Phaz’s P2 headphones have a simple yet effective hook – when you’re listening to your music, they’ll charge your device for you. This means that if you’re stuck on an elongated journey on public transport with low battery, but find the notion of being trapped in such close confines with other humans without using a painfully dull Spotify acoustic playlist to numb your senses, then the P2 will allow you to get your iPhone functioning again in order for you to do so.
Though Phaz are small names in the headphone business right now, the P2 has plenty going for it to indicate a successful future in a pretty cramped market. The built-in 1,200mAh lithium polymer battery is certainly a good start, taking 2 hours to fully charge before offering 10 hours of playback, and it is certainly the P2’s biggest selling point. But that’s not all it’s got up its sleeve.
Though I’d personally deem the over-ear cups a little too bulky for my tastes, they fit comfortably around the ear and do a great job of blocking out any external sound. While the audio quality is not the best in class, I was pleasantly surprised by the extra power afforded to it by the 15db bass booster button that sits beneath the left cup, with the volume level practically decapitating me when I pressed it. For those who appreciate their music to have a more vigorous kick to it, this button will become your best friend – though it only works when listening to high-def audio is activated.
Another surprising quality boasted by the P2 is just how light they are. With their carbon-fiber frame, the headphones are exceptionally portable – they come with a stylish carry case, too – and fold up easily for those who don’t want to wear them around their neck all day. They’re also very durable, according to Phaz, though I opted to not throw my pair out of my office window in order to test out this claim.
The headphones also feature an integrated HD amp, enabling them to deliver consistent HD sound regardless of the source. Despite this, the audio quality isn’t what I would consider high-end, with there being discrepancies in the mid-range that lead to a lack of clarity on particularly energetic tracks. This issue is exacerbated when coupled with the bass booster, leading to audio that sounds too cluttered.
But these are issues I was able to overlook, even if it means that the Phaz P2 won’t greatly impress audiophiles. Instead, it’s aimed towards people such as myself who are enamored with gadgets, its built-in battery pack proving to be incredibly useful while it even manages to fit in a social aspect, its ‘Share’ button allowing another person to listen to your music by plugging their headphones into the P2’s audio jack. It’s a neat touch in a pair of headphones that are full of them, offering a well-rounded experience that’s emblematic of exciting things to come from this company.
