Plantronics BackBeat 500 Headphone Specs: Breathes New Life In An Already Overpriced Market

The BackBeat 500 has Bluetooth 4.1 while supporting both A2DP v1.2 stereo Bluetooth profile and HFP 1.6 profile for HD calls. It offers an impressive 18 hours battery life at moderate volume levels.

The BackBeat 500 headphones have a hard, non-foldable but flexible plastic band with convenient padding on the inside that rests on the user's head without any discomfort, lending the right amount of grip. According to CNET, the ear cups are leather and stuffed with memory foam, and can be rotated 90 degrees to be laid flat for storage. The ear cups also have metal clips to be adjusted according to the user's head.

The sliding power button is present on the right ear cup along with a dedicated button to answer or end calls. The latter also summons Siri or Google Assistant on a long press. The music playback controls and volume toggle are situated on the left ear cup. All the buttons are well spaced out and perfectly textured to ensure convenience for the user.

The left ear cup also houses the microUSB port for charging and a port for a 3.5 mm headset jack. This headset jack is for wired listening when the battery is running low, a thoughtful backup feature to have on a Bluetooth earphone.

Each ear of the BackBeat 500 has a full-range 40 mm driver, the same size as the drivers found in the pricier BackBeat Pro 2. The BackBeat 500s have a range of frequency responses from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. As reported by Phone Scoop, the device delivered a clean and consistent performance over various Apple and Android handsets, for genres ranging from jazz to metal, from sources like Apple Music, Google Play as well as Spotify.

Even with no active noise-cancellation feature, the foam cups serve the purpose decently. The 2H2S support lets one connect multiple devices with the headphones. The BackBeat 500 offers great value for money. It can give the pricier Bluetooth headphones a strong competition.