Bose SoundLink Around-Ear Wireless Headphones II Make Beats Studio Wireless Irrelevant

Bose just released their latest wireless headphones, the SoundLink Around-Ear Wireless Headphones II. They have received some good reviews. PC Magazine was one of the first sources to review the latest Bose headphones and gave them four stars.

“The Bose SoundLink Around-Ear II is a lightweight, exceptionally comfortable pair of Bluetooth headphones with high-quality sound and a high price.”

Three days of use with the Bose SoundLink Around-Ear II headphones prove that Bose is still at the top of their game when it comes to wireless headphones. For $279, they are certainly a better buy than the Beats Studio Wireless ($329 – $400) or even the Bowers & Wilkins P5 Wireless at $399. They don’t offer over-exaggerated bass like both of these headphones and don’t have active noise cancellation like the ones from Beats, which doesn’t work well in the first place.

What the SoundLink Around-Ear II headphones have are a wide sound range: somewhat powerful lows, great middle ranges of sound, and great upper ranges as well. They sound very natural. Even though the Bose SoundLink Around-Ear headphones don’t have aptX technology (which you can only use with a phone that has aptX — sorry, iPhone), the headphones make up for it using what Bose calls their TriPort technology, which may just be some fancy wording.

What matters is that Bose’s new Bluetooth headphones sound excellent for wireless and can compare to some wired brands. You don’t get that tinny echo effect you do when using other wireless headphones. And Bose realizes that you are going to use your wireless headphones to make phone calls as well, as they sound excellent and block out wind and other unnecessary noises.

There are some minor disadvantages. Although the Bose Around-Ear II offer the best sound, they don’t offer the best build as they feel somewhat cheap and plastic-like when compared to recent wireless headphones by Sennheiser or Bowers & Wilkins. They also aren’t nearly as stylish as the Beats Studio Wireless headphones. One even bigger issue is that the volume may be slightly too low for those who like to listen to music that literally pops out their eardrums. However, the new Bose SoundLink headphones do provide adequate volume that will be satisfactory for 90 percent of audio users.

Those who wanted active noise cancellation may be disappointed as well with Bose’s latest wireless headphones. However, the passive noise cancellation with the cups covering your ears is more than adequate. Even without active noise cancellation, Bose has offered the best Bluetooth listening experience possible in a relatively small set of over-ear headphones.

[Photo Credit: Daryl Deino]