Customer Reviews

Plantronics BackBeat 906 Stereo Bluetooth Headphones Set [Retail Packaging]

5 star:		(144)
4 star:		(99)
3 star:		(49)
2 star:		(30)
1 star:		(80)

 

 

I've used the Motorola S9s for over a year and was very close to buying the Jaybird JB-200i as a replacement. But I'm glad I held off and got the Altec Lansing 906 BackBeat Bluetooth stereo headset. Here's why:

Overall, I'm still happy with my Motorola S9s but my original set suffered the same fate as those who warned me about it - the buttons are so sensitive they stopped responding entirely. At the end, all I had left was one working button - track skip forward, which isn't much help for listening to music, taking calls or adjusting volume. The buttons failed within my 1 year warranty so I called Motorola and got a free replacement. Nice. However I began shopping around for a replacement since I knew eventually the buttons would stop working again, as has been widely reported. The headphones are great but they just don't seem to last. And I also wished the S9's didn't have that band with the Bluetooth receiver behind my neck because it prevents you from resting your head on a sofa or pillow and enjoying the music. A minor quibble but still an issue.

Okay, so enter the JayBird JB-200i. It seemed like a great replacement for the Motorola S9 and it had a wire going behind your neck instead of that band on the S9, so resting your head back is not a problem. Overall, the headset seemed ok but I've never heard of the JayBird company and was concerned about product quality and customer support. In reading reviews, it seems the JayBirds are buggy and the sound is only so-so, hence why I remained on the fence for months. I figured I'd just keep using my warranty replacement S9s until they broke too, and in the meantime, see if JayBird fixed the bugs and sound quality or if someone else released something better.

Enter the Altec Lansing 906 BackBeat!!!

The BackBeats are very similar in design to the JayBirds. So much so, I thought JayBird had released a better model. I was pleasantly surprised to see the BackBeats were actually Altec Lansing! I've been aware of the company for some time and they have a great reputation. The BackBeats have made improvements on both the JayBird and Motorola S9 design, such as:

Stereo Calls:
That's right! Hear callers in BOTH ears!!! At first, this might seem redundant. But this was a minor quibble I had with the S9. I kept feeling like one ear was plugged while listening to callers in only one ear. I know standard headsets are in one ear only, but if I'm already wearing a set of headphones in both ears, what's the big deal to let me hear the call in both ears too?!? The BackBeats solve this gripe and it's actually pretty cool to hear callers in both ears. Definitely cuts ambient noise and makes it easier to hear callers and I no longer feel like one of my ears is plugged up while talking!

Call Quality:
Friends I speak to regularly on my Motorola S9's have noticed a marked improvement in sound clarity now that I'm speaking to them on the 906 BackBeat. I credit this to the dual mics in the headset.

Dual Mics:
Here is yet another product featuring dual mics, and these are Plantronics quality no less! Dual mics seem to be an emerging feature on better quality products and I notice a marked improvement in performance, at least in the products I own. I liken it to the same as having two eyes and two ears - two mics offer better interpretation of sounds and the result is better audio quality when speaking to callers. It's a great feature that I'm continually impressed with.

Music Volume:
The 906 BackBeat is one of the louder headsets I recall owning. Certainly much louder than the Motorola S9 or any wired earbuds I've had in recent years! This is particularly useful in noisy environments like the gym, outdoors, near traffic and if ya just plain ol' like to listen to loud music! ;) In fact, I've even had to turn down the volume with certain loud speaking callers or music!

Bass Boost:
This headset features Bass Boost, which almost sounds comical in a headset so small. But the fact of the matter is, it works and sounds great! It defiantly improves the bass and dynamic range of both calls and music. And if you like Audio Books, Bass Boost helps with some softer spoken Audible books I like!

Audio Clarity:
For a tiny set of headphones I have to say the music quality is great. Better than my S9's for sure! I listen to music on my phone every day and don't own an MP3 player. So it's my only source of mobile music on the go. My music has never sounded better than it does with these BackBeats!

