Customer Reviews

Altec Lansing UHP606 Backbeat Pro Reference Earphones (Black/Gold)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Summary: Satisfactory IE buds that are not a great value for the price ($99 list, about $50 street). Need to be broken in before use.

Pros:
Decent bass once they are broken in.
Cord doesn't stick to itself and tangle easily (like many others).
Nice looking, well built
Nice cushioned, zippered case.
Great set of ear cushions for custom fit
Plug has been trimmed to fit iPod, iPhone but NOT clear it will fit iPhone in a case
** It's a right angle plug with a few mm of relief for iPhone access.
Sound isolation is good - tested while a household vacuum was in use and it blocked enough of the noise to listen to music at comfortable levels - on par with others compared below.

Cons:
Needs to be broken in before use or they sound REALLY tinny
Even after breaking in, the high end is slightly muted
Back ports leak sound to those around you
Better choices exist for the price

Comparisons: My picks out of earbuds I've reviewed
#1 Woodees IESW101B Inner-ear Stereo Earphone - My favorite to date. These have a lot better high end than the BBpros. The midrange blows away the BBpro for acoustic and vocals. If you are listening to classic, jazz, electronic, pop or vocal music this is the one for you. Additionally, they are about $38 on Amazon at the time of this writing, which is significantly less than the BBpro. Finally, although the BBpro looks good, the Woodies look really great. In fact, they actually LOOK like they might be expensive. Finally, the Woodies plug is straight instead of right angle so it is guaranteed to fit an iPhone in a case.

#2 Backbeat Pro: From a listening standpoint, I like the bass. Others have commented negatively on the bass sound from these, but I suspect they didn't break them in first. If I was a big Hip-Hop fan (I'm not, even though I use some hh for checkout) these would work for me. Otherwise, they don't annoy me, they just sound a bit muted in the highs, which is unsatisfactory for classical, jazz, acoustic, etc.

#3 JBuds J2 Premium Hi-FI Noise Isolating Earbuds - Overall, a decent economy headphone. In some cases, I might pick these over the BBpro. For instance, they better balance bass and treble capability so perhaps some pop would sound better on these than the BBpro. Certainly, at less than half the price, these are a winner when value comes into play vs. the BBpro. That said, I would not take these over my Woodees.

Conclusion:
The BBpro is not a general purpose headphone. It is pretty high priced for what it is and much higher value options exist. If they were half the price I would have added a star for four total.

NOTE: Break in process
My break in process is simple. I just plug them into a source for six to eight hours and play music that has some bass in it and crank up the volume to a fairly high level (say 80% of max) and leave them that way under a pillow or something to keep the sound from being annoying (it's too loud for me to keep them on my head t his way, anyways).

NOTE: Equipment used
I bias my test to use equipment that one would actually tend to hook up to these kinds of earbuds. So, instead of my extremely nice multi-$k equipment, I use my iPod and MacBook to play a variety of music from my library. Additionally, I modify the equalizer to see if I can successfully "fix" the sound of each earphone for my ears. This is my idea of duplicating "real" listening circumstances.

I own a drawer full of earphones, made by numerous different companies including Altec Lansing. The UHP606 Earphones are in my opinion up there with the best of them. I find they have excellent bass response, and excellent highs. My favorite feature is actually the included 4th neoprene noise reducing tip. The only problem I have with these headphones is that the cheaper Altec Lansing UHP326 Earphones sound almost identical. I can't see spending almost twice as much for these. They are still moderately priced (at the current discounted price) and sound good though. I can recommend them, but the UHP326 is a better buy.


Pros:
Very good audio quality
4 different ear tips
Right angle 3.5mm plug

Cons:
Cheaper UHP326 Earphones sound just as good.

I have reviewed several sets of earphones, and always liked my Sennheiser CX300s over all others. The Sennheisers have a clarity, sensitivity and high-end 'presence' that I really like for the music I listen to.

But this review is about the Altec Lansings. In comparison to my favorites, these earphones seem to have more emphasis on the midrange band, around 1000-5000 Hz. Vocals and instruments in that range seem to stand out, with less emphasis on higher range stuff like cymbals and overtones on piano, drums, etc. -- sounding to me almost 'muted' a bit. In fact, in the A:B comparison with the Sennheisers, I actually felt like the Sennheisers were tinny and thin sounding after switching from the Altec Lansings. The bass end of the earphones is fine, no difference really from the Sennheisers or Radius I have reviewed. Less bass than the boomy JBud J2s. Otherwise, though, these Backbeat Pro earphones seem to be pretty accurate, so I would say that with some equalizer tweaking for your musical taste, these earphones would sound great. This testing was right out of the box with no burn-in time. After about 4 hours of burn-in, the results are pretty much the same - maybe a little better clarity in the high range; it's hard to tell.

