Plantronics Backbeat Pro Wireless 2014 vs Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Side-by-Side Headphones Comparison

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Jan 12, 2024 09:24 PM

See Plantronics Backbeat Pro Wireless 2014 Review

Plantronics Backbeat Pro Wireless 2014 Picture

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Picture

TypeOver-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

Noise CancellingYes

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

MicYes

TypeOver-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

Noise CancellingYes

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

MicYes

Variants

BackBeat PRO

BackBeat Pro 2 (Black)
BackBeat Pro 2 (Gray, SE)

Review

See Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Review

Our Verdict

Plantronics Backbeat Pro Wireless 2014

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016

The Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 are much better headphones overall when compared to the original Plantronics Backbeat Pro. The Pro 2 have a better design that's slightly more comfortable and has a sleeker look and feel. The Pro 2 also have better battery life, wireless range, noise cancellation performance, and sound quality. They pack a lot of bass but sound more balanced than the Pro. On the other hand, the original Backbeat Pro have a slightly better and more tactile control scheme. They also come with a better audio cable that has mic support for consoles and PC. The original Pro are also at a better value for your money than the Pro 2.

Check Price

Standard

BackBeat PRO

Black

BackBeat Pro 2

Standard

BackBeat PRO

Gray, SE

BackBeat Pro 2

Standard

BackBeat PRO

Standard

BackBeat PRO

Standard

BackBeat PRO

Notice: 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.

Threshold

0.10

Mixed Usage

7.0

7.2

Noise Isolation

5.7

6.9

Full Comparison

Mixed Usage

7.0

7.2

Neutral Sound

7.3

7.7

Commute/Travel

7.1

7.4

Sports/Fitness

6.9

7.1

Office

7.1

7.4

Wireless Gaming

5.8

5.9

Wired Gaming

7.4

7.5

Phone Calls

6.7

Design

Style

Design Picture 2

Type

Over-ear

Enclosure

Closed-Back

Wireless

Yes

Transducer

Dynamic

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Comfort

7.5

Comfort Picture

Weight

0.75 lbs

0.65 lbs

Clamping Force

0.83 lbs

0.9 lbs

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Controls

8.2

8.0

Controls Picture

OS Compatibility

Not OS specific

Ease Of Use

Excellent

Great

Feedback

Good

Great

Call/Music Control

Yes

Volume Control

Yes

Microphone Control

Channel Mixing

N/A

Noise Cancelling Control

Yes

On/Off

Talk-Through

Yes

On/Off

Additional Controls

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Breathability

6.5

Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference

5.6 °C

5.7 °C

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Portability

5.5

Portability Picture

L

7.09"

8.5"

W

7.28"

8.5"

H

3.54"

2.4"

Volume

182.9 in³

172 in³

Transmitter Required

N/A

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Case

6.5

7.5

Case Picture

Type

Pouch

Hard case

L

N/A

9.3"

W

N/A

8.8"

H

N/A

2.9"

Volume

N/A

234 in³

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Build Quality

7.5

Build Quality Picture

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Stability

6.5

7.0

Stability Picture

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Headshots 1

Angled Picture

Side Picture

Headshots 2

Front Picture

Rear Picture

Top

Top Picture

In The Box

In The Box Picture

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Sound

Sound Profile

Frequency Response

Frequency Response

Bass Amount

4.3 dB

2.09 dB

Treble Amount

2.82 dB

-0.33 dB

Frequency Response Consistency

7.8

Consistency L

Consistency R

Avg. Std. Deviation

0.43 dB

0.44 dB

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Raw Frequency Response

Bass Accuracy

6.3

7.6

Bass

Bass

Std. Err.

5.24 dB

3.33 dB

Low-Frequency Extension

10 Hz

Low-Bass

8.87 dB

5.76 dB

Mid-Bass

-1.1 dB

-1.49 dB

High-Bass

-4.61 dB

-2.79 dB

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Mid Accuracy

7.4

9.2

Mid

Mid

Std. Err.

3.41 dB

1.13 dB

Low-Mid

-4.04 dB

-1.32 dB

Mid-Mid

-3.26 dB

-0.41 dB

High-Mid

-2.46 dB

-0.22 dB

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Treble Accuracy

8.7

8.6

Treble

Treble

Std. Err.