Bluetooth Range:
The range itself is no better or worse than my S9's, working flawlessly indoors with possibly slightly better range. Outdoors, you do get some static depending on environmental conditions. Sometimes I need to hold my phone in my hand as opposed to in my pocket while walking as all the jostling around does make the sound cut in and out. But I'm fine with that since I'm used to it with the S9's. Bluetooth isn't a perfect science. But I tell ya, once you get used to wireless headphones, there's no going back and you learn to live with some minor quirks. Beats having your head yanked whenever a corded set of earbuds gets pulled, or worse, the buds get yanked out of your ears entirely. No thanks!

Easy Buttons:
As mentioned, the buttons on my S9 burned out and it's a known issue with that headset. I did like that the buttons are ultra sensitive and light to the touch, but unfortunately, that's also what makes them burn out. Contrarily, the 906 BackBeats have sturdier buttons that click when pressed and seem more durable. But the S9 did skip through music tracks faster and you could initiate a call using the S9's call button. Unfortunately, the BackBeat does NOT support initiating a call via the headset call button. You can answer a call, yes, just not make a call. If you want to make a call you have to dial the number and press Send on your phone. A bit of a drag, but then, voice dialing often doesn't work well for me so initiating a call from the phone is something I had to do 50% of the time anyway, regardless of what headset I'm using.

Simple Paring:
Bluetooth pairing isn't the pain it used to be. Just put your phone in discovery mode and you'll be connected in less than a minute.

Compact Design - Comfort Fit:
It is a little tricky learning how to get the fit exactly the way you want but once I figured out the best configuration for my ears, the 906 BackBeat stays on nicely and are a good fit. Telescoping and pivoting earbud stems are easily adjustable and help get the custom fit. I'm pretty active and I can tell these aren't going anywhere and won't fall off. And they're very comfy too; I don't even know I'm wearing them. And I like the compact design. A pet peeve of mine is that most stereo Bluetooth headsets look like Princess Lea's famous hair; 2 huge disks on the sides of your head! No thanks!! Can't justify spending top dollar for compact phones and technology only to look like an idiot with huge headphones! That's a big reason why I selected the S9 to begin with and then was focused on the JayBirds -- most everyone else made hideous looking stereo headsets! And I was thrilled to find the 906 BackBeat was the latest addition to the genre, and for me, look best overall.

I'm very happy with the Altec Lansing 906 BackBeat stereo headset. Top quality music sound, great sounding calls, loud volume, good fit and a good upgrade from my aging Motorola S9. Go for it!!

The BackBeat headphones 906 kit contains three parts: the headphones themselves, a stereo minijack bluetooth broadcasting dongle to plug into your non-wireless device, and a charger with a "Y"-type cord so you can charge both the headphones and the dongle simultaneously. If you don't need the dongle, you should buy the less expensive 903 model instead.

Unfortunately, Altec Lansing chose to use the new and still relatively exotic micro USB connector for its devices (the same one Amazon chose for the Kindle 2) instead of the ubiquitous mini-USB (as on the Kindle 1). I'm sure there are valid technical reasons behind this choice, but that's yet another charger you have to carry around when traveling. At least they didn't chose a proprietary connector.

The headphones charge quickly (a couple of hours after being completely depleted) and play for a long time (they still had juice after a six hours listening session).

Putting on the headphones requires some getting used to; the thick cord between the two earpieces is a little short, which is perfect when it's resting on your neck but annoying when you're trying to put them on. Once they're in place, they sit nicely. If you wear glasses, the branches may have to fight the 906s for space at the top of your ears. The ear canal insert is adjustable in height so it can adapt to various ear morphologies. Also, they don't block out outside sounds so they're safe to use while running, cycling, etc... as long as you keep the volume to reasonable levels.

Unlike other bluetooth headsets I own, reception is excellent and remarkably interference-free: they have been a pleasure to use while exercising. Sound quality is excellent, these are the best sounding bluetooth headphones I've ever used.

The controls are tiny but logically organized and provide audio feedback. For instance, when adjusting the volume you can hear a tone getting higher- or lower-pitched to indicate the new setting, so they're very easy to get used to.

