Over-ear headphones

[parabolica]

It's been a few years and I'm out of the loop on what over-ear cans are good at the moment. Are Bose QuietComforts still the default choice? or are there other options around the same price.

I don't know if this is an option, but a wireless set that can also allow you to plug in a wire so I could use them with a xbox/PS4 controller (without the latency that bluetooth inevitably causes) would be ideal, if at all possible.

ETA budget of up to £300 would be good.

Edited by parabolica on Friday 19th May 11:18

[Monsterlime]

I have a pair of Plantronics BackBeat PRO cans, had them a good few years but am quite happy with them. Used to use them for commuting etc on the train/tube and the noise cancellation was excellent, as was the battery life. They can be plugged in to use as wired headphones as well. They aren't available anymore, but the Pro 2 is, and are likely similar. Around £162 on Amazon right now.

They don't get as much use anymore, simply because I don't commute anymore!

[Mammasaid]

Bode NC700s are under £300 now, fantastic for noise cancellation and pretty good sound quality.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bose-Noise-Cancelling-Hea...

[shirt]

Do you need noise cancelling, or even closed back? There are far better options than those given if you remove these constraints

[parabolica]

shirt said:

Do you need noise cancelling, or even closed back? There are far better options than those given if you remove these constraints

I prefer closed back tbh; they would mainly be used whilst travelling so whilst not essential, noise cancelling is something I would want considered, thanks.

[justin220]

The sound difference between them is all quite personal, so maybe worth trying a few before buying.

I ended up with the B&O overears and delighted with them

[BigChungus]

I ran Sennheiser Momentum over ears for a while, they were extremely good. Not cheap though

[DrShrimpPuertoRico]

I think everybody's favourite budget closed back headphones are the AKG K371s
But they don't have ANC
Are strictly for music
Are very fragile and plasticky

[HTP99]

Mammasaid said:

Bode NC700s are under £300 now, fantastic for noise cancellation and pretty good sound quality.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bose-Noise-Cancelling-Hea...

I've a pair of these, they are fantastic, they are my first experience of noise cancelling and I still find it fascinating how it works and that it does actually work.

These are comfy, not too big, well put together and just work, only downside is they don't fold down nice and compact.

[gus607]

Sony XM300.

[TimmyMallett]

Can you stretch a little bit more? If so B&W PX7s would fit the bill. I paid £300 for them a few years back but they've gone up a bit now.

[BritishBlitz87]

I love my Meze 99 classics!

They work brilliantly with both ps4 games and television programmes

[parabolica]

Thanks for the suggestions; going to do a little research this weekend.

[Speed 3]

I bought a pair of Sony WH-1000XM5 as they tend to win all the awards at that price point. My daughter has the previous XM4 and she loves them too. They do come with a cable so that you can run them off non-BT connections such as in-flight whilst still using the noise cancelling.

[somouk]

It does usually come down to a toss up between Bose and the Sony XM range for over ear mid-level headphones.

I had a set of Sony and love them, my boss has Bose and and Sony and gave the Bose to his kid.

[gangzoom]

I asked a similar question recently - needed headphones with noise cancelling for music and Teams calls in open spaces, but also able to connect to multiple devices wirelessly along with option for wired connections, upto around £200-300 if they were good.

Was about to buy the Sony WH1000 than saw some post something about SoundCore headphones that were more than 50% cheaper for very similar functions.

As a cheapskate at heart, I've been using a pair of SoundCoreQ35 headphones for about a month now. They do what they say, and no complaints from anyone on not hearing me during calls even without a wired/boom microphone.

Sound quality is OK - the ANC doesn't cancel out tinnitus though

Edited by gangzoom on Saturday 20th May 06:57

[anonymous-user]

I have the Sony WH-1000XM4 and they are outstanding. I read quite a few reviews before buying and these seemed to edge out the competition particularly if you can find them at a reduced price (because of the XM5).

[RichFN2]

BigChungus said:

I ran Sennheiser Momentum over ears for a while, they were extremely good. Not cheap though

+1, had mine a few years now and they have been superb in every way.

[Narcisus]

I’ve had XM2 and 4 and they are great headphones but I’ve not touched them since I bought a pair of Airpod Max.

Much more comfortable my ears used to get hot with the Sonys and the sound is superb. Yes I’m sure your ears don’t get hot but everyone’s different

Pair it to an AppleTv and the spacial sound really adds to the experience for watching films.

[dxg]

BlackWidow13 said:

I have the Sony WH-1000XM4 and they are outstanding. I read quite a few reviews before buying and these seemed to edge out the competition particularly if you can find them at a reduced price (because of the XM5).

Agreed. Bought a pair just AFTER the XM5 came out, as they had better reviews.

Unfortunately, I have to wear them pretty much all the working day to cut out traffic noise. I usually wear them without any music as the noise cancelling is that good. In fact, I'm wearing them right now. In the office. On a sunny Saturday.