House of Marley Redemption ANC 2

The House of Marley Redemption ANC 2, the successor to the manufacturer’s in-ear headphones made from sustainable materials (to the review) have been waiting in the wings after almost two years. We took a closer look at what the new edition has to offer. One thing was certain: the mix of materials, Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) and the charging box remain, but something essential has been left out. Read on to find out more.

Package and materials

In addition to the two House of Marley Redemption ANC 2 earbuds, six ear moulds in different sizes are included so you can find the best fit. A transport/charging case including a USB charging cable is also included. A quick start guide provides information on charging, pairing and the in-ears functions. On top of that, there is a House of Marley sticker if you become a fan of the manufacturer after using these in-ears. The Redemption ANC 2 are headphones made from a sustainable mix of materials. Besides bamboo, these include a special natural wood fibre composite and recycled plastic. All of this looks stylish, high-quality and at the same time, durable. The updated model now offers protection against low-pressure streams of water (IPX5) instead of only against splashing water (IPX4), as with the previous model.

Construction and technology of the Redemption ANC 2

Let’s compare the technology of this model with that of its predecessor. The audio frequency range of these dynamic closed in-ears with 10mm diaphragms still starts at 20Hz and extends up to 20kHz, so that the typical human hearing range is completely covered. The impedance is now 32 instead of 16 ohms. This is a sign of a slightly finer signal resolution. Despite the higher impedance, the new version of these earphones is just as loud as their predecessor at 96dBSPL. Six microphones are integrated into the in-ears, and these not only provide active noise cancellation (ANC), they are also responsible for picking up speech signals during phone calls and contribute to the Echo Noise Cancellation feature, which ensures clear, undistorted speech sound during phone calls. As with the previous model, the Redemption ANC 2 work wirelessly with Bluetooth 5.0 devices. Unfortunately, the lack of higher-quality Bluetooth codecs such as AAC, aptX or aptX LL is a pain. These three were implemented in the previous model. When asked, the manufacturer confirmed that the Redemption ANC 2 only support SBC.

Battery and performance

Five info LEDs on the charging case provide a good overview of charging progress. With ANC mode activated, the headphones are ready for charging after six hours of operation. The lithium-ion battery of the charging case can be charged via wireless Qi pad. With three subsequent charges via the charging case, the Redemption ANC 2 then have an operating time of 24 hours. The USB-C fast-charging function provides a runtime of two hours for version 2 after 15 minutes of charging. A full charge should be completed after only two to three hours. Surprisingly, charging takes longer than before, and the total possible operating time has actually decreased slightly compared to the previous model. However, one less charging process is now required in the charging case.

Handling

The House of Marley Redemption ANC 2’s fit is top-notch, thanks to their ergonomics. The button headphones slide well into the ear canals, sit there securely and shield your hearing well from outside noise. Earpieces in three sizes ensure a personalised fit. Bluetooth pairing is conveniently accompanied by audio feedback. As with their predecessor, this version of the in-ears are controlled by touch control. I have to admit that so far, I am not a fan of touch controls on in-ears. In my experience, the reliability of command recognition is not very good on many models, making them awkward to use. The assignment of commands is well implemented here, so the learning curve for operating the headphones is not particularly steep. Play/Pause and track skip can be addressed by touch. And unlike with the previous model, volume control is now possible. However, implementing larger volume increases requires numerous individual taps on the earphones, an operation which takes time and patience.

Sensors in the button headphones ensure that playback is automatically interrupted as soon as one of the in-ears is removed from the ear. When it is put back in, playback resumes. This is super practical for everyday use. However, you have to be careful how you put the removed button headphone down to make sure that playback is actually interrupted. The sound of the headphones can be customised via the Android and iOS apps. There, you can permanently assign one of eight equaliser pre-sets or adjust the sound yourself using the 10-band EQ.

The sound of the Redemption ANC 2

From the first notes, the Redemption ANC 2 it is immediately obvious that we are dealing with button headphones that deliver a rich sound. With this model, the bass is punchy and full, perhaps even a little excessive for my taste, when the sound profile is unaltered. However, you can really hear how powerful the reproduction of the Redemption ANC 2 is, right down to the deepest sub-basses. In the mid frequencies, speech and vocals are reproduced with good clarity and detail. Because the entire sound is balanced, guitar music never seems annoying. In the treble and super-high frequencies, the sound literally “breathes”. This is something that in-ear fans are otherwise only used to from headphones, whose frequency range in the upper ranges exceeds the human hearing range. The stereo impression is top-notch, but the depth gradation lags behind a little due to the very full basses. But readjusting them via the app equaliser works wonders.

Noise cancelling and transparency mode

Switching between ANC and Ambient mode is supposed to happen at the tap of a finger and sound smooth with the Redemption ANC 2. However, I only succeed in switching modes via the app. Also, an audio signal was heard when switching, so the transition was not really seamless. However, the ANC mode does its job perfectly and reduces ambient noise significantly. Unlike with many other headphones, the sound profile remained consistent. The same goes for the ambient mode, which delivered speech from the environment clearly and understandably.