Probably a benefit of Bluetooth 2.1EDR, I can use these headphones concurrently with a bluetooth mouse without the mouse becoming sluggish. Also, the BackBeat headphones can remain paired to multiple devices; for instance, I do not need to re-pair them when switching between my computer, my phone and the dongle.

Great sounding, excellent battery life, support of the latest standards: if you're looking for versatile and capable stereo bluetooth headphones, you can't go wrong with the Altec Lansing 906.

UPDATE: I installed the iphone 3.0 software and these headphones work without the dongle! This was expected but now confirmed. With the 3.0 software the iphone 3g can pump stereo music to these without using the annoying dongle. So these just got better!

(old comments)

This is a pretty groovy unit - it doubles as both a bluetooth stereo headset and a bluetooth mic for your cell phone & music player. Now I know what you are thinking... perfect for the iphone right? But it very pointedly omits any reference to the iphone on the box or packaging. This is because the iPhone 3G doesn't yet support streaming music over bluetooth. To counter this, this product comes with a matchbox shaped bluetooth dongle for the ipod / iphone. That means you plug the dongle into the iphone or ipod or any music player and you can then listen wirelessly to the music over the headphones. You can also pair the headset with the iphone (or any BT cell phone) and thus use it to make & receive calls just fine. The nice thing about that audio dongle is you can plug it into anything, laptop, radio, etc, anything with a mini stereo jack. Some cool possibilities there.


Pros:

Pairing the headset with my iphone was super simple, flawless. Then I could wear the headset and make & receive calls fine. The sound quality is great and the mic works very well, even in noisy places. I paired the BT dongle with the headset and then plugged it into the iphone - that also was simple. Worked great and I was able to listen to music just fine. I had a call come in and I was able to take the call on the headset and it muted the music nicely.

Great quality sound over the headphones. Very comfy also. After about 15 mins I forgot I was wearing it. I could also hear external sounds fine. The 'open mic' feature works well, I was listening to music and my desk phone rang, I hit the pause / open mic button and I was able to take a all just fine with the headset on.


Cons:

After using it for a week or so the music started to stutter and lose connection. I upaired and then re-paried and its working great again. I dunno why that matters.

Battery life failed to impress me. I got maybe 4-5 hours of music listening time tops. Maybe thats par for these BT headphones.

Range - not terribly impressive but I am not sure what to expect. It says 30 feet but both at work & home it cuts out a lot sooner than 30 feet away. About 15 or 20. I guess this isn't a deal breaker but it'd be nice to work in the kitchen and leave my iphone on my desk 20 feet away but it was cutting out.

The next and previous track controls don't control the iphone. The pause and volume work fine however.

Sound quality: its good but not amazing. Sure you're wireless and thats awesome but your Grado's or other high end cans blow this away utterly.

Car charging, I wish it came with something to charge it in the car.

Summary: I know it sounds like I had more Cons than Pros but actually I do recommend them. When the iphone 3.0 software comes out next week I bet you see more of these. It might not sound very exciting to have wireless stereo for your iphone but its pretty addictive.

I bought these in an international terminal in the Atlanta airport. They worked perfectly for the flight and for about 2 days when I landed. The VERY first time I took them to the gym with me to work out they stopped working and haven't worked since then. I didn't drop them or jerk them around in any manner that might cause a short. The only thing I could think of was sweat getting inside them but seriously, the WHOLE reason for me buying wireless headphones was for gym purposes.

I've tried to call altec lansing every day for the past 4 days now and I keep getting an answering machine every single time. Not even an automated menu just some lady saying "we're unavailable please leave a message". I leave a message every time I call and still haven't gotten any correspondence at all with them. I tried their website but for some reason I can't get past the "Select your Region" screen because there are no regions to select!

I loved this product the first 2 days I had it. Now I am very upset and out $150 with no one in customer service to help me out.

In my top 5 of worst purchases ever.

I use the Bose Quiet Comfort 3 on-ear headphones for casual listening, but for running and gym usage, the BackBeat 906's are AMAZING. I recently bought the Nike+ running sensor to go with my iPhone 3GS, and tried running with standard sports headphones. Given that I didn't have an armband for the iPhone, and the wires from my sports headphones were tucked through my shirt, it was really aggravating to run 5 miles with the wires rubbing me and flopping around.

