This is a review of Puro Sound Labs BT2200 Kids wireless headphones. Available on
http://www.amazon.com/Puro-Sound-Lab...dp/B00OM3NV3E/ with manufacturer link at
http://www.purosound.com/bt2200/As a father of two pre-teens, my kid’s hearing health and safety is very important to me. Also, my involvement in testing and reviewing of a lot of different headphones spoils them with an easy access to a number of products after reviews are done. Beside the point they both prefer full size over-ear which can never fit them right, I’m also not happy when I walk by with them blasting the music at high volume. When my kids were little, we used to get them cheap walkman-style headphones with built-in volume limiter, but no way would they wear it now because it doesn’t look “cool”. When I came across Puro Sound Labs new set of wireless/wired BT2200 headphones, I knew right away these are going to be a hit in my household, and I was right! Here is what I found.
My review unit of BT2200 arrived in a compact plastic box packed inside of another packaging box with a magnetic flap. I’m not sure if the final product packaging will have that external box since its overkill with the only purpose for PR media distribution, but I decided to include it in my unboxing pictures anyway. The actual compact plastic packaging has a nice presentation of the product and plenty of room for all the accessories. It has a bold display look to catch your attention, and I can easily see it being featured on the shelves of Best Buy or Staples!
Unboxing and some feature highlight pictures.
Out of the box you’ll find a decent set of accessories bundled with BT2200 headphones. First of all you get a set of high quality usb to micro-usb cable AND a wall charger. I already forgot the last time I have seen anybody offering a wall charger in addition to a charging usb cable. I also think it's a great idea to give this compact wall charger to your older kids to teach them responsibility of keeping your headphones charged. Just keep in mind, a fully charged BT2200 will last about 18 hours, and when power off in standby – we are talking about 200 hours! But if they run out of battery and have no patience to wait for a charging, Puro Kids can also work as wired headphones with a removable cable attached to the left earcup. The included removable cable is not just a regular 3.5mm to 3.5mm wire, but has a built in volume limiter to cap the sound output at max 85dB which is considered to be a safety level for kids. The cable is flat and easy to manage for storage. I would actually suggest Puro Sound Labs to offer this cable as a separate accessory so parents can buy it for their kids to use with Beats and other headphones.
Another included accessory was a headphone storage bag - a draw string pouch. It will be useful for protecting headphones from scratches and also to store a cable inside, but might not be enough for safety storage in comparison to a hard shell case. It’s just something to think about in a future or to offer as an add-on accessory since these headphones fold flat for convenient storage. Also included with a package was a detailed Quick Start Guide.
Accessory pictures.
When it comes to the actual design, BT2200 strikes a perfect balance between the comfort (with a room to grow through height adjustment) and stylish looks so your kids will not complain about “wearing baby headphones”. I found the build quality and the materials to be very impressive. These headphones use a durable lightweight aluminum for headband and earcups housing, and a soft pleather material wrapped around headband foam filling. Headband height adjustment was actually able to accommodate even my head, though it felt a bit tight. A combination of aluminum and other light materials made these headphones very lightweight and comfortable to wear for extended period (clamping force doesn’t count in my case since these are intended for kids). Earpads are also marshmallow soft and contribute to great noise isolation, something you will have to keep in mind to make sure your kids are not wearing these headphones when riding a bike. Also, don’t be surprised if they use it as an excuse about not hearing you when you asked them to clean up their room lol!!! One interesting detail, in addition to subtle labeling of L/R inside of headband, you can also see a large L/R letters inside of the earcup so there is no confusion about the sides.
With BT controls, everything is located in Left earcup. You have micro-usb port for charging of internal battery. You also have 3.5mm port to connect audio cable for wired operation. For wireless controls you have volume up/down buttons, Bluetooth/playback button (for a pair up and a single click to Play/Pause, and double click to skip next), and a physical on/off slider. The aluminum silver material used for the cup and the buttons did resemble a lot iPhone design. In addition to silver/white model, the one I received for review, Puro Sound Labs also offer gold/brown model with gold-champagne finish of aluminum and brown pleather earpads and headband cushion. Also, I was very pleased with a dedicated on/off slider switch because I’m not fond of multi-function buttons that you have to press and hold to turn power on/off. Plus, you have a small LED to indicate either charging or operation function.
Wireless pair up was very simple by holding Bluetooth button to put headphones in pair-up mode (everything is described in details in manual). Once paired up, it was connected to a phone and media audio. Obviously, my kids are too young for a phone, but using a tablet or other audio/video devices supporting Bluetooth will be very convenient with a wireless connection. I think majority of kids will end up using these headphones with tablets for wireless listening to music or when playing games. Plus, it’s very convenient during a long ride in the car where some prefer to attach a tablet to the back of the seat and let your kids watch/listen without worrying about tangled cables. And in a worst case if battery runs out of juice, you always have a convenience of wired connection.
Design pictures.
Now, let’s talk about the audio performance. Puro Sound Labs refer to BT2200 as “studio grade” headphones. From my personal experience, my kids are not too picky about the sound quality, at least not yet though my daughter already starting to complain about some headphones lacking bass. Maybe they don’t care as much about it yet, but I do and was happy to be able to fit these on my head for testing.
I did put them through 30 hours of free air burn in since these are dynamic drivers after all. One surprising thing I found was a better sound quality of wireless connection over wired. The sound difference wasn’t too drastic, but definitely noticeable with wireless connection having a more articulate and less muddy bass, a clear and more detailed mids, and more sparkle in treble. Surprisingly, the Bluetooth connection of BT2200 doesn’t support aptX which usually enhances the sound. Also, keep in mind, Bluetooth wireless connection of BT2200 also offers internal volume limiter not to exceed 85dB threshold. I guess combination of the cable with a built in limiter and higher impedance played some role in making sound a bit dull when connected wired, but this is only from my “audiophile” perspective which is probably not fair since we are talking about wireless headphones for kids. Another interesting observation I noticed was related to the Puro Balanced Response implemented with these headphones to equally balance the bass, the mids/vocals, and the highs without any excessive volume peaks. To my ears it sounded like a dynamic multi-band compressor with sound being adjusted in real time of playback. I know I'm nitpicking here and for kids as well as majority of adults this is a hardly noticeable effect, but I still wanted to bring it up to everyone’s attention. I’m not sure if Puro Balanced Response refers to FR tuning or some active control, but it does works keeping the sound on the same level.
Overall, I think these are great headphones for young ones, pre-teens, and teens. Considering how many of us spoil our kids with Beats or Skullcandy or other expensive headphones, something like Puro BT2200 for Kids represent a great value with top quality build and material selection, very appealing design, convenience of wireless or wired connection, great battery life, and being able to expand (in headband adjustment) as your kids grow. But the most important benefit of these headphones is to be able to protect hearing of your kids starting from an early age and to be able to provide “parental control” of 85dB sound level limiting without your kids even knowing about it ;) As a matter of fact, Puro Sound Labs is making a commitment to donate portion of every BT2200 sale through 2015 to the Hearing Health Foundation – a very noble cause!
