True wireless earbuds shootout: Plantronics BackBeat Fit 3100 vs. RHA TrueConnect vs. Sony WF-SP700N

Note: This article was first published on 12th February 2019.

True wireless earbuds for everyone!

We started shining more limelight on true wireless earbuds in a big way since early 2017 when we ran a big shootout for the best in the industry. Some of those models can still be snagged in retail today at good bargains. In our June 2018 issue of HWM, we covered 8 new models and you can tell by the enthusiasm exhibited by these audio brands that they are shifting to improve and address core concerns like price points, battery life, connectivity quality, audio quality, and multi-purpose usage. Sony's WF-1000X came out on top for its good audio quality, but connectivity and battery life were still areas that we felt could use some work.

Since then, we've identified a few more new releases and those are the models we're comparing in this article. Released towards the tail end of 2018, the Plantronics BackBeat Fit 3100 and RHA TrueConnect are the first true wireless earbuds for both companies, while the Sony WF-SP700N is Sony's first true wireless earbuds that target sports usage.

Both the Sony and the Plantronics add water resistance to the equation, with IP57 and IPX4 moisture-proof ratings respectively. Meanwhile, the RHA TrueConnect also boasts an IPX5 rating despite not being marketed as a “sport” earbuds, so you can freely take any of these true wireless earbuds out regardless of the weather.

Here’s a quick table to show how the three compare:-

Plantronics BackBeat Fit 3100

Easily the largest earbuds of the three, the BackBeat Fit 3100 has a sporty design with prominent ear hooks to keep them in place while you run. Plantronics markets them as being “ultra-stable, sweatproof and waterproof”, and the earbuds were certainly comfortable; staying in place throughout our testing. Given that you’re meant to be wearing these while running outdoors, Plantronics has also fit these with their Always Aware ear tips, so you can still hear your surroundings.

The earbuds also come with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, potentially giving it better throughput and improved range. Battery life is respectable at five hours on a single charge, with the carrying case able to provide two full extra charges, allowing you to get a total of 15 hours of listening while on the go. It’s nice to note that the earbuds come with a quick charge feature, so you can get an hour of listening pleasure from just 15 minutes of charging.

Connecting to the earbuds for the first time was fast and easy, and there’s a supporting app for your phone you can use to adjust settings as well as shortcuts for the earbuds. There’s a range of actions you can assign to a single or double tap, such as starting a stopwatch function or selecting a particular playlist. Handy when you can’t afford to dig your phone out.

Unfortunately, when testing the earbuds in our office, we experienced frequent dropouts from both earbuds when connected to our DAP – the FiiO M7. Switching over to an iPhone improved things somewhat, but occasional dropouts would still occur.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the BackBeat Fit 3100 retails for just S$249.00, making it one of the cheaper true wireless earbuds we’ve tested to-date.

 

Performance

In terms of audio performance, we thought the BackBeat Fit 3100 performed well for its price point, delivering decent performance in the highs and upper mids. On a recording of the unplugged version of Hotel California by The Eagles for example, the strings rang out nicely, and ear buds delivered a nice rendition of the intro riff. They also have a pretty good attack, and so work well with faster moving pieces like Far East Movement’s Like a G6, which the earbuds delivered with good energy.

Ironically, the design of the Always Aware tips means it’s difficult to get good bass with these earbuds. Pressing the earbuds against your ear to close the seal will bring some of the bass back, but that goes against the design ethos, and is impractical to do while working out; so that can’t be considered as a fix. For example, when listening to a recording of Rebecca Pidgeon’s Spanish Harlem, we could barely hear the opening bass beat so it seemed like there were several seconds of silence before the track began. Not quite the experience this piece is supposed to bring to say the least.

We’d probably stick to listening to pop pieces and instrumentals with these earbuds, focusing on tracks that have a heavy bass beat.

RHA TrueConnect

Retailing for S$288, RHA’s first true wireless earbuds - the TrueConnect - has a sleeker urban design compared to the other two contenders. The dark gray earbuds seem to have been designed to be as inconspicuous as possible, with just the extended ear tips betraying their presence.

Like the BackBeat Fit 3100 above, the TrueConnect uses Bluetooth 5.0 for better connection strength. RHA says the aforementioned ear tips help “maximize signal strength between headphone and phone”, and the earbuds really were the best in terms of maintaining a solid connection throughout our testing, with minimal dropouts whether paired to our smartphone or to our DAP. This important to ensure you've seamless playback and not fiddle around to re-pair your earbuds, a common problem for many true wireless earbuds even today.

On the note of pairing, it was quick and painless, and we like that you don’t have to pair each earbud to start. Just get the right earbud connected, pop the left into your ear, and you’re ready to go. The TrueConnect earbuds are designed for use with user replaceable ear tips, so you can easily adjust it to get the best fit. Comply foam tips are included too, so those would be our recommendation for a nice snug fit.

