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Beats Solo 2 Wireless - Top Notch Design

August 22, 2015

Beats' latest wireless on-ears is called the Beats Solo 2 Wireless (SGD 490). This is their first product since the Apple 2014 merger and blends in nicely with its wired sibling, the Solo 2.

With 70 percent market share, Beats look set to dominate the premium headphone market segment for a while and hence, they simply cannot be ignored when considering a pair of headphones for purchase.

Design
They are masters of packaging (and marketing), just like Apple, and hence, is probably a huge factor why Apple took such a big interest in Beats. Let's guide you through the unboxing process.

Sliding out the top layer will reveal a solid black box.

Taking out the cover unveils a black cardboard with these words that proclaim:

Lift up the tab and voila - behold the carrying pouch containing the Solo 2 Wireless.

Before taking out the headphones, we first take out the supporting layer. Beneath is a black sleeve containing the user guide, safety info and a Beats sticker.

Smack at the bottom of the box is a carabiner, to allow you to attach the carrying case to a bag, the USB charging cable and an audio cable to give you the flexibility of a wired connection.

Back to the headphones. Upon unzipping the pouch, the first impression of the 215g Solo 2 Wireless is that it looks undeniably suited for street wear. From the 7 colors available, I was passed the gloss black unit which sports punctuations of red.

At the midway point of the headband, a hinge on each side allows the Beats to be folded inwards for compact storage. The interior of the headband is made of a soft felt material colored grey while the non-replaceable ear cushions are a solid black.

Features
Wireless Bluetooth pairing is a very straightforward process. On powering on the unit, a white LED on the left cup will pulsate to indicate pairing is in progress. Once your source device is visible, tap to select the Beats Solo 2 Wireless and you're good to go.

One nice touch is their battery power meter (or what they coin as Fuel Gauge) which consists of 5 small LEDs lining the bottom of the right cup. This is very similar to what used to be a default feature on MacBook Pros. Just press the power button to have an idea how much charge there is.

The design of the playback controls on wireless gave the impression that the products team thought this out very well. They evolved the in-your-face controls of the original Beats Wireless to very discrete tactile controls. You simply don't see them at all as they are hidden into the left ear cup. Brilliant.

2011 Beats Wireless - Very blatant playback controls

Beats Solo 2 Wireless - Discrete controls
The Beats logo is the Call / Play button.
The top / bottom of the surrounding circle are the volume controls.

To get the wired mode, just plug in the red 1.36m cable (marketed as RemoteTalk Audio Cable). At this point, the Bluetooth turns off. The in-line remote becomes the primary mode to control the volume. While the button actuation is first class for responsiveness, the flipside is that it caters to iOS/Mac users.

These cans do not come with aptX, which allows for CD-quality audio over wireless. A number of studies have been conducted to assess if people could identify aptX sound. Apparently, the result is that the difference is negligible. Before the audiophiles scream bloody murder, this really isn't a showstopper especially with the way the Beats is tuned.

You can rename the headphones. First, just visit www.namemybeats.com where you download an installer. You then run the software and link up the headphones by USB to your computer. This feature basically allows you to update the firmware on your headphones to the latest version in addition to the personalization. Is this really needed? If they are working perfectly fine, probably not, but allowing allowing room for improvement is always a good thing.

Performance
The Solo 2 Wireless is a decent on-ears headphones when it comes to sound. I took a listen to Tom Chaplin's haunting vocals with the accompanying bass on Keane's Russian Farmer's Song. There is an obvious inclination towards a deeper bass and less emphasis on the treble clarity. To a certain extent, vocals and instrumentation aren't too distinct; they kinda blend together.

On the other hand, these headphones are clearly made for bass heads. The Solo 2 Wireless is in its element when listening to trance. Solarstone's Seven Cities is at its inspiring best when the beats start pounding your eardrums. My overall take is that the sound is warm and the listening experience is very much an engaging one when listening to the right type of music. The best is to try out the headphones yourself to see if the sound suits you.

One pleasant surprise is that wired mode sounds almost exactly the same as wireless, a standard that manufacturers these days are trying to attain.

Prolonged usage can be a little uncomfortable, especially if you wear glasses, as the clamping effect is quite strong. If you get the chance, do try these out for comfort first.

The battery lasts 12 hours, a rather underwhelming number when compared to other Bluetooth headphones in the market. Once the power meter pulsates red to indicate low battery, just plug in the supplied micro-USB cable to the right side for 2 hours to get a full charge.

Overall
If a stylish wireless pair of headphones with a deep bass is what you seek, look no further. Indeed the price is steep but the Solo 2 Wireless' design is well thought out in a practical way and will surely appeal to fashionistas.

