BuddyPhones+ review: The new Explore+, Play+, and Cosmos+ are kids headphones for all

Source: Chris Wedel/Android Central

The BuddyPhones+ lineup is bringing a fantastic and safe audio experience to kids with features for all ages.

This year we are expanding our lineup with the BuddyPhones+ models with three new choices — Explore+, Play+, and Cosmos+. In addition, we have optimized these headphones for different uses.

Still, we design all our headphones to give kids a safe listening experience. 

With more and more children spending time on computers for entertainment and education, these new headphones are here to help make those activities both fun and safe. So let's get into how well they accomplish those goals.

BuddyPhones+: What's good?

The Cosmos+ is the top-of-the-line option when it comes to the BuddyPhones+ offerings. These headphones will make any kid happy, featuring Active Noise Cancellation.

But this isn't to say that the Explore+ and Play+ aren't great options too. On the contrary, we designed these headphones thoughtfully to ensure that they offer best-in-class experiences for kids.

The BuddyPhones+ headphones support the World Health Organization's recommended 85dB of max volume. The Play+ and Cosmos+ offer a 75dB and 94dB option.

The lower decibel volume is excellent for very young children to further protect their hearing. At the same time, the higher 94dB max volume may be necessary for louder environments like moving cars or airplanes.

One of the features that have been included with the BuddyPhones+ headphones is microphones with video calls and online learning in mind. Since school isn't quite in session yet for my kids, they had a lot of fun chatting from different rooms in the house.

The Explore+ has a microphone built into the audio cable, like those usually found on corded earbuds. The Play+ and Cosmos+ offer microphones built into the headphones themselves, and the Cosmos+ also includes a beam mic to plug into the USB-C port for even better voice pickup.

My kids loved being able to mix and match the included stickers with the Explore+ and Play+ headphones. Each color comes with themed stickers to decorate the outside of the earcups, so your child can customize their new headphones.

The Cosmos+ doesn't come with stickers, and the outside of the earcups have "In Mold Design" to show off a really detailed and vibrant art. The "mad scientist," as my kids liked to call it on the side of Grey Matter Cosmos+ headphones, looks great.

The new Study Mode on the Play+ and Cosmos+ is activated with a simple slider switch. This mode is designed to isolate voices from other sounds passing through the audio that is being listened to.

The idea is to allow kids to focus on what is being said while watching lessons better. Again, since my kids haven't started classes yet, we tested it with some YouTube videos, and both my kids and I did notice a difference.

It is unclear how effective it would be in practice, but there was a noticeable difference in the vocals when Study Mode is enabled.

An extra feature that is only on the Cosmos+ is Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). This feature is usually found on the best noise-canceling headphones, not focused on kids.

When connected via Bluetooth, you can press a button on the left earcup to enable the feature, and while the earpads offer great passive noise cancellation — the ANC really takes blocking outside noises up a notch.

Read the full review at Android Central