We have a fad for headphones on senses.se and over the years we have tested a variety of models, including from American Plantronics. When they now call themselves Poly (after the acquisition of Polycom), there is some confusion about the name online. Many people still use Plantronics, while Poly themselves seem to have deleted the company name before the model designation completely in some cases, which is perhaps just as good? Today’s consideration, BackBeat GO 410 is in any case the sequel to BackBeat GO 3, from 2017. The wireless headphones have this time more than legally glanced and borrowed “inspiration” from Apple BeatsX, in more ways than one – which also reflects the price tag.
BackBeat GO 410 – The technology
The first thing you react to when unpacking the BackBeat GO 410 is
a) how similar BeatsX they are in the design ..
and
b) how big the two battery containers are, which also gives balance to the headset when you wear it around your neck.
The headphones have a built-in ANC (more on that below) and are easily switched on and off by letting the built-in magnet connect the covers (yes, also like BeatsX). The only direct disappointment is that the headphones charge with microUSB, which is a bit mossy 2019, instead of the modern USB-C. Thus, the headphones also do not support fast charging (which the model thus has, via Apple’s own gadgets, where they can charge in as little as five minutes). The BackBeat GO 410 fully charges in about two hours.
BackBeat GO 410 – The functionality
The BackBeat GO 410 sits comfortably around the neck and the rubber shells of the covers can be adapted to your ear shape (choose the largest size you can have, for the best bass). The headphones connect easily and painlessly via Bluetooth (5.0) with any sound source we tested and the 35 grams they weigh feel just right to carry with you. One thing that was a bit cool on GO 3, was that the carrying bag had a small battery you could charge, in order to be able to charge the headphones an extra time during storage. GO 410 lacks this feature and thus only gets a standard, lightweight, net carrying bag (with PLT, Plantronics abbreviation)
ANC (noise reduction) is decent for the model – but nothing that can measure up to the total silence you get from over-ear headphones, such as the Panasonic RP-HD605. There is a very faint hiss when the ANC is on and it is quiet in the headphones, but there is nothing that disturbs significantly, and the headphones do a perfectly OK job to dampen the city’s rumble, as best they can. But these are not tricks you should choose in the first place if noise reduction is at the top of the wish list or if you often travel on noisy trains and planes. Creative anyway to be so small and flexible. The headphones have an EQ function, which is found in the exemplary updated app from PLT, but the settings are very basic and cannot be compared with more expensive solutions from, for example, Bang & Olufsen.
The battery life is stated to be eight hours and that is probably in line with our tests. ANC and high volume draw more cream, so if you want them to last longer, turn off the noise reduction and apply with the right volume.
It is possible to talk on the phone with the headphones on, but – as usual – it is hardly something you want to do unnecessarily. Either you talk directly on the handset or you get a proper, dedicated Bluetooth screw for phone calls.
One thing that impresses is the range: we could go quite far away with the headphones on our heads from our phone and still hear the sound perfectly (they should, according to the specifications, handle 30 meters which is very good and much longer than Bluetooth 4s normal 10 meters).
Disadvantages of BackBeat GO 410?
1. Den tunna plasten kring snäckorna känns lite skavande. Detta är kanske något man mjukar upp och vänjer sig vid med tiden, men redan efter någon timme kände vi oss lite ömma i örat / öronen.
2) Priset. Med ett snittpris på cirka 1300 kr är BackBeat GO 410 inte oskäligt dyra, men ändå ett par hundralappar dyrare än sin förebild, BeatsX. Och även om ljudprofilen i BackBeat GO 410 känns mer balanserad och “korrekt” än Dr Dres hip-hop-lurar, så föredrar vissa ändå den generösare basen och möjligheten att snabbladda. BeatsX är också, enligt oss, snäppet snyggare och smidigare i design.
Summering
Poly (Plantronics) levererar, sin vana trogen, återigen en stabil och välljudande produkt, som fungerar såväl till diversifierat musiklyssnade som film- och tv-streaming samt ljudböcker. Ett par trådlösa lurar som lånar från de bästa och erbjuder schysst, relativt fylligt och klart ljud, samtidigt som de aldrig strular med tekniken (de droppar inte ut och parar sig super-smidigt). Hade prislappen varit närmare 900 kr hade betyget gått upp ett snäpp eller två. Just nu hamnar de i kategorin “bra för priset” men samtidigt är de hårt konkurrensutsatta av sin förebild, BeatsX, som börjat krypa ned mot 1100 kr och erbjuder ett par extrafinesser.
Personlig smak kring ljudprofil och stil får avgör ditt val, men gillar du inte BeatsX överdrivna bas så är BackBeat GO 410 ett mycket intressant och design-mässigt liknande alternativ. Och ska du köra trådlöst (vilket du i princip måste på de senaste iPhone-modellerna) så är denna lösning idag mycket bättre, rent kvalitativt ljudmässigt, än true wireless (som en trend och “status-pryl” i att bära idag).