Plantronics BackBeat GO 3 Quick Review

Back in June, Plantronics launched their latest audio products in the country, and one of them is the BackBeat GO 3 Sweatproof Wireless Earbuds. It is aimed at music lovers with an active lifestyle. Is it worth getting, let’s find out.

Design and Construction

The Plantronics BackBeat GO 3 sports the usual design concept like most fitness-centric earbuds – there’s the silicon tips, ear wings, in-line mic and controls, and an almost flat cable.

Almost everything you see on the device’s exterior is made of plastic, but with different finishes. The housing is glossy with marble finish, while the rest of the body is rubber-like, especially the ear wings.

The housing on the right bud is removable to give you access to the microUSB port for charging, an LED indicator is here as well which lights up red when charging and blue when full or connecting.

When it comes to build, the BackBeat GO 3 feels sturdy and really well-made. The cables are relatively thick which gives an impression of durability, while the in-line controls is clicky and firm at the same time. In addition, it’s light, doesn’t easily tangle, sweatproof and easy to store.

Although build is good, we can’t really say the same thing for comfort. Like most earphones, it comes with extra silicone eartips with varying sizes for a good fit, however, the ear wings are fixed. Although it’s flexible it won’t always be a perfect fit for all users, because, you know, not all ears are created the same.

In our case, the left bud tend to slip especially when we’re moving a lot. To remedy we have to jam the ear tip deep which makes it uncomfortable for long use. To conclude, Plantronics, got the design and build right, but missed out on comfortable fit by not providing swappable ear wings.

Setup

Setup is pretty much straighforward and just like most Bluetooth-equipped headsets. There’s no NFC so you will have to do it old method. Just press and hold on the Power/Play/Pause button and a voice prompt will tell you that it is on and it remaining playback time. Hold the press for two more seconds and it will initiate pairing mode. All you have to do next is connect your smartphone to it and it’s good to go.

The BackBeat GO 3 also has a companion app for iOS and Android. It’s not something that you would use everyday, though, as it doesn’t actually do much aside from managing your connections with multiple devices, showing your remaining battery level, and updating the firmware. The latter part, is probably the most useful.

Sound Quality

So far we enjoy the sound quality that the BackBeat GO 3 produces. Lows are strong yet clean which is great for club and hiphop music. Playing Drake’s One Dance is satisfying as we can feel the seismic beats. Same goes with other bass-dominant tracks.

Mids and highs have good presence. It’s detailed and clear which makes it good for RnB, acoustic, and Jazz music. Although you’ll notice there’s more emphasis on bass, but not to the point of ruining the track.

Rock music feels at home as well and produced with just the right amount of edginess without becoming to harsh. Combined with a strong bass presence, tracks like Beastie Boys’ Sabotage and Intergalactic come out powerful and energetic.

Battery Life

Plantronics claim a battery life of up to 6.5 hours. So far we’re getting that amount of mileage, sometimes reaching up to 7 hours when volume is kept to below 50%.

As for charging, you can use a standard smartphone charger or powerbank and it takes about an hour to get it to full charge.

Conclusion

Over-all, the Plantronics BackBeaty GO 3 is a good-sounding pair of earphones that can handle multiple music genres especially bassy tracks. In addition, it has a good build and design, and long battery life. The only thing that we didn’t like is the lack of exchangeable ear wings that affects individual fit and comfort. It’s also decently priced at Php4,699 Php5,395. We just hope that it fits you perfectly.

Plantronics BackBeaty GO 3 specs:
MEMS mic w/ DSP and full duplex echo noise reduction
Bluetooth 3.0 w/ 33 feet wireless range
A2DP 1.2, AVRCP v1.5, Wideband audio HFP v1.7, HSP v1.1
102 dBspl/mw @ 1kHz sensitivity
6 mm custom dynamic drivers
20 – 20,000Hz frequency response
20db passive noise reduction
Sweatproof nano-coating by P2i
Wideband audio (HFP v1.7)
DeepSleep hibernation mode
Up to 6.5 hours battery life
19 g weight

Pros:
* Good build
* Good sound quality
* Above average battery life

Cons:
* One-size ear wing