Where To Buy
If you like what you have read, do feel free to support me by buying from Amazon via this affiliate link.

Gold
Rose Gold
Space Grey
Silver
Active Collection - Yellow / Blue / Red

Prices start from USD 195.

Audio Sources
Russian Farmer's Song - Keane (Spotify Premium 320kbps MP3) on Samsung Galaxy S4
Seven Cities (Original Atlantis Mix) - Solarstone (Spotify Premium 320kbps MP3) on iPad Air

Credit to Apple and Beats teams for providing a review unit.

Update (21 Nov 2015)
Beats introduced new color variants in the past two months:

Rose Gold - 19 Nov 2015
To match your latest iPhone 6S

Luxe Edition (Red / Blue / Silver / Black) - 26 Oct 2015
A classier design for the wired variant

Beats Solo 2 Wireless - Active Collection

Active Collection (Yellow / Blue / Red) - 24 Sep 2015
For a sportier look

Bluetooth

Jaybird X2 Wireless - First Look

August 15, 2015

This week saw the launch of the Jaybird X2 Wireless, the latest offering in an increasingly popular type of portable music wear - Sports In-Ears. Jaybird ups the ante by improving their Bluebuds X Bluetooth Headphones with the X2. And yes, they are still sweat proof.

Update (28 Aug 2015)
The full review is now out - Jaybird X2 Wireless

What's So Special
1. A secure fit -
One of the distinct features of Jaybirds are the patented ear fins. The X2 can be fitted in either over-ears or the more conventional under-ears style, depending on comfort level. They come with - get this - 3 sets of ear fins, 3 sets of silicone tips and 3 sets of foam tips. That's helluva lot of permutations to experiment with.

2. Diminutive size -
Jaybird claims the X2 are the smallest Bluetooth headphones in the world. That's no mean feat and but we can agree its weight of 13g is very very light.

3. Shift codec -
According to Jaybird, they developed their own codec "for decoding the audio with an enhanced bit rate". This is through a custom implementation of the Bluetooth SBC codec "which offers high fidelity without needing aptX". Beyond the marketing talk, this would definitely arouse some curiosity as to how good the sound quality is.

4. 8 hour battery life -
The number doesn't sound too significant when matched to its headphone counterparts. However, for sports earphones, this is pretty good when you look at units like the Plantronics BackBeat Go 2 that clocks 4.5 hours. A 2 hour charge will get an 8 hour battery life for music/calls.

Availability
No news on Singapore availability as yet though we're checking with Jaybird. However, they ship internationally via Fedex.

They come in 6 colors - Fire, Midnight, Ice, Charge, Storm and Alpha. While some colors sound intuitive enough, we'll leave you to figure out what the rest look like.

Pricing
These buds are priced at USD 179.95 (SGD 253).

We'll see if we can get a unit for a test run.

Update (26 Aug 2015)
We have gotten an X2 Wireless unit! Thanks to Jaybird for this. We will post a full review shortly.

Update (28 Aug 2015)
The full review is now out - Jaybird X2 Wireless

We are now selling on audiosplitz!
(but only within Singapore for now)

Sony MDR-1ABT - High-Res Audio Over Wireless

August 02, 2015

High quality audio over wireless is what the MDR-1ABT (SGD 499) is all about. While similar in design to its predecessor, the MDR-10RBT, the most distinct difference are the new touch sensor controls.

There are 2 variants - MDR-1A/B Standard Headphones (SGD 399) is a wired version and the MDR-1ADAC Standard Headphones with USB DAC (SGD 499) interestingly includes an integrated digital-to-analog converter within.

Design
Massive is one simple word to describe the box at 235 x 230 x 115mm.

You have a choice of Black or Silver for colors. The review unit was the Silver edition.

Once the shrink wrap comes off, just slide out the black interior box.

An equally massive black box

Open it up like a book to reveal the imposing MDR-1ABT over-ears headphones on the right.

And here are the headphones. Plus a tiny guide for the touch sensor

The left can be flipped further to access the user guides and a black carrying case. Tucked in the case are the USB charging cable and the 3.5mm audio cable to allow a wired connection.

Accessories to the left

The 300g MDR-1ABT headphones feel like they are solidly built. The leather headband and replaceable ear cushions are plush and feel very comfortable when placed over the ears. A point to note is that the tip of my ears touched the 40mm driver housing as the space afforded is rather shallow. A single hinge allows the cups to be swivelled 90 degrees for compact storage.

8 Aug 2015:
The ear cushions are not for sale at Sony Stores. However, they can be ordered at SGD 64 a pair (SGD 32 for each side) from the Sony Store at 313@Somerset.

