Back Bay ClearCall 70 Review
Affordable headphones for office use and outdoors
Verdict
While battery life, wireless performance, and comfort are bright spots, the Back Bay ClearCall 70 provides disappointing call quality and average sound, ensuring this pair of over-ear headphones struggle to fulfil their potential.
Pros
- Affordable
- Comfortable to wear
- Long battery life
- Excellent wireless connection
Cons
- Below-par audio performance
- Inconsistent call quality
Key Features
- Battery45 hours of battery life
- Removable boom micTransform the headphones into one ready for work calls
- Sound modesThree choices in Signature, Bass Boost and Vocal Boost
Introduction
I’ve liked Boston-based audio brand Back Bay’s offering ever since I listened to their EQ 40 wireless headphones. They’ve managed to combine a consistent mix of value and performance with each headphone we’ve tested.
With the ClearCall 70 they’re venturing into different waters. These aren’t headphones for a sporty lifestyle, but a pair for the office intended to give all-day comfort for those never-ending Zoom calls and meetings.
So, has Back Bay pulled off the same trick in offering a welcome mix of performance and value? Here are my thoughts.
Design
- Wireless-only connection
- Comfortable, lightweight design
- Detachable boom mic
The design of the Back Bay ClearCall 70 is similar to Philips’s PH805, which themselves were reminiscent of Sony’s 1000X series, which is not a bad thing considering that series’ pedigree.
Like the Philips, their appearance is discreet, as the Back Bay logo tastefully blends in with the finish, and gleams whenever light shines upon it.
Buttons are located on the right earcup and with volume buttons and a multi-function button (MFB) that powers the headphones on or pauses audio playback.
The buttons are a little small and stiff to press, but spaced out well enough to avoid confusion. Press the volume up/down buttons at the same time and you’re taken through the three sound modes in Signature, Bass Boost and Vocal Boost.
Comfort levels are excellent with the Back Bay ClearCall 70. Although there aren’t any details about how much they weigh on the Back Bay website, I can’t imagine them being too heavy based on my experience. Yes, they are made from plastic, but the build quality is good with not too many creaks and cracks from the frame. The padding is super soft and pliable which I found made them comfortable to wear for hours.
There’s also a USB-C port for charging the headphones that also doubles up as the means for connecting the detachable boom mic (which also comes with a foam sleeve). A sturdy carry case is also provided with a pouch to keep the boom mic and USB-C cable in. As there’s no 3.5mm jack, wireless is the only way of connecting these headphones to any device.
Features
- ‘Basic’ Bluetooth Multipoint support
- Excellent wireless connection
- Long battery life
Given the price and use case of the Back Bay ClearCall 70, it shouldn’t be surprising this isn’t a feature-packed pair of headphones. There is Bluetooth Multipoint of sorts in that the ClearCall 70 can be connected to two devices simultaneously, but this requires pairing to one device, turning it off to put the headphones into pairing mode once again before connecting to another device.
That way when both devices are on, the ClearCall 70 can connect to them, though this involves having to manually connect to the second device rather than doing so automatically.
If a call comes through your smartphone, you can answer it via the headphones. If it comes through your PC/Mac, it’ll need to be answered on the computer itself with the audio playing through the headphones. This appears to be the basic version of Bluetooth Multipoint, and not the more advanced option where you can automatically pair two devices and seamlessly switch between them.
Bluetooth 5.0 is supported, along with SBC and AAC codecs, and the Bluetooth range on these headphones is very strong. Leaving my desk at home to go upstairs but leaving the headphones on didn’t create any stutter to the signal. Using them outside through Waterloo and Victoria train stations didn’t ruffle its feathers either.
Battery life is quoted at 45 hours and there’s fast charging onboard with a 15-minute top-up resulting in another five hours. When the headphone is turned on, there’s a voice that indicates whether the battery is at ‘High’, ‘Medium’ or ‘Low’ levels, which is useful enough to gauge whether a re-charge is needed. In real-terms a five-hour battery drain saw it drop to 90% at half-volume, which is around the amount Back Bay quotes on the box.
Sound Quality
- Warm presentation
- Inconsistent call quality
- Lacks detail and definition
Given that one of the ClearCall’s USPs is being used for the office and calls, it ends up disappointing at both. Morning meetings via Zoom would end with staff members telling me that my voice sounded either choppy, crackly, or hard to hear. One team member said that I sounded ‘watery’ i.e. as if I was speaking underwater.
Perhaps there’s an element of the Zoom/wireless connection to factor in, but more often than not the ClearCall 70’s performance was at best mixed. Even a one-to-one call with another member brought up the same issues, initially starting fine with my voice clear and audible before the call turned muddy.
There were times when the Back Bay ClearCall 70 worked fine, but these occasions weren’t as frequent as I had hoped over several weeks of use. It didn’t really matter whether the foam sleeve was used or not, results were consistent either way.
The Back Bay ClearCall 70 proved average with calls taken outside too, adequate when it was quiet but a struggle when background noise picked up. The headphones’ mics also picked up wind noise, making it even more of a struggle to hear what’s said.
Back Bay describes the music performance as a “vibrant sound signature that provides deep, refined bass, a relaxed midrange, and crisp highs”. I wouldn’t agree with all that’s contained within that statement. It certainly sounds rich, and even over Zoom, people’s voices sound smooth and warm rather than the crisp tone you might be used to.
But it features a woolly sense of definition with audio, lacking an extra ounce of detail to give shape and definition to instruments. Its warmth gives the low frequencies some weight in Rokysopp’s Eple, but the sound is not particularly dynamic, and rhythmically it’s rather slow paced. The soundstage is also rather small in size.
There’s a choice of three audio modes in Signature, Bass Boost, and Voice Voice, but I’d say it’s best to stick with Signature. Bass makes a track such as ZZ Top’s La Grange sound muddy and unclear across the frequency range; while Voice Boost does what it says on the tin but has the effect of making the rest of the track distant.
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
If you’re after an affordable pair of work headphones:
You can’t complain about the price at $50, though you could take issue with the audio performance…
Inconsistent call quality:
Whether you’re in the office or outside taking a call, the ClearCall 70’s performance hits average notes.
Final Thoughts
I was hoping for more with the ClearCall 70 given the performance of Back Bay’s other headphones. Call quality is, at best, inconsistent; and when used for music there’s a lack of definition, detail, and clarity.
There are bright spots with its good comfort levels, excellent wireless connection, and long battery life, but that’s not enough to give these headphones a recommendation. Check out our best headphones list for more options.
How we test
We test every headphones we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
Tested over several weeks
Battery drain test performed
Tested with real world use
You might like…
FAQs
With a Windows laptop the headphones need to be put into pairing mode: go to Bluetooth and Other devices menu to make connect, and then check ‘Sound Settings’ to make sure the input device is the ‘ClearCall 70 headset’ in order to speak through the boom mic.
Full specs
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
