It seems like it has been ages since SoundID initially announced the forthcoming SoundID 300, a stylish follow up to their initial offering, the SM 100.  At the time, I gave the the SM 100 high marks overat Gear Diary , and I was anxiously awaiting their sophomore effort.  Well, one month grew two, and just kept on going until it was well over a year later, and I began to wonder if the SoundID 300 would ever see the light of day.  Then, suddenly, it arrived.  But, SoundID had a special surprise in store for their loyal and patient customers.  Somewhere along the line, one had become two…SoundID had apparently given birth to twins: the SoundID 200 and SoundID 300, and I was lucky enough to land one of each, which SoundID sent for me to review and keep.  Keep reading as we will walk through both of the latest offerings from SoundID.

Let’s start by taking a quick look at the headsets themselves.  In terms of the design, the two are identical.  They follow the current trend of a long, elegant headsets.  What I really liked about the SoundID was the simple approach they took here.  They did not try to be pieces of art in your ear.  Instead, they took what I felt was a far more reasonable approach; they look nice while remaining unobtrusive.  I am not a fan of having a headset dangling from my ear, so I really appreciated the fact that this one did not draw any undue attention to itself.

You can tell the two headsets apart because the 300 is ebony black, like the keys on piano. 

The 200, on the other hand, features  a metallic blue, that shimmers in the right light.  Both are extremely attractive headsets, though I did prefer the look of the blue a little more than the sleek black 300’s.

On the back of the headset is the earbud, which can be swiveled 360 degrees.  This allows you to angle it to fit perfectly in either the left or right ear. 

The headsets come with a medium sized eartip attached, but if this does not work properly for you, there are two other sizes included in the box.  Also included is a final eartip with an over the ear loop, for those of you who prefer that style.

While we are on the subject of the earbud and tips, let’s talk about this for a minute.  It is really quite unique. The tip sits snugly in your ear.  Meanwhile, a loop dangling off the back slips into the folds of skin on your outer ear.  It sounds fluky, but it really works very well.  Once secured in your ear, I was pretty impressed by how well it stayed in place.  I wore this one while walking on busy streets, and going about my normal daily activities.  Not once did I feel like the headset was slipping, or in danger of falling out of my ear.  This is a significant improvement, even over the previous implementation of this technology in the SoundID SM100. 

If you prefer, you can even order custom eartips, for the absolutely perfect fit.  That seemed a bit much to me…but for some, this could be just the solution.  Of course, you will need to supply the ear molds, and pay an extra $65 (not including the cost of the molds).

Also on the back of the headset is the micro USB connector, which you can use to charge the battery.  I was pleased to see that SoundID used a universal connection here. 

I was also pleased to find that although the charging cable is designed to plug into the USB port on your computer, there was also an AC adaptor included.  Too often, the AC adaptor gets lost in order to reduce costs.  Then again, I would also have been happy to find a car adaptor as well.  Since I primarily use my headset in the car, it would be nice to be able to plug it in while driving.

The controls on this headset are pretty minimalist, which suited me just fine.  Typically, when I am trying to control a headset, it is sitting in my ear, where I cannot really see it.  So, if I am going to be able to control it by touch, the controls need to be easy to find, and simple to use.

The SoundID headsets feature two buttons.  On the back is the power button, which is also used to answer and hang-up phone calls, among other things.  The bottom features a slightly smaller button, which controls the volume.  The problem I have with volume controls on many headsets is that there are two buttons (volume up and down).  I have the worst time telling them apart on many headsets, resulting in spiking the volume through my head…or just reducing it to an inaudible whisper (not always a bad thing).  With the SoundID, there is only one button, which cycles through four sound settings.  This is great…unless the volume is too high.  In which case you will need to raise it before you can cycle back to the lower volume range.  Despite this slight anomaly, I really found the controls to be exactly what I needed:  simple to find and simple to use.

That brings us to the good stuff.  Namely, how does this thing sound.  Now, like most headsets these days, SoundID throws a couple of big words with capital letters and trademarks on the end.  In this case, you will find: NoiseNavigation and PersonalSound.  So, let’s take a look at these two features.

NoiseNavigation is what SoundID uses to make sure you can both hear and be heard.  It incorporates dual microphones, in order to filter out unwanted noise, and ensure that every word can be heard.  How well did this work?  My wife is the world’s biggest critic of Bluetooth headsets.  So, I typically test them by calling her and quizzing her on the sound quality.  This is the only time I have ever called her from a headset and had her say she could not even tell I was using one.  That is a pretty impressive endorsement for me. 

PersonalSound is another interesting feature.  It allows you to further customize your listening preferences by selecting from one three preset listening modes.   While I thought this feature was pretty cool, I also found it hard to control, often ending up on the wrong setting.  Note also that this is the primary difference between the SoundID 200 and the SoundID 300.  PersonalSound is only available on the 300.

Both headsets also feature automatic volume control, which worked great.  Unlike many headsets, the SoundID headsets do not just passively filter noise around you, they actively engage your environment, adjusting the settings based upon the environmental noise around you. 

Like I said, this is a lot of capital letters, trademarks, and fancy names.  What it amounts to is simply fantastic sound quality on both ends of the headset.  As I mentioned, I have been waiting over a year for the follow up effort from SoundID.  I was impressed by their original SoundID SM100, but watched them sit seemingly idle as many of the biggest names in Bluetooth headsets drove right on by.  I became even more concerned when nothing happened for so long after their initial announcement.  But I have to say, the wait was well worth it.  And it has me wondering even more than ever, what will SoundID do to follow up this effort.  Hopefully, we will not have to wait another year or more to find out.

The SoundID 200 is available from SoundID and various other retailers for $99.99.  The SoundID 300 is an AT&T exclusive, available only from AT&T or SoundID for $119.99.

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