After writing the article on ‘The Beginner’s Guide to Audiophile Headphones' for Healthy Bipeds I thought I'd tackle the complex and over-supplied world of Bluetooth Over-Ear Headphones. Visit any major airport tech store and you will find a long wall of these from lots of different makers claiming lots of different capabilities. The choice is overwhelming. If you choose to purchase on-line then that choice grows significantly and so does the dilemma over which is best.
– B&O Beoplay HX
– Bose Quiet Comfort
– Focal Bathys
– Dali IO-6
– Sony WH-1000XM5
– Sony WH-CH70N
– Apple Airpods Max Pro
– Mark Levinson No. 5909
– Beats Studio Pro 2024
– Sennheiser Momentum 4
I then set about listening to a wide range of music with each set of headphones and marking them for Build Quality, Fit, Comfort, Sound (High end/Mid Tone, Bass) Detail, Soundstage, Overall Sound, Noise Cancellation and Transparency. Hours and hours of (enjoyable) work went into each set of headphones and I encouraged many others to take part – 14 people with an age range of 18 to 63 to give a variance of hearing.
The one thing that became increasingly apparent was that the difference between Bluetooth On-Ear headphones is, quite frankly, negligible. They are all extremely good despite their price. Each person that tested them graded them from 0 to 10 across those 11 categories – a possible 111 points to be earned. The best ones came in at an average of 94 points and the worst (which are still superb) were at 80 points. I have deliberately not factored in price as I'm not testing overall value and this does sway things quite a lot.
Having said that the bottom of our list is the Sony WN-CH720N's – but they are less than £100 and are superb. Two of our testers favoured these above all others. My favourites are the Focal Bathys which feature around the middle of our list – these have a slight warmth to the sound and I find the Beats, Sony and Sennheiser's just a little too precise.
If you are travelling with these then noise cancellation is hugely important – and they are all very good. The exemplars from the list are Sennheiser Momentum 4, The Beats Studio Pro 2024, Sony WH 1000XM5, Apple AirPod Max Pro and Dali IO-6. All of them are very good at cancelling out a consistent noise like the hum of a plane but these were the best at cancelling out noise variances such as street noise and chatter.
The results are with joint first winners are:
At the time of writing the Sony WH-1000XM6s have just been released – with a 5 star rating from What Hi-Fi!
I should add the customary disclaimer – this article is written by me and me alone. At present Telecommuter do not sell headphones so I am not paid or coerced by them or the manufacturer’s – everything is my opinion and my opinion alone. Enthusiasm is my enthusiasm, and my enthusiasm alone.