Very comfortable ear cushions we have!

The headphones fit inside the carrying case snugly. Within, there's a sleeve that allows you to stash the cables you want to bring with you.

Tie it all up and we're ready to go

Features
The MDR-1ABT is one of the first products supporting Sony's LDAC audio technology. LDAC's purpose is to transmit CD quality audio over a Bluetooth connection, very similar to what the aptX codec does (View this link for the technical differences). For LDAC usage, you can opt to use the Sony NW-ZX2 Walkman as the source though I did not use this as a testing device as the unit was not available.

NFC, Bluetooth, LDAC, aptX? Check to all.

In my case, my source (Samsung Galaxy S4) and receiver (MDR-1ABT) are aptX compatible. When I wrote in to Samsung, it appears the usage of the codec is enabled by default as long as the file is hi-res (we're looking at 1400kbps). As for iPhones, these units are conspicuously absent from the list of compatible products.

3 flashes of blue show you that Bluetooth is functional.

You can connect to your phone either by Near Field Communications (NFC) or Bluetooth. To get NFC to work, your phone needs to support it. Sony has a great user guide that talks about the 1001 permutations to connect to different phones.

Pairing on the NFC Easy Connect app (found on Google Play).

For the Samsung Galaxy S4, I switched this setting on, turned on the headphone power and pressed the 'N' logo on the Sonys onto the phone's NFC point. Et voila, they are linked. Sony has an NFC Easy Connect app which Android v2.3.3 - v4.0.4 users will need. Just for kicks, I installed the app even though I'm on v4.4.2 and the NFC connection works just fine.

I decided to pair with a second device (an iPad Air) via Bluetooth. I held the button until there were alternating blue and red flashing LEDs to indicate the pairing mode. I then activated the Bluetooth on the iPad and then linked them.

Double tap to start / stop tracks. A horizontal motion changes tracks.

The touch sensor for playback / call controls takes up the entire smooth flat backing of the right side. Sony took pains to put a tiny user guide, talking about the sensor, smack on the headphones and rightfully so. It took some time to get used to changing tracks and personally, button actuation worked better for me. When a call is incoming, a pleasant chime greets you. You just double finger tap the right side to pick it up.

Vertical motion increases / decreases the volume.

While the experience was a bit of a hit and miss, one cannot deny that this is an innovative presentation and is a function that will increasingly be explored by headphone manufacturers.

The straight jack to the headphones and the L-shaped one to your player.

A 3.5mm audio cable allows you to have a 1.2m wired connection to your player. When you plug the straight end to the left side, the headphones power (and Bluetooth) turns off automatically.

Plug the wire to the left side.

The good part is that the sound quality stays practically at the same level and you save the power. The flip side is if you are connected to your phone, it's perplexing to note that you can't use the touch sensor to pick up calls nor can you use the microphone on the MDR-1ABT.

Performance
The sound quality over Bluetooth is well balanced and gives the impression that there's a very wide soundstage. These headphones are not for bass-heads and I say that in a good way. The bass doesn't overwhelm when listening to trance tracks such as Gouryella's Anahera. On the high frequencies, All Saints' vocals on Pure Shores came through William Orbit's dreamy soundscape with a decent level of clarity.

What comes in the package.

On the other hand, noise isolation was poor. This was tested on a bus and many environmental sounds like engine revs and bus chatter could be easily heard.

The Bluetooth range is about 10m. When I walked beyond this radius, I started to get the expected intermittent sound.

To charge the Sony, open the dust flap and plug the provided micro USB cable. You won't be able to use the headphones wirelessly during the charging.

A red LED indicates the headphones are charging.

For a 1 hour charge, Sony claims that they can be used for 8 hours. On a full charge of 4 hours, music playback time ranges from a very agreeable 28 hours (hi-res formats like aptX / LDAC) to 30 hours (low-res formats like SBC).

Overall
The MDR-1A Standard Headphones with Bluetooth is a good choice of an over-ear unit for indoor users. If you change tracks often, you may want to test if the touch sensor controls are to your liking. That said, do give these pair of Sony headphones a go if you are in search of comfort combined with a well balanced audio quality boasting a wide soundstage.

Audio Sources
Pure Shores - All Saints (ALAC) on Samsung Galaxy S4
Anahera - Ferry Corsten presents Gouryella (Spotify 320kbps MP3) on iPad Air

Credit to Sony, Waggener Edstrom Communications for a review unit.

Update (8 Aug 2015):
- Ear cushion pricing information

Where To Buy
If you like what you have read, do feel free to support me by buying either the Silver or Black Sony MDR-1ABT from Amazon via this affiliate link. Prices start from USD 310.

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