Another plus with these earphones is the comfort. I would say that these are the most comfortable in-ear earphones I have tried. They give you several different sizes of ear tips like most others, plus add a pair of dual-flange tips for even more noise isolation. The neoprene tips fit very well in the ear canal - more comfortable the my Sennheisers.

So I would recommend these for the comfort and the apparently flat response. I'm still going to go with my Sennheisers for every day listening, but maybe for long trips or high-noise situations (airplanes, work zones, etc) these Altec Lansings will work nicely. Of course this is all subjective, so your ears and music may vary. ;-)

Current home headphones: Sennheiser HD 560II

Previous portable headphones: Sennheiser CX300, Sony MDR-EX51, before that dozens and dozens of Sony "vertical in-the-ear" types, and: JVC "Marshmallow" (because I accidentally severed my Sennheiser cable and needed a pair of headphones cheap and quick; they're not horrible for $15),

Playback: iPod Classic, library mostly ripped from CD using Apple Lossless

Content: rock, pop, dance, classical, etc.

These headphones aren't for everyone. If you want something that you can plug in and stop thinking about, look elsewhere. What these appear to strive for is more along the lines of true studio monitors that do not color the output of your device. Compared to my home Sennheisers, I see where they're going with that concept, but being tiny little relatively-inexpensive portables they miss the mark a bit.

That said, they are very good headphones. As another reviewer commented there is an articulation to the sound that was missing with every previous pair of portables I have owned. There is not the hair-trigger overloading that plagued the CX300s. Highs are nicely defined without being screechy. They have a very well-formed low-end, and no, they don't have SupaBaBoomyBass - if that's what you're after, there are plenty of other options. Yes, the midrange is pronounced. But thus far I haven't seen that as being a bad thing. For tracks that do warrant a pronounced low end, these actually do quite well - songs with busy bass lines sound clear and don't get lost in a quagmire of rumbles.

As an iPod-EQ fusser I will note that all my setting have had to change. Yes, I will agree with the displeased reviewer that these sounded awkward right out of the box with EQ that had been set up for headphones with a dramatically different purpose. But I do not agree that there is nothing that can be done to fit your preferences to what these headphones have to offer.

With all my old headphones tracks primarily sounded good with the Classical or R&B EQ, though other tracks were spread over Electronic or, in the case of a few dreadfully loud and compressed mastering jobs - no EQ at all. With these headphones I have taken the Loudness EQ setting as my starting point, which works for a lot of what I'm listening to (these tracks sounded great on my way to work this morning: Hüsker Dü, "Games"'; Fleetwood Mac, "Love In Store"; Front 242, "Masterhit"; Rod Stewart, "Every Picture Tells A Story"; Tears For Fears, "Sowing the Seeds of Love"; Shudder To Think, "Love Catastrophe"). Other bits - notably classical - will require different settings. More experimentation necessary, which is fine by me: any excuse to listen to more music is a bonus in my book.

The highlight is clearly the comfort. They feel very good in my ears, come with 4 different types (not just sizes) of tips to match your preferences, and the cord is not as prone to transmitting vibration as others (the severe drawback of the otherwise-OK "Marsmallows"). The default tips feel great to me and are much more effective as outside-sound-blocking than any of my previous purchases.

A good choice for me.

My first impression was, "Where's the bass?" In an effort to find out, not only did I give the BackBeat Pro in-ear-monitors (IEM) a breaking in, I tried them with 3 of the 4 pairs of tips they come with (I didn't try them with the child-sized tips). I also tried them with different kinds of music (bass-heavy dance, rock, and instrumental classical as well as opera), from different sources (two different classical stations available via the web, music played via Windows Media Player, and music played on my Sony MP3 player). After a breaking in period of less than 8 hours I thought I detected a slight improvement, but so slight that I found myself on the verge of returning them.

It then occurred to me to try, as a last resort, the tips from IEM I own that fit me perfectly, those being the largest size tips that come with the JVC HAFX66 and the Sony MDR-EX082. I changed the tips, put on a bass-heavy song on my MP3 player from a live album by the German group Seabound, and finally BASS. I'd tested the IEM with the same song just a few minutes before changing the tips, and the difference was night and day. Having the just-right-for-me seal in my ears made all the difference between virtually no bass and the bass I would expect from IEM with a list price of a hundred bucks that are not marketed as being bass-heavy IEM. And I could not get that seal with any of the tips included with the BackBeat Pros. (Obviously this is subjective and has to do with my ears. Someone else might find one or more pairs of tips that come with the BBP's perfect for their ears, bass-wise and otherwise. I noticed that the tips that come with the BBPs lack the rubbery, "sticky" quality that the JVC tips as well as the tips on the Sony buds that I mention below have. That rubbery, "sticky" quality makes for a better, tighter, more lasting in-the-ear seal, in my experience. And I did try wetting the JVC tips before insertion after getting unsatisfactory results without wetting them, and it made no difference. Also, I've found that I get the absolute best sound when I use Comply T400 Foam Tips - size large for me - with the BackBeat Pros. Using the Comply tips brings both the listening experience and the noise isolation to a whole new level.)

