The era of stereo Bluetooth is upon us. While A2DP – essentially the part of Bluetooth that enables stereo transmission of audio – has been around for years, it’s taken Apple two years to get off its duff and add it to the iPhone Bluetooth stack and, me being an iPhone LUVR, it took me that long to actually pay attention to A2DP. I’ve tested wireless Bluetooth headsets before but most of them made me look like Lobot from Cloud City.
The BackBeats are the first pair of Bluetooth stereo headphones that are actually worth looking at. They weigh almost nothing – one ounce – and pair with almost any A2DP compatible phone. The 906 model comes with a Bluetooth adaptor and costs $129.95 while this pair costs $99.95.
These things are delightfully small. You can put them on and forget you’re wearing them. They have adjustable earpieces along with bulbous buds that fit right into your ear for maximum noise prevention. You can control playback, volume, and pick- and hang-up the phone with buttons on the side.
The frequency response is 80 Hz – 12 kHz and I found these headphones to be on par with better earbuds I’ve used. The over-the-ear form factor, however, meant that I did deal with a little separation between the bud and the ear at times, reducing the volume and clarity. A quick fix is all that’s needed to move things back into place.
These are the closest I’ve ever come to the ultimate pair of earbuds. Altec Lansing makes great audio gear and these are small enough – and cool enough – to wear on the subway or during a workout. Sadly, my ultimate earbuds would be as small as peas and simply slip into the ear permanently, directly controlling my auditory system through the use of magic and lasers. Seeing as how Altec Lansing has no patents on magic or lasers, these will have to do.
Bottom Line
If you’ve avoided A2DP wireless headphones thus far, stop. These are a great pair and well worth the $99, especially if you plan to use them for workouts or just strolling about town. These are the best Bluetooth headphones I’ve seen in a few years.
You can count me out of the Blutooth headset genre. At least, not until these monstrosity’s get smaller and cheaper. Moto is so desperate to move theirs, often times you can find them for around $30. This definitely an area where developers can make some progress.
So Biggs, are you saying these will actually stay on during a work out? I’m tempted to get these, but I really need ‘phones that are going to stay in my head while I jog. I was recently tempted to get an older bit of tech – the Jabra BT3030, but I haven’t pulled the trigger just yet. The BT3030 is nice because you can use your own headphones, so you can upgrade the quality (well, at least to the limits of the BT transmission).
I’m interested to see what Apple does for BT headphones. You know they must be working on some now that the iPhone and Touch have A2DP. Maybe I’ll just wait for those.
Oh, and BTW Biggs, it’s A2DP not AD2P.
I’d say these are good for running. I haven’t done any serious miles in them, though. I also noticed I’m a moron re: A2DP
try out the jaybird headphones too. great design and just like these. awesome units.
Welcome to real bluetooth :-) As a Sony Ericsson fan I’ve been using different BT headsets for a while. I’ll definitely take a look at the BackBeat. I can strongly recommend two other headsets (both Motorola) depending on your needs.
COMFORT: Motorola S805. Eight hours, no problem.
EXERCISE: Motorola S9-HD. Excellent sound and grip, but can get uncomfortable if worn longer then an hour or two.
Please clarify something for me. I see the pair for 129 have an adapter and these for 99 do not. Do you need the adapter to pair with the phone via bluetooth or what? Whats the adapter for otherwise?
The Bluetooth adapter is not iPhone/iPod specific – it works with any music player headphone jack. So if you have an iPod without Bluetooth, which is pretty much every iPod except the iPhone and iPod Touch, then you need the adapter. Or if you have an MP3 player from another mfr, you probably need the adapter too.
Otherwise, the ones without the adapter should work with any iPhone or iPod Touch provided it has been upgraded to the latest firmware. And other phones that support A2DP will work as well.
I’m on my second pair of AL BackBeat 930s. On the first set, the control buttons on both earpieces stopped working after a couple of days of limited use. On the positive side, the sound quality is great, the buds are comfortable, the whole package is light and after a minute I don’t even notice that I’m wearing them. Unobstructed, the bluetooth signal is great (I’ve walked up to 20 feet from my iPhone), but when the iPhone is in my pants pocket, the signal drops off occasionally. The microphone is so-so. But that’s to be expected from a design that mounts it in the earpiece without a boom. Unfortunately, after three days with the second set, I’m beginning to feel a reduction in responsiveness in the control buttons on both earpieces. I’ve got another 12 days before my return options runs out. Keep your fingers crossed
I’ve actually thought about getting some of these bluetooth headsets for my iphone. I’m not sure if it’s worth having these stereo bluetooth headsets. I actually don’t mind having the wired ones right now. It would suck if the battery all of a sudden ran out. On top of that the iphones already have horrible battery life.
http://ziggytek.com/
I like these but I LOVE my JayBird Bluetooth headphones. More slick.
To bad even after two years Apple only got it partly implemented (I swear somebody there just hates BT or something). Basically AVRCP is not enabled (also been around for years) so you can’t control track playback and other things. Also the the Apple Voice control stuff is not functional really (not startable) from a headset. Weak sauce all around for something that is two years late.
I am interested if these will hold up to the “sweat factor”. I have Moto S9’s that I to return already due to sweat, They gave me a little trouble on returning them until I mentioned that the packaging says “great for runners etc”. Runners usually sweat DUH! I am afraid to use the new ones for long hot runs.
