Plantronics BackBeat GO 2 Bluetooth Wireless Stereo Earbuds - Retail Packaging - Black..
Buy Plantronics BackBeat GO 2 Bluetooth Wireless Stereo Earbuds - Retail Packaging - Black By Plantronics
Most helpful customer reviews
192 of 201 people found the following review helpful.
By T. Thibou
I used these for two weeks before I chose to write this review. I am currently overseas and since I've received these they have been far more useful than I was hoping they would be. To negate some of the other comments I've seen, I have taken these headphones on 3,4 and 5 miles runs and there has only been a single time where one of the earbuds have come loose. They fit great. The controls on the wire are very easy to use and the headphones even talk to you and tell you whats happening. It will say "power on", "power off", it will tell you when it is pairing mode, and will also tell you when it successfully connects or if you wander to far from the transmitter and it disconnects. I havent exactly timed the battery but roughly 4 hours is correct. I live in a tent with 5 other people and at first we were fighting over people playing their music or movies too loud or their games too loud or anything else that made noise. These headphones were a blessing. I can put a movie on and still be able to clean and do whatever I need to do away from the screen while it plays. The signal reaches to all areas within my tent so I'm guessing about 25 feet? I start to lose it when I step outside. Whether that be from distance or just line of sight being lost through the tent fabric I'm not sure. I have also tried the "one in one out" with the headphone. I havent while running outside, but on a treadmill or just working out if you tuck the other one away and dont let it bounce around youll be fine. At first I got these to use with my phone(mp3 player) and computer but I ordered a bluetooth transmitter shortly after and now anything that uses a headphone jack can be transmitted to the headset. It is too easy, and it's well worth the money I spent on it.
260 of 281 people found the following review helpful.
By Ed
I'm a headphone buff and I've also had more than a dozen Bluetooth headsets over the years. However, I haven't used many Bluetooth stereo earphones, so I was very excited to give the BackBeat GO 2 a try.
PROS:
- Very good sound quality for Bluetooth
- Good bass response
- Easy to pair and use
- Sweat/water resistant
- Pair up to 8 devices
CONS:
- Poor battery life
- Cable can snag on your neck during workouts
COMFORT
The BackBeat GO 2 (BBG2) weighs just 14 grams and is reasonably comfortable to wear. My ears did ache a little and felt itchy after wearing them for a couple of hours straight, but that's not unlike most other earphones. The BackBeat GO 2 uses rubber "stabilizers" to help keep the speakers safely in your ears so if you wear them during your fitness activities, they won't fall out. They're similar to the design used in some of Plantronics' Bluetooth mono headsets. The BBG2 comes with the medium eartips installed as well as another set of small and large tips.
SOUND QUALITY
For a Bluetooth earphone that doesn't support aptX, the BBG2 sounds very good. I enjoyed listening to music with them, including lots of modern music that have lots of bass. Movies were also fun to watch and the good bass response helped in scenes with lots of special effects and explosions. As with any earphone, it's important to get a proper seal to get the best sound quality and the BBG2 is no different. Plantronics stresses this point frequently in their literature.
DESIGN & FEATURES
The BBG2 isn't completely "wireless," per se, because the left and right speakers are attached via a short cable with a remote attached. However, you aren't tethered to your computer, phone or tablet, which is especially useful when working out at the gym. The BBG2 is sweat-proof and water resistant, but I found the rubbery cable would snag on the back of my neck during workouts. It's not a huge deal and my Audio-Technica ATH-CKP500BL SonicSports do the same thing, but thought it was worth mentioning.
Pairing the BBG2 is easy and done via the inline remote. Conveniently, it can pair up to 8 devices, so you can have all your computers, tablets, and phones paired up and ready to use at any time.
BATTERY LIFE
The battery life on the BBG2 is really its only downfall. Five hours of talk time and 4.5 hours of stereo listening is not very long. On the bright side, it fully charges via micro USB in only 2.5 hours. You can also download a battery meter app for iOS or a battery life widget for Android. There's a version of the BBG2 with a battery case for about $20 more, that adds an additional 10 hours of life. I really think Plantronics should've made the battery case standard for the BBG2. Even if you have your own external battery charger (I do), you may want to save its charge for your phone or tablet, not your earphones.
