B&O’s Form 2i Headphones: A Salute To The Original Headset Disruptor & Design Icon of the 80’s

Whether it’s shaping our cultural landscape at large or defining the most intimate moments of our personal lives, music holds a dear place in our hearts. It’s no wonder that we pay tribute to music’s historical and emotional sway by continually refining the technology by which we stream, share and enjoy it. Sophisticated turntables, speaker systems and genius playlists are nothing short of essential to the twenty first century music enthusiast.

But system performance is merely a piece of the pie. Music is an expression of personal aesthetic. It’s a look, feel, and attitude. And that’s why Bang & Olufsen’s Form 2i headphones outfit the listener with quality sound and head turning style.

Originally designed over thirty years ago by the then twenty-three year old Steve McGugan, B&O’s Form 2 headphones shook up the music scene in 1985, offering a fashionable alternative to the bulky Walkman headsets that dominated the era. Form 2’s venerated impact on both product design and music consumption was recognized in 1991, when it was formally inducted to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York (quite the honor for a pair of headphones!).

B&O’s Form 2 headphones hail today as the longest living headphones in the world, and, having recently resurfaced as Form 2i, an updated, more technically relevant listening device, their tradition lives on.

Equipped with adjustable earcups and weighing a mere 90 grams, B&O Form 2i headphones are praised for their ultra light portability and customizable comfort. Featured on the headphone’s cord, just below the listener’s cheek, is a microphone and remote, making smartphone chats and music streaming convenient when out and about. Perhaps most excitable about the new Form 2i headphones is their retro, trés chic appearance and cheerful selection of six vibrantly bold colors, flattering the trendiest of music geeks.

Surprisingly, Bang & Olufsen intentionally refrained from tweaking the treble or over-emphasizing the base of Form 2i, preserving the same crisp and balanced sound profile as was delivered back in the 1980’s. This means that the music heard through the earcups will sound as it was originally recorded, mixed and intended by the artist. Pure music appreciation doesn’t get more authentic than that. However, to ensure the best possible sound experience with these headphones, it is recommended that you obtain your music from a high quality source.

At this juncture, it’s worth noting that B&O’s Form 2i headphones are (sadly) not noise cancelling, and their open design may be prone to some sound leakage. Still, they certainly stand as a gorgeous homage to the original Form 2 headphones, a true design icon and vessel by which long time music junkies jammed to the groundbreaking vocals of Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, Wham!, and Bryan Adams.