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Plantronics BackBeat Fit
SPORTY WIRELESS EARPHONES THAT’LL STILL LET YOU HEAR YOUR SURROUNDINGS.SWEAT, FAST MOVEMENTS, volatile
environmental factors and changing noise
isolation requirements are just some of the
challenges that make designing a set Bluetooth
earbuds for sport significantly harder than
your average Bluetooth in-ear headset.
The BackBeat Fit buds manage to rise to this
challenging task and, in ways, even surpass
anything we’ve seen before. If you’re a runner,
chances are you’ve never really cared about
the sound that is
blotted out by your
headphones (most
of the time, this is
the point). For cyclists,
though, or anyone
who wants to remain
aware of their
surroundings,
listening to music
through traditional
earbuds will mean you
get a disorienting amount of noise isolation
and often results in your music or podcasts
yielding to your safety concerns.
The Fits achieve this by implementing
an unusual earbud shape — one that only
partially fills your ear canal, and is supported
by a soft rubber loop that pushes against a
ridge of your pinea, allowing a good portion
of ambient noise to pass through. In addition
to being able to hear your surroundings,
the headset’s supporting rubber cable loopsaround your ear to give a more secure fit, so
they remain in place during intense activity.
Pushing well past what might be expected of
your average sport headset, the Fits are further
protected by a proprietary ‘P2i’ nano-coating
that’s sweat and water repellant to IP67 levels,
and the buds and cabling has a highly durable
and flexible disposition. There’s even a
reflective coating to make you more
noticeable to cars at night, which is another
helpful boon.
So the BackBeat Fit
headphones are
obviously outstanding
when it comes to the
sport features, but they
also stand up to
scrutiny when it comes
to audio quality and
general usability as
well. An onboard
micro-USB
connection gets the ball rolling with a hassle-
free way of charging that doesn’t require
an expensive or unique proprietary cable.
13mm neodymium drivers combine to
produce a nice audio profile that can be
pumped up to compete with noisy
environments, and the battery will give you
an ample listening time of 8 hours from a
2-hour fast charge. Unfortunately, the Fit
headset doesn’t carry the same robust
Bluetooth 4.0 connection as some ofPlantronics’ other wireless headphones,
but the Bluetooth 3.0 connection is at least
on par with much of the competition.
The call management and voice-isolation
technology makes them good for making and
receiving calls — or at least they would have,
if the on-ear controls weren’t so fiddly.
The plastic depressible button configurations
isn’t the worst earbud control scheme we’ve
encountered, but it’s complicated enough
that even after prolonged use, it was more
difficult to use than it should be.
Setting you back somewhere between $149
and $179 (depending on where you go), it’s not
the cheapest sports headset available either.
But for anyone who wants to be able to hear
their surroundings when they train, the
BackBeat Fits are still a compelling option.
[ JOEL BURGESS ]4PLANTRONICS BACKBEAT FIT
$149
http://www.plantronics.com/au
CRITICAL SPECS
Rechargeable Li-ion battery (8-hour playback,
14 days standby); Bluetooth 3.0 (8 paired devices);
IP67 water and dust resistance;
13mm dynamic drivers; 24gTECH BENCHRADARWINNERAPPROVED
AWARDIN ADDITION TO BEING ABLE TO
HEAR YOUR SURROUNDINGS,
THE HEADSET’S SUPPORTING
RUBBER CABLE LOOPS
AROUND YOUR EAR TO GIVE A
MORE SECURE FIT, SO THEY
REMAIN IN PLACE DURING
INTENSE ACTIVITY.