Headphones

[Chaps]

Any recommendations on noise cancelling headphones?

 

 Budget around £300

[Tazio]

All the experts point you to Sony XM4 or XM5 as the best across all the metrics. A lot of people use Bose and I have their earbuds and they're very good. I have a set of Shure Aonic 40 headphones which I rate but they are more of a natural reproduction of the studio sound while Bose and Sony tend to use clever software to make it sound more like people want to hear. I've never hear a sound professional be enthusiastic about Beats headphone. 

[Chaps]

1 minute ago, Tazio said:

All the experts point you to Sony XM4 or XM5 as the best across all the metrics. A lot of people use Bose and I have their earbuds and they're very good. I have a set of Shure Aonic 40 headphones which I rate but they are more of a natural reproduction of the studio sound while Bose and Sony tend to use clever software to make it sound more like people want to hear. I've never hear a sound professional be enthusiastic about Beats headphone. 

👍

 

I had a pair of beats about 10 year ago and they were pish. Paying for the brand rather than the quality.

[Tazio]

7 minutes ago, Chaps said:

👍

 

I had a pair of beats about 10 year ago and they were pish. Paying for the brand rather than the quality.

Totally forgot Sennheiser as well, very good headphones. Similarly to the Shure they have a neutral sound that lets you hear what the producer intended. 

[Taffin]

+1 for Sony XM range. I've had XM3s for a few years. They're brilliant.

[Tazio]

Also depends on the music you listen to as well. I listen to all sorts so something like Beats wouldn’t work for me anyway. 

[Victorian]

Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 over-ears.  Best phones I've bought.

[Unknown user]

17 minutes ago, Tazio said:

Totally forgot Sennheiser as well, very good headphones. Similarly to the Shure they have a neutral sound that lets you hear what the producer intended. 

 

2 minutes ago, Victorian said:

Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 over-ears.  Best phones I've bought.

 

I've always like sennheisers

[been here before]

I recently got myself a pair of Marshall Major IV. On ear and not noise cancelling so not what you're looking for but not bad at all.

[Craig_]

29 minutes ago, Victorian said:

Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 over-ears.  Best phones I've bought.

 

Likewise. Love them!

[mrmarkus1981_1]

I've had these for a year or two, tremendous. There is a newer version now

 

https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/sony-wh-1000xm4

 

[Dean Winchester]

Love my Bose QC45's

[tian447]

I've got a set of Sony XM4s and I cannot believe how good they are.  The noise cancelling is unreal, and the battery life is top notch.  I hardly ever charge them, and you can just press the power button once when they're on and it'll read out how much life is left. The carry case included is tough and rigid, without being massive. 

 

You can sit right next to someone and not hear a thing they are saying. Flights are a breeze with them as well, just sit in your own world. 

 

Argos and Curry's have got the WH 1000XM4's for £199 at the minute, which is unreal value for money. 

 

I have heard the XM5s aren't as good as they've made them a bit thinner around where they connect to the earcups which is more prone to breaking. No idea if it's true or not, but I've seen no reason to upgrade because the 4s are so good 👍

[Jim_Duncan]

Borrowed a pair of Bose QCs for a couple of long haul flights. Recommended. 
 

While we’re on the topic, can anyone recommend something similar to the old Apple AirPods that don’t come in over £100? I don’t like the rubber tips on the new ones, and lost my old ones celebrating our goal in Florence. I don’t use them often enough to justify a new Apple pair but do miss them on the odd domestic flight or train to London. 

[Ribble]

take a trip into richer sounds and speak to the guys there, bought my favourite ever headphones off them, pair of Technics Dj Headphones, heard parts of songs I didn't know existed

[OBE]

Another  Sony WH 1000XM4's...

Edited November 28, 2023 by OBE

[luckyBatistuta]

First off, wouldn’t have Beats, even if they had 50% off in a Black Friday deal. Overrated and overpriced. All the tests I normally do on headphones, they performed very poorly.
 

I was buying headphones for my wife’s birthday. My boys both have Bose headphones, but after reading up a bit about them, I started swaying towards the XM4/XM5. Went up to John Lewis and had a feel and listen to them. For me it was an easy decision…the XM4. They were in my opinion, just as good sound quality as the XM5, but more stylish. I really didn’t like the build of the XM5. If I remember correctly, the difference in them is minimal and really not worth the extra cost. My wife loves them, uses them all the time, says they’re the best headphones she’s ever had.

 

 

[Byyy The Light]

49 minutes ago, luckyBatistuta said:

First off, wouldn’t have Beats, even if they had 50% off in a Black Friday deal. Overrated and overpriced. All the tests I normally do on headphones, they performed very poorly.
 

I was buying headphones for my wife’s birthday. My boys both have Bose headphones, but after reading up a bit about them, I started swaying towards the XM4/XM5. Went up to John Lewis and had a feel and listen to them. For me it was an easy decision…the XM4. They were in my opinion, just as good sound quality as the XM5, but more stylish. I really didn’t like the build of the XM5. If I remember correctly, the difference in them is minimal and really not worth the extra cost. My wife loves them, uses them all the time, says they’re the best headphones she’s ever had.

