REVIEWS-good headphones cost a pretty penny, and you will have no problem finding many who do. The addition of active noise cancelling (ANC) further increases this price. It’s not the cover anymore. There are many good headphones, with and without ANC and at any price. The new challenge is to figure out what works for you, since it’s almost impossible to try them out without buying them first. I hope the gadgeteer can help here. Let’s take a look at the SoundSurge 85 ANC headphones from TaoTronics.

What’s this?

The SoundSurge 85s is an active over-ear headphone with noise cancellation from TaoTronics.

What’s in the box?

• USB-C cable
• 3.5mm aux cable
• Travel bag
• Manual
• Thank You Card

Design and characteristics

TaoTronics has made the SoundSurge 85s as comfortable and light as possible.

They have carefully designed the curve of the headband and the hanger to apply the right pressure without being much wider than the wearer’s head.

Each side of the headband is adjustable with 10 notches that hold their position well.

The auricles rotate so that the pillows are directed to your shoulders when worn around the neck, leaving room for your chin.

The ear cushions and the headband cushion are made of buttery-soft artificial leather with soft memory foam that adapts gently.

Inside the earcups there is a soft, transparent synthetic foam that allows the sound to pass through and at the same time cushions your ears.

The controls and connectors are arranged so that the power, volume + / – and power connectors are located on the right earbud, while there is a slide switch and an aux input on the left earbud.

Configuration

The SoundSurge 85 should already come with a good last one, but as with any battery-powered electronics, it’s best to fully charge it before the first use. It’s as simple as connecting the included USB-C cable to the headset and a wall adapter or a compatible port on your computer.

Find the power button on the right auricle and put the headset on. Press and hold the power button until you hear “Power on”. Wait about 10 seconds and you will hear “Pairing” (the power indicator also changes between blue and red). You can now find the headphones on your phone or any other device marked as “TaoTronics TT-BH085″, ” select them and pairing is complete, unless your device requires additional steps.

To turn off the headset, press and hold the power button until you hear “Turn off”. If you prefer to turn on and off while looking at them, you will see a blue LED directly to the right of the power button when turned on, and the same LED will turn red when turned off.

The next time you turn on the headphones, they will automatically pair with your device. If you want to pair them with an additional device, start with the headset turned off and hold down the power button via “Power on” until you hear “Pairing”.

The SoundSurge 85s always connects to the last device you were actively paired with. You can also maintain two simultaneous connections. This is ideal for scenarios where you might want to be connected to your laptop and phone. To change one to the other, you must first disconnect one.

TaoTronics has made the use of the ANC very easy by attaching a slide switch to the left auricle. In the on position, you will see a blue LED next to the switch and hear the change in an audio profile.

The on / off button also serves as a play / pause button, as well as an answer / rejection of a phone call. The volume buttons work as expected, but with a delay of about one second to change the volume. Long press the volume down to the next track, while the volume down returns to the beginning of a track or the previous one, depending on where you are in a song.

To use the headphone with the aux cable, connect the cable to your headphone on the left ear cup and to your audio source. It works without turning on the headset, and you can decide whether to use the ANC or not.

Home

A good headset has different requirements for each user. Comfort is an important factor for me, as I tend to wear them longer. It can be to concentrate on work, get lost in music or movies, or muffle the noise of airplanes.

The Taotronics took it out of the park for me. They are super light and give your backpack a minimal weight. On the upside, they are barely there, and yet the operating voltage is perfect; just the right balance of clamping force to stay in place without feeling loose. The room was very clean and comfortable.

They handle phone calls pretty well. Just press the power button to answer the phone or hold it down to reject and send to voicemail. With in-ear headphones, it can be difficult to hear your own voice, so I partially remove one ear at the end so that I don’t scream.

The staff was very friendly and helpful. When your headphones are turned on, the connection will turn them off. This makes sense, since they do not need to be supplied with electricity, and the ANC has its own electrical circuit.

Final thoughts

It’s hard to argue with on-ear headphones that sound good and are suitable for louder environments. You may not have a Beats or Bose logo on the boxes, but I bet you can think of a number of things you could bet the difference in US dollars on if they meet your audio needs. I think it could be good.