I find the BackBeat Pros to be excellent with mids and highs and good enough with bass. They may not have bona fide "reference" quality sound, but they do have exceptionally clear sound and presence. I have also found that I can listen to them at much lower volume levels than required for the other IEM I own (the aforementioned JVCs and Sonys, and Sennheiser MX51 earbuds). Roughly, volume level 9 on my MP3 player with the Altec Lansings is as loud as volume 15 with the other buds (the maximum volume level that the MP3 player can go to is 30).

These IEM have balanced armature speakers or a balanced armature transducer design. Balanced armature transducers are typically found in better-than-entry-level to audiophile quality IEM. (One can read more about balanced armatures at the Wikipedia entry for headphones.) In Altec Lansing's BackBeat line, which consists of 4 models (Classic, Plus, Titanium, and Pro, in order of least to most expensive), only the BackBeat Pro model uses the balanced armature transducer type. The others use dynamic transducers, typical of entry level IEM. The balanced armature transducers in the BackBeat Pros deliver sound that, with a proper seal in the ear canal, I find remarkably clear and present. Altec Lansing suggests that the BackBeat Pros produce "reference" and "studio" quality sound, and while that is an exaggeration, I find their fidelity impressive, and exceptional for the price I paid [...].

Amazon is offering the BackBeat Pros for [...] until 2/22/10 as part of their "Our 10 Best Headphones Deals Right Now" offer. I may order another pair or maybe 2 at [...], to have handy for gifts (they come in a nice box and with the included soft, padded and zippered carrying case make an impressive presentation). At this price they are a steal (at a list price of [...] they are the most expensive earphones in Altec Lansing's current catalog, and while that may be an inflated list price, it's not ridiculously inflated in the way that JLabs list price of [...] is for two of their IEM). I would, however, tell gift recipients that in my experience, they sound radically better to me with different tips, and that if they find that they are getting virtually no bass, they should try them with tips other than those supplied with them (alternative tips can be purchased at Amazon, Radio Shack, etc., such as Comply T400 Foam Tips, which fit the BackBeat Pros perfectly).

I tried the product and the ear plugs were not very comfortable and didn't fit well not matter what pair I used. The sound quality was great but after about a week I lost sound in one of the ear plugs and the other one drops randomly. First pair of earphones I had to have this happen so early without being the result of wear and tear.

The Altec Lansing UHP606 Backbeat Pro Reference Earphones are a new entry in the world of premium earphones. Unfortunately, I found these somewhat disappointing and not a significant upgrade over Altec Lansing's less expensive dynamic earphones.

Note that during listening sessions with the UHP606's I compared them with a set of Altec Lansing UHP326 Backbeat Titanium Earphones (one step below the Pros in the Backbeat series) and more expensive Ultimate Ears 700 Noise Isolating Earphones. When appropriate below I will note comparisons to these competing earphones.

Build quality - Good. The phones are made of plastic, mainly black except for gold trim around the tips. The cord is covered in a standard "plastic-y" substance, which is preferable to the sticky rubber covering on some IEM cords. The cords for the left and right ears are symmetrical with a total cord length of about 51".

Sound - The Backbeat Pros feature a single balance armature driver, which typically provides better highs than cheaper dynamic earphones. And in fact I was happy with the treble response, which was natural and clean. However, the midrange and lower midrange seemed too emphasized or "forward" for my taste. In addition, there seemed to be significant emphasis in the mid-bass (causing some boominess) but not much deep bass. In this respect the bass was not as balanced or accurate as the UE 700s, but more surprisingly I preferred the bass response of the less expensive Backbeat Titaniums to these. Note that I tried foam Comply tips (not supplied) with the Backbeat Pros, but these did not significantly alter the sound.

Fit / Accessories - The Backbeat Pros come with four sets of neoprene tips (S, M, L, dual flange). I was able to use the medium or large tips without problem, but wasn't able to get a good seal with the dual flange tips. The Backbeat Pros come with a small zippered case to store your IEMs and extra tips.

Other stuff - One issue I have with the Backbeat Pros is that they are a "open" ported design. Because of this a fair amount of sound leaks out of the earphones to bother others around you, and sound isolation is greatly reduced. In home headphones this may be an acceptable tradeoff - but for IEMs an open design seems a peculiar choice. Microphonics are present but can be reduced dramatically by looping the cord over your ear or clipping the cord to your collar.

