Last week saw the Singapore launch of the Plantronics BackBeat 505, their latest pair of wireless on-ear headphones.
Plantronics has been dabbling in headsets for around 50 years but has recently diversified into consumer audio and churning out over-ear, in-ear and on-ear headphones at a consistent rate. If you're familiar with their products, they have already released the BackBeat SENSE (SGD 279) in the on-ear category. The BackBeat 505, known as the BackBeat 500 Series in other countries, is a more affordable proposition at half the price.
We'll do a full review in the coming days but for now, here are some first impressions!
Type - Wireless On-Ears
Price - USD 79 / SGD 139
In The Box
The BackBeat 505 comes in three colors - Dark Grey, Grey and White. For our review, we received the Grey unit though personally, we'd reckon Lime is probably a more enticing name to go :)
The packaging is pretty compact and spartan, measuring just enough to squeeze an inner box containing the BackBeat 505 nicely packed within the carrying pouch.
Spilling the packaging contents out, you get a handy range of:
Design
The Plantronics BackBeat 505 headphones has an attractive styling and price point that likely targets the youth demographic. The earcups swivel 90 degrees for compact storage while the headband is supported by a solid aluminum like material that you can slide to adjust to your head size.
It is relatively lightweight, yet gives the impression of a sturdy build at 155 grams due to a handy combination of plastics and memory foam for the pads. For a comparison of other wireless on-ears, there's the Jabra Move Wireless (150g), the Bose OE SoundLink (153g) and the Beats Solo3 Wireless (215g).
Carrying Pouch:
The drawstring pouch envelops the headphones when you take it out of the box. It feels rather flimsy though it should minimally protect from scratches.
Features
Pairing:
There's no app support or NFC but seriously, what do you expect for this price point? All you need is straightforward Bluetooth to link to your music device. The pairing process is a breeze - just flip the power switch on the right cup towards the Bluetooth logo and pairing initializes. Select 'PLT BB500 Series' from your source device and you're good to go. The headphone can pair to two devices so you can conveniently watch videos from your tablet and toggle to listen to music from your phone when needed.
Controls:
The controls are parked on the left earcup. The Play/Pause and track change buttons are found on the outer cup while the volume controls are parked on the circumference. One good feature is a dedicated Call button on the bottom of the right earcup that doubles as a battery status check when listening to music.
Wired Mode:
If you don't want to use headphones wirelessly or if you run out of power, there's a provided audio cable that links to your music device through a 3.5mm to 3.5mm connection. This is similar with others in its category like the Beats Solo3 Wireless and Bose OE SoundLink that give you the same cable out of the box.
Performance + Overall
We will look at this once we run through some tests. What we can say so far is that getting this pair of wireless on-ears for SGD 139 is excellent value and is very comparable with the Jabra Move Wireless we tried previously.
Pricing and Availability
The Plantronics BackBeat 505 is available in Singapore in 3 colors - Dark Grey, Grey and White. It goes for SGD 139. You can also buy the BackBeat 505 from Amazon through this affiliate link.
Credit to Plantronics for a review unit.
Plantronics has been dabbling in headsets for around 50 years but has recently diversified into consumer audio and churning out over-ear, in-ear and on-ear headphones at a consistent rate. If you're familiar with their products, they have already released the BackBeat SENSE (SGD 279) in the on-ear category. The BackBeat 505, known as the BackBeat 500 Series in other countries, is a more affordable proposition at half the price.
We'll do a full review in the coming days but for now, here are some first impressions!
Type - Wireless On-Ears
Price - USD 79 / SGD 139
In The Box
The BackBeat 505 comes in three colors - Dark Grey, Grey and White. For our review, we received the Grey unit though personally, we'd reckon Lime is probably a more enticing name to go :)
The packaging is pretty compact and spartan, measuring just enough to squeeze an inner box containing the BackBeat 505 nicely packed within the carrying pouch.
Spilling the packaging contents out, you get a handy range of:
- Plantronics BackBeat 505 headphones
- USB cable
- Audio cable (3.5mm to 3.5mm)
- Carrying pouch
- Quick start guide + safety information
Design
The Plantronics BackBeat 505 headphones has an attractive styling and price point that likely targets the youth demographic. The earcups swivel 90 degrees for compact storage while the headband is supported by a solid aluminum like material that you can slide to adjust to your head size.
It is relatively lightweight, yet gives the impression of a sturdy build at 155 grams due to a handy combination of plastics and memory foam for the pads. For a comparison of other wireless on-ears, there's the Jabra Move Wireless (150g), the Bose OE SoundLink (153g) and the Beats Solo3 Wireless (215g).
Carrying Pouch:
The drawstring pouch envelops the headphones when you take it out of the box. It feels rather flimsy though it should minimally protect from scratches.
Features
Pairing:
There's no app support or NFC but seriously, what do you expect for this price point? All you need is straightforward Bluetooth to link to your music device. The pairing process is a breeze - just flip the power switch on the right cup towards the Bluetooth logo and pairing initializes. Select 'PLT BB500 Series' from your source device and you're good to go. The headphone can pair to two devices so you can conveniently watch videos from your tablet and toggle to listen to music from your phone when needed.
Controls:
The controls are parked on the left earcup. The Play/Pause and track change buttons are found on the outer cup while the volume controls are parked on the circumference. One good feature is a dedicated Call button on the bottom of the right earcup that doubles as a battery status check when listening to music.
Wired Mode:
If you don't want to use headphones wirelessly or if you run out of power, there's a provided audio cable that links to your music device through a 3.5mm to 3.5mm connection. This is similar with others in its category like the Beats Solo3 Wireless and Bose OE SoundLink that give you the same cable out of the box.
Performance + Overall
We will look at this once we run through some tests. What we can say so far is that getting this pair of wireless on-ears for SGD 139 is excellent value and is very comparable with the Jabra Move Wireless we tried previously.
Pricing and Availability
The Plantronics BackBeat 505 is available in Singapore in 3 colors - Dark Grey, Grey and White. It goes for SGD 139. You can also buy the BackBeat 505 from Amazon through this affiliate link.
Credit to Plantronics for a review unit.
