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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Bose SoundLink 2 Wireless vs Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Bose SoundLink 2 Wireless
Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016
Tested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Apr 26, 2022 08:57 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.4
Updated Jan 12, 2024 09:24 PM
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Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingYes
MicYes
Variants
- SoundLink Around-Ear II (Black)
- SoundLink Around-Ear II (White)
- BackBeat Pro 2 (Black)
- BackBeat Pro 2 (Gray, SE)
Our Verdict
Bose SoundLink 2 Wireless
Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016
The Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 are a more feature-packed and a slightly better headset than the Bose SoundLink 2 Wireless since they're also noise cancelling. The Plantronics have a much better battery life and a much greater wireless range, which makes them suitable for pairing to fixed sources like a TV or a PC. They're also a bit more versatile since they support multiple codecs, and their ANC makes them a good option to use for your noisy commutes. On the other hand, the Bose have a more comfortable over-ear fit and a better-balanced sound that caters well to all genres and won't be as bass-heavy as the Plantronics.
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Black
SoundLink Around-Ear II
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Finding storeBlack
BackBeat Pro 2
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Finding storeWhite
SoundLink Around-Ear II
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Finding storeGray, SE
BackBeat Pro 2
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Finding storeNotice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.
Main Differences for
Threshold
Mixed Usage
7.2
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Yes
Yes
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
8.5
7.5
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.44 lbs
0.65 lbs
Clamping Force
0.68 lbs
0.9 lbs
Controls
6.5
8.0
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
iOS
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Great
Great
Feedback
Mediocre
Great
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
No
On/Off
Talk-Through
No
On/Off
Additional Controls
No
No
Breathability
6.4
6.5
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
6.1 °C
5.7 °C
Portability
6.1
5.5
Portability Picture
L
8.1" (20.5 cm)
8.5"
W
6.3" (16.0 cm)
8.5"
H
1.8" (4.5 cm)
2.4"
Volume
90.10 in³ (1,476.47 cm³)
172 in³
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
7.0
7.5
Case Picture
Type
Soft case
Hard case
L
8.5" (21.5 cm)
9.3"
W
6.9" (17.5 cm)
8.8"
H
2.4" (6.0 cm)
2.9"
Volume
137.79 in³ (2,257.96 cm³)
234 in³
Build Quality
7.0
7.5
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.0
7.0
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
0.05 dB
2.09 dB
Treble Amount
-1.78 dB
-0.33 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
6.6
7.8
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.73 dB
0.44 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Accuracy
9.0
7.6
Std. Err.
1.4 dB
3.33 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10 Hz
10 Hz
Low-Bass
1 dB
5.76 dB
Mid-Bass
0.67 dB
-1.49 dB
High-Bass
2.3 dB
-2.79 dB
Mid Accuracy
9.0
9.2
Std. Err.
1.36 dB
1.13 dB
Low-Mid
1.2 dB
-1.32 dB
Mid-Mid
0 dB
-0.41 dB
High-Mid
1.19 dB
-0.22 dB
Treble Accuracy
8.0
8.6
Std. Err.
3.1 dB
1.9 dB
Low-Treble
1.72 dB
-0.25 dB
Mid-Treble
-2.63 dB
0.52 dB
High-Treble
-5.79 dB
-7.64 dB
Peaks/Dips
8.1
7.6
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.15 dB
1.59 dB
Dips
1.09 dB
1.14 dB
Imaging
7.8
8.2
Phase Response
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.19
0.43
Weighted Phase Mismatch
8.65
7.56
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
1.58
0.81
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
2.39
1.75
Passive Soundstage
5.5
5.3
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
4.17 dB
2.73 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
4.6 dB
4.36 dB
PRTF Distance
10.9 dB
13.98 dB
Openness
4.3
3.1
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.5
2.5
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
0.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
No
No
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
No
No
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.5
7.6
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.188
0.182
WHD @ 100
0.230
0.197
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
Unknown
Power
On
On
Connection
Unknown
Unknown
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz
EQ
No EQ
No EQ
ANC
No ANC
On
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation
5.1
6.9
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-14.35 dB
-18.91 dB
Noise Cancelling
No
Yes
Bass
-0.1 dB
-7.06 dB
Mid
-13.03 dB
-14.05 dB
Treble
-31.1 dB
-36.06 dB
Leakage
7.0
7.8
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
39.72 dB
34.65 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
6.6
5.7
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
306.43 Hz
530.46 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
2.58 dB
3.76 dB
HFE
3,417.19 Hz
3,568.48 Hz
Weighted THD
2.89
3.193
Gain
34 dB
39.08 dB
Noise Handling
7.6
6.8
SpNR
15.08 dB
19.11 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
8.0
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
7.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
8.3
9.2
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
20.3 hrs
30 hrs
Additional Charges
0.0
0.0
Total Battery Life
20.3 hrs
30 hrs
Charge Time
2.6 hrs
2.1 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
Auto-Off Timer
Audio While Charging
No
Yes
Passive Playback
Yes
Yes
Charging Port
micro-USB
micro-USB
App Support
6.5
6.0
App Picture
App Name
Bose Connect
Plantronics Hub
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
Yes
Yes
macOS
No
Yes
Windows
No
Yes
Equalizer
No
No
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
Yes
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
No
No
Connectivity
Bluetooth
8.5
8.7
Bluetooth Version
4.0
4.0
Multi-Device Pairing
2 Devices
2 Devices
NFC Pairing
Yes
Yes
Line Of Sight Range
96.00 ft (29.26 m)
250 ft
PC Latency (SBC)
252 ms
173 ms
PC Latency (aptX)
N/A
166 ms
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
34 ms
iOS Latency
131 ms
472 ms
Android Latency
162 ms
140 ms
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
0.0
0.0
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A
N/A
Wired
9.5
9.5
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
3.94 ft (1.20 m)
4.8 ft
Connection
1/8" TRS
1/8" TRS
Analog/USB Audio Latency
0 ms
0 ms
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only
Wired USB
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
PC / PS4 Compatibility
PC/PS4 Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
PC/PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio Only
PS5 Wired USB
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio Only
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
Base/Dock
0.0
0.0
Type
No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
No
Power Supply
No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
Check Price
Black
SoundLink Around-Ear II
Searching
Finding storeBlack
BackBeat Pro 2
Searching
Finding storeWhite
SoundLink Around-Ear II
Searching
Finding storeGray, SE
BackBeat Pro 2
Searching
Finding store
Bose SoundLink 2 Wireless
Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016
Comments
Bose SoundLink 2 Wireless vs Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016: Main Discussion
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