Conclusion - My feelings on the Altec Lansing UHP606 Backbeat Pro Earphones are mixed. The treble response is very good, but the mediocre bass and poor sound isolation make these a questionable upgrade over less expensive Backbeat series earphones.

I'll echo the other reviewers here who've commented on these headphones lack of bass. While the mids and highs are clear and crisp with sharp detail, the bass just isn't there. Adjusting the EQ on my iPod helps a little bit, but the bass remains somewhat in the background.

With in-ear phones, getting solid bass response usually just depends on getting the right fit, but I've tried each size of the provided ear tips, plus the ear tips from my inferior Phillips and superior Sony phones, and the Altec Lansings sill fall short of those other two.

The best in-ear phones I've heard to date were the Sony MDR-EX71, but unfortunately my pair died after about a year and a half of use. Because of the short lifespan I've been reluctant to get another pair of Sonys, but so far haven't found anything that sounds as good.

On the plus side, these phones are nice and light, they seem pretty durable, and the passive noise isolation works very well. As currently priced on Amazon they're not a horrible buy, but I can't imagine spending anywhere near list price on these.

A few nights ago, I happened to be browsing eBay for some reason and in that time, I came across the Altec Lansing Backbeat Pro IEMs. I did some research on them and saw that the MSRP was about $100 but they were retailing at most online retailers I saw (including Amazon) for about $30. Apparently, Altec Lansing has a number of IEMs on the market and many of them are simply rebranded versions of IEMs from Ultimate Ears with the Backbeat Pros being Altec Lansing's version of the Super.fi 4 IEMs from Ultimate Ears. After doing a little more research into the sound quality, I said "what the heck" and ordered them.

First off, I was immediately slapped in the face by the midrange presentation. The midrange is the dominant frequency range on these IEMs by quite a bit and is very forward and aggressive. Because of this, it's also somewhat fatiguing. I did notice a tiny bit of harshness when listening to some busy tracks. High end and treble is in many ways, similar to the midrange in that it too is quite aggressive. Treble is sharp and sparkly and pretty much devoid of harshness but it's also somewhat edgy and fatiguing. The low end on the other hand is somewhat recessed and lacking in comparison. Bass is there and makes its presence known when it needs to but it lacks in quantity in sub-bass levels and there's a prominent midbass hump. Texture and definition are also lacking in regards to the low end.

Upon taking them out of the box, I wasn't wowed by the clarity of these IEMs because they sounded somewhat veiled to my ears, despite the aggressiveness of the midrange. After a few hours of listening to them with various types of music, the veil seems to have been lifted. In comparison to the RE0s, my benchmark in terms of overall sound quality and clarity, the Backbeat Pros can't compete but they are still very clear to my ears. Soundstaging is less impressive, as it is pretty narrow but separation is good. The result of this somewhat narrow soundstage is a very intimate listening experience.

Overall, the sound signature is pretty good, if surprisingly aggressive. While the low end doesn't impress, the quality of the mids and highs goes a long way towards making up for it. I will say that the Backbeat Pros sound a tad artificial and, in a word, clinical in comparison to my other IEMs. This may just be one of the cons of the balanced armature design and it's not something that I consider a big turn off.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least partially impressed by the Backbeat Pros. Fit and comfort are surprisingly great and I can hardly feel the IEMs in my ears when using the standard single flange eartips. Sonic performance is good considering the current retail price, which typically hovers around $30 but honestly, I'm having more fun with my M9Ps than I am with the Backbeat Pros. In my current collection, these are in a strange position. When I'm in the mood for fun, I'm going to reach for my M9Ps and when I want to feed my inner detail freak, I'm grabbing my RE0s. These are difficult to recommend in that regard. Are they good? Certainly. But at either end of the spectrum, there are better choices. I will say that these are probably going to be better than the M9Ps for some genres due to their emphasis on the mids as opposed to the low end so my advice is to give them a trial run and see how they work for you. Who knows? You may like what you hear.

Sound
Unlike some other reviewers, I think the sound of these earbuds is well balanced and articulate. The low end is very accurate and lacks the boominess or distortion that some others exhibit.
I play bass guitar and depend on my speakers and headphones to reproduce well defined low end. These do a great job. The highs sparkle without being harsh. The midrange is very clear and articulate. If you want to hear the words that Tom Petty mumbles these work!

Fit
These are the best I've used. I can wear them for a couple hours at a time without ear fatigue. Some reviews I've seen say that the ambient sound rejection is not very good. I was amazed how good the ambient sound rejection is. Using the standard medium ear cushions, all but the loudest noises are blocked out.
Fit varies a lot from person to person but for me these ROCK.