 

 

When I had Sony headphones previously I had loads of issues with connectivity to iPhone and laptop.

 

Any issues with these?

[Tazio]

40 minutes ago, Byyy The Light said:

When I had Sony headphones previously I had loads of issues with connectivity to iPhone and laptop.

 

Any issues with these?

Not that I’ve heard of. More and more with the top end headphones the app to control more advanced functions is important. The Shure ones I’ve got have an excellent app with a good programmable EQ integrated. 

[luckyBatistuta]

1 hour ago, Byyy The Light said:

When I had Sony headphones previously I had loads of issues with connectivity to iPhone and laptop.

 

Any issues with these?

My wife has an iPhone and not had any to date. 

[Byyy The Light]

47 minutes ago, Tazio said:

Not that I’ve heard of. More and more with the top end headphones the app to control more advanced functions is important. The Shure ones I’ve got have an excellent app with a good programmable EQ integrated. 

 

7 minutes ago, luckyBatistuta said:

My wife has an iPhone and not had any to date. 

Thanks guys. Was maybe just unlucky but they played havoc with Bluetooth drivers on my Surface laptop. Every so often the drivers would just disappear and I had to go and download them and reinstall. Got so annoying I just stopped using them.

 

Also kept dropping from my iPhone, ended up going back to my old AirPods that I kept for running. 

[Fultons Right Leg]

XM4s all the way. 

[il Duce McTarkin]

I've had a set of QC 35s for years and can't fault them.

[Gizmo]

7 hours ago, Tazio said:

All the experts point you to Sony XM4 or XM5 as the best across all the metrics. A lot of people use Bose and I have their earbuds and they're very good. I have a set of Shure Aonic 40 headphones which I rate but they are more of a natural reproduction of the studio sound while Bose and Sony tend to use clever software to make it sound more like people want to hear. I've never hear a sound professional be enthusiastic about Beats headphone. 

Mate bought the bose noise cancellers about 3 years ago and was raving about the noise cancellation. They were decent, though felt flimsy. The irony though was that they leaked like buggery...he's in his wee cocoon and the rest of us are getting tinny sabbath...

Sony XM4's are superb. Rtings still rate them the best and I find them pretty much always on the money with their extensive lab testing and analysis-based reviews: Rtings Noise Cancelling Top 5
 

6 hours ago, been here before said:

I recently got myself a pair of Marshall Major IV. On ear and not noise cancelling so not what you're looking for but not bad at all.

Fantastic aesthetics on those boxy 'phones, especially if you are fond of a wee bit of cosplaying as a Cyberman...

[Regular John]

Have the Airpod Max, decent sound, but I probably wouldn't pay that for headphones again. There's a lot of options out there for better value, for me even the cheaper Soundcore models for example are as good as the big names.

[Tazio]

15 minutes ago, Regular John said:

Have the Airpod Max, decent sound, but I probably wouldn't pay that for headphones again. There's a lot of options out there for better value, for me even the cheaper Soundcore models for example are as good as the big names.

It all depends what you listen to a lot of the time. I’ve got cheaper headphones that sound not too bad in isolation if you’re listening to something fairly dense. But if you put on a good pair with more complex music the difference becomes clear (no pun intended). And they offer a better soundstage where you can hear and feel where the instruments are beyond just the stereo panning. 

[Spellczech]

I have Sennheisser RS175 for watching TV after wife goes to bed. I find them great! You can go to the loo in the middle of watching something and still hear the TV in stereo!

Edited November 28, 2023 by Spellczech

[Regular John]

Yeah I agree with that Tazio, I just think the bluetooth headphone market is extremely saturated with products that are very similar in sound and build quality and the prices vary hugely.

 

I've also owned the Sony XM3's and Bose QC's the sound profiles are great but could most people tell the difference in sound between them and a pair 200 quid cheaper on Amazon, with similar features such as noise cancellation, probably not.

 

The Airpod Max too, the sound is just as good but is it's heavier, so feels and looks more premium, along with the name is what you paying an additional £200 for.

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by Regular John

[luckyBatistuta]

Go into a shop and fire up this above on the headphones, you’ll get a good idea if they’re what you’re looking for.

 

 

I also always fire up this tune below, got a great amount of base in it. Beats can’t handle the base from it, were awful. 

 

 

[Tazio]

34 minutes ago, luckyBatistuta said:

Go into a shop and fire up this above on the headphones, you’ll get a good idea if they’re what you’re looking for.

 

 

I also always fire up this tune below, got a great amount of base in it. Beats can’t handle the base from it, were awful. 

