Best Over the Ear Headphones
Wireless headphones let you listen to podcasts or music anywhere, without the necessity of running an audio wire to your device. They're ideal for public transport, at work or at home.
Wireless over-ear headphones are available in a variety of styles and noise cancelling features. They are usually packaged in a stylish case.
Soundcore Life Q30
A major improvement over the Soundcore Life 2 from late-2018, these over-ears are more attractive, feel more durable and are generally more polished. best gym headphones wireless , but the hinges are tighter and the soft protein leather ear cups are a bit larger. You can switch the 3.5mm cord with a high quality USB-C cable to make use of them with mobile Hi-Res and stationary Hi-Fi players. They also have two microphones built-in, which perform well in our tests for FaceTime, Skype, and Microsoft Teams calls.
The Soundcore app has a huge selection of EQ presets, which can be customized and saved so you can listen to podcasts and music in your preferred style. The Soundcore app is easy to use and makes these headphones stand out.
When ANC is on the Q30's 40mm drivers effectively eliminate most ambient noise, and provide an extremely pleasant listening experience. They have a natural sound profile that leans slightly to the treble side, which some might be unable to reproduce bass (we got better results with the Bass Booster equalizer). However, you can rectify this with the Soundcore application, as there's an eight-band equalizer to allow you to tweak.
The headphones come with an power button and a pairing button on the left earcup and an USB-C port to charge. The right earcup has buttons for volume up/down, play/pause and volume up/down. By double-clicking these controls, you can skip tracks or replay the previous one. You can also use voice commands to ask them to change modes or set alarms. You can also cover the right earcup with your hand to activate ambient modes so that you can hear the world around you without removing the headphones.
The Q30 headphones offer a long battery life. The Q30 lasts for an hour longer in our tests when ANC was on than its competitors. This allows you to take advantage of the long flight, or a long day at work. The USB-C cable included lets you quickly recharge them. You'll also receive an alert when your battery is nearing empty.
Focal Bathys Wireless
Focal's Bathys Wireless is a pair of powerful over-ear Bluetooth headphones that offer active noise cancellation as well as Bluetooth playback. These headphones are made to be premium, high-end headphones that can be used at home or on the move. They're a little more expensive than similar headphones but their superior sound quality is their main selling factor.
The Focal Bathys are packaged in a small, slim and attractive fabric-finished white retail box that contains all the accessories you require inside. The headphone carry case folds flat, and comes with a case, USB-C to USB-C cable, 1.2mm SE cable and an audio adapter.
They're powered by a decent 600mAh battery that can take you through a whole day of listening to music and have an audio input that can be wired for use. Wirelessly, they're paired via Bluetooth. You can control their functions with an app (now named Focal & Naim in keeping with English sister brand Naim’s products that are network-aware) or the button on the left earcup which scrolls through ANC profiles like'silent','soft 'transparent,' and 'full.
The app allows you to alter different settings like the LED brightness, EQ presets including a'music' profile that sounds brighter and more neutral than the others and their battery duration. It also allows you to choose the ANC mode and the level, and also set an 'acoustic' setting that adjusts the sensitivity of your music to simulate what it would sound like when worn in a space with different acoustics.
The Focal Bathys come with bass-rich, rich sound profiles that delivers extra punch and warmth to your favorite tracks. The result is that instruments and vocals can be muted, and details such as cymbals may be less prominent than on other headphones. The headphones are also less effective in active noise cancellation compared to other headphones that feature higher-end technology, like the Sony WH1000XM5 and Apple AirPods Max.
Sony WH-1000XM5
Sony headphones are well-known for their quality, and the WH1000XM5 is not an exception. It is at the top of the mainstream over ear headphone market and is in the 'luxury' lifestyle area in which brands like Apple, Montblanc, Bang & Olufsen and Montblanc are located. This means that the XM5s come with a high cost, but if you can afford it, there are better wireless over-ear headphones available.
The XM5s have a lot of features that make life easier for the listener and automate tasks they would otherwise have to do manually. Sony's DSEE Extreme engine (which upscales compressed music to near-high resolution) is included and also support for Bluetooth's LDAC technology. That allows for streaming of high-quality audio with rates that are higher than traditional Bluetooth. It also has a built-in microphone for making calls hands-free.
The XM5 headphones aren't different than the previous generation WH headphones in terms of noise cancellation. They are one of the best at eliminating the continuous drones that can be heard in subway and train carriages. The XM5s also excel at separating listeners from the hum of airports and busy streets.
Sound quality is also excellent. The XM5s don't have as much detail in the low-frequency range like the XM4, however, they do have more clarity and a greater sense of openness. For instance, the bass work on Rage Against The Machine's Bullet in the Head flexes the Sonys muscles with real force and definition without flattening the other elements. In the same way, Massive Attack's grooving Angel shows off the XM5s' ability to deliver tight and precise bass notes.
Battery life is great, with up to 30 hours of listening time when ANC is in use and 40 hours if off. This is enough to cover the weekend or a few days of heavy use.
The XM5s are not water resistant or dust resistant. In fact, Sony recommends that you not sweat on them or wear them in the rain. This might not be a problem for a lot of people, but it could cause a problem for anyone who spend a lot of their time in the gym or lives in a city that is rainy.
Apple AirPods Max
The Apple AirPods Max are a pair of over-ear wireless headphones equipped with Bluetooth technology and noise cancellation. They feature 40mm dynamic drivers designed by Apple with an audio profile that is neutral and is focused on the mids and highs while not going overboard on either ends of the spectrum. They are perfect for movies and music. They also have higher fidelity than most other headphones.
The headphones are lightweight and feel comfortable on the head. The ear cups are made of memory foam, are covered with woven fabric and fit comfortably over the ear they do not place pressure on the sides or the forehead. The earcups can also tilt and rotate to accommodate different head shapes. The spring-loaded hinges provide a strong, but not too much clamping force to ensure that the ear cups stay in place during listening sessions.
Switch on noise cancellation by pressing a small button on the top of the right earcup. You can also utilize an earphone-style jog dial with a push button similar to the digital crown on the Apple Watch. You can turn it around to control volume and press it once three, twice, or even three times to playback the controls. Siri is activated by pressing and pressing the button. The buttons are easy to use and well-placed however I would have liked to see a power button that would switch off the headphones when not in use. The headphones are put into standby mode when removed from your ears, or when they are put in their case. They will come back to life when you place them on your head.
Spatial audio is another cool feature. It utilizes accelerometers, gyroscopes and iPhones and iPads to determine where you are moving. Then, it repositions the sounds to make them seem to be coming from that location. This creates a theater-like experience with movies and videos that were recorded in Dolby Atmos, 5.1 or 7.1. The only drawback is that spatial audio requires an iOS device to use it and you won't be able to experience it on other devices.
The AirPods Max are a decent pair of headphones, but I'd be slightly smug about entering an Apple Store and spending $549 on the headphones if I knew that they'd be outdone next year by the new model. AirPods Pro are more expensive, but they have better battery life and advanced features.