What headphones?

[broster]

Hi all, not sure if this has been covered many times....

I have a budget of around £250, Looking for a pair of Bluetooth headphones, need to be noise cancelling as I commute a lot on the train and I fine my normal in ear ones hard to hear.

Not sure if that’s just me or not... but it would also be good to drown out the noise of the kids at home too.

What do people recommend? I went to John Lewis today and tried a few, but didn’t really know what I was looking at.... but of a newbie at this.

Thanks in advance.

[MOBB]

I tried the usual suspects at that price range and ended up with the Sonys, I love them :-)

https://www.whathifi.com/sony/wh-1000xm3/review

[Pothole]

MOBB said:

I tried the usual suspects at that price range and ended up with the Sonys, I love them :-)

https://www.whathifi.com/sony/wh-1000xm3/review

They seem to be getting the best reviews at the moment. My wife says she loves hers, although how she can tell when they're in the drawer just next to my left knee, I don't really know.

[Maverick007]

Definitely the sony ones mentioned here.

Compare them with the Bose quiet comfort ones as they are v good too. I would say the Bose are slightly more comfortable so if you are wearing for long periods of time they would be a good bet, but the Sony ones are the best sounding for the money, IMO

[jontykint]

I went through similar, but never got to try the Sony’s above I tried Sennheiser Momentum and B&W PX.
Liked the B&W best, very comfortable, and the sound didn’t tire me out as a lot of headphones can do. Extended 9 hour session on a flight to LA proved that!
Try them if you can.
Using the app you can alter the “pass through” of external noise, which is handy, as it’s beautiful, but weird as hell walking through a city in a bubble of First Aid Kit harmonies!

Everyone’s ears are different though!

Edited by jontykint on Thursday 21st November 21:58

[Ambleton]

I have the wired B&W P7s and was very very disappointed when I tried the PXs.

If you can, I'd suggest trying to get hold of a pair of the older P7 Wireless. I haven't actually listened to them, but they are supposed to be as good as the wired P7s, whereas the PX were a deffinate downgrade. I'm not sure if the P7 wireless are noise cancelling though...

The Bose ones are decent in terms of sound quality, but feel a bit plasticky

[Wilts_jeff]

I have the Sennheiser PXC-550 which I primarily use for the train commute - about 2.5 hours each day. Very comfy and well built and noise cancelling works well. Sound is excellent with plenty of bass if required. I mainly listen to podcasts and they are also handled very well.

However they are a bit temperamental when charging them, sometimes charging, sometimes not....there is a known issue so I may end up sending them back before the warranty expires if they get any worse.

Recommended highly for sound quality but not so much for the charging issues....

[BlueJazz]

Maverick007 said:

Definitely the sony ones mentioned here.

Compare them with the Bose quiet comfort ones as they are v good too. I would say the Bose are slightly more comfortable so if you are wearing for long periods of time they would be a good bet, but the Sony ones are the best sounding for the money, IMO

I've had the Sony ones for a month now and can definitely recommend them. Excellent sound and noise cancelling.

[Pyrolysis]

I have the Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC headphones. They are the first non in-ear headphones I have bought and I'm very pleased with them. I use them on flights alot and also when I'm out and about walking. Battery life is excellent and the sound quality for me is superb. Better than any in-ear i have had including Bose.
Plenty reviews of all the current offerings on YouTube tho, see what suits your listening taste.

[SpunkyGlory]

I tried loads recently and ended up with the Bose QCII. For me they were the best combination of comfort and sound.

[justin220]

Sound is very subjective.

I ended up with the B&O H9i

I felt they sounded better, but also look like a proper premium pair of headphones. Brushed metal rather than plastic etc

[Ahonen]

MOBB said:

I tried the usual suspects at that price range and ended up with the Sonys, I love them :-)

https://www.whathifi.com/sony/wh-1000xm3/review

I bought mine in May and remain very pleased. The sound quality is superb and the noise cancelling is very impressive. I do a reasonable amount of long haul (11 hours last night for example) and I don't find them hot or uncomfortable at all.

Highly recommended.

[Sheets Tabuer]

What do you listen to, I have a few pairs of headphones but I listen to different music on them.

Jabra elite earbuds I listen to house/EDM at the gym
Sony WH-1000XM3 are also good for thumping bass and therefore suited to EDM but they also have an excellent app that you can tune if you want to listen to rock or acoustic.

Then I have the BOSE which are really suited to rock/acoustic/jazz. bass is ste... the ability to adjust NC modes is a gimmick imho but the clarity on something like stairway to haven is second to none.


If I was to pick one I have to say the Sony XM3 are quite simply one of the best set of headphones I've ever bought and I go through a lot.

[egomeister]

Sheets Tabuer said:

What do you listen to, I have a few pairs of headphones but I listen to different music on them.

Jabra elite earbuds I listen to house/EDM at the gym
Sony WH-1000XM3 are also good for thumping bass and therefore suited to EDM but they also have an excellent app that you can tune if you want to listen to rock or acoustic.

Then I have the BOSE which are really suited to rock/acoustic/jazz. bass is ste... the ability to adjust NC modes is a gimmick imho but the clarity on something like stairway to haven is second to none.


If I was to pick one I have to say the Sony XM3 are quite simply one of the best set of headphones I've ever bought and I go through a lot.

Another vote here for the Sonys, bought some a few weeks back and they've been a revelation. I've been really impressed, as have everyone who has tried them. Had some Bose in ear before and tried their on ear offerings when buying these but I'm not a big fan of the sound.

[mgv8]

Some good prices if you do not mind having an older model:
https://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/c-121-he...

[BevR]

I have a set of Bose QCII, as others have said the main selling point is how long I can wear them without becoming uncomfortable (up to ten hours or so on long haul flights). The sound quality is not exceptional considering the cost, they can be a little flat but a recent update for my pone has added a Bluetooth equaliser so I might play with that. However I don't want to sound negative, the noise cancelling and comfort more than make up for any quibbles about ultimate fidelity.

I'm always stunned when I take them off during a flight or on the bus into London at how much background noise they get rid of.

[Tricuspid]

I bought the Sony's almost a year ago, and I love them. The noise cancelling is good enough to drown out the world's noisiest teenager screaming at the playstation when he's playing FIFA (why do they do that?) which was making it impossible for me to concentrate on working. Sound quality is superb too, but the noise cancelling blows my mind, even in the kitchen if you've had them on for a bit then you realise how much racket the fridge etc make. I have worn them outside when walking the dog, but I'm 52 so very conscious I must look a total bellend (because aforementioned teenager pointed it out).

Coming back from the US this summer I wore them for the entire flight and slept like a baby.

Brilliant kit, can't recommend them highly enough.

[Maverick007]

They are £229 today on Black Friday at most places

[broster]

Update,

Went with the Sony’s in the end. Very impressive, thanks for the advice.