Customer Ratings & Reviews

I have a disability badly affected by low frequency noise. I had bought a headset of I-Live ANR's, ($30) and was blown away on an aircraft flight and literally could not hear the engines at take-off! So I was sold, and wanted to step up to something better than just a single turn on or off level. These Microsofts stood out right away that they block mostly midrange noise much better, among other things. But they don't block anything under maybe 60 HZ, or any sub-sonic. Like they lose phase alignment, or react to slow to it Kind of sad, they were nice with everything I needed but the main one. Horrible with road noise. I hope their return will be accepted.

I received these headphones for free as a part of the Best Buy Tech Insider Network Program. Reviewers in this invitation-only program are provided products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased reviews. Pros: - The sound quality was pretty great. When listening to music I could make out the individual parts. It worked well for a variety of different music styles. - The app functions well. I like that there’s an adjustable EQ if the sound signature out of the box is not to expectation. - Overall build quality was good. The headphone feel ergonomically designed. The controls on the headphones are wonderful. There are actual buttons and dials and the touch controls are minimal. There is a mute button on the headphones which works great for phone calls. - Pairing was extremely easy and the connection was very strong—I didn’t have any issues. - Call quality was great. - I love that the included cable includes a mic on it. Cons: - The headphones ear cups fold flat but they do not condense any further. I wish they did as that makes them less ideal for travel. - I get fatigued wearing these for long periods of time. Full disclosure, I have a big head so that could be at play, but I feel like the clamp strength is a little too strong. I also get warm in them.

When these Microsoft Surface Noise Cancelling Headphones arrived, I couldn't wait to open them up, charge them and try them out! The packaging was on a par with Apple's product boxes which set my expectation that a great poroduct was inside. I was not disappointed. The headphones are beautifully designed with a professionally finished look and feel. The headphones are designed with 13 adjustable noise cancellation levels built in - great for use both indoors and out. They come with on-ear touch controls to skip forward/ go back to the next or prior songs, answer/end incoming phone calls using speech recognition software. Controls will also mute/unmute the microphone and the headphones employ excellent microphone technology. There are also controls to access Siri or Cortana voice assistants. The Microsoft Surface Headphones have great sound - some of the best I've heard - with deep bass and clear treble making me want to use them over my non-quieting AirPods. Sound quality is excellent! The Surface headphones are breathable over-the-ear style that I found to be warm-hot even though breathable. Battery life is excellent. The headphones are a bit bulky with the controls built into the outside of them. Tone levels are adjustable and you can dictate using the mic and MS Office 365. The Suface headphones use a USB-C to recharge and have a headphone jack in the event the batteries run out of charge. The Microsoft Surface Noise-Cancelling Headphones 2 price has been reduced by $100. over the original Surface headphones and with the new features are a much better value. They compare favorably with their competition. I recommend you check out these headphones before you buy anything else! NOTE: “Reviewers in this invitation-only program are provided products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased reviews.”

Excellent headphones. Easy connectivity and sound quality. The most aesthetic headphones out there

Just as described works great. Would recommend to a friend.

Best in class noise canceling. Very comfortable and ligth weight.

