Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've owned the original Backbeat Fit headphones for years and LOVE them. I often used them for 3-4 hours a day, they stay comfortable and just keep trucking. After many many abuses they are finally starting to break down and I decided to give the new version a try. I saw many of the lukewarm reviews of them, but they generally seemed similar to the reviews of the original, most of which I thought were unfair or just wrong. As is stated before, but always seems to be missed, these are not the headphones for hardcore audiophiles. They are 1/2 open ear headphones that allow you to hear traffic, bikers, etc while running or generally being in an outdoor environment. Therefore the sound is never going to be perfect. It's good, even great for what they are, but they are designed to let noise in from the outside, that is not a flaw. It also seems that a lot of people are like me and upgrading from the original version, let's cover the differences really fast. Generally everything is the same or slightly better. The ear buds are the same, fit and feel the same (which is great). The over the ear loops are a slightly softer/rubber-ier material, little thinner. I would say slightly more comfortable, but hardly a big change. The buttons are down to one on each side (from two). It's fine. The old way worked, but I can see the appeal of dropping buttons and the new combos just take a sec to learn and work just as well. The new buttons are fine, little less tactile feedback, but again just different, not better or worse. One nice improvement is that there is no longer a seam between the ear loop and connecting band. That is what broke down on my original one (after years of shoving into pockets and backpacks) and that seam is gone, its one piece of material from end to end. So they should last longer. Oddly the electronic voice seems to have taken a step back. I don't really care what they sound like since I really only hear it when I turn them on, but it's an odd thing to have it be noticeably worse, just more electronic-y and slightly harder to understand. Not a big deal at all, just really weird. And that is pretty much it. EXCEPT for the hissing noise. I saw a few people mention it in other reviews but figured that they got unlucky or just weren't used to the open ear sound. NOPE. I have had three pairs now (after returns) and all three have sounded terrible. They work, the music/podcasts play, but in the background is a white noise static that is 1/4-1/2 the volume of the podcast voices. The worst of the three was loud enough that it occasionally would completely drown out the people talking if they get slightly quiet. Tried updating each one to the latest firmware, no change. After three tries, this is obviously a flaw in design, software or manufacturing. Basically, you should not buy these at this time (Nov 2018). If they can fix the hissing sound issue and reliably deliver a working headphone, I have no reservation giving these a 5 star review and will buy them in a heartbeat. Until then, buy the originals (which I will do shortly). Also at this time the originals are about $25 less anyway. While the new ones are better in a couple of little ways, really not worth an extra $25. Buy the originals. Update (Jan 2020): My second pair of the original version is starting to break down (kid got to them, my fault), so my wife bought a pair of these new ones from Costco and I tried them out again. Exact same hissing noise and the electronic voice was so bad I had a hard time understanding it. I'd rate this copy 1 star, honestly I'm stunned it's still a problem and this bad of one. I'll again buy the originals and are unlikely to bother trying the 2100s ever again.