I found the BackBeat 906/R on Amazon for [...] less than at Apple.com, and the reviews really helped make my decision to purchase it, so here's my giveback. I've listed out the PROs and CONs below:

PROs
* Opened the packaging, charged for an hour, held the power button for a few seconds to enable pairing mode, and my iPhone 3GS immediately paired WITHOUT needing the dongle, and no passcode required - AWESOME
* Telescoping and rotating ear pieces with rubber ear canal shaped molds made for customizable comfortable fit - and they are so light I forget that they're on
* Streaming music from iPhone had no lag time whatsoever, and I walked all the way across the house through two rooms before losing connection
* Music and phone controls are great - one click on left ear answers and hangs up, two clicks on left ear redials. One click on right ear pauses / unpauses music and turns on external mics, which slightly amplifies external sounds, hold right ear button for two seconds to enable / disable bass boom. Volume control extends down from right ear and simple push forward or back turns volume up / down.
* Phone calls are in stereo! I've only made a few phone calls, but callers say that they can hear me fine, and it is really nice hearing conversation in both ears. I am on the road a lot for work, and having both ears plugged really reduces car noise and makes conference calls a lot easier to hear (Plantronics noise reduction seems OK, better than standard bluetooth headset without it, but probably not as good as Jawbone).
* After running 5 miles last night, the headphones never lost connection to my iPhone, never skipped once, never came off my ears although I was dripping with sweat, sounded great, and I could hardly tell they were there (I also bought the Imation XtremeMac SportWrap armband for iPhone 3GS from Amazon for $24.95 and highly recommend it too)
* The included dongle will be great for plugging into the TV in the bedroom for late night watching while my wife is trying to sleep

CONS
* Track forwarding / reversing doesn't work on iPhone. This is a limitation of bluetooth functionality on iPhone OS 3.0. Apple is adding support for this feature in OS 3.1 later this year
* No voice dialing / call initiating from headphones on iPhone. Again, this is a limitation of iPhone OS 3.0, and Apple is adding this support in OS 3.1, so I expect both of these great features to begin working on the headphones after the OS update
* That's it! I have only had the headphones for two days, and there are a few reviews that said they stopped working after 3-5 charges, but I have not had them long enough to comment on that. They work great so far.

I forgot to turn them off last night, and they were still connected to my iPhone this morning, having been on standby for over 15 hours now. Battery life is claimed to be 7 hours of play time, and that is probably fairly accurate. [...] and they really sound great comparatively - especially when you factor in not having to deal with wires ever again! I'm ordering my wife a set now that I've tested them out - I love Amazon Prime - I'll have them tomorrow!

Altec Lansing 906/R US BackBeat Headphone is a very good wireless headset, both for phone/talk and music. It is comfortable to wear and provide very decent sound quality (stereo).

Pros:
1. Very comfortable to wear (and light)
2. Great overall sound quality (stereo)
3. Bass is strong (with bass boost feature)
4. Great battery life (6+ hours talk/music time)
5. New OpenMic technology is very useful (so you don't have to take off the headset if you want to hear the surrounding)
6. Bluetooth adapter included which is very nice (to unwired Ipod, MP3 players etc).
7. Quick switch from listening to music to picking up the phone
8. Headset have dedicated button for remote control phone/music operation (like volume, bass, play, pause, switch to phone, mute, open mic control)

Cons:
1. Sound not as crisp as wired headphone (when listening to music), but very close, and for wireless, I think it's good enough
2. Volume control is one level change per click (can't just hold the volume up or down to change the volume multiple level)
3. Buttons are very small and it's not very easy/comfortable to press when you are wearing the headphone
4. Pairing the bluetooth (and with the adapter) can be cumbersome (sometime it doesn't want to pair right away and have to the button for a couple seconds). but one it is paired, it is easy/stays connected.
5. Bluetooth adapter with a dongle (vs dock model), which can be cumbersome but is more flexible
6. Have to press and hold the small button for 2 seconds to turn on or off (both headset and bluetooth adapter)
7. It takes 3 hours to fully charge (1 hour charge will be nice)

All in all, while this is not a perfect product, it is very good wireless product. And converting your wired music/mp3 players into wireless with a decent sound quality, priceless!