2.59 dB

1.9 dB

Low-Treble

-0.13 dB

-0.25 dB

Mid-Treble

-0.53 dB

0.52 dB

High-Treble

2.15 dB

-7.64 dB

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Peaks/Dips

7.4

7.6

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks

1.56 dB

1.59 dB

Dips

1.48 dB

1.14 dB

Imaging

7.1

8.2

Group Delay

Phase Response

Weighted Group Delay

0.62

0.43

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

2.12

0.81

Weighted Frequency Mismatch

2.69

1.75

Weighted Phase Mismatch

8.95

7.56

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Passive Soundstage

6.3

5.3

PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)

2.81 dB

2.73 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.)

6.86 dB

4.36 dB

PRTF Distance

16.89 dB

13.98 dB

Openness

4.1

3.1

Acoustic Space Excitation

2.5

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Virtual Soundstage

0.0

Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling

Speaker Modeling

Room Ambience

Head Tracking

Virtual Surround

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

7.1

7.6

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

WHD @ 90

0.254

0.182

WHD @ 100

0.472

0.197

Test Settings

Firmware

Unknown

Power

Connection

Unknown

Codec

aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ

No EQ

ANC

Tip/Pad

Default

Microphone

Integrated

Isolation

Noise Isolation

5.7

6.9

Noise Isolation

Isolation Audio

Overall Attenuation

-14.81 dB

-18.91 dB

Noise Cancelling

Yes

Bass

-2.32 dB

-7.06 dB

Mid

-11.4 dB

-14.05 dB

Treble

-31.43 dB

-36.06 dB

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Leakage

8.0

7.8

Leakage

Leakage Audio

Overall Leakage @ 1ft

33.44 dB

34.65 dB

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Microphone

Microphone Style

Integrated

Yes

In-Line

Yes

Boom

Detachable Boom

N/A

Mic

Yes

Recording Quality

6.3

5.7

Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech

LFE

289.23 Hz

530.46 Hz

FR Std. Dev.

4.13 dB

3.76 dB

HFE

3,517.32 Hz

3,568.48 Hz

Weighted THD

14.216

3.193

Gain

39.55 dB

39.08 dB

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Noise Handling

7.0

6.8

SpNR

Speech + Pink Noise

Speech + Subway Noise

SpNR

20.74 dB

19.11 dB

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Active Features

Battery

8.5

9.2

Battery Type

Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life

21.2 hrs

30 hrs

Additional Charges

0.0

Total Battery Life

21.2 hrs

30 hrs

Charge Time

2.23 hrs

2.1 hrs

Power-Saving Feature

Yes

Auto-Off Timer

Audio While Charging

Yes

Passive Playback

Yes

Charging Port

micro-USB

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App Support

6.0

App Picture

App Name

Plantronics Hub

iOS

Yes

Android

Yes

macOS

N/A

Yes

Windows

N/A

Yes

Equalizer

ANC Control

Mic Control

N/A

Room Effects

Playback Control

Button Mapping

N/A

Surround Sound

N/A

Surround Support

Show Text

Connectivity

Bluetooth

8.9

8.7

Bluetooth Version

4.0

Multi-Device Pairing

2 Devices

NFC Pairing

Yes

Line Of Sight Range

237 ft

250 ft

PC Latency (SBC)

195 ms

173 ms

PC Latency (aptX)

169 ms

166 ms

PC Latency (aptX HD)

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL)

32 ms

34 ms

iOS Latency

472 ms

Android Latency

140 ms

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Non-Bluetooth Wireless

0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range

N/A

Non-BT Latency

N/A

Wired

9.5

Cable Picture

Analog Audio

Yes

USB Audio

Detachable

Yes

Length

4.92 ft

4.8 ft

Connection

1/8" TRRS

1/8" TRS

Wired Latency

0 ms

Analog/USB Audio Latency

0 ms

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PC / PS4 Compatibility

PC/PS4 Analog

Audio + Microphone

Audio Only

PC/PS4 Wired USB

PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless

Xbox One Compatibility

Xbox One Analog

Audio + Microphone

Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless

Base/Dock

0.0

Type

N/A

No Base/Dock

USB Input

N/A

Line In

N/A

Line Out

N/A

Optical Input

N/A

RCA Input

N/A

Dock Charging

N/A

Power Supply

N/A

No Base/Dock

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Check Price

Standard

BackBeat PRO

Black

BackBeat Pro 2

Standard

BackBeat PRO

Gray, SE

BackBeat Pro 2

Standard

BackBeat PRO

Standard

BackBeat PRO

Standard

BackBeat PRO