Despite not being advertised as a sports-friendly pair of earbuds, the TrueConnect comes with an IPX5 rating; good for sweat and splash resistance and probably a light drizzle. It has easily the best battery life of the three, with five hours playback for the earbuds and an additional 20 hours from the carrying case. There’s also a quick charge function, where just 15 minutes of charging takes the batteries to 50% charge from flat. A full charge takes only 1 hour 40 minutes, so you can be right back out quickly.

The included carrying case is fairly compact, but we would have liked it if it swiveled out just a little more, making it easier to retrieve the earbuds or replace them after you’re done.

 

Performance

RHA’s TrueConnect impressed from the start with robust, full-bodied sound. On a recording of Diana Krall’s Temptation, for example, the bass guitar riff that starts the piece is delivered with good oomph and nice decay, acting as a perfect complement to Krall’s vocals.

These earbuds also impressed with how they managed to rock the Gun N Roses’ classic Sweet Child o' Mine, as Slash’s lead guitar rang out sweetly from the start, drawing you into the piece. Axel Rose’s vocals were given good weight so it never gets lost in the backing instruments.

Shifting to a more acoustic piece in Lady Gaga’s I'll Never Love Again gave the earbuds a chance to show off their imaging capabilities. You could clearly picture Gaga to the right with the backing piano to your left. Gaga’s vocals are never overwhelmed in this piece, not even when the full orchestra comes in at the end, so you get the full delivery of her raw emotions.

Finishing off with Bruno Mars’ Dripping in Finesse, we thought the TrueConnect was able to provide good energy to go with this fast-moving piece, thus capping a stellar performance overall. It seems the RHA TrueConnect handles all genres of music well; a rarity in the true wireless earbuds space.

Sony WF-SP700N

Another set of true wireless earbuds that are advertised for sports usage is the S$299 Sony WF-SP700N. It has a much smaller form factor than the Plantronics BackBeat Fit 3100 with just a silicon support fitting to ensure you can get a good fit. It’s rated at IPX4 so it will also handle sweat and water splashes fine, just not a sustained stream of it.

The WF-SP700N also comes with a companion app for iOS and Android, and that allows you to adjust EQ as well as the noise-canceling features of the earbuds. Sony has what they call Ambient Sound Mode, which tones down the amount of noise-canceling applied so you can still hear what your workout buddy is saying without straining, or just be more aware of your environment.

Unlike the other two sets of earbuds in this shootout, the WF-SP700N uses Bluetooth 4.2 for connection. We were a little surprised that it didn’t support Sony’s LDAC technology though as you’d think true wireless earbuds, in particular, would benefit from the increased transmission speeds of LDAC.

Like the BackBeat Fit 3100, we experienced several dropouts from the WF-SP700N during our testing. In this case, though it was more of the right earbud dropping out than losing connection to both simultaneously, so it proved quicker to resolve. It seems the left earbud is the master for the WF-SP700N, as even during pairing you’re instructed to pair that first before taking the right earbud out from the case.

The WF-SP700N has the lowest battery life of all the earbuds in this shootout, with just three hours on a full charge. Despite not being much smaller than the competition, the carry case only holds another two charges, bringing the total playtime you can get on the road to nine hours. Respectable, but quite a bit less than the RHA TrueConnect’s 25 hours.

 

Performance

While the WF-SP700N has a mode to let noise for environmental awareness, we feel you get the best sound with ANC activated. The connection was an issue here too, as we found that the right earbud tended to drop off quite a bit, sometimes just from a turn of the head.

That aside, the WF-SP700N is capable of turning in energetic performances with pretty good separation. For example, on a recording of Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic, the earbuds turned in a lively rendition of the piece with good separation in the vocals between Mars and his backup singers.

Shifting gears to Rebecca Pidgeon’s Spanish Harlem showed that the lower ranges are a little lacking though. While not as weak as the BackBeat Fit 3100, the earbuds struggled to deliver the opening bass beat, leaving you straining to listen for what should lead you in to the track. Likewise, the Sony earbuds are probably not the best choice for heavy rock pieces either as you’ll find yourself missing the drums and bass sections.

Where the earbuds do well is with instrumental pieces as they convincing deliver naturalness. With a recording like The Eagles’ Hotel California, this works well as the emphasis is on the guitar work and the various percussion instruments in the background.

And the winner is....

The RHA TrueConnect.

It seems RHA has really spent time focusing on the connection aspect of their true wireless earbuds, as the earbuds served us one of the best true wireless experiences to date, with dropouts the exception rather than the norm. The full-bodied sound you get makes listening a pleasure no matter the genre, and the earbuds manage to provide the sense of excitement you want when listening to faster moving tracks. There’s also a good variety of ear tips thrown in, which will definitely help prospective users get a good fit. Battery life is also quite sufficient considering the case brings the total listening time up to 25 hours on the go, with a handy quick-charge capability. In our books, the RHA TrueConnect true wireless earbuds are the ones to get.

	Click here for rundown of pros/cons
	Click here for rundown of pros/cons
	Click here for rundown of pros/cons

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