CONCLUSION
The Plantronics BackBeat Go 2 is an excellent stereo Bluetooth earphone that's hampered only by poor battery life. It sounds great, is easy to use, and really convenient. If you're willing to charge it frequently, the BackBeat Go 2 is definitely a stereo BT earphone worth trying.
183 of 205 people found the following review helpful.
By Philip R. Heath
I've reviewed a number of corded over-the-ear and in-ear headphones over the last few months, and I've discovered what good headphones are capable of. I've always found Bluetooth headphones to be inferior. While the Plantroics BackBeat Go 2 headphones don't alter my overall assessment, they do an admirable job. For comparison, I've tried previous units from Motorola, Jabra, Lg, and BlueAnt, but I put this new offering from Plantroics at the top of the list.
Before we get into the sound quality, I have a few thoughts on the design. For in-ear headphones, these are on the large size; however, you can't compare them to corded models. In addition to the speaker drivers, these also house the battery and charging connection (on the right headphone). The chord is a flat linguine-style that is common on better-made in-ear headphones to prevent tangles. My only complaint on the chord is that it is somewhat stiff. As a result, it rests where it will at whatever angle. The benefit of the design is durability, and thus, it is a tradeoff. The mic/remote control functioned fully as expected with my HTC Rezound running Android 4.0. However, I found that it would catch on my collar when I moved my head from side to side. This is actually a common complaint I have even for corded headphones, and it is not unique to the BackBeat Go 2. Finally, let's consider the case. It has an interesting concept in that you can charge the case too. What? That's right. The case actually has a battery along the bottom, and a micro-usb charging cable on the inside that you can use for on the go charging. It works OK, but in my tests it did not have enough to fully charge the headphones. The presence of the rechargeable battery also makes for a tight fit for the headphones. I would prefer a regular well-made case that is sufficiently sized to hold the headphones (If you've ever owned anything from Monster, you know what I'm getting at).
That's great, but how's the sound quality? As far as Bluetooth headphones go, it is pretty good. They don't sound all that great right out of the box, but I found that they opened up after a few hours use. I put them through the paces, and I used the subset of songs below for specific evaluation. Bass is always somewhat controversial, and there's nothing new with these headphones. I found the bass to be prominent but not overly emphasized. The Delerium song was a good test as it has a strong bass line with melodic vocals and other instruments. The balance was satisfying to me. I was surprised by the level of detail and clarity although it is not quite audiophile quality. I noticed the edges between instruments/electronics to be slightly blurred on "Automatic Systematic Habit". This song is a great test for headphones because it defines "busy" music. I also like to throw the opposite at headphones with the Chris Cornell solo acoustic song. His vocals and guitar came through well although it wasn't quite "like being there" as it is on higher end headphones. Classical music also comes through well on these headphones. I didn't find anything that gave me pause across various genres. For reference, I would say that these headphones sounded better than the Monster NCredible NErgy but not as good as the Monster DNA.
Battery life was between four and four and a half hours which is consistent with what Plantronics advertises. I did find that about two hours was enough for ear fatigue to start setting in. These are bigger and heavier than traditional corded headphones.
In the end, it comes down to this: do you want to be plugged in to your device with your headphones? Although it is not my scenario, active use (which these are designed for) would suggest yes. The sound quality is not as good as the Monster iSport Victory, but without the battery case, they are almost half the price. Active users looking to connect to their iPhone or Android device during exercise should find these a satisfying choice.
K'Naan - "ABCs" (bass)
Delerium - "Chrysalis Heart" (bass)
Guns `N Roses - "Chinese Democracy" (clarity)
Evanescence - "End Of The Dream" (detail)
Garbage - "Automatic Systematic Habit" (detail)
Chris Cornell - "As Hope And Promise Fade" (clarity)
Debussy - "La Mer - Trois Esquisses Symphoniques" (classical)
Good Sound; short sighted design