Best Over the Ear Headphones
Wireless headphones let you listen to music and podcasts without the need to connect a wire to your audio device. These headphones are great for use in public transport, in the office or at home.
Wireless over-ear cans are offered in a variety of designs and noise cancellation capabilities. They are usually packed in a sleek case.
Soundcore Life Q30
A major upgrade over the Soundcore Life 2 from late-2018 The new over-ears look better, feel sturdier and are generally more polished. The hinges are more secure, and the soft leather ear cups are a bit larger. They are still largely made of plastic, but they are more polished. You can switch the 3.5mm cord with a high quality USB-C cable and make use of them with mobile Hi-Res and stationary Hi-Fi players. They also feature 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 adjusted and saved to listen to podcasts and music in the way you prefer. The Soundcore app is easy to use and sets these headphones apart.
When ANC is turned on the Q30's 40mm drivers block out most of the background noise, making for excellent listening. The Q30's sound is natural, but it is a bit treble. Some may not be a fan of the bass response (we have had better results with the Bass Booster equalizer). This can be fixed easily with the Soundcore App, which comes with an eight-band Equalizer.
The left earcup features a power button as well as a pairing button and an USB-C charging port. The right ear cup has play/pause, the volume up and down buttons. Double-clicking these buttons lets you skip tracks or replay the previous one. They also support an option to speak to them that allows you to ask them to change the mode or set an alarm. The right earcup can also be covered with your hands to activate ambient mode, so that you can be aware of what is happening around you, without removing the headphones.
The Q30 headphones offer a long battery life. In our tests with ANC turned on the Q30 lasted nearly an hour longer than its rivals. This lets you enjoy the long flight, or a full day at work. The USB-C cord included in the kit allows you to quickly charge the batteries. You'll also get a warning when the battery is getting close to empty.
Focal Bathys Wireless
Focal's Bathys Wireless are a set of premium over-ear headphones that offer both active noise cancellation and Bluetooth playback. They're designed as a premium headphones that are ideal for listening to music and podcasts on the go but also sound fantastic when used for home use by audiophiles too. They're more expensive than other similar headphones, but their superior sound quality is the main selling feature.
The Focal Bathys come in a compact, slim and attractive, white, fabric-finished box that contains all the accessories you'll need in. The package also includes a fold-flat carrying case for the headphones and a USB-C cable to USB C cable, 1.2mmSE cable and an audio converter.
They're powered by a respectable 600mAh battery that can get you through a full day of casual listening and also have an audio input that can be wired for use. When used wirelessly they're paired via Bluetooth and you can control their functions using an app (now named Focal and Naim likely in the same vein as their English Naim brand's products for audio that are network-aware) or by pressing the button located on the left earcup which scrolls between ANC profiles such as'silent','soft' transparent' and 'full'.
The app lets you adjust various settings, including the brightness of the LEDs and the EQ presets (including music's profile, that sounds more neutral and brighter than the other profiles) and the battery life. It also gives you the ability to choose the ANC mode and its level as well as setting an 'acoustic environment' which adjusts the sensitivity of your audio to simulate what it would sound like when used in a room with different acoustics.
beats wireless headphones cheap have a bass-rich profile that adds more warmth, punch and impact to your most loved tracks. This means that instruments and vocals be muted, and details such as cymbals may be less noticeable than on other headphones. They're also not as effective at active noise cancellation when contrasted to other headphones with higher-end technology like the Sony WH-1000XM5 or Apple AirPods Max.
Sony WH-1000XM5
Sony has a stellar reputation for its headphones and the WH-1000XM5 headphones are no exception. It is at the top of the mainstream over ear headphone market and also falls within the luxury lifestyle segment in which brands like Apple, Montblanc, Bang & Olufsen and Montblanc are located. The XM5s can be expensive, but if you can get them, you won't find a better wireless headphones for over-ear use.
The XM5s come with features to help listeners and, in a few cases, automate tasks they'd otherwise have to do manually. Sony's DSEE Extreme Engine (which upscales music that has been compressed to near high-res) as well as Bluetooth's LDAC Technology, are included. That allows for streaming of high-quality audio with bitrates that are higher than standard Bluetooth. There's even a built-in microphone that can be used for making hands-free calls.
The XM5 headphones aren't any different from the previous generation headphones from WH in terms of noise cancellation. These headphones are one of the best at eliminating the continuous drones that can be heard in underground and train carriages. The XM5s are also great at separating listeners from the hum of airports and busy streets.
The sound quality is excellent. The XM5s aren't as clear in the low frequencies as the XM4, however, they have a higher level of clarity and realism also. The bass on Rage Against The Machine’s Bullet in the Head shows off the Sonys power and clarity without affecting the rest of the music. In the same way, Massive Attack's grooving Angel shows off the XM5s' ability to deliver accurate and precise bass notes.
Battery life is excellent, with up to 30 hours listening time when ANC is in use and up to 40 hours when it's off. This is more than enough to cover a weekend getaway or several days of heavy usage.
The only real drawback here is that the XM5s lack any water resistance or dust resistance protection. Sony actually advises against sweating into them or wearing them in the rain. This might not be a problem for some people, but it might prove a stumbling block for anyone who spend a lot of their time at the gym or lives in a city that is rainy.
Apple AirPods Max
The Apple AirPods Max are a pair of wireless headphones over-ear equipped with Bluetooth technology and noise cancelling. They feature 40mm Apple-designed dynamic drivers with an audio profile that is neutral and is focused on the mids and highs while not going overboard on either end of the spectrum. They are perfect for music and movies. They also provide superior fidelity compared to most competing pairs of headphones.
The headphones are light and feel comfortable on the head. The earcups, which are made of memory foam, are covered with woven fabric, fit comfortably over the ears and do not place pressure on the sides or the forehead. The ear cups can be rotated and tilted to accommodate different head shapes. The spring-loaded hinges have a strong but not too robust clamping force that ensures that the earcups remain in place during listening sessions.
A small button on the top of the right ear cup lets you toggle noise cancelling modes. You can also use the jog dial that is a push-button similar to the digital crown on the Apple Watch. You can twist it for volume control and press it one, twice, or three times for playback controls. Siri is activated by pressing and pressing the button. These buttons are well-placed and simple to use, however I was disappointed that there wasn't a power button to switch off the headphones when they're not in use. The headphones automatically switch to standby mode when they are removed from your ears or put in their case. They only come back on when you slide them over your head once more.
Another feature that is quite cool is spatial audio, which uses the accelerometers and gyroscopes in the AirPods Max and your iPhone or iPad to figure out the direction you're going, and then repositions the sound to make it seem like they're coming from those locations. This creates a theater-like experience with videos and movies recorded in Dolby Atmos, 5.1 or 7.1. Only iOS devices can be used to listen to audio in spatial format.
The AirPods Max are a decent pair of headphones, but I'd be somewhat smug going into an Apple Store and spending $549 on the headphones if I knew they'd be outdone in a year by the new model. The AirPods Pro have more advanced features and better battery performance, making it difficult to justify the additional cost for the majority of people.