Sidarta Tanu

I've owned several high-end bluetooth stereo headsets and these Altec Lansing simply put are far and away the best of the lot.

Pros: 1) Sound 2) Battery Life 3) Fit 4) Controls;

1) Sound, sound, sound! I've had other headphones with better specs on paper (higher db rating which usually translates to better and/or louder sound) but the Altec Lansing are loud! Loud enough that I NEVER have them at full volume. I used to turn my Jaybirds up all the way and still find them not loud enough on about half of my mp3 library. The Altec Lansing have a lower db rating but in the real world the volume is unbelievable. Volume without quality is basically worthless. Not only are these headphones loud, they are also crystal clear. The bass boost enhances some music but not all. Overall the sound quality is in keeping with the Altec Lansing name. That is to say outstanding.

2) Battery life. My Jaybird headset would last 4-5 hours no matter how I used it. That was one reason after getting and liking the Jaybirds I kept looking for a better headset. These Altec Lansing are rated at 7 hours continuous for music and/or talk, HOWEVER, (and this is a big however) they get repeatedly 10-13 hours depending on how I use them! No matter how I've used my former stereo bluetooth headsets (including Jaybird, JVC and Blue Ant) I could never got more than 5 hours use out of any of them. The Altec Lansing have NEVER gone for less than about 8 hours continuous and usually are good for 10-12 hours! Simply amazing! I attribute this to volume levels. It must be 7 hours continuous at max volume, with lower volumes rendering longer battery life. Again, these headphones are so loud that I never max out the volume and in many situations I'm somewhere in the lower to mid volume range for extended use, thus, giving me amazing battery life. I'm tempted to wear my Altec Lansing to work as my primary bluetooth because they work so well.

3) Fit. This is a tricky one. My previous favorites were my Jaybird JB200s, but in addition to insufficient battery life, fit was an ongoing issue. (In fairness to Jaybird, fit is very personal and I'm sure for some the Jaybirds fit well. For me, I was constantly fussing with mine while they popped out often or I'd just leave them out after getting tired of messing around with them.) The Altec Lansing at first feel like they're not in properly, however, that is apparently part of their "open air" design. They rest nicely on your ears/head and don't come off even with a vigorous headshake. The reason they don't feel like they're on is the earbud design is NOT an INNER EAR bud but and outer ear bud. The bud sits outside the ear canal leaving you exposed not only to the music but to ambient environment sounds as well. Once you get used to this design and fit concept its super comfortable and secure. I forget I have them on all the time. Not only does the music sound great at all levels, you can also engage in conversations with people around you while wearing them and listening to music. It's actually quite amazing. The music sounds so good it's almost as if the music is being piped in over some quality loud speakers in every room you enter while you're free to converse with anyone and everyone around you. The only aspect of the fit that I found difficult was the beefy behind the neck band connecting the two earpieces. It is so beefy and oversized that when it hit my collar or I laid down, it would knock the headphones out of my ear. I remedied this by twisting the band into a phone cord type coil behind my neck. Once the band held the memory of the phone cord-like coil the problem was solved. Not only did this solve the neckband problem , but it actually made the headphones fit superbly while also making them less noticeable while wearing. (The do-it-yourself phone cord coil fix may void the warranty so do this at your own risk. Being the uber-geek that I am, I'm willing to risk breaking something if it holds any promise of making it better.)

4) Controls. The controls of the Altec Lansing are simply outstanding. They work so well and have so many features at your fingertips that your head becomes a walking remote for bluetooth calls and stereo mp3 playback. You can take calls, end calls, mute calls, ignore calls, adjust volume, fast-forward, rewind, pause, play, standby, bass boost and even battery life check your way into oblivion with this headset. The controls are well laid out and perfectly balanced so as to flawlessly execute all of the functions with little to no effort. Listen to music loud and never miss a call. Listen to music at mid to low levels while carrying on a conversation with those around you and never miss a call. And so on.

