Hello friends
as the title says, I am looking for a nice, mid-priced ( < 500.- ) over-ear headphone with noise cancelling, as birthday present for my better half... I am not really into HP, although they sometimes come in veery handy. She's not admitting to be into audio (listening through laptop/handy and other calamities, but let's ignore this for a second)
I personally would go after soundquality first, she OTOH weighs the aesthetics rather high (me too, but second to sound)...
If I'm right, the usual suspects are apple's things, bose and sony? Anything but them?
Thank you
:
as the title says, I am looking for a nice, mid-priced ( < 500.- ) over-ear headphone with noise cancelling, as birthday present for my better half... I am not really into HP, although they sometimes come in veery handy. She's not admitting to be into audio (listening through laptop/handy and other calamities, but let's ignore this for a second)
I personally would go after soundquality first, she OTOH weighs the aesthetics rather high (me too, but second to sound)...
If I'm right, the usual suspects are apple's things, bose and sony? Anything but them?
Thank you
:
Yeah, anything but them will do.If I'm right, the usual suspects are apple's things, bose and sony? Anything but them?
Thank you
Suggested Focals are good.
I spent a pre-Xmas period auditioning Bluetooth over-ear headphones and earbuds. I tried many, including the usual suspects you mentioned, which were all sub-par compared to Technics. For the money you mentioned, get Technics EAH-AZ80 or AZ100. They are stunning. We stopped listening to wired over-ear headphones. Zero connectivity issues as well... AZ80 sound better to me; I tried the AZ100 and returned them... too smooth, they don't fit as snugly, and they are shut-in compared to AZ80.
If over-ear is a must, the Technics EAH-A800 are also fantastic, especially at the price they go for.
I would have hoped that wireless had come further than it has. I own a pair of Sennheiser M2 cans that 'sound ok', but not for any serious listening. In fact a buddy of mine was asking the same question about wireless. We both agree that it falls short, but both of us would be eager to get a set of cans that would push the envelope a little further. maybe something that has a bit of range too. Technics EAH-AZ80? Hmm. Might give these a try.
I have a rather cheap pair of JBL tune 750 BTNC.
I like them, but some remarks:
"noise cancelling" relies mostly just on the isolation via the closed phone shells. Effective isolation and strong bass only with very tight fit. That depends very much from the individual head and ear shape. Also, the rather high pressure of the ear cushions can get uncomfortable after some time.
Sound is good for casual music listening, but not excellent. Very strong bass, some faint background noise if noise cancelling is active - quite nice and relaxing, actually.
The telephone connection via BT for recieving calls is nearly unusable. Sound quality (both sending and recieving) is very bad in this case.
I suggest the most important aspect is wearing comfort and she only can evaluate that!
I like them, but some remarks:
"noise cancelling" relies mostly just on the isolation via the closed phone shells. Effective isolation and strong bass only with very tight fit. That depends very much from the individual head and ear shape. Also, the rather high pressure of the ear cushions can get uncomfortable after some time.
Sound is good for casual music listening, but not excellent. Very strong bass, some faint background noise if noise cancelling is active - quite nice and relaxing, actually.
The telephone connection via BT for recieving calls is nearly unusable. Sound quality (both sending and recieving) is very bad in this case.
I suggest the most important aspect is wearing comfort and she only can evaluate that!