 

 

The first video is a bit deceptive as it depends on your ears. I know that my tinnitus means a few frequencies are out of my reach, anything over about 14khz is lost to me. I’d say people should spend the money their music obsession stretches to and the quality of music streaming or files they listen to. No point buying a pair of Mark Levinson headphones and listening to pop music on low quality Spotify streaming. Anything with good production values I tend to download onto my phone when I’m connected to Wi-Fi as I get lossless quality audio from my streaming service. Spotify still don’t supply top quality despite promises to do it for years now. If you are a full on audio freak use Tidal as their streaming is top of the game in terms of quality. But it eats your data. 
I tried the second track just now and my headphones handled it no problem but I was very aware it was compressed sound in certain frequencies. I have a few tracks I know inside out that I use to test sound set ups. There used to be a joke that most sound engineers used Teardrop by Massive Attack to check systems. It does make sense though as it’s beautifully produced with everything from deep bass to very short sharp drum sounds and a super clear vocal. 

Edited November 29, 2023 by Tazio

[periodictabledancer]

33 minutes ago, luckyBatistuta said:

Go into a shop and fire up this above on the headphones, you’ll get a good idea if they’re what you’re looking for.

 

 

I also always fire up this tune below, got a great amount of base in it. Beats can’t handle the base from it, were awful. 

 

 

Just tested it against a set of £28 Sony buds from Tesco - wow. 

Damn good - obviously they couldn't handle the latter bass 100+ test, but overall I'm surprised how well they performed. 

 

Will try against my AKGs. 

👍

 

[DG_HMFC]

I have the Bose QuietComfort ll earbuds. They are pretty stylish and comfortable.

 

I also have the Sennheiser Momentum True wireless 3 earbuds. They are a bit bulkier than the Bose but still look good.

 

Both sets have excellent noise cancellation and great sound. And with the app you can customise your sound.

 

I think the Bose have a bit more noise leak than the Sennheiser.

 

Note that I have had to send my Sennheiser back for a replacement twice because one of the buds stopped working.

[cosanostra]

Sennheiser for me. They're well put together with superb sound.

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

I have the Sony XM4 headphones. Noise cancelling on them is excellent.

[hmfc_liam06]

Another vote for Bose QC’s

[tian447]

15 hours ago, Byyy The Light said:

When I had Sony headphones previously I had loads of issues with connectivity to iPhone and laptop.

 

Any issues with these?

 

No issues with the XM4's on my end either.  You can actually have 2 simultaneous Bluetooth connections on the go at once so mine are always connected to my phone and my laptop at the same time.

 

No issues when swapping to the Macbook after disconnecting them from one of the devices either  

[Jim_Duncan]

9 hours ago, Tazio said:

The first video is a bit deceptive as it depends on your ears. I know that my tinnitus means a few frequencies are out of my reach, anything over about 14khz is lost to me. I’d say people should spend the money their music obsession stretches to and the quality of music streaming or files they listen to. No point buying a pair of Mark Levinson headphones and listening to pop music on low quality Spotify streaming. Anything with good production values I tend to download onto my phone when I’m connected to Wi-Fi as I get lossless quality audio from my streaming service. Spotify still don’t supply top quality despite promises to do it for years now. If you are a full on audio freak use Tidal as their streaming is top of the game in terms of quality. But it eats your data. 
I tried the second track just now and my headphones handled it no problem but I was very aware it was compressed sound in certain frequencies. I have a few tracks I know inside out that I use to test sound set ups. There used to be a joke that most sound engineers used Teardrop by Massive Attack to check systems. It does make sense though as it’s beautifully produced with everything from deep bass to very short sharp drum sounds and a super clear vocal. 

I think Donald Fagan’s first solo album the hifi engineer’s/salesman’s CD of choice to show off the audio quality in the early 80s? In fact, I’d imagine any Steely Dan stuff would be a good test for output quality. 

[Chaps]

Cheers for the recommendation folks

 

Went with the SonyXM4

[Worthing Jambo]

Vote for B&W from me👍
A pair of PXs.

Edited November 29, 2023 by Worthing Jambo
Added model

[Tazio]

3 hours ago, Jim_Duncan said:

I think Donald Fagan’s first solo album the hifi engineer’s/salesman’s CD of choice to show off the audio quality in the early 80s? In fact, I’d imagine any Steely Dan stuff would be a good test for output quality. 

Definitely one of the classic ones they use. I'm not a huge fan of Steely Dan but the musicianship and production values are always absolutely top drawer. 

[AndyNic]

Sony XM4'.

 

|Both the Headphones and the Earbuds are phenomenal for noise cancelling. 

[Bungalow Bill]

On 28/11/2023 at 13:52, Taffin said:

+1 for Sony XM range. I've had XM3s for a few years. They're brilliant.

I have the XM3s, the XM4s weren’t different enough to bother upgrading. The XM5s don’t fold either. 
 

I was a Bose man before, honestly I love my XM3s, incredible. 

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

5 hours ago, Chaps said:

Cheers for the recommendation folks

 

Went with the SonyXM4

Good choice. Air travel is so much better with them.

[Tazio]

I’ve just had one of those “thank Christ I’ve got good headphones” moments on the way home from work. Listening to the year in music thing my streaming service has created and 46+2 by Tool came on. Justifies the outlay when you hear a piece of music like that properly.