Cons: 1) Fit;

1) Fit. (I know I just listed this a "pro." So obviously it's both.) Fit takes some getting used to. The beefy behind the neck band is a little on the long side, and a little on the thick side. This makes for a fit that mimics the Motorola S9 behind the neck band vs. the stealthy behind the neck "wire" of the Jaybird JB200. If I wore a t-shirt at the gym the beefy neckband wasn't a problem. If I had any shirt with a collar or wanted to lay down while using the Altec Lansing, the neckband got in the way. Once I got the idea that a phone cord-like coil setup might take up some slack and get the neckband closer to my head and off of my collar the problem was solved. I now have a custom Altec Lansing Backbeat 906 with coiled (DIY) behind the neck neckband that hugs my head vs. hitting my collar. It took a while to coil the neckband in such a way as to create some memory in the coil, but it was well worth it. It fits more snugly on my head, is less noticeable wearing and never ever gets in the way of a shirt collar or pillow. (Be careful if you try the DIY memory coil as it clearly could cause a short in the wiring if not done right or done carefully.) All things considered, this "con" is no longer a problem.

Summary: The Altec Lansing Backbeat 906 is an absolutely amazing mix of sound performance with "sound" design. I've stopped scouring the internet for the perfetct stereo bluetooth headset. This one is darn near perfect and the pros seriously outweigh the minor cons (especially compared to other bluetooth headsets).

There's 158 other reviews behind mine so I'll be brief so you can read them all. Kidding. Actually they are all filled with great information so I do encourage you to read them.

My Bluetooth headset search started in a casual way. While checking out at a retail electronic store I walked by one of those big tubs of last minute impulse items near the cash registers. I picked up the Motorola S9 to try it out. When I got home and checked online I found out I paid full price, so much for the specials in the big tubs up front. I quickly found out after pairing it to my phone it only worked in one ear for phone calls but both for music. I didn't like that so I returned it and thus began my search for the best Bluetooth stereo headset.

Next I bought the Jabra Halo after the glowing reviews (get it) and liked the fact they could be used as a normal wired headset without Bluetooth. However they were too warm to wear after a while. They may be great for the winter instead of earmuffs. People also told me they couldn't understand me on the phone with the built in mike. Finally while the bass response was great they lacked clarity in rest of the the music spectrum. I know some people complained about the volume control with its touch sensitive feature but I actually liked it once I got the hang of it. So they went back.

Then I bought the Motorola S9HD, the updated version of the first pair. This headset used both earpieces for phone calls and the bass response was much improved. However the earpieces really blocked your ears from listening to ambient sounds going on around you. Good if you only want to listen to music but bad if you use these in the car and need to hear sirens, your wife, kids (although...No I won't go there) etc. After a while of wearing them the frame hurts your head. No I don't have a fat head! They really need to be more flexible to contour your head. Also lying in bed to listen to music was uncomfortable with the "electronic log" connecting the 2 ear pieces hitting the back of your neck. So back they went.

Enter the Plantronics Backbeat 903/906. Finally I found a winner. I probably should have bought them first since I love my Plantronics Pro Bluetooth earpiece for my cell phone.

I'll tell you why I like this headset:

* They sounds great
* You can listen to phone calls in both ears
* They are comfortable. Those who say they are not may have not extended the earpiece portion down. Initially I thought they were uncomfortable until I did it.
* I can lay in bed with them if you position a pillow the right way. Now Plantronics if you're listening on the next model have the wire extend down instead of out from the back of the earpiece so laying in bed with them will be completely comfortable.
* They have great battery life.
* Amazingly with the open ear design you really can hear ambient noise around you that you need to hear assuming the music isn't too loud.
* Speaking of volume they can get freaking loud if you need it and the bass boost feature really works.
* The controls are well organized. The little track advance/volume controls are a bit cheap so I hope they hang in there.
* The 906 includes a Bluetooth adapter to convert any audio device to wireless Bluetooth. Thou this is the only model in stock at the time it's kind of handy.

