NEW Microsoft Surface 2 ANC Headphones

[angelom]

(*I use MS2 for referring to the Microsoft Surface 2 headphones*)

Positive:

• Very, very comfortable and ergonomic headphone (I having problems of discomfort with new Sony xm4 for example).
• Very good exciting sound for the consumers in general (this isn't flat / neutral sounding headphone, but the majority of headphones aren't)
• Volume and ANC/ambient dials is working perfectly. This dials are fantastic innovative features, this isn't gimmick.
• EXCELLENT ANC. This is 100% comparable with the best ANC headphones by bose and sony!
• Very good microphones for telephone calls.
• Very, very good app that including 5-band EQ (Sennheiser Momentum 3 app only recently having EQ with only 3 bands), and you can saving the EQ setting in the headphone so you can using this new setting in different devices.
• Excellent hard case that isn't big like shure aonic 50 case even if the MS2 can't be folding (aonic 50 can't be folding either).
• Very good design with excellent combination of elegant and modern.
• Construction quality is very good, and with no creaks or strange sound when moving all mechanical parts.
• For 280,00 euros / 240,00 GBP / 250,00 USD this is excellent price when the majority of headphones like MS2 is costing 350,00 - 400,00 euros.

Negative:

• Is very easy activating pause or play accidentally, and is more big problem because this functions are in both ear cups (in majority of headphones is only in one side of the headphone).
• The earpads are artificial leather and this making my ears hot very easy, and I know with little more hot weather my ears starting sweating quickly. (but this happening for me with all artificial leather earpads of all headphones not only SM2)
• The volume steps is only 15 going up and 13 going down (in my iPhone) and this making sometimes one step change in the volume very big. (this is more a problem for me because I'm very sensitive to the volume changes). Sony, Bose and other headphones having more volume steps, but other like Shure or Sennheiser having similar problems of the volume steps.

I needing more testing but I think the SM2 is my new recommendation for a excellent wireless ANC headphone with excellent features, and even more because the price in this category and quality of headphones is the best.

For the people that don't know me, I owning many (anc) wireless headphones and earphones in the past. And this is meaning I don't testing in shop but always spending long time or some days with each one not only few minutes. Here's the list of the more important:

• Sennheiser: momentum 1,2 & 3, pxc550, momentum true wireless 1 & 2.
• Shure Aonic 50.
• Bowers & Willings: p7 wireless, px, px7
• B&O h95, h8, h4, h9, h9i, h9 3g, e8 1Gen & 2Gen
• Sony: 1000x1 (don't remembering model exactly), 1000xm3, and new 1000xm4.
• Bose, qc35, qc35ii, nc700, qc30i (anc earphones for iOS devices).
• Master & Dynamic mw65, mw07 & mw07 plus.
• Dali io-6
• Beats: beats solo 1 & 2.
• Apple: AirPods 1Gen & 2Gen, AirPods Pro.
• Jabra 65t & 75t (can't remember exactly the models).

The list is 36 headphones and earphones. I trying other less important cheap bt earphones not in this list.

 

[tuan209]

How does the SQ of the Surface headphone compare to the Aonic 50?

I really like the usability of the Surface but not sure about its SQ.

 

[angelom]

How does the SQ of the Surface headphone compare to the Aonic 50?

I really like the usability of the Surface but not sure about its SQ.

Aonic 50 (sa50) is having a more correct, close to flat / reference / linear tonal balance but not everybody liking this type of sound (I do). The MS2 is more for average consumer, with exciting sound with boost in bass and good soundstage, but I hearing little dipping in mids that sometimes sounding little hollow. You can using EQ in MS2 headphone and have more similar signature to sa50. For me I putting less bass and small boost in mids.

With the MS2 EQ you can saving the setting in the headphone so you can using this setting in different devices. The sa50 EQ isn't saving the new settings in the headphone and you must using the shure app for using the EQ. This isn't good design for sa50, in my opinion. But if you liking flat sound, maybe you don't want using the EQ. When I owning sa50 I only wanting using the eq for little more bass in some albums (the shure app is very bad, by the way, for scrolling if you having big music library (like I).

 

[Tenlow]

A friend of mine has these and I had the chance to listen to them there. I agree that they have very good ANC and have solid build quality. I didn‘t like their stock sound, however. They have a really elevated and „boomy“ bass which is not even the main problem as many consumer grade headphones have this nowadays. Their treble response is pretty bad in my opinion. It sounds very recessed and the higher frequencies don’t have a lot of detail and clarity. This works for modern music and a couple of genres but definitely not for a lot of genres. They are still very solid ANC headphones, I think. The volume dials are indeed great and almost the star of the show with these headphones. The sound just wasn‘t for me.