Altec Lansing US BackBeat Plus Earphones

by Altec Lansing

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5 x 1.2 x 5.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001SYBL3M
• Item model number: Altec Lansing UHS206
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

Product Description

Immerse yourself in full, smooth bass with BackBeat Plus Mobile noise-isolating earphones with microphone. The dynamic range of its neodymium micro-speakers has been extended on the low end to reproduce rich, deep bass. With enhanced bass frequency response you’ll enjoy full-bodied sound without distortion and you don’t need to crank up the volume on your audio player to achieve that live performance feel. The lightweight inEar style features SnugFit™ design with flexible material that conforms to your ear and seals out external ambient noises. Personalize the fit for proper noise isolation and long wearing comfort with the included six-piece fit kit.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Chuck Norris of headphones if the Chuck Norris thing were still popular., June 20, 2010

By 

Aaron Presley II (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Altec Lansing US BackBeat Plus Earphones (Wireless Phone Accessory)

I initially bought these headphones for around $40 and was pleased. We did a lot of things and went a lot of places together. They helped me be more productive by blocking out the annoying banter of my co-workers, they allowed me to watch annoying YouTube videos on my iPhone without alerting to my roommates via noise bleed. When we weren't hanging out together, I knew that they were residing comfortable and tangle-free in my pocket; ready at a moment's notice.

Things were going great until one day I open the dryer door and see them dangling there, twisted and caught between the door and the Rotator Falange. Not only had I washed these loyal headphones, but I had thrown them in the merciless drier. I jimmied them out of the drier and couldn't bare to see them all tangled and knotted up. I didn't even attempt to check if they worked - it was obvious. I quickly moved on and bought a new pair of headphones, but I couldn't bare to throw my old friends away, so I put them in my desk drawer hoping that some day I will learn headphone CPR.

A few days into my new headphones and they just weren't the same. I heard my co-worker's voices for the first time in a while and I didn't like it. At the end of my rope, I decided to give my old friends a try - and they effing worked! All this time they were trying to tell me they wanted to be friends again, but I just ignored them.

Life was good for another 6 months until tonight I opened my drier door to a familiar, but no less horrible, site. This time they were twisted and knotted even worse. I quickly untangled them expecting the nothing good. These headphones were troopers through one load of laundry, but not two! No headphones could be that tough. Surely they had given up on me.

To my astonishment, they are still working. I am reunited again and it does certainly feel oh so good. If you buy these headphones, you're not only buying something to nestle your ears with hours of your favorite teen-pop playlist. You're investing in your own quality of life. These headphones might not be the flashiest thing out there, you might not look like one of the non-douchey blutooth guys when you wear them, or even feel like those cool kids with the white earbuds in. No, these headphones aren't in it for the flashy stuff, they're in it for YOU. They won't tattle to the nearest person of the Miley you're pumping through them, they will love you for you and not for the crappy music you listen to.

Which is great news for you Bowling for Soup fans!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Headphones suck, Altec Lansing sucks, July 6, 2011

By 

EnnEssE "Tech Wizard" (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Altec Lansing US BackBeat Plus Earphones (Wireless Phone Accessory)

1 month after purchase the right side headphone separated from the body, exposing wires and the internal workings of the speaker when I removed the headphone from my ear by pulling on the wire. I tried to contact Altec Lansing about it for two days (the 30 day return warranty had expired less than a week before). For two days, all I got when I called 800-258-3288 was a recording telling me that they were "experiencing higher than normal call volume...please try my call again later." Ok, I can understand making one call and getting that recording, but 6 calls per day for two days in a row? I guess every freaking product they make is as defective as the Back Beat Plus Headphones.

So in frustration, I found some scotch tape, and cut a piece of tape so that I could tape around the ear piece and body to hold the two together. The sound was ok, but I really didn't feel that a pair of $20 headphones should require scotch tape repair 5 weeks after purchase. Were this the end of the problems, this review would not be written.

Three days later, removing the headphones in the same manner, (pulling the ear piece from my ear by pulling the cord - honestly, I don't know any other way of removing them from my ears), the left headphone separated from the body in the same fashion as described before. The headphones were now about 6 weeks old, and both the left and right ear pieces had separated from the body exposing wires and internal connections. I began to sense a pattern here.

I know this will not come as a surprise, but for the next two days, and over the course of the past two weeks, EVERY TIME that I call Altec Lansing, I get the same recording..."We are currently experiencing higher than normal call volume...please try your call again later". Their hours of operation are stated as 8:30am to 5:30pm EDT, and whether I have called at 9:00am or 5:15pm, they are always too busy to answer. I get this message every time. Their system won't take messages. I receive this maddening instruction over and over to call back later.

I sent emails with no response. Spending $20 on any product warrants better quality in the product, and a level of customer support superior to a recording telling me to call back another time. With all paranoia aside, this does seem an effective but poorly conceived corporate strategy to avoid having to honor a product warranty - wear down the purchaser/customer so they discontinue their attempt to receive product warranty support. Effective in that the customer will eventually give up attempting to get a replacement. Poorly conceived in that the customer will NEVER BUY their product again.

Net:Net? DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT, AND SERIOUSLY RETHINK BUYING ANY ALTEC LANSING PRODUCT. Evidently their quality control is non-existent, as there is no other explanation for the total lack of customer support, (i.e., customer support being so grossly overwhelmed that for weeks a customer can not contact them!)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Value...if they lasted, March 6, 2010

By 

iarenarin - See all my reviews

This review is from: Altec Lansing US BackBeat Plus Earphones (Wireless Phone Accessory)

The backbeat plus are great pair of earphones for under $100. I absolutely love the sound quality from them. They're a bit heavy on the bass which was fine for me. The cord is very thick and doesn't tangle at all. Just wished the cord was a bit longer.

After about 4 months of use, the sound started messing up. I would hear music from one side of my ear and have to play around with the headphone jack to get sound to both ears. After awhile it would work but then one day one side just became dead. This is due to the poor stress relief at the base of the headphone jack. Given that it's straight as opposed to being L-shape it doesn't help the stress much.

My advice is to purchase with caution. If you're the type to abuse headphones or wrap them around your ipod and stuff it in your pocket, this is probably not for you. As much as I love the sound and quality of the cloth cord, until they fix the stress issue I'm staying away from them.