Microsoft Surface Headphones 2
Are you still looking for the best wireless headphones with superb audio performance? You’ve come to the right place. Microsoft brings you a far better upgrade of the original Surface Headphones with Microsoft Surface Headphones 2.
Although the original Surface Headphones were surprisingly terrific for its noise-canceling feature, better sound quality, and intuitive controls, they were held back by its hefty price tag and short battery life.
Microsoft’s Surface Headphones 2 topple the original Surface Headphones as the best headphones for your music needs with its noise-canceling feature and other better upgrades. This time, Microsoft made sure that they learned from their mistakes by retaining the best qualities from the first pair.
Know more about its amazing features by reading this Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 review.
Design and Functionality
The Microsoft headphones stayed true to the original design with Surface Headphones 2. The latest model has a minimalist design with single-sided earcup pivot arms, seamless headband, and the subtle Windows logo. With the new model, you can pick between light gray or matte black color schemes.
The headphones are a combination of plastic and aluminum, while the yoke and extenders are both made of metals. It has a plastic exterior along with extra-cushy earcups made from memory foam and black leatherette.
Although the Surface Headphones 2 weighed more than the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700, it is slightly smaller by 8 x 7.7 x 1.9 inches at 10.2 ounces.
It may be a little stiff the first time you wear it, but after about 20 minutes, you will notice that the Surface Headphones 2 will loosen up a bit, allowing for some smooth sailing audio experience. You will be surprised by the comfort it offers, especially if you wear glasses. Once you wear it, you won’t feel any pressure from its arms, even if you wore it for several hours.
Once you have settled on the Surface Headphones 2, you’re all set. A warm female voice will inform you to pair it on your smartphone.
Just like the original Surface Headphones, the Surface Headphones 2 have touch controls attached to both earcups. By tapping on the center will trigger the play or pause control, and removing it from your head will enable the auto-pause feature. A double-tap will answer a call or skip to the next track, while a triple press will end a call or skip back on the previous song. Lastly, you can summon a digital assistant or decline a phone call by pressing and holding the earcup.
Note that you may summon your digital assistant based on your usual program instead of Cortana. You can also adjust the volume control through the twistable dial. The left side will control the noise-canceling level.
Audio Performance
Surface Headphones 2 has a companion app that you can get free at Android and iOS. On your first use, the Surface Audio app will show you an instructional video for a quick walkthrough of the controls.
If you are heavy on word processing duties, you will be quite amazed by Surface Headphone 2’s features. If you are an Office 365 consumer, you can do some cool stuff with its programs. For example, the headphones can dictate in MS Word with excellent accuracy. What’s more surprising, the feature worked despite the high level of external noise.
For the active noise cancellation, the Surface Headphones 2 have 13 levels like the original. It does a terrific job of dampening external sounds even at a high volume. If you want to hear more of your surroundings, you need to turn down the Ambient Noise Control. This feature will allow you to control how much ambiance noise filters will push into the soundscape.
When it comes to quality, you can never go wrong with Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 with its 40mm Free Edge drivers that deliver on Omnisonic sound. This feature aims to provide an immersive listening experience with its rich and balanced audio.
Finally, the Surface Headphones 2 has an estimated 20 hours for its battery life with activated ANC. You can listen for two straight days listening to music, watching videos, and taking calls. Five minutes of charging will deliver an hour of battery life and a full charge within less than two hours.
Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 Specs
To give you a complete background on Surface Headphones 2, check out this list of specifications:
- Dimensions (in inches): 8.03 x 7.68 x 1.89 (LxWxD)
- Weight: 0.64 lbs
- Exterior: Light Gray or Matte Black
- Frequency response: 20 – 20kHZ
- Noise cancellation: Up to 30dB (active noise cancellation) and up to 40dB for passive noise cancellation
- Battery Life: Up to 20 hours
- Charging: Full charge in less than two hours
- Inputs: USB-C connector and 3.5 mm audio connector
Summary
With all the previously mentioned features, Surface Headphones 2 is indeed a premium headphone device. Microsoft learned from its mistakes by coming up with a new set of upgrades to the second pair. It has an adjustable Ambient Noise Control and active noise-canceling that allow you to control how much or how little noise you let into your soundscape.
With a competitive price of $250, you get a host of productivity and functionality with a top-notch Microsoft headphone.
Drawbacks
If the noise-canceling feature of the Surface Headphones 2 is not enough for you, you may try other wireless headphones like Bose. You may also find the Surface Audio App sparse of functionality and features. Its personalization section will not give you a hefty amount of control in tweaking its audio quality.
But outside of that, Microsoft remains faithful to its features.
Final Words
Compared to the original Surface Headphones, the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 is a massive improvement at an affordable value. At a $250 price tag, Microsoft delivers excellent controls, smooth audio quality, and terrific noise cancellation in a budget-friendly headphone. As a premium audio device, what more can you ask for on Surface Headphones 2?
