The Motorola Squads 200 are colorful wired kids headphones. However, they're prone to inconsistent bass and treble delivery, and their sound profile lacks a lot of bass. Some users may find their on-ear fit particularly uncomfortable as their ear cups don't swivel to better sit on the ear. It should also be noted that while Motorola advertises that they have a volume limiter set to 85dB, our tests were able to raise their max volume to 100dB. That said, they have simple controls, an easy-to-use design, and even include stickers to help your children personalize them.
Our Verdict
The Motorola Squads 200 are poor for mixed use. They're not the most comfortable, especially as the ear cups don't move, and some users may not like the on-ear design. They're also prone to inconsistent audio delivery and they have bad noise isolation, so your children may hear everything around them. On the upside, since they're wired, they can be used on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One with full compatibility.
- Simple controls.
- Volume can reach up to 100dB, even with volume limiter.
- Not very comfortable.
- Bad noise isolation.
- Inconsistent audio delivery.
The Motorola Squads 200 are mediocre for neutral sound. Unfortunately, due to their rigid ear cups, they have inconsistent audio delivery. That said, their sound profile really lacks bass and is overemphasized in the mid-range, which results in harsh vocals and lead instruments.
- Simple controls.
- Inconsistent audio delivery.
The Motorola Squads 200 are poor for commute and travel. These headphones block out very little noise so your child can hear all the rumble of plane and bus engines. Some users may find the on-ear fit uncomfortable too, especially as the ear cups can't swivel. On the upside, since they have a wired design, users don't have to worry about battery life.
- Simple controls.
- Not very comfortable.
The Motorola Squads 200 are poor for sports and fitness. These wired headphones don't clamp very tightly on the head and have an unstable fit, so they could come off your child's head with moderate movement. If the audio cable snags on something, it could also pull them off of the user's head.
- Simple controls.
- Not very comfortable.
The Motorola Squads 200 are poor for office use, but since they're designed for kids, it's unlikely that they'll be used for this purpose. They're not very comfortable and they let in a lot of background noise. They also leak a bit of audio, and even though it sounds thin, it can be annoying for people around the user. On the upside, since they have a wired design, the user doesn't need to worry about battery life.
- Simple controls.
- Not very comfortable.
- Bad noise isolation.
The Motorola Squads 200 are wired headphones and aren't suitable for wireless gaming.
The Motorola Squads 200 are acceptable for wired gaming. They have full audio and microphone compatibility with PC, PS4, and Xbox One. However, some users may find them less than comfortable, especially as their ear cups don't swivel to better fit the head. They also lack a lot of bass, so sound effects in games sound weak.
- Simple controls.
- Decent recording quality.
- Not very comfortable.
- Inconsistent audio delivery.
The Motorola Squads 200 are disappointing for phone calls. Their audio cable has an in-line mic, which makes the wearer's voice sound natural, but also thin and dull. However, the mic struggles to separate speech from moderately loud background noise. These headphones also block out very little noise, which can make it difficult to hear whoever is on the other line.
- Simple controls.
- Decent recording quality.
- Bad noise isolation.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Motorola Squads 200 come in two color variants: Pink and Blue. If you come across any other variants, let us know in the discussions so we can update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Motorola Squads 200 are colorful on-ear headphones for kids. Although simply designed, they have a wired design that makes them compatible with most consoles. Unfortunately, they're not very comfortable and they lack a lot of bass. Even though they're advertised as having a volume limiter, we were able to get these headphones to 100dB, which is disappointing if you want a firm volume limit. If you're looking for more headphones, check out our recommendations for the best on-ear headphones, the best closed-back headphones, and the best headphones under $50.
The JBL JR300BT Wireless are better kids headphones than the Motorola Squads 200. The JBL are wireless headphones that are more comfortable and have a better-balanced sound profile. However, their battery performance is just passable as they last over 10 hours on a single charge.
The Puro JuniorJams Wireless are better kids headphones than the Motorola Squads 200. The Puro are wireless headphones that are more comfortable as well as have a better build quality. They have a very bass-heavy sound profile that some users may prefer. Their battery performance is excellent, too, as they provide over 19 hours of continuous battery life. However, the Motorola are wired headphones that have full compatibility with PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
The Astro A40 TR Headset + MixAmp Pro 2017 and the Motorola Squads 200 are two headphones designed for different purposes. The Motorola are kids headphones with an on-ear, closed-back fit. They offer a simple listening experience and even have an in-line mic for recording speech. However, the Astro are specifically designed for gaming and aren't kids' headphones. The Astro has an open-back, over-ear fit. They're more comfortable and have a MixAmp for channel mixing on-the-fly as well as companion software to customize their sound. However, some users have reported issues when using the software.
The iClever BTH02 Wireless and the Motorola Squads 200 are kids headphones, but depending on preferences, some users may prefer one over the other. The iClever are Bluetooth headphones that are significantly more comfortable, and better-built. Their battery performance is great too and they have a continuous battery life of over 50 hours. However, the Motorola are wired headphones that can be used with full-compatibility with PC, PS4, and Xbox One. They also have a better-performing microphone.