The Microsoft Surface 2 ANR headphones offer outstanding sound and comfort in a plain package. They were made to compete against some of the best offerings in the category and while not perfect, they'll definitely be competitive. If you're not looking for anything flashy that's super comfortable and offers robust sound, you should definitely give the Surface 2 headphones a look. Let's get into the gritty.. SOUND If you yearn for full, rich sound, these headphones will make you smile. They offer APTX bluetooth codec for higher sound quality. They're a little flat at first, but download the Surface Audio app to adjust the 5 band EQ and you will be greatly rewarded. The first thing I noticed was how clean and full the bass was. Outside of one pair of high end earbuds, I don't know if I've heard bass extensions so satisfying out of headphones. And the best part is that it doesn't outweigh the balance in the sound either. The highs are smooth, tones well balanced, and the soundstage is fairly open. They're not the best sounding headphones I've tried, but one of the better, and much better than one of their more expensive competitors, which I also have. Unfortunately, I wish that experience was the same for call audio quality as well. Don't get me wrong, it's clear, it just sounded a little "recessed" the few times I tried it for calls. To be fair, the other callers said I sounded great, so take that for what it is. ACTIVE NOISE REDUCTION The ANR is ok, but also my biggest gripe about the Surface 2 headphones. They're advertised as having 13 levels of noise reduction, but I only see high, medium, low, and ambient noise as my options. In reality, it feels more like 3 levels to me, high, medium, and ambient, because the low and medium settings are hard to tell apart. However, it's the ambient noise setting that's been the biggest disappointment. You can hear some ambient noise, but it's not nearly sensitive enough so most sounds become muffled or even muted! I noticed this when I was lost in a groove and didn't even realize someone came into the room asking for me. Ambient noise mode is supposed to make it so I can still hear what's going on in the room and prevent that embarrassment. It also seems to want to amplify wind sounds for some reason. Like every time the AC air vent starts, the ambient noise makes it sound like a big whoosh of air, yet when actual sound is faint. On the flip side, the active noise reduction does an outstanding job of actually blocking ambient noise. It even does this without media, so you can quickly enjoy some peace and quiet without having to play a thing. In fact, it does this better than most other brands I've tried, so outstanding job on actually reducing noise. If they can make the ambient noise feature more sensitive with a firmware update, these would be really hard to beat. DESIGN If you're into something plain and understated, you might love these. They're a very basic looking set of headphones in matte black that are kind of clunky, but amazingly comfortable. They have a somewhat medium-low profile headband with moderate sized cans that swivel for comfort. The ear cushions are super thick and if Microsoft's goal was to make something someone could realistically wear all day, they've won in spades. From a fit and finish standpoint, they're entirely plastic, but well built, and the 2 buttons and 2 dials available offer good tactile feedback. They also come in a nice hard case to protect them while on the go. FUNCTION If you're an Android, iPhone, or Windows10 PC user, you're in luck! The Surface Audio app is available, free, stable, and easy to use. This unlocks some of the features of the Surface 2 headphones like turning the touch controls on/of, and maybe most importantly the 5 band EQ. Unfortunately, while it connects and plays audio fine on a Macbook, I didn't see the Surface Audio app available, so consider that if access to the other features are important to you. Speaking of which, the touch controls are a unique experience with the Surface headphones. You can do basic media and phone controls by tapping on the side of the headset, which is pretty nifty while walking around. However, they're a bit annoying if you're laying down as pillows and cushions seem to be able to control them as well. Easy fix by turning them off in the app though. I also love how the volume and noise reduction are controlled by dials on the headphone cans themselves. It's a nifty way of doing things and I love how low key it is. Plus, I always prefer dials or something rotary when it comes to fading/volume controls. The headphones also automatically pause what's playing when you take them off, and continue when putting them back on. It's a pretty neat feature that I like overall, but it tends to kick in and pause the music frequently when I'm listening with only 1 can directly on my ear and the other slightly off (so I can listen to the room). Ironically, if the ambient noise feature was more sensitive, I wouldn't have to do this and it wouldn't be an issue. OVERALL The Microsoft Surface 2 headphones offer great sound with some of the cleanest bass out there and are seriously comfortable enough to wear all day. They do a great job of canceling out noise, but the ambient noise feature needs work and the overall design might be too plain for some. If they can fix the ambient noise issue with a firmware update, it would be hard to find a better overall package at the price point. Disclosure: I received these headphones from Best Buy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review as part of the Tech Insiders Network Program. Reviewers in this invitation-only program are provided products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased reviews.

The design of these headphones are awesome. Love the matte look. I chose the grey color over the black as I wanted to try a different color. The noise cancellation feature works as advertised. The ear cups are comfortable but, may get uncomfortable after long periods of use (over 30minutes). They do a great job of staying on your head. The amplify feature was okay and not great. The adjusting volume feature was neat. Loved how music stopped when removing the headset. The buttons are easy to use and locate when trying to power them off or hit the mute button during a call. Battery was very pleasant and easily lasted me a day. However, I returned them. There was not enough bass in these. They were flat. I used the surface app to correct this and still could not dial in the bass. It was flat. The audio quality just did not sound right. I am not engineer so I cannot describe what I am referring to but, I was not impressed. I got better sound quality out of my airpods. the other thing that I did not like were the voice prompts. For instance, when you are on a call and you choose to mute your line, cortana will voice over for a few seconds which leaves you missing out on the conversation. You can turn off voice prompts but, you will not know if you are on mute or unmute. Wait for the 3s or try something else. Microsoft is on the right track. If you are a hip hop fan or bass head, stay away. If you are YoYoMa or Beatles fan, these are fo you. If you sit on conference calls all day, these are for you. If you are a music head, stay away.

