Design and features:These earphones can be used wirelessly with Bluetooth devices or can be cord connected. When Bluetooth connected they work with or without the noise canceling feature being turned on, and you can use the noise-canceling feature without listening to music. When cord connected the noise canceling feature is not available; they have medium-high sensitivity so they can provide satisfying volume levels when used with home audio equipment and even lower-powered portable audio devices. The GO 410 has an integrated microphone and volume, music player function, and call connect/disconnect controls for use with paired Bluetooth devices; the noise canceling function can also be turned on and off by using a combination of the buttons on the earphones. This model uses a collar/earphone design - an open collar that sits around the neck, and the earphones are attached to wires that extend from the collar. The collar is flexible and can be rolled up so that the earphone can be stuck in a pocket when not in use, and the earphones can be magnetically attached to each other when not in use to turn off the Bluetooth and noise cancelling functions and for ease of carrying around the neck. Additional features include the ability to connect to two Bluetooth devices at the same time, and support for Apple Siri and Google Assistant digital voice assistants when used with mobile devices that have those features. The free Plantronics Backbeat app for Apple and Android mobile devices adds additional features when used in Bluetooth and noise cancelling modes such as the ability to switch the noise canceling function between high, low, and off settings, change between two different tonal presets, update the earphones firmware, and help locate the earphones if they are misplaced. This model comes with three pairs of ear pieces in various sizes, a detachable 48-inch long combination USB charging cable/mini-plug standard audio cable, and a carrying bag.
Sound quality: When used in Bluetooth mode we found the GO 410 provides Excellent active noise reduction, and regardless of whether or not the noise canceling feature is turned on it delivers sound quality that falls in the Very Good range - it reproduces music and voice very well although it does have some noticeable sonic quirks. The overall sound can be summarized as bassy, hazy and grainy. The bass (as in bass drums, bass guitars, stand-up bass, etc.) goes deep, but has somewhat exaggerated impact and is prominent, boomy, and somewhat rumbly. The midrange (voices, guitars, horns, etc.) is fairly even, but is a bit hazy, grainy, and constricted (as in straightjacketed), and often overwhelmed by the bass. The treble (cymbals, the upper range of violins, etc.) is fairly extended, but is smeared (sounds that should have a delicate shimmer sound blurred). The sound has a good sense of liveliness, but is somewhat closed sounding (sound-wise it's fairly obvious you have something plugging your ears) and it only does a so-so job of recovering the room ambience of a recording (the sense of the acoustic space in which the audio program that's being listened to was recorded). When cord connected the bass and midrange are more even, but sound is muffled, the treble is subdued and the overall sound quality drops to the bottom of the Good range. These earphones provide Excellent noise reduction that across the entire frequency range with low frequencies reduced the most. When the noise cancelation feature is turned on a slight hiss can be heard in very quiet environments when there is no audio program material to mask it.
Comfort: The GO 410 is a hybrid ear insert/ear bud design - the earpieces seal the ear canals but they don't insert into the ear canals as far as typical ear insert models, and they are supported by ear bowls like a ear bud model rather than the ear canals. They fit and stay in place with no problem, and the ear bowl support ear pieces are very stable even with vigorous head movement. The collar is not generally noticeable and is very convenient unless it interferes with clothing. When earphones are not in the ears they clip together magnetically, dangle from the collar, and rest on the chest where they will swing out away from the body when leaning over - this can be bothersome or expose the earphones to damage. The sound of the earphone connecting cable and in-line remote rubbing on clothing may be heard through the earphones.
