Plantronics BackBeat Go 600 Wireless Headphones Review

The Plantronics Go 600 have a simple and straightforward design that will appeal to most, but feels a little cheap once in your hands. They look somewhat like the Beoplay H9 with a similar frame and ear cups design. However, they do not look as polished or premium as the B&Os. They come in a couple of different color schemes that are all matte and understated which some may prefer over the glossy design of some of the other over/on-ears like the Beats Solo2 Wireless (see our recommendations for the best over-ear headphones under $50). Overall, these headphones will look good enough for most but may disappoint a little once you feel their slightly cheap and lightweight build quality.

The Plantronics BackBeat Go 600 are decently comfortable headphones. They're lightweight, well padded, and not too tight on the head. You can wear them for a fairly long time without feeling any fatigue, but the round ear cups do not always fit well around the ears. Unlike the Beoplay H9 which have a similar but more premium design, the Go 600's ear cups do not tilt upwards as much which creates a gap in the fit around your ears. It's not uncomfortable but can be a bit annoying since you will often have to adjust the headset to get a better seal.

The Plantronics BackBeat Go 600 have an efficient and easy-to-use control scheme. You can play, pause and answer calls, by pressing the central button on the left ear cup. Skipping tracks is done with the two arrows next to the call/music button and there is a volume rocker on the side of the ear cup that's easy to use but a little cramped. On the right ear cup you have the power switch that also doubles as the pairing button. And at the bottom of the cup, you have a bass-effect button to switch between 2 preset EQs.

These headphones, like most closed back over-ears, are not the most breathable. They do not create the best seal with their ear cups so they won't make your ears as warm as some of the other closed back headphones we've tested. However, since they do obstruct a fair bit of airflow, they won't be the best choice for more strenuous exercises at the gym.

The Plantronics BackBeat Go 600 are lightweight but do not fold into a more compact format, so they won't be the most portable headphones. The ear cups do lay flat which could come in handy on some occasions, and they are on the smaller side for over-ear headphones. But unfortunately, they are still a bit too cumbersome to comfortably carry around on your person, unlike in-ears and some on-ear headsets.

They come with a simple and straightforward pouch that will shield the headphones from scratches and scuffs when they're in your bag but won't protect them from impacts, drops or water damage.

The build quality of these headphones feels a bit cheap. They have a lightweight and decently flexible design with well-padded cups and not many moving parts susceptible to wear and tear. They also won't break from a couple of accidental drops, but unfortunately, their build quality looks better than it feels. Once in your hand, the headphones feel flimsy and a bit cheap, unlike the Sony MDR-1A which are also relatively lightweight headphones.

The Plantronics BackBeat Go 600 are decently stable headphones. They are lightweight, so the ear cups do not sway as much as some of the other over-ears we've tested when running. They're also wireless, so they won't get yanked off your head because the audio cable got hooked on something. However, they are not very tight, which is good for comfort but also means that they will move around during more intense exercises, especially when tilting your head. They won't be the best headphones for the gym but should be stable enough to jog with.

• Plantronics Go 600 Headphones
• Carrying pouch
• Audio cable
• USB cable
• Manual

The Plantronics BackBeat Go 600 have a sub-par frequency response consistency. We measure the bass of our over/on-ear headphones on 5 human subjects, and there is a large variance in Go 600's bass delivery across different users. The maximum deviation measured is more than 20dB at 20Hz, which is quite audible. Also, the inconsistencies occur over a very wide range, which makes it even more noticeable. The treble delivery however, has good consistency across different positions.

The Plantronics BackBeat Go 600 have a great bass. LFE (low-frequency extension) is at 15Hz, which is great. Also, low-bass, which is responsible for the thump and rumble common to bass-heavy music, is within 1dB of our target. However, mid-bass, responsible for body and punch, and high-bass, responsible for warmth, are overemphasized by more than 2dB. This makes the overall bass of the BackBeat Go slightly heavy and boomy.

