Plantronics Backbeat Sense $197.99 Shipped ($188.09 OW Pricematch) @ Expansys

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kxy1983s on 04/01/2016 - 23:29 expansys.com.au (329 clicks)
Last edited 04/01/2016 - 23:54 by 2 other users

Plantronics BackBeat Sense Wireless Headphones with Mic (Black/Espresso)

• Type: On-ear wireless headset
• Wireless: Bluetooth v4.0 + EDR, A2DP, AVRCP, HFP 1.6 wideband, HSP 1.2
• Multi-Point: Simultaneously connect 2 Bluetooth devices (2H2S)
• Wireless Range: Up to 100 meters/330 feet from phone or tablet with Class 1 Bluetooth
• Noise cancelling: Passive noise blocking, digital signal processing (DSP) and dual microphones
• Voice Alerts: Spoken alerts in 14 language options, which vary by region (US and UK English, Cantonese, Danish, EU-French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Norwegian, Russian, EU-Spanish and Swedish)
• cablesMicro-USB Charing connection and angled 3.5mm audio cable
• Battery: Rechargeable, non-replaceable lithium-ion
• Wireless-range: up to 100m/330ft from phone or tablet using Class 1 Bluetooth
• Readiness: Wireless Listening: Up to 18 hours, Standby: Up to 21 days, DeepSleep: Up to 180 days / Charging: Up to 2.5 hours
• Weight: 140 grams

I have been considering getting these by grey import ever since Gizmodo reviewed these back in August
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2015/08/plantronics-backbeat-sense…

After shipping/currency conversion from Amazon, cheapest I could get was $240. That was in October.

They have landed in Aussie retailers now, with JB selling them for $269.95. Cheapest on Static ice is $229

Saw them on Expansys while looking for a cheap Lumia 950 XL for 197.99 shipped, but only had white in stock, I put myself down on the email list for when Black/coffee came back in stock. Was in Office Works to pick up a hand full of those sub $3 usb sticks I saw on OzB and saw that OW stocked the Backbeat Sense for $269.99. Wasn't sure if they would price match Expansys, but asked the assistant, he said he had never heard of them but would check out the page.

Given that its a .com.au page and showed stock levels he was happy to price match. He didn't care that the site only had white in stock and i wanted the black ones. He said he could only Price match the shipped price and beat it by 5%. I said fine by me. In my rush to get out of the store to beat the rain getting home, I didn't notice they charged me 197.99 and forgot to take the 5% off, I am going back tomorrow to get the difference refunded.

Using these headphones right now, they sound awesome, good bass, love the controls. Bluetooth range reaches across my whole house from my 950XL. Love that when I take them off my head the track pauses and resumes when i put them on. There's a button on the left ear that when you press, pauses the track and turns on external mike, so you can hear your surroundings - great for eavesdropping on office goss ;)

Amazon has some good reviews (these are the SE Splash proof ones - the OW ones are not the SE ones but the reviews are still relevant)
http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-Backbeat-Sense-Headphones-…

The only complaints on Amazon are the hideous creaking/transmitted noise through the headphones with the music stopped. I don't have any of that, I can only wonder if they don't realise they have turned on the external mic and that's why they can hear every slight movement.

Really happy with these headphones, I switch between Audio Technica ATH-700's and M50s for gaming/music on the home computer but wanted a decent Bluetooth set for out and about as well for the desk phone at work (these pair to 2 devices simultaneously so perfect for this)

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Expansys

• 

  vandelay on 05/01/2016 - 00:13

  +1

  good deal, good price match!

  yes i've been watching it on expansys, as well as ebay.. was hoping to grab them during the 15% off sale :(

• 

  CyberMurning on 05/01/2016 - 00:30

  +1

  "Love that when I take them off my head the track pauses and resumes when i put them on. There's a button on the left ear that when you press, pauses the track and turns on external mike, so you can hear your surroundings"

  just like plantronic backbeat pro features!
  did you consider the pro as well? comparison with this?
  edit: found it
  http://gstylemag.com/2015/08/10/plantronics-backbeat-pro-vs-…

  • 

    kxy1983s on 05/01/2016 - 00:36

    +1

    I considered the PRO as well, they look very good, and was almost sold on them based on what a few reviews said about their soundstage and great sound accross the whole range, lows and highs. However, as i want these as a set to wear out and about around town and at work I wanted a lighter on ear set, kind of like my Sennheiser PX-200's. I already have plenty of big over ear sets (Audio Technica ATH-700, Audio Technica M-50, Sennheiser RS 160)

    • 

      schwinn on 05/01/2016 - 00:49

      I actually bought the PRO the last round, and I did not like the weight and bulk of them. I will be downgrading to this Sense, as I really loved the bluetooth functionality. Not sure if it has the same 'talk' function as the PRO has, but that's a bonus.