I’m very disappointed.
I bought this headset to use with the iPod Touch after purchasing the v3 OS update.
The update is a disappointment alone, as the ability to use the mic does not seem to be suported by Apple at this time.
While it pairs well with the iPod Touch, the sound quality is merely acceptable.
Latency is very obvious while paired directly with the iPod Touch, less noticeable but still easily detectable when paired with the included adapter.
No controls for previous and next track.
Too much latency to enjoy gaming or video.
I’m considering RF wireless headphones instead of Bluetooth, and regret getting the v3 iPod update solely for Bluetooth support.
In addition, I’m having a very dufficult time with the earbuds themselves, they do not stay positioned and I find myself constantly adjusting them.
I wish I could edit / delete my previous comments so they are all in one entry…
The signal to the headset is very easily interrupted. It is absolutely impossible to expect any continuous audio stream while carrying the iPod Touch in a pants pocket. The iPod Touch needs to be held fairly still in order to not interrupt the audio. I’d try an armband but since there are not any controls to skip tracks, that means I’m holding the iPod Touch to skip tracks.
These connection issues are definitely more problematic when paired to the iPod Touch versus when paired to the adapter.
Overall verdict: DISAPPOINTMENT
I’ll be returning the headset shortly.
I find a lot of comments funny. The main problems seem to be with the implementation of Apples use of A2DP as well as other bluetooth standards. This isn’t an issue with the headset.
I am using these with my palm pre, can put the phone a few meters away in a laptop bag or backpack and it works great. So do all the controls.
How is the sound? Well I’ve never liked bluetooth for speaking on, so I personally can’t comment on that. I take the occasional call on it, but usually only to tell someone to hold so I can switch. I suppose part of it is I tend to mumble when I talk but NO BT headset has ever worked for me in cell phone calls. I do use them for voice memos on other devices just fine.
As far as the audio, it’s not bad, a little tinny in the bass area, but compared to a cheap set of earbuds not bad. I compare it to a cheap set only because for sports, activity, and just freedom of movement I prefer not to have a $100 set of earbuds to get damaged in day to day use. I’m really not comfortable using anything more than $40 for my wired phones. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend these for at home, get a better set (of over the ear) if you are using them for home use primarily. That said, the cable is unobtrusive enough to not get in the way when you lay down.
These are small, have a decent battery, and really they are meant for those desperately needing to get rid of the wires. Runners cyclist, gym freaks, people who work on a crowded desk where cables get snagged.
Me, I’m thrilled to lose the cable. I had to run it under my shirt for years as a way to manage it at the gym. Thrilled to not have it snag something on my desk every time I move.
“The main problems seem to be with the implementation of Apples use of A2DP as well as other bluetooth standards. This isn’t an issue with the headset.”
Apple’s implementation of A2DP does not come into play when the headset is paired to the adapter. Still, when paired to the adapter there were interruptions in the audo stream when the iPod and adapter were inside my pants pocket. Although much of that could be alleviated by allowing the adapter to stick out of my pocket, it was subject to becoming unplugged as I walked.
Apple is also not to blame for the lack of controls on the headset to navigate previous/next song.
I got some wired Sennheiser MX 85 headphones instead, which sound excellent and the headphone wire is not as troublesome as the Apple one. Of course I’d prefer wireless, but not at a sacrifice to comfort and quality.
I was surfing online and saw these (www.budsgoblue.com) I do not know anything about them maybe one of you guys could help me out to find out more information about these?
I think Altec Lansing needs to slow the production line down alittle. I purchased two 903 headsets, (don’t want wifey to pout), plugged um in, (only one of them lit the charge indicator light), left them overnight. The one that didn’t light the charge lamp won’t do anything. The one that lit the charge lamp won’t turn on or go into pairing. Come on AL, I’m battin a 1000 here. 2 for 2, that’s 100% failures to me. I’ll send um back and pray next time 1 outta 2 works. Then send the number 2 back and maybe I’ll end up with 2 headsets that work. But I’m concerned about longevity of these units. Build quality seems suspect to me. For the money. . .they outta work outta the gate. Seems you don’t even get what you pay for anymore. Wish me luck.
Cheers,
otrpu
Has anyone tried the Ultimate ear headsets?
I bought the 903 about 3 weeks ago and paired it to my iPhone 3GS, and like it very much. Had no problems with it. Every control works as advertised, and the audio is quite good. When a call comes in the unit fades the music and brings in the callers voice, which is quite good also. The reports I get about my voice during a call is OK but not outstanding – yet consider the setup with no boom on it – it is quite good at that. Also, I can work in a very noisy equipment room and the callers can still hear me well over the sound. In my book, this setup is well worth the money.
dear mr.philips
does the button for contoroling the songs forward or backward
works on the iphone 3gs
as i have the earphones & 3gs iphone
but this option does not work ??
can u help to confirm if it works & how ?
All and all I really liked these headphone, except for battery life, but I can live with that. All functionality works well except for changing tracks on my iphone, I can live with that as well.
All that said – these AL are not of good quality. My first pair lasted a couple of months (only using them a couple of times a week) then they stopped working. The battery would not charge. I bought a second pair and the exact same thing happened. These things are junk, 2 for 2 going bad in that short of time period is not good. I will never buy AL again!
Rick