Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2 review: Exceptional wireless headphones

The future, so Apple tells us, will be exclusively wireless. That’s the thinking behind its still-delayed AirPods headphones, but it’s not as though Apple invented Bluetooth audio in the first place. Plantronics BackBeat PRO headphones were already exceptional headphones when they launched a few years back, and the sequels improve on them in most important respects.

Design

• Retains the solid design of the first BackBeat PRO
• Things can get sweaty

• Read our full review of the BackBeat Pro 2's design

  Sweaty material is an issue for any set of full immersion headphones, and while the Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2 are smaller than the original PRO headphones, it still happens, especially in Australian summer. You certainly wouldn't want to share a pair with anyone who's been out for even a mild walk in them.

Performance

• Good quality audio
• Exceptional battery life

• Read our full review of the BackBeat Pro 2's performance

  The audio from the Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2 is crisp and clear, with plenty of nuance across multiple genres. They're not exceptionally bass-heavy if that's your thing, but that also means that they avoid those kinds of muddy tones that you often get with bass-equalised cans.

  The Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2 headphones are rated for up to 24 hours of wireless battery streaming, which means that (as long as your airline is OK with it) they should be good for any plane trip you can take anywhere from Australia. Yes, even the lengthy ones to the USA or Europe. While we couldn't quite spare the time to hop on a plane and make that test, with in-office testing we very rarely had to charge the Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2. To further improve matters, they can be used with a supplied standard 3.5mm audio jack, so even if the power does go out, you can keep on listening.

Features

• Subtle noise cancellation
• Automatic music pausing
• Acceptable phone passthrough
• Auto shutoff doesn't like walking much

• Read our full review of the BackBeat Pro 2's features

  The Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2 offer noise cancellation features, accessible with a switch in the left earpiece that gives you an audible prompt when it's switched on or off. The same switch can also be fully flicked upwards to "open mic" position, at which point you can surreptitiously listen in to conversations around you. While we've hit headphones with more aggressive noise cancellation, we like the way that Plantronics has balanced the overall audio cancellation on the Backbeat PRO 2s. There's just enough to ensconce you in the music without being so heavy handed that you accidentally walk in front of moving vehicles.

  Like the Plantronics BackBeat PRO headphones, the BackBeat Pro 2 support automatic music pausing. It works by pausing the music on your headphones when you slip them down off your head or over your neck. Pop them back on, and the tunes resume seamlessly. The issue here is that this is usually fine when you're sitting, but it's sometimes twitchy if you're walking and the headphones are shifting around on your head. We noticed it most when walking to and from public transport from the finder offices. Maybe we're too energetic in our walking, but it's annoying to have to reseat the headphones to keep the music going.

  The Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2 also features an inbuilt microphone, so you can use them to make and take calls from a paired device. There's no boom mic, but the audio throughput from the Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2 was entirely acceptable according to our test callers. There's always some variance with this kind of test because network conditions can play merry hell with your overall audio quality, but we generally had few problems here.

Verdict

With the Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2, Plantronics has taken the generally great design of the original PRO headphones, shaved off some significant bulk and ended up with a genuinely great set of headphones. They're going to be the best fit for frequent travellers, because that's always the market for noise cancelling headphones, although office workers who don't want wires and favour not having to recharge all that frequently should also find them highly compelling.

In terms of competitors, there are plenty of noise cancelling headphones you could try, with Bose, Sennheiser and Sony all having offerings in this space, albeit not always at this kind of price point.

Pricing and availability

The regular Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2 headphones are priced in Australia at $299. There’s also a fancier Special Edition set with memory foam earpieces which sell for $349.99 outright.

Plantronics BackBeat 505 from Amazon

Listen more with Plantronics BackBeat 505 up to 18 hours of wireless listening time on a single charge. Buy today from Amazon.

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