Over the past two weeks, Marley Champion 2 earbuds have accompanied me through my daily routines. I’ve used them exercising in my apartment’s gym, strolling on my night walks, and enjoying some down time in busy cafes. I found them adaptable to each of these scenarios, all the while providing great sound quality. Continue reading for my full review of Marley Champion 2’s fit, functions, and sound quality!
The Marley Champion 2 earbuds come in a compact, rectangular box that slides open. Inside the box, the earbuds themselves are tucked away in a charging case, which comes wrapped in tissue paper with the Marley logo. In the bottom half is a box that lifts and opens out, revealing the accessories: a charging cable, ear gels, and comfort/sport wings. Most earphones’ set up is self-explanatory nowadays, but I figured I would point out how you need to lift the inside packaging to find the manual and warranty—I almost missed it!
The earbuds themselves come already charged in a beautifully designed case. To activate Bluetooth pairing, I had to first remove the earbuds from the case and take off the yellow paper film attached to the bottom of each earbud. Then, I put them back in the charging case for a bit. After some time, the three lights at the front of the case started flashing. Leaving the case open, I then found “Champion 2” on my phone’s Bluetooth functions, and the pairing was completed! It did take me some trial and error to figure out how to pair them, but after the initial pairing, I had no issues with the Bluetooth connection—they would automatically and quickly pair with my phone for each use.
The design of the charging case and the earphones themselves are not only gorgeous, but they also nicely carry out the Marley brand’s attention to sustainability. The sustainably crafted case is black with a centre that has a pop of bamboo and the Marley logo, giving it a sleek but relaxed feeling. The same touch of bamboo and the Marley logo is on the top of each earphone, streamlining the relaxed design across the case and the earphones themselves. The inside of the case is also black, but you can see some wavy metallic stripes. From the pops of bamboo to the wavy stripes, I love the subtle, but eye-catching design of these earphones!
Coming with a pair of ear gels already attached acting as cushion, the earphones slide nicely into my ears. I found that they had an airy feel, providing a comfortable fit. Unlike other earphones that plugged tightly into my ears, almost like they are plastered in, the tips of the Marley Champion 2 stick cozily inside, but the rest of the earbuds hung lightly around my ears. This provides a spacious feeling. I wasn’t used to having this feeling when wearing earbuds. And to be honest, I was skeptical at how well they would stay put, but my skepticism was in vain. They held in place during my workout—more on that below.
Function wise, Marley Champion 2 is simple and easy to navigate. To pause or play, click on the centre of either earbud. To play the next track, do a double click on the centre of the right earbud. Want to return to a previous track? Double click the centre of the left earbud. I would note that these functions aren’t sensors—you actually have to push into the centre. When I click on the earphones to activate these functions, I could hear tiny “clicks” in my ear. You also have to pause between each function. For example, if you want to return to the track before the previous one, you can’t click four times in a row—you’ll have to click twice to return to the previous track, then twice again for the track before that one. Note that there are no volume controls on these earbuds, so you’ll have to use your phone to adjust volume. Overall, I found these functions worked quite well—they were easy to get used to!
I tested these earphones at the gym while running on the treadmill and doing some weightlifting. They managed to stay put even during my runs on an inclined treadmill. As I mentioned, their airy fit made me skeptical of how well they’d stay put, but once I started working out, all my concerns disappeared! I didn’t feel the need to readjust them or check in on how secured they were. Because of the simplicity of design, the track switching functions were also easy to use during my time at the gym. I had to reach for my phone to adjust volume though, but that didn’t really bother me because I tend to have my phone with me all the time. On another note, these earphones are marketed as water and sweat-resistant with IPX5. After my testing of them at the gym, I can attest that the sweat didn’t affect the fit nor the sound quality.
If you’ve read my previous blog posts, you’d know that I’m a big fan of long walks, particularly night ones. I found the Marley Champion 2 earphones to be a great walking companion because of its comfortable wear, water-resistant design, and airy feel. When walking near a busy road, I can hear faint sounds of traffic with both earphones in. For safety reasons, I appreciate how some sound from the outside world filters in. While sitting at a busy café, I can also hear faint chatter from the people around me. It doesn’t bother me because I do like to always remain aware of my surroundings, but it’s worthwhile noting that these earphones do not cancel out all outside noise.
I live in Vancouver, and absolutely adore all the rain we get. I found Marley Champion 2 well prepared to handle this type of rainy weather. On one of my walks, it started to rain. I had these earphones on underneath my jacket’s hood, and they fared pretty well. The sound quality was not affected by light water splashes. I also wore these headphones for long periods of time (think beyond two hours), and they were comfortable throughout!
When I first started using Marley Champion 2 earphones, I found their sound quality refreshing. These headphones give a balanced sound between the vocals and instruments, creating an upbeat feeling to the music. I then discovered that with the House of Marley app, I could customize these headphones’ EQ.
The app comes with five preset EQs: signature, booster, treble, acoustic, and customEQ. The signature gives your usual balanced sound. The booster has a heavier bass. I didn’t notice much of a difference between the treble and the signature, to be honest. The acoustic and customEQ sounded like they had more depth. You can play around with the bass, mid, and treble of each preset to customize your music. I like using the acoustic preset for pop songs for a more immersive listening experience. I also enjoyed adjusting the bass preset for the beat-heavy music I listen to at the gym.
I really enjoyed playing around with these earphones. And the word “play” there is intentional. These earphones, particularly with the customizable app functions, are just so fun! I was also quite impressed by their battery life. The packaging says they have up to 35 hours of playtime with the case. I used these earphones for a couple of hours over several days, and they still had battery left! I can see myself reaching for them while going on a run, or just lounging around at home.
If you want to further explore Marley Champion 2 earbuds, check them out at Best Buy!