Wireless, bluetooth headphones, what to buy?

[MadTinus]

Hey guys, I want to buy a pair of bluetooth headphones, but I'm quite lost as to what to buy. Any of you guys use a pair and can maybe make some recommendations?

In recent years 98% of the time I listen to music through my Android smartphone (Spotify, Google Play) through my pretty cheap pair of AKG earbuds (< € 20..). I think my music and my ears deserve better!

Since I mostly listen to metal, I need headphones with a good, natural, detailed soundquality. The magic word these days to make people buy headphones these days is BASS, BASS, BASS AND MORE FUCKING BASS!

I DON'T FUCKING WANT THAT! All the details get lost in a drone of bass-heaviness, which totally sucks! I want headphones with the most natural, 'unchanged', sound-reproduction. That keeps the details to be well-audible. I am a fan of AKG, but they don't have many wireless bluetooth headphones on offer.

Any of you guys use a good pair and can give me some recommendations? I'm looking for an over-ear model, preferably not over € 300. I'm not an audiophile, but I do appreciate good, detailed sound.

Thanks!

 

[Belac]

This is something @the_fiend might be able to answer. I don't know if he uses wireless, but he has tested a large variety of regular headphones over the years and offered advice on the subject.

 

[the_fiend]

This is something @the_fiend might be able to answer. I don't know if he uses wireless, but he has tested a large variety of regular headphones over the years and offered advice on the subject.

Haha, thanks for the summon. I loathe bluetooth and wireless audio tech in general, so I'm not much use here unfortunately.

 

[winters epilogue]

I have a pair of Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2, which I bought on a recommendation from this article: https://marco.org/headphones-bluetooth. (Dude makes a sweet podcast app and is pretty finicky about audio in general, so I figured they would be more than enough for me.)

Quick review: They sound really good, definitely not too bass-heavy; the Bluetooth range is decent; the battery life is fine for my needs (I wear them around my apartment, sometimes while cooking, usually while working); I do find that wearing them for more than a couple hours at a time can be a bit uncomfortable—specifically around my ears. Perhaps that's due to the weight of them, or just my husky head.

The Wirecutter seems to be all about the Sony H.ear On 2 WH-H900N.

Finally, an obvious point: If you have any electronics stores nearby, I would really recommend trying a few pairs on. While you won't be able to tell how they feel after extended use, you will be able to get a sense of the general comfortability, the noise-cancellation, and (or course) the sound.

 

[MadTinus]

I have a pair of Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2, which I bought on a recommendation from this article: https://marco.org/headphones-bluetooth (Dude makes a podcast app and is pretty finicky about audio in general, so I figured they would be more than enough for me.) Quick review: They do sound good...but the decent battery life also means they're on the heavy side and do start to get a bit uncomfortable after extended use. (Or maybe it's just my husky head causing that problem, who knows.)

The Wirecutter seems to be all about the Sony H.ear On 2 WH-H900N, but I'm afraid I don't have anything more to add.

Thanks! How do you like the Plantronics so far? I read generally good reviews, but some mentioned the artificial leather started to come off and disintegrate after a year/year and a half. How long have you been using them?

 

[winters epilogue]

Thanks! How do you like the Plantronics so far? I read generally good reviews, but some mentioned the artificial leather started to come off and disintegrate after a year/year and a half. How long have you been using them?

Oops, I was modifying my original post with a bit more detail when you responded, but I'll follow-up here: I've only had them since mid May 2018, so just seven months. The artificial leather hasn't cracked at all—and I do use these daily—but I their size and lack of foldability means I haven't traveled with them, nor have I taken them outside much.

I don't know if this will help, but here are a couple shots of how they fit on me. (Note: The cord is there because I have them plugged into my computer at the moment; I don't bother with using Bluetooth unless I'm playing audio from my phone.)

 

[MadTinus]

Thanks man! I do need to go to a store and try some indeed. I did about a month ago, briefly, I checked out a pair of B&O BEOplay 4, these were supposed to be not so bass-heavy, yet I thought even these were too bassy for my taste actually. That's likely also got to do with me being used to listening through earbuds.. I generally see a lot of praise for the Sony's. I also read about NAD launching a model, looks interesting from the descriptions, but it's € 399..

 

[DarkGift]

Plantronics, sponsored by Bradley Cooper. Cup with straw sold separately.

 

[winters epilogue]

Plantronics, sponsored by Bradley Cooper. Cup with straw sold separately.

I still don’t see it, but there’s something quite funny about imagining a parallel universe where not only does Bradley Cooper enjoy death metal, but he likes it enough to come up with a fake identity and contribute to a Bloodbath forum with a bunch of others nerds.

 

[stefan86]

 

[DarkGift]

I still don’t see it, but there’s something quite funny about imagining a parallel universe where not only does Bradley Cooper enjoy death metal, but he likes it enough to come up with a fake identity and contribute to a Bloodbath forum with a bunch of others nerds.

"parallel universe"

 

[stefan86]

 

[MadTinus]

All right! FINALLY i've bought a pair After actually not finding time for a long time to go to a shop and test some pairs, I decided to just order a pair of Sony's universally praised WH-1000XM3 model. Literally everything I read about these headphones was absolutely raving, what could possibly go wrong..? Well.. the sound... Nothing as personal as sound preference of course. But I couldn't get them to sound good, despite all the praise it gets from all corners. So, I returned them. Yesterday I decided to head down to a small audio shop here in Utrecht.

I asked the shop clerk I really wanted headphones with a natural sound reproduction, he recommended me some Audio Technica models. I tried a cheaper one first, which sounded pretty good but it was a bit small and tight for my big head and ears. Then I tried another, bit more expensive model (€ 199, still € 100 cheaper than the Sony!) and it sounded great! Finally I had found a pair of headphones that could make me fully enjoy and appreciate my music.

So, I bought the Audio Technica ATH SR50BT, highly recommended if you're looking for an affordable (you can get it online for €179), yet great sounding pair of bluetooth headphones.