      • 

        kxy1983s on 05/01/2016 - 01:03

        What 'talk' function are you talking about? I can tell you if the Sense does it. When I twist the volume dial it speaks in a womans voice saying max volume or something like that. I haven't tested it much with the phone, it verbalises that i am connected to "phone 1" when I get to work I will pair it with the desk phone and do some more testing. Already I am loving the sound signature even straight out of the box with some deep house music and some indie folk music, and they will only get better after 30+ hours of burn in.

      • 

        schwinn on 05/01/2016 - 01:08

        @kxy1983s:
        On the PRO there was a button to press, that lowered the music volume, and activated an external mic so you could have a conversation with someone without removing your headphones. I could adjust the volume of this external mic amplification, so much that it was rather superhuman.

        Does the sense have this?

        Edit: Sorry, it was mentioned twice on this deal but my blind eyes didn't read properly. Yes it does have it. Cheers!

      • 

        kxy1983s on 05/01/2016 - 01:10

        @schwinn:
        Yes it does have that, button on the left side at the bottom of the cup, really easy to press without accidentally hitting any other buttons. It does exactly what you say, activates external mic so you can hear surroundings. I haven't figured out if i can adjust the amplification yet, going to see how good they are at work tomorrow in an office environment.

      • 

        CyberMurning on 05/01/2016 - 08:06

        @kxy1983s: please review back on this external mic, also the feature where it's pauses when you put down on table or neck.

      • 

        schwinn on 05/01/2016 - 09:52

        @kxy1983s:
        To adjust the amplification on the pro, you turned the volume dial up during the talk mode. Give it a go.

      • 

        schwinn on 06/01/2016 - 00:05

        @kxy1983s:
        Hey kxy, I know you said you didn't have any of the rattling/rubbing noise amplification as per Amazon reviews, but do you move around much with these headphones? I had a similar issue with a previous pair of Harman Kardons, the metal band basically amplifies any friction or bump against it. Rude colleagues thinking they can tap my headband cos I was focusing on work, were actually blowing my ear drums out. So the question is - how is it walking around, with music on, and without music on? And what about rubbing your finger on the headband, or tapping the headband?

      • 

        kxy1983s on 06/01/2016 - 00:16

        @schwinn: There is some noise if you rub the headband or tap it but its minimal, i walk about 15 mins to the tramstop from home to get too and from work, and i didnt have any problems with noise while music was playing, or twisting my head around. I purposely shook my head around to see if it made noises, and it didnt.

        The noises made when tapping are no worse than any of my high end headsets. But when you turn the external mic on yes you get heaps of noise, as to be expected given theres a mic there amplifying things.

• 

  photon on 05/01/2016 - 09:04

  +1

  I'm surprised they pricematched it, website seems like majority of the stock is imported from overseas…
  You got lucky I'd say.

  • 

    kxy1983s on 05/01/2016 - 09:26

    I just spelled the site out for him, Expansys.com.au and on the front page is a big sale banner with these headphones right in front, I pointed at it and he clicked on it. Took straight to the stock page which showed stock for the White model. He checked the shipping price, $21 via DHL (common courier in Aus) So it seems that this item is Aussie stock, not 100% certain on that. But there was not even a hint of hesitation from the shop assistant. Maybe I got lucky, or maybe this was just normal.

    • 

      ChillBro on 05/01/2016 - 12:49

      Nah, you got lucky. Usually they check whether it's grey or local stock.

      • 

        01001011 on 01/02/2016 - 17:42

        -1

        Can't say if it this is aussie or not but their Nexus 9 stock was japanese.

        However their return policy sucks, my keyboard came broken and they do not allow returns since it is a "gift".

      • 

        01001011 on 01/02/2016 - 19:21

        Update: They are now sending another keyboard.
        Return policy, apparently does not suck.

• 

  Bellpop on 05/01/2016 - 11:29

  Should I get these or the Jabra Move Bluetooth headphones? Basically just needed so wife can watch Kardashians on Apple TV 4 with them and I don't have to hear it and the occasional overseas plane trip.

  Cheers!

• 

  pink5218 on 01/02/2016 - 09:51

  I tried doing what's suggested in this post. The first OW I went to, the guy wouldn't price beat the item. The reason he gave was that the company is not an Australian company and they don't price beat for companies outside of Australia. I asked him how could he tell this is not an Australian company and he said because the website has a Hong Kong address in their "Contact Us" page.

  So I went home to try and look for an Australian site selling this pair of headphones. I found this site http://www.dwidigitalcameras.com.au/astore/Plantronics-BackB… selling the headphones for $169 with free shipping. They have a warehouse in NSW that is listed on their website. So I decided to try my luck again at another OW. This time around the cashier just glanced at the website on my phone and happily process the price beat without asking any questions. I think I got lucky this time. End up paying $160.55 for them.

  For those having a hard time getting OW to price beat this might be worth a try.