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Same price as the previous deal in June
Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 - Grey $255.97 Delivered @ Microsoft eBay
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In my personal experience, xm5 has better NC and audio range. However Microsoft is best work headphones to use with Windows. Also it has better multipoint support. For travel I use xm4 haven't had chance to travel with xm5 yet. But for work with I have already reverted back to Microsoft.
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tools/compare/microsoft-su…
And if you actually care about sound quality:
If you must get wireless, look into AKG n700NC m2.
If wired is okay (I would strongly recommend it) then AKG 371 or Beyer DT 770
Not sure if my Surface headset 2 is faulty or the software is buggy, but when I wear mine on bus even light vibration will somehow interrupt the audio, and when I turn off the ANC I can hear popping sound from the headset. Another issue is sometime when I pick up a call the inbound audio volume is way too low I have to switch back to phone speaker. My trusty QC35 II doesn't have such issues.
Be sure to bring it back and claim warranty if within
I would not recommend the AKG N700NC M2 at all. It's 3 years old at this point, doesn't support LDAC, has small-ish cups, fits too tight and is shoddily built (by Samsung).
Within only 6 months of gentle use, mine developed fine cracks in the plastic around the hinges, the velour portion of the headband peeled off and the left speaker stopped functioning entirely.
Then there's its associated app which it refuses to connect to 90% of the time (on Android, at least).
If you must get wireless and would like a third option to consider, check out the Technics (Panasonic) EAH-A800.
Couldn't agree more. AKG N700NC M2 is hands down the cheapest quality headphone I have owned, worse than a $25 headphones from AliExpress.
Currently rocking an XM4 (absolutely love it) but it's terrible with windows/teams.
Unless you sit in a silent room with anc off, you couldn’t tell the distance between aac and ldac. Any audiophile will tell you this. What counts is how they sound to you and if they suit the need.
Alternatively, my pair have been great, fit well - except yeah the liner of the top headband has started peeling off. Not great, but I am holding it together with a rubber band. No cracks and fully functional. Connects every time for me
Agree 100% with this comment.
I own the AKG’s and the Technics.
The EAH-A800 are very slept on.
While sound quality is a consideration, BT ANC is more about convenience and portability. Will your dad travel or use them on a plane? If so, folding may be more useful so consider the XM4/QC45.
If you're also thinking about longevity, a more popular model will likely mean that earpads will be easier to replace in the future.
I work as an audio engineer and I use these with the 3.5mm phono cable (because no Bluetooth cuts it for audio quality and delay in recording and editing environments)
I use them daily and I'm impressed with the lows, mids and highs.
I have both the black and the grey ones (always need a backup just in case) but the black one is a stunner.
Regarding the build quality, I had issues with the first-gen ones (hairline crack), but I have 2 of the second-gen ones (Headphones 2) and have not had a single issue with high use in a studio environment.
Surface headphones are great for productivity and I love the controls. Sound isn't too bad with some tweaks.
However, I'd recommend against Surface Headphones.
There are two common faults with them:
- Band breaking
- Headband detaching
- Support appears to be limited with earpads no longer available after 2 years
Microsoft's support in my experience, hasn't been great. Live chat told me to go into store for replacement earpads/the headband issue. Microsoft store couldn't help and would only offer a replacement for $350. It has been just over 2 years since purchase, but given the original sale price, I would have expected better support/the product to be covered under ACL.
One of the advantages of more common brands is availability of spares and easy availability of third party replacement parts.
How do the controls improve productivity vs other brands?
I used to have a pair of Surface Headphone 2.
Two things that I like about this headphone:
1) dedicated mute button (only works in wireless mode)
2) optional wired connection (with mic on it) - perfect in noisey environment - if I am not wrong this is the only ANC headphone on the market that have this option (not only wired connection but also with a mic on it)other features are quite gimmicky such as adjust 10 levels of noise cancellation, adjust volume via dial.
I think the physical controls are better than other control schemes. LHS control dial controls noise cancellation and RHS control dial controls volume.
Thanks. That sounds frustrating for sure. I think i'll steer clear.
100% agree about customer service. I had issues with my Surface Pro dock and the staff at the MS store in Sydney not only had no idea how to handle it (fair enough), but didn't even have a suggestion for how I could escalate it eg no referral to a tech expert there etc. Say what you want about the Apple cult and fanboys, and the brand's price tag and closed ecosystem, but its staff are superbly trained and their service is light years ahead of any competitor.
I did a search to find out if these are Microsoft Teams certified. Apparently they are not. You need Microsoft Surface Headphones 2+ for that. Hopefully this information is useful for others.
You might need to check what does Teams certified mean.
Some headphone (e.g. Jabra Evolve2 85) can fully integrated with MS Teams such as you press the mute button, it will mute you via the physical device and also show you as mute on MS Teams. I am not sure whether all headphone is the same.
This headphone can definitely achieve the physical aspect of it, you press the mute button you will be muted, but MS Teams still show you as not mute.My understanding is to be certified for Teams a wireless headset needs to have:
1. USB dongle (Surface headset 2 doesn't have that but 2+ does)
2. Teams button
3. Software support for TeamsYes the software integration (Teams, mute, volume buttons) with MS Teams is a good feature. Otherwise they get out of sync and you will get confused with the controls (between whats on your headphone and what Windows/Teams app actually indicate). MS Teams certification also involves tuning of the mics and integration with the app's environmental noise cancelling (not to be confused with ANC).
The dongle is also another important point (as mentioned by Aimforfun below). It reduces the need to pair the headphone and with Teams certification, the app will auto select the correct device when it is plugged in. I do believe other 'non-certified' products can also achieve a similar result though.
got qc45, should i upgrade?
No. QC45 will be better.
The controls are far superior, but the holistic experience is more of a sidegrade than an upgrade
got q35, should I upgrade?
Nope. Unless you want usb c
no. QC35 is better. i have both and I purchased Surface Headphones 2 a few months back for work and found them to be uncomfortable and the sound is not so good. Great features but sound and a bit uncomfortable is a big letdown.
Thanks! Q35 is getting old but still works well
Nice price, will wait for black color
These headphones are stunning in black
Grey
So no local warranty ?
It's a colour
Throwing jv some shade
Just take it to a Microsoft store and they gotchu
Do not buy if you are going to connect to more than 1 device, good with only 1 device connection only.
Works well with multi devices at once, been using for more than a year
What are you smoking? I connect these to multiple devices and they work flawlessly.
Multipoint works fine for me as well.
I have had a few issues with apps holding audio open longer than needed, but this is generally a rare occurrence and not specific to the product.
What have you done to isolate the issue to the Surface headphones?
Get the Soundcore life q35, thank me later
I’m going to thank you now… just for being you. Your headphone choices might suck, but nobody’s perfect
Stfu mate
I've got a pair of these for about 1.5yrs now and haven't had any issues that people have been mentioning. Multipoint on my laptop and phone switches no problem and call clarity is great. Sound quality isn't fantastic and noise cancelling is just average but I switch to my XM3s so I can tell the difference.
got the last one! I don’t have noise cancelling headphones and I was in office today and the airpods don’t cut it anymore although it’s ok from home or commute
How do you know it was the last one? I mean, couldn’t it have been the penultimate one? Did your order state your exclusive status as the very, very last?
stfu
Audiophiles etc how do these compare to Bose QC45 and a Sony XM5? My dad is asking for headphone advice.