The only thing I worry about with this headset is its quality. Many reviewers here on Amazon have mentioned this headset breaks. I've owned them now for 2 weeks and have had no problems. I will report with an update if this status changes or if they keep working after a longer period of time. Here's my theory on the quality problem. I bought these at a retail store instead of a store with the cheapest price on the internet. What many people fail to realize is that if you buy from some places on the internet the products you buy could be grey market/factory seconds or copies. Remember you get what you pay for sometimes or if the price seems too good to be true it's probably a scam.

As a footnote to all the headsets I returned before (Sounds like a Julio Iglesias song). What I learned from a retailer is that these returned headsets cannot be resold for legal reasons due to health concerns. That's why it's a good idea to really study these reviews to help out the merchants who ultimately end up passing along these costs in the form of higher prices. It's too late for me to heed my own advice.

Hope this review helps you!

Alright. First: These headphones are fantastic. Very comfortable. Perfect sound fidelity up to about 20-25 feet. Clear microphones and wonderful transfer of sound both to and from whatever source or destination you connect them to (i.e. Phone, Game System, Chat Room, etc.). Great Battery life and fast charging both for the headphones and the dongle.

Now. The cons... I had the headphones for about two weeks before the headset died on me. Well, it didn't so much "die" as it "froze up". The red light on the headset lit and wouldn't extinguish. The headphones/dongle would not connect. The headset would not reset when connected to wall power.
This was the cause of immense frustration due to my wanting to play online using voice to communicate (My primary reason for the purchase).

BUT!

I found out how to fix the problem. You see, not many people understand that electronics do not usually come packaged AND CALIBRATED! You must calibrate the battery before extended use of any electronic device. Here is how you do it:
1. Fully charge your electronic device.
2. Use the device until the battery is fully and unequivocally empty! The device must not even have the energy to attempt to start up.
3. Recharge the device.
4. Enjoy!

Doing this will allow the device to adjust the power usage laid upon the battery system. It will extend the useful period of the headphones and dongle. And prevent any unexpected issues such as the one I (and MANY others) ran in to.

Since the calibration I have not had a single issue with the headphones. NOT ONE! They work perfectly. I have laid on them; dropped them off a balcony; exercised with them; thrown them across my room in frustration; and so much more.
Now, I'm not saying attack them with all your fervor and worry not. They WILL break for good if you abuse them. Bluetooth is still a delicate technology.

Overall, I hope I have assisted some folks out there in solving/avoiding a problem. And I hope my review has convinced a few shoppers to consider purchasing these headphones.
Enjoy all, and thanks for reading.

Length:: 2:41 Mins

For visual directions I attached a video with this review.

So, I've had these for 3 days and have been very unhappy... Until, today when I found the perfect improvement. The rubber or silicone ear attachments are horrible. They don't fully direct music straight to your ear. Music is allowed to escape ear, causing poor sound quality and there is just no tight fit. I tried everything... I tried to force other ear bud attachments to them. I bought foam earplugs that you squeeze and they form to your ear, used a hot nail to burn a hole through them then attach them to the headset. This I thought would work well, but sound was distorted. Finally I was searching for replacement ear pieces at many stores, the last place being Toy 'R' Us. They did not have what I was looking for but... I was walking around the store and saw some NERF bullets. Little hollow foam things with rubber tips. Not using the tip I cut about an inch of foam off. It was perfect!!!! It fit without force. It stays on well. It fits in your ear perfectly. Move all you want it'll stay. I maybe had to adjust them 2-3 times during a four workout (quick push into the ear). Also, you can cut them any size. If you have smaller ears and the foam just wont fit your ear. Cut it at an angle into a point almost and problem solved. Personally I didn't have to adjust the foam any besides the initial cut. Works so well. I think the company should look into the idea of improving to something similar. I have a pack of ten bullets so now even if I loose a ear piece or they get dirty, I have super cheap replacements without having to search online for them. Even If you're happy with the provided ear pieces, I recommend trying this. I promise you'll find the sound quality dramatically improved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nerf darts can be found in a ton of locations like, walmart toyrus, etc...

I rated with 1 star only because there was no thought put into the ear pieces.