The Sony’s were great until it lasted. It only lasted me for a week until the whole left ear side failed to work(regular use, no abuse). I traded it in and paid slightly more for the Sony WH-1000XM4 and have not looked back since.

Note: Reviewers in this invitation-only program are provided free products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased reviews. The Surface Headphone 2 is an incremental upgrade to the original Surface Headphones, which were already excellent. Setup: Setup is very simple and works with Apple and other devices. I use these headphones with my iPhone and MacBook Pro. Sound: Excellent depth across all ranges. I would say that they are at least as good, if not better, than my Bose QC35ii headphones. Bass is very good, not over-done, and mids are great for hearing lyrics and audio books. Highs avoid any “tinny” effects. I would call these very immersive, partly because of their comfort. Comfort: The larger cans mean that I don’t get the ear compression pain I get with Beats headphones. The soft cup is very soft and comfortable and seals out a lot of ambient noise. As I mentioned, comfortable headphones are part of the immersion experience. Noise cancelling: Very good, especially combined with the noise-isolating cups. I love that you can easily adjust the noise cancellation levels with a simple twist of the left ear dial. Noise cancellation effectiveness is easily on-par with my Bose headset. Functionality: Adjusting volume and noise cancellation using the on-ear dials is great. Easy to make quick, fine adjustments. You tap on either can to pause and skip music. I find this to be a little sensitive to random touches, but overall works fine. Comes with a hard case, USB cable, and audio cable. Summary: Microsoft has created an excellent headphone with great sound and very effective noise cancellation. These are also the most comfortable can headphones I own. They are perfect for deep, immersive listening to music, podcasts, and audio books. High recommended!

If you read no further than the first few lines, know this: They are good, really good. And versatile. The Good: The design and look are amazing. They look like old school cans, but yet modern. I like the design of the hinge. These are often a weak point for other headphones or where they will break. The Surface design looks like they will avoid that problem. The earpads are cushy and roomy. The dials man, the dials. They nailed it with the dials on these things. They are smooth and easy to use. I like having physical dials and MS nailed it with this part. The sound: Also good. Not the most amazing soundstage you'll get, but pretty darn good. Really good I would say. Vocals are ridiculously clear, nice low thump on the bass and crisp mid highs too. I find that running them on the EQ "Classical" setting works the best all around. And I didn't listen to classical on them. Others have suggested "Pop," but I found it raised the volume level and distorted on the high ends. Or adjust and save your own EQ settings. The touch controls are simple to use, although you'll just have to get used to them. They pause your music when you take them off, though there is a slight delay. They also work with Xbox as a full headset with mic capabilities. Which is nice. Download the Dolby Atmos app in the MS store and the games you play in mp with sound also pretty darn good. Oh, they pair up with iOS 14 really well. You can just say, "hey Siri..play so and so" and she will. "hey Siri, skip track.." etc. You don't even have to tap and hold. Nice. Really nice. That's not to say they can't make some improvements here. The Bad: The padding on the headband is just awful. It can hurt my head after a while. I wish they had put more padding on the headband and the worse part of it it; it doesn't look replaceable. Had they put some decent padding underneath these, I would have given them an almost perfect rating. It's also made of a rubberish like material which I feel will eventually pull them away from the metal band because they are sticking to your head and you will have to adjust them so the crown of your head doesn't hurt and again, not replaceable. Overall, I'm keeping them and hoping my head adjusts to the lack of padding underneath the top band. I hope on their next iteration they will make these slight improvements, because I really like the versatility of these. And the dials man, the dials.

These are made by Microsoft, so I expected them to work well with Microsoft Teams. I noticed the mic dropping during calls. When I got in touch with Microsoft, they agreed to send me a new one. The new one has the same issue. So they’re just bad headphones! And now I’m stuck with them cause they’re past the return policy by best buy

All of sudden these headphones stopped working on me, have ing connective issues dont like these going back to bose for sure

