Review on 🎧 Enhanced Features in New Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 - Matte Black by Eric Nelson

2020, the year of USB-C, Bluetooth 5.0, sophisticated touch controls, aptX-type codecs, multipoint connectivity and of course, ever-improving experiments with "active” noise cancellation in High headphones. And just when I thought Bose was the absolute leader with the NC700 with its build, touch controls, call quality, noise cancellation (Sony XM4 is slightly better in this regard, but sorry - too much bass for me), balanced soundstage (music lovers, take it easy, these are $250 consumer Bluetooth headsets, not your planar or grado or tube amp sennheiser), you're in for a nice surprise from microsoft! all boxes for me. At a modest price tag of $250, I won't say there aren't any other or better options, but this overall package from Microsoft at least really struck me. Case: absolute perfection. Slim profile, durable and very business friendly. Headset: Big ears, rejoice! Perfect fit and roomy. Don't pinch too hard if your head isn't human. The padding materials are very good but can attract oil/dust so it's best to keep them in a case when not in use and will need a light rubbing from time to time. The rest of the construction is solid. Controls: Absolutely amazing knobs and touch controls are fine. There's also a very handy mute button. They don't respond to my touch from time to time, but once you get a feel for that touch surface (hint: the fleshy part of your fingers, not your nails), you'll be fine. Another tip: if you want to go to the next (double tap) or previous (triple tap), make those taps really quickly so they register every time. Sound Quality: I don't believe in the concept of headphone burn-in. because, let's face it, it has almost nothing to do with the headset, it's just your ears getting used to the soundstage of the new headset. A bad sounding headset is a bad sounding headset now and in a year. I believe in first impressions. Once I slipped them on and started my test track, it made me chuckle, as did its Bose competitor (again, the Sony XM4 was too bass-heavy for me). An open, clear, wide soundstage with very rich bass and a little more midrange emphasis, but overall very, very pleasant. This is the goalkeeper. In terms of first impressions, I recently reviewed the AKG 371 BT and while it's a well-known brand, given its shape, form and most importantly sound quality, it was a little disappointing once the test track began, so it's back. Noise Reduction: The dial is great for quick control of noise reduction and volume. Noise-cancellation has a maximum, medium, low, continuous and boosted ambient setting, the latter two being great for phone calls that require a little sidetone (you hear your own voice) that feels more natural. The noise cancellation is on par with the Bose NC700, which is more than enough. Please don't expect any of these headsets (including the XM4) to completely drown out high-pitched sounds. The noise-cancellation works with continuous low-frequency hum like jet engine noise and helps a little with mid-range frequencies, e.g. B. to reduce the harshness of human chatter. If you find a dog barking or a child crying, it's your fault, it's not the headset's fault :) Call quality: Very good. No complaints about not getting calls in high winds or traffic on a mountain top. Even then, you may be heard, but don't expect work meetings to go well in these situations. A moderately noisy coffee shop or home environment is perfect for them. Connectivity: It has Bluetooth 5, so range shouldn't be an issue. No lag when watching videos. It can also connect to two devices at the same time (e.g. a phone and a tablet) and even if you're listening to your tablet, it will stop playing when you get a call. Relax! Even Microsoft Windows 10, with its lousy Bluetooth controls, connects to it with no problem (would be a shame if it didn't). The app is ok, nothing special. If you're on a Windows 10 computer and need something other than Jabra or Plantronics, this is highly recommended. TL; DR: These are 2020 generation headphones with USB-C and Bluetooth 5.0. Get it if you don't need Jabra or Plantronics for your Windows 10 ecosystem. Excellent call quality but not ruined by high winds, great soundstage with enough bass emphasis, comfortable fit for big ears but might not suit oversized heads Excellent controls, case and headset to last, multipoint comms with connection all right, with the application everything is fine. Side note: Only if you have small/medium ears (e.g. if the original AirPods fit you really well) and don't care about noise-cancelling should you try the Surface Buds. They didn't stay in my ears at all so they went back.