Over the last couple of week’s, I’ve been glued to the BackBeat GO 810 headphones and they are now my go-to for audio pleasure. But how do other Plantronics products hold up? We’ve got two more lined up, the first being the BackBeat FIT 3100 wireless earphones. The earphones include ‘Always Aware’ eartips, a sweat & waterproof design, plus 5 hours of playback, with a further 10 hours via the charging hub.

Look & Feel

The earphones come complete in a pocket sized carry case, which doubles up as a charging station. Within the case are the earphones and a handy little 3inch USB charging cable. The case is made from plastic, yet it is incredibly robust & durable. The earphones sit inside the case within a plastic molding, so they remain in place when not in use. On the outside & to the rear of the case is the micro USB cable and there is just a single button inside the case, which illuminates the cases battery level.

These are earphones, that sit within the ear canal and includes two additional supports in the form of an over ear hook & an earbud with an extra piece of plastic help secure within the ear. The overall colour scheme is a mix of blacks & greys, along with a single pearlescent, mirrored face, which also asks as a button. When taking the earphones out, you will notice two small metallic circles, which line up with two small prongs in the case, which allows the, to charge. As the case is molded, it will be difficult not to get the earphones aligned but it’s important they do, otherwise they will not charge.

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Set Up & Use

Before you can use the earphones, they need to be fully charged which takes around 3 hours. These are true wireless earphones, no cables anywhere, and connectivity is limited to bluetooth only. Once charged, it’s a simple case of pairing the earphones to your smart device. Set up was a breeze, all I had to do was remove the earphones from the case and my smart phone found them straight away.

Each of the earphones has a single button, that can be pushed once/multiple times or pushed & held, to perform various tasks. A list of the commands is provided for you to familiarise yourself with. There is also a BackBeat app available, for free, on both iOS & Android. You can download the app and then it allows you to customise the commands to your choosing. These commands extend further than play/pause and can start a stopwatch, timer or select a playlist. It can also push firmware updates to your earphones and then that’s about it. With the GO 810 headphones, I was able to change the EQ but that doesn’t seem to be available with these.

Performance

As for audio performance, I have mixed feelings as some of the music I listened too sounded great, some not so great. The not so great being the more bass heavy music. The bass produced from the earphones is just too much, too overpowering and it muddies the overall sound on those more bass heavy tracks. The treble just needs to be boosted up slightly to balance the overall sound out. That being said, it was a much more pleasurable experience on tracks with a lot less bass.

“Whether you’re logging miles on rugged trails or city streets, keep your workouts safer with Always Aware™ eartips. The unique eartip design doesn’t fully block the ear canal, letting in ambient sound and allowing you to simultaneously listen to music and hear your surroundings.” Although I can see why they’d want this, I wasnt sure if just the eartip would provide a solution. However, I think it does work and although there is a very good level of sound isolation, you can still hear the outside world.

These are one of the more comfortable pairs of earphones I’ve tried over the years and offer a very secure fit. Defiantly enough comfort & security for going to jogs or for use in the gym. I don’t run, but I did use these for a rowing session and didn’t need to adjust them once, nor was any sweat causing any issues.

Battery life looks to be on par with what Plantronics have stated, although it’s hard to tell as once they’re used, they automatically get charged again.

Verdict

I’m filled with joy and disappointment. The BackBeat FIT 3100 earphones are very comfortable, secure, offer a good level of sound isolation and I quite like the look of them. They get let down by the bass produced and it’s just too much. I’d love to see an EQ option be pushed out via the app/firmware. They currently retail for £129.99.

For more information, check out the official Plantronics website.