DISCLAIMER: This product is received from Best Buy at no cost and is provided as part of Best Buy’s Tech Insider Network program. Members are not compensated nor paid for their reviews of products received. (And as per their direction: "Reviewers in this invitation-only program are provided products for the purpose of writing honest, unbiased reviews.") Hardware used: Samsung Galaxy Note 9, Dell G7 Series 15 7588, Sony WH-1000XM3 (baseline reference, XM3 thereafter for easier referencing) Having tried the XM3 over a year ago, I pretty much loved the headphones since then. I have also heard that the Microsoft Surface Headphones came in fiercely with their own noise cancelling headphones. So when the opportunity came to review the Surface Headphones 2, I jumped on it to see if their latest iteration can compete with the XM3. The hardware design is something that set the Surface Headphones (2) from the rest. The way they design the controls is probably unmatched because of how simple and intuitive it is. Both sides of the cans have touch controls for play/pause, next track, previous track, and voice assistant. The right dial controls the volume while the left dial controls the noise cancellation level. Controlling the volume using the dial is a refreshing take and I feel is the best method. I always have trouble controlling the volume level on the Sony XM3 because of their all-touch control design. WIth a dial system, I can control it with or without gloves regardless of how bad the weather gets. The cans are not large so those with larger ears may have issues with it. They fit my ears fine so there’s no problem there. Headband and weight are okay in a way. They weigh similar to the XM3 but I do not have anything to get a precise weight measurement. The headphone size itself could be considered small. To comfortably fit my head without the headband weighing down on me, I ended up extending it to the maximum length. Unlike the XM3, which still has room to expand for my head size, the Surface Headphones 2 could be considered too small for people with larger heads. If you are considering these headphones for purchasing, it’s recommended to go to a local store that has a display/demo unit for you to try on. Otherwise you may end up with a bit of a hiccup. Another thing to note is that the headphones seem to clamp down tighter than the XM3. They’re not too tight but they’re noticeable between the two. Also, despite having similar weight to the XM3, the headband has less cushion and could pose a problem for long listening sessions. Audio quality for the headphones is surprisingly okay. While they’re not as good as the XM3, the Surface Headphones 2 put up some good sounds. There is some emphasis on the low frequency so the bass and like has a more punchier feel. But other than that, it sounds quite good for an ANC headphone. A slight tweak to the EQ would otherwise make this a very good alternative to the current two kings of ANC headphones out there -- Sony’s WF-1000XM3 and the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. It also helps that Surface Headphones 2 supports AptX for its audio codec. While AptX HD would have been great, at least it meets the bare minimum of supporting AptX. Microsoft rated the headphones for 20 hours on Bluetooth and ANC on. While not as lengthy as Sony’s rated 30 hours for the XM3, it’s plenty enough to get multiple listening before having to recharge. Charging the headphones is as simple as using a USB Type-C cable. The included cable is over 1 meter long and is a million times better than the pitiful charging cable that Sony includes in their audio gear. Also of note, and perhaps an interesting feature, is the amount of battery life available on the headphones. Virtually every wireless headphones or earbuds would tell you a percentage level of battery life. Microsoft flipped this concept on its head and instead displays how many hours you have left on the headphones. I think this is a more reliable way of telling people how much longer you can use your headphones. People don’t know how long you can use your headphones with 10% battery life. But people understand how long you can use it if you tell it in units of time. This is a great design decision from Microsoft that I wish more companies would adopt. In the end, I’m actually surprised at how good these headphones are. The noise cancellation is about as good as the XM3 and the audio quality is slightly less than it. At a price that is less than the two reigning champions of ANC, it’s a very tempting alternative. There are caveats, such as size and comfort level for long sessions. But do these negatives outweigh some of the positives? That’s hard to say personally. It all boils down to how much you’re willing to spend. If you’re looking for the best of the best, you’re going to need to spend more. But on a limited budget, this is definitely worth looking into. Good: Intuitive playback controls, dials for volume and noise cancellation control, competitive noise cancelling. Bad: Not for large heads, ear cups may be too small, small headband cushion Ugly: Cannot accommodate Shaquile O’Neal’s head Music audio listening tests were done using the following songs in a playlist: “Supersonic Lady” by Mega NRG Man “Clint Eastwood” by Gorillaz “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons “Stayin’ Alive” by Bee Gees “Leave Me Alone” by Michael Jackson “Luv(sic) Part 2” by Nujabes feat. Shing02 “Baby Hold On” by Eddie Money “Creme de menthe (feat. megsis)” by dover “Guava Tonic (feat. 砂糖子)” by 中路もとめ “The Touch” by Stan Bush “Legend Of The Keeper” by Magic Sword “In The Face Of Evil” by Magic Sword “彼女は今日,” by the pillows “THAT HOUSE” by the pillows “きれいな旋律” by KOTOKO “A Flower Named You” by ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION “STONES (鴨川ロッカーズ ver)” by 久保田 薫 “Yasashina ni Tsutsumaerta nara” by Yumi Arai “Re:Re” by ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION “SAKURAスキップ“ by fourfolium “夕暮れ” by THE ROLLING GIRLS “Beat It” by Michael Jackson” “Heroes” by David Bowie “Purple Rain” by Prince & The Revolution

