Plantronics BackBeat Go Review - Almost the Perfect Bluetooth Earbuds

Five years ago I bought a pair of A2DP headsets, oddly enough alongside the purchase of a Dell XPS M1730. They were Dell BH200 stereo headests, essentially a rebrand of some Logitech models that were modern at the time. I used that in conjunction with a Dell Axim Pocket PC and later an HTC Apache to listen to streaming music while studying. Times have changed considerably since then, and both Moore’s law and further component miniaturization has made it possible to cram what used to require a bulky on-ear form factor into a pair of earbuds, and A2DP is likewise commonplace in any smartphone or PMP. I've long fantasized about a pair of earbuds with as little cable as possible, and right now the form factor of the BackBeat Go is basically as close as you can get to that reality.

The Plantronics BackBeat Go earbuds are good enough for casual listening, though discerning ears used to listening to higher end IEMs will detect a notably smaller sound stage and compressed dynamic range thanks to A2DP. On the whole however, the combo really is good enough to be passable when you have a good ear canal seal. The BackBeat Gos run around $76 at Amazon, which honestly isn’t bad for what you get. Since playing with this pair, I’ve become aware of a number of other players with the same form factor, for example Novero’s Rockaway or the Jaybird Freedom, all of which sit between $75 and $99.

My issue with the Dell BH200 headsets a long time ago was that wearing them was fatiguing and uncomfortable after a few hours. The BackBeat Go form factor is all around better, but unfortunately isn’t perfect, with the earbuds sometimes sliding out of my ear canals due to their large size and the lack of stiffer rubber. In addition, lack of multi-host pairing makes hopping between the notebook and smartphone as an A2DP source somewhat annoying.

The BackBeat Gos are tantalizingly close to being the sort of ideal Bluetooth earbud stereo platform that I’ve been dreaming of all these years, but aren’t quite there yet. That doesn’t mean they’re not enjoyable, but could benefit from maybe one more iteration.