Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 Wireless Headphones Review

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 look virtually identical to their predecessor, the Microsoft Surface Wireless Headphones. They've got an entirely light gray look with wide ear cups and a simple headband design. The only new thing with their style is that now you can rotate the ear cups 180° so that the ear cups can lay flat on a table. They also come in matte black if you want something that doesn't stand out.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 are lightweight over-ear headphones that should be comfortable enough for long listening sessions. The ear cups are well-padded and made from a silicone-like material that doesn't put much pressure on your head. However, some may find the ear cups a bit shallow.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 have excellent controls that are easy and intuitive to use. Just like their predecessor, they have a touch-sensitive surface on both ear cups that uses a series of taps to control call and music commands. There's an infinity dial on each cup; the left dial adjusts the amount of noise cancelling, while the right controls volume. There's also a default voice prompt for the noise cancelling controls. The headphones beep when you reach the min/max of each dial control.

These headphones aren't the most portable. However, the ear cups can swivel to lay flat, which is nice if you want to store them in your bag or their included carrying case.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 come with an identical hard case as the Microsoft Surface Wireless Headphones. It's covered in a nylon-like material to help to protect your headphones from scratches, minor water exposure, and the occasional drop. There's a bit of room inside the case, so your headphones might move around a bit. However, the case isn't too bulky, and you should be able to store it in a bag or backpack.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 are well-built and durable headphones. They're made of dense plastic, and the headband is reinforced with a thin, metal frame. They feel sturdy enough to survive a couple of accidental drops.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 are fairly stable over-ears, meaning that you can wear them during a jog in the park. They have a decent clamping force, which helps to keep them from moving around too much on your head. They're also wireless, so there are no cables that could get snagged on something unless you're using them with their included audio cable.

• Microsoft Surface Headphones 2
• Carrying case
• USB-C charging cable
• 1/8" TRRS audio cable
• Manuals

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 have a punchy and boomy sound that fans of EDM and hip-hop can enjoy. However, it loses some detail and clarity as it moves into higher frequencies, which can impact your favorite vocal or instrumental tracks.

The frequency response is mediocre. The bass delivery can slightly vary if the ear cups are not flush to your head, especially if you wear glasses or have thick hair. There are more inconsistencies in the treble range, though, as they seem sensitive to positioning and placement.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2's bass accuracy is alright. While they're a little lacking in thump and rumble, the rest of the response is overemphasized, which results in a punchy, boomy bass.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 have great mid accuracy. While it may look a little wavy, the response is fairly neutral and balanced. There's a little bit of underemphasis in the high-mid, though, making lead instruments and vocals sound slightly weak and distant.

The treble accuracy is disappointing. The response is underemphasized across the entire range, resulting in a dark and veiled treble, which can hurt the comprehensibility of lead instruments and vocals. It can also make sibilants like S and T sounds dull and lispy.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2's peaks and dips performance is okay. There are several big peaks and dips. The large peak throughout the bass range creates a boomy bass that clutters or muddies some sounds in the low-mids. This is also evident in the low treble dip, as a boomy bass can hurt the comprehension of vocals and lead instruments. There's another peak in the mid-treble, which can make sibilants sharp and piercing.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 have excellent stereo imaging. Except for the tiniest peak in the mid-bass, which may not even be noticeable to all users, the entire group delay response falls below the audibility threshold, resulting in a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. Additionally, the L/R drivers of our test unit are exceptionally matched, which is important for the accurate placement and localization of objects and instruments (like voices and footsteps) in the stereo image. However, these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 have a poor passive soundstage. As these headphones have a closed-back design, they won't produce as open or spacious of a soundstage as open-back headphones. That said, there's some pinna activation which suggests a somewhat large soundstage. The soundstage is likely to be perceived as slightly unnatural and as if it's located inside your head rather than coming from in front of you.

These headphones don't have any virtual soundstage features.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2's harmonic distortion performance is satisfactory. Although there are a couple of peaks in the treble range at normal listening volumes, it may not be noticeable to all listeners.

These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when using these settings.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2's noise isolation performance is great. At their maximum ANC setting, they help to block out some low noises like the rumble of bus and plane engines. They do a better job of cutting down chatter, though, and they help to reduce more high-pitched noise like the hum of A/C units. However, if you need a little less noise isolation, you can adjust their settings with the dial on their left ear cup.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 have decent leakage performance. Since the bulk of their leakage is in the mid-range, it sounds fuller-sounding compared to in-ears and earbuds. The overall leakage is still somewhat low, though, and if you're listening to your music at a high volume in a moderately noisy space, those around you shouldn't be able to hear it.

This microphone has both an integrated mic as well as an in-line mic on its detachable audio cable.

The recording quality of the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2's integrated mic is okay. When using the integrated microphone, your voice sounds thin, muffled, and lacking detail.

As these Bluetooth headphones use an adaptive integrated microphone, their noise handling score indicates a lower performance than you can achieve in real-world use. That said, it still does a sub-par job of separating your voice from background noise. Even in our audio clips, the mic still struggles to capture voices, including in moderately loud environments.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 have an excellent battery performance. Unfortunately, while they're advertised as lasting up to 20 hours with their ANC on, our pair lasted just over 16 hours. However, these headphones are quick to charge, and they also have an auto-off timer, which helps conserve more battery life.

The Surface Audio app is a great companion app that offers a graphic EQ and presets, which is nice if you prefer a less bass-heavy sound. You can also see your battery life as well as watch a tutorial on how to use the headphones. You can adjust your ANC levels directly from the app, but this feature isn't available right from the main page.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 have great Bluetooth connectivity. They can simultaneously pair with up to two devices at a time, and unlike the first generation of the Microsoft Surface Wireless Headphones, they operate on Bluetooth version 5.0 and support the aptX codec. On the downside, their PC latency is high. When streaming YouTube videos, their iOS latency is somewhat high, although Android seems to be a lot less. However, some apps and devices seem to compensate for this differently, so your real-world usage will likely vary.

These headphones are Bluetooth-only.

These headphones come with a 1/8" TRRS cable if you prefer a wired connection. They also have a USB-C cable for charging, but you can't use it for listening to audio.

When connected via their TRRS cable plugged directly into a PS4 controller or PC jack, you can receive audio and microphone support.

When connected via their TRRS cable plugged directly into the Xbox One controller jack, you can receive audio and microphone support.

The Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 don't have a base/dock.