I have been using this headset on and off now for about a month as I work from home. It is comfortable, sounds pretty decent, has good decent ANC mode. However, there are several "features" that really makes this headset _really_really_ annoying: 1. The use time announcement is WILDLY inaccurate. When you turn on the headset, it will announce "5 hours left" or "3 hours left" or "10 hours left". DO NOT TRUST THIS. take this number and divide it by 2, and that's how much time you have left. This headset barely last me through my day (6 hours on zoom) on a single charge, even though when I turn it on in the morning it says 12 hours left. 2. The ring to adjust ANC level + Ambient mode is really annoying, as I can never tell which mode I am in. It is not intuitive at all. As a result, I never use the ambient mode and I am always stuck in ANC mode (I don't even know which of the 3x ANC mode I am in, but it seems to work. 3. The announcement of the connection when you power it on. The name of my computer is 157928373VC1, and this headset, for whatever reason, decides to read out the name of my computer every time I turn it on, which takes at least about 5 seconds before I can hear someone on the other end of my Zoom call. Really annoying, wish I can turn this off. Also, it doesn't just read out numbers, it does it in a nice english form "Connected to One hundred fifty seven million nine hundred twenty eight thousand..." (you get the idea). Other than that, these work fine and I like how I can walk around the house with it without the cord attached....

I purchased these headphones due to being on conference calls all the time at home. So far I am impressed with the build quality and comfort. I can leave them on for extended periods without any major discomfort. The mic has worked well with my conference calls. The ability to pair and connect to two devices has been great and something that the Sony's are currently missing. I pair them to my laptop and phone. I use the laptop for conference calls and my phone to listen to music and answer calls The noise cancellation has been great (can't hear the AC running in the next room). The dial adjustments on the ear cups are intuitive and easy to use. Overall a great pair of headphones and priced appropriately (compared to the first generation version).

I wanted a good pair of headphones to use with my PC while working from home. I bought these shortly after they were announced and have grown to love these Microsoft Surface Headphones. The touch surface is intuitive, and I can't get over the knobs. The controls are very easy to figure out and use. I have used other headphones where buttons control multiple functions and you have to remember to double tap a button, hold down a button, etc., to do what you want. The most maddening is some headphone's touch panels are impossible to figure out. Not the case here. Dead simple, intuitive, no special contortions to figure out. The noise canceling seems to be very effective. With it cranked all the way up, all I hear is my music. Sometimes I turn on ambient sound and can hear through the headphones very easily. I like that they charge via USB-C. My phone also charges via USB-C, so I only need to carry one cord with me when I travel. Convenient. Battery life isn't quite what Microsoft advertises, but I'd imagine their battery life estimates are based upon lower use of noise canceling, etc. Battery life is definitely acceptable, I have no complaints. Sound quality? These sound good, but you can download the Surface Audio app on your phone and put in a little EQ on them. By default the sound is very good though, they sound nearly as good as my high-end Grado wired headphones. Add a little scoop EQ and they're really good, I have barely touched my Grados since I got these. The build quality is very good, mostly plastic but they feel like they will hold up very well and they are very comfortable. I take one star off only because the battery life doesn't live up to Microsoft's estimate. Still, battery life is more than acceptable and they charge fast so I don't have much to complain about here. One thing that is really cool - I can have these bound to my PC and my phone at the same time. If I'm listening to music on my PC but someone calls me on my phone, the headphones can automatically switch over to my phone and then back to my PC when the call is over. I have never had headphones that did that before. This is something that just flat out isn't possible with wired headphones, super cool. In short, I strongly recommend these headphones.

works as intended, dials are amazing to use and they look very appealing. the headband just gets uncomfortable after extended use

Comfortable and great sound. Good mid-range. I mostly listen to classical music and as good as my speakers.

Great sound quality at this price point, touch controls are intuitive, fun to use, excellent for the plane travel.