 and half, maybe because they are new, either way 5 hours is long time for continuous play. The charging case store additional 10 hours of charge for total of 15 hours without having to be plug to wall, charging the earbuds took little over hour to be fully charged. The case is small to be portable but not comfortable enough to have it in the pocket compare to others like Apple airpods. The charging cable provided to charge the Case is also very small and it does not have its own power brick, so either plug directly to your PC, a USB socket if you have one, or use your phone power brick and a micro USB cable. The BackBeat Fit 3100 also has some cool features under it hood, each earbud has its own function. The right earbud controls the play/pause, rewind/forward, and also summons Google Assistant, or Siri that’s pretty cool. The left earbud you use it to adjust the volume via touch sensitive function. You definitely have to practice to get use to the features it can get little confusing since both of them can be use. On the negative side the earbuds do not have noise cancelling I assume because of the Always Aware feature, and that could be a tradeoff for some. Paring them with your phone is a breeze, just need to go under your Bluetooth setting and pair them just like any other Bluetooth device or use the Backbeat dedicated phone app with also has some cools feature to be use with these headsets. Overall these are excellent workout/running headphone I have ever used, and that’s because the Always Aware feature, the sound, battery life, and they just stay put very comfortable. In the box it comes with the Charging case, pair of earbuds, USB cable, and manual. Pros: Always Aware feature Secure Fit Built Quality Water/Sweat Proof Battery Life Quality Sound 10 hrs. Charging Case Cons: Small Charging Cable Bulky Charging Case No Noise Canceling

It might charge & may not. Volume is questionable.