The Plantronics BackBeat Go 600 have an above-average mid-range. The overall response is relatively even and flat throughout the range but consistently underemphasized by about 3dB. This weakens the mid-range and nudges vocals and lead instruments towards the back of the mix, which gives more emphasis to the bass frequencies.

The treble performance is decent. Low-treble is under our neutral target by more than 2dB, which negatively affects the detail and articulation of vocals and lead instruments. Mid-treble, however, is quite overemphasized above 6KHz, which brings excess emphasis to sharp sounds like S and Ts. This could result in a sharp and piercing sound, which will be mostly noticeable on vocals and cymbals.

The imaging is above-average. Weighted group delay is at 0.34, which is within good limits. The GD graph also shows that the group delay response barely crosses the audibility threshold. This suggests a tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. Additionally, the L/R drivers of our test unit were very well-match in frequency and amplitude, but showed a significant mismatch in phase. This means that the placement and localization of objects (voices, instruments, video game effects) will be accurate in the stereo field, but the stereo field itself may have inconsistencies in terms of width and cohesion.

The soundstage is about average. The PRTF graph shows an average amount of pinna interaction. The accuracy of the pinna interaction is also about average. This and the closed-back design of the headphones means that their soundstage will be perceived as relatively small, and located inside the listener's head.

The Plantronics BackBeat Go 600 provide an inadequate isolation. In the bass range, where the rumble of airplane and bus engines sits, they don't provide any isolation. In the mid-range, important for blocking out speech, they achieve less than 3dB of isolation, which is poor. In the treble range, occupied by sharp sounds like S and Ts, they reduce outside noise by more than 25dB, which is above-average.

The leakage performance is about average. The significant portion of the leakage is between 500Hz and 5KHz, which is a relatively broad range. This means that their leakage will sound fuller compared to that of in-ears and earbuds. However, the overall level of leakage is not very loud. With the music at 100dB SPL, the leakage at 1 foot away averages at 43dB SPL and peaks at 54dB SPL, which is just above the noise floor of most offices.

The integrated microphone of the Plantronics BackBeat Go 600 is mediocre. In quiet environments, speech recorded or transmitted with this mic will sound relatively thin and noticeably muffled and lacking detail. However, it'll still be decently intelligible. In noisy situations, it will struggle to fully separate speech from background noise even in moderately loud places, like a busy street.

The integrated microphone of the Plantronics BackBeat Go 600 has an average recording quality. The LFE (low-frequency extension) is at 258Hz, which results in the recorded or transmitted speech to sound relatively thin. The HFE (high-frequency extension) of 3.5KHz, suggests a speech that lacks detail and brightness. However, it'll still be decently comprehensible, since speech intelligibility is mostly dependent on the 500Hz-4KHz range.

The noise handling of the integrated microphone is mediocre. In our SpNR test, the Plantronics BackBeat Go 600 achieved a speech-to-noise ratio of 11dB, indicating they are best suited for quiet environments, since they will struggle to fully separate speech from ambient noise in loud or even moderately loud situations.

The Plantronics BackBeat GO 600 Series have a good battery life. The battery lasts for about 17 hours, which is good enough for a typical work day, and they have a fast charge time of only 90 minutes. Charging is done with the included micro-USB cable. In standby mode the battery lasts 20 days. They cannot be used while charging, but they do support passive playback when connected with the included 1/8" TRS cable.

There is no companion app available, but there are two EQ options directly on the headset - Bass Boost or Balanced.

The Plantronics BackBeat Go 600 have decent Bluetooth compatibility. They and can pair simultaneously with two devices so you can switch quickly between a PC and cell phone, but there is no NFC support so they have to be paired manually. Like most Bluetooth headsets, they cannot be used wirelessly with gaming consoles.

Latency is better than most Bluetooth headsets but still too high for watching movies or for gaming.

These headphones can be used wired with the included 1/8" TRS cable. They don't have a built-in remote and there is no mic.

There is no dock or base for these headphones. If you are looking for good wireless headphones with a base, check out the SteelSeries Arctis 7.