We've upgraded our Headphones Test Bench to 2.0! This update brings several key changes to our tests and usages, making it easier than ever to interpret our sound results based on your personal preferences. You'll also find a brand-new interactive graph tool featuring multiple targets (including our own!) for you to explore and compare.
For a full breakdown, check out our changelog, which includes detailed commentary from our test designer explaining the rationale behind our update.
We'd also love to hear your thoughts: your feedback helps us keep improving, so join us in the comments!
Test Results
The Motorola Squads 200 are kids headphones with a two-tone color scheme. The manufacturer includes a sticker package if your child wants to decorate them. These on-ears also come in two color variants: pink and blue.
These headphones are disappointing for comfort. While they feel light on the head and the headband can extend to fit a larger head, the design is a bit rigid. The ear cups can't move and they don't really clamp either.
The Motorola Squads 200 have mediocre controls. They have a single multi-function button on their in-line remote. This button can be pressed once to play/pause music as well as answer/end calls. If pressed twice, it skips to the next track, while pressing the button three times skips back to the last track. However, the button doesn't always register the command properly and there's no feedback, although the button is pretty clicky.
The Motorola Squads 200 are acceptably portable. They're somewhat bulky and they don't fold to help reduce their footprint.
These headphones have a mediocre build quality. They're advertised to have faux leather anti-allergenic earpads. The overall design is also made from plastic but the audio cable is silicone. Unfortunately, the arms feel weak when extended.
The Motorola Squads 200 have poor stability. They move around a lot on the head and could fall off with a small head shake. They also have a non-detachable audio cable, which could snag on something and yank them from the listener's ears.
The Motorola Squads 200 have an uneven sound profile. The left and right drivers are a bit mismatched as the ear cups don't really move around, which can lead to inconsistent audio delivery. However, they still lack quite a bit of bass. Part of the mid-range is also overemphasized, resulting in harsh vocals and lead instruments.
These headphones have a passable frequency response consistency. Their bass and treble delivery can vary a bit based on fit, seal, and positioning. This makes it a bit difficult to achieve a consistent listening experience, especially if the user has thick hair or glasses.
The Motorola Squads 200 have poor bass accuracy. They're underemphasized across the entire range, resulting in very little thump and punch. Their bass delivery is dependent on their fit and positioning, so the wearer's listening experience can vary.
The mid accuracy is satisfactory. The low and mid-mids are both slightly overemphasized, which makes vocals and lead instruments sound a little cluttered and boxy. However, the high-mid is really overemphasized, making these same vocals and lead instruments sound very harsh and honky.
These headphones have good treble accuracy. They're overemphasized in the low-treble range, which makes vocals and lead instruments sound a bit harsh and painful. Everything else in the treble range is underemphasized, though, which dulls and weakens sibilants. However, their treble response is heavily dependent on their fit and positioning, so your real-world experience may vary.
The Motorola Squads 200 have satisfactory peaks and dips performance. There's a discrepancy between the left and right drivers, which results in a slightly different set of peaks and dips. There's a noticeable peak across the right driver's bass range, which makes mixes boomy and muddy. The left driver also has a peak, but it's in the high-mid to mid-treble range, which makes vocals and lead instruments harsh and sharp.
The Motorola Squads 200 have great imaging. Their weighted group delay falls entirely beneath the audibility threshold, resulting in tight bass and transparent treble. The L/R drivers are also quite well-matched in regards to amplitude and phase response, so objects in the stereo image are accurately placed. While there's a small amount of frequency mismatch, which can result in holes in the stereo image, it's very slight and may not be noticeable for all users. However, these results are only valid for our test unit, and others may perform differently.
The passive soundstage is disappointing. Since they have an on-ear fit as well as a closed-back enclosure, sound only partially interacts with the outer-ear. This results in sound being perceived as coming from inside the listener's head instead of coming from around them.
These headphones don't have any virtual soundstage features.
The weighted harmonic distortion performance is decent. Aside from a small amount of distortion in the high-treble range, the rest of the frequency range falls within good limits, resulting in clean and pure audio reproduction.
These are the settings used to test the Motorola Squads 200. The manufacturer advertises them as having a volume limiter set to 85dB. However, we were able to test these headphones at 100dB, which is our default testing configuration.
The Motorola Squads 200 have a bad noise isolation performance. They block out no noise in the bass-range, where the rumble of bus or plane engines sit, and they reduce very little mid-range sounds like ambient chatter. They do a better job of cutting down high-pitched sounds like the hum of an AC unit, though.
The leakage performance is good. There's a bit of escaping audio that falls between the mid to treble-range, and sounds thin. However, even if the user is listening to audio at max volume, the leakage isn't very loud.
These headphones have an in-line microphone.
The in-line microphone has a decent recording quality. Speech sounds natural, although a little thin and dark.
The in-line microphone's noise handling is mediocre. It struggles to separate voice from ambient noise, even in moderately loud or crowded environments.
These headphones are wired-only and don't have a battery.
These headphones don't have a companion app.
These headphones are wired-only and aren't compatible with any Bluetooth connection.
These headphones are wired-only.
These headphones come with a non-detachable 1/8" TRRS cable that allows for full wired audio and microphone compatibility with compatible devices.
You can use the in-line microphone as well as receive audio when connected to a PC or PS4 via an analog connection.