This Is The New Big Thing In Over The Ear Headphones Wireless

Best Over the Ear Headphones

Wireless headphones allow you to listen to podcasts and music without the need to connect wires to your audio device. These headphones are ideal to use on public transport, at the office or at home.

Wireless headphones with over-ears can feature an elegant design and outstanding noise cancellation. They usually come with a sleek storage case.

Soundcore Q30

These earphones are an important improvement over the Soundcore Life 2 of late-2018. They are more attractive and feel more durable and have a more polished appearance. They're still mostly made of plastic, but the hinges are a bit more secure and the soft leather ear cups are a bit larger. You can swap the 3.5mm cord for a higher quality USB-C cable and make use of them with mobile Hi-Res as well as stationary players. They also come with two built-in mics that worked well in our tests using FaceTime, Skype and Microsoft Teams calls.

The Soundcore app has a huge variety of EQ presets, which can be altered and saved to allow you to listen to music or podcasts in your preferred style. The Soundcore app makes it easy to use and sets these headphones apart.

The Q30's 40mm speaker effectively block the majority of ambient noise when ANC is turned on. This results in a very pleasant listening experience. They have a natural sound signature that leans a little on the treble side, which some might feel is lacking in bass response (we have had better results using the Bass Booster EQ preset). However, you can solve this issue with the Soundcore app, since there's an eight-band equalizer that can help you tweak.

The left earcup has an power button as well as a pairing button and a USB-C charging port. The right earcup features buttons for play/pause, volume up/down and volume up/down. Double-clicking these controls lets you to skip tracks or replay previous ones. They also come with the ability to speak which allows you to request to switch the mode or set an alarm. You can also cover the right earcup by using your hands to activate ambient modes, to allow you to hear the world around you without having to remove the headphones.

The battery life on these headphones is fantastic, too. In our tests with ANC enabled the Q30 lasted nearly an hour longer than its rivals. This leaves plenty of time to prepare for 125.141.133.9 an extended flight or working for a long time. They can be charged quickly with the included USB-C cable and you'll be able to see a warning when they're approaching empty.

Focal Bathys Wireless

Focal's Bathys Wireless is a pair of powerful over-ear Bluetooth headphones that offers both active noise cancellation as well as cordless bluetooth headphones playback. They are designed to be premium, high-end headphones that can be used at home or on the move. They're slightly more expensive than other similar headphones, but their exceptional audio quality is the primary selling factor.

The Focal Bathys are packaged in a compact, attractive white box with a fabric finish. It includes all the accessories that you'll require. The package includes a fold-flat headphone carrying case, USB-C-to-USB-C cable, 1.2mm SE cable and an audio adapter.

They're powered by a good 600mAh battery that can get you through a whole day of listening, and also have an audio input that can be wired for use. When used wirelessly they're paired via Bluetooth and you'll be able control their functions using an app (now known as Focal & Naim, wireles Headphones probably in the same vein as their English sister brand Naim's products that are network-aware) or by pressing the button on the left ear cup that scrolls between ANC profiles such as'silent','soft' transparent', and full.

The app lets you alter various settings, including the brightness of the LEDs as well as the EQ presets (including the music profile, which sounds brighter and neutraler than other profiles) and the battery life. It also lets you to select the ANC mode and the level, and also set an 'acoustic' environment that adjusts the sensitivity of your music to simulate how it would sound like when used in a room with different soundproofing.

The Focal Bathys have a bass-rich sound profile that adds extra warmth, punch and impact to your favorite tracks. In the end, instruments and vocals are pushed back into the mix and sound muffled, while details like cymbals are slightly less prominent than you'd expect from other headphones. They're also not as effective at active noise cancelation when compared to other over-ears with more advanced 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 is not an exception. It is at the top portion of the over-ear headphone market, edging into the luxury lifestyle area where the likes of Bang & Olufsen, Apple and Montblanc hang out. This means the XM5s have a premium price tag, but when you can afford it, there are a few better wireless over-ear headphones out there.

The XM5s come with a variety of features that make life easier for the listener and automate tasks that they'd otherwise be required to do manually. Sony's DSEE Extreme Engine (which upscales music to near-high-resolution), as well as Bluetooth's LDAC Technology, are included. This lets high-quality music to be streamed at bitrates which are higher than Bluetooth. There's a built-in mic for making hands-free phone calls.

Like the previous generation of WH headphones, the XM5s excel at noise cancellation. They are one of the best at eliminating the continuous drones that can be heard in underground and train carriages. The XM5s are great at their job of shielding listeners from the background noise of busy airports and streets, too.

The sound quality is excellent. The XM5s may not be as precise in the lower frequencies as the XM4, but there's a more pronounced sense of clarity and openness as well. The bass in Rage Against the Machine's Bullet in the Head shows the Sonys strength and clarity without affecting the rest of the music. Similar to Massive Attack's brooding Angel shows off the XM5s ability to create precise and precise bass notes.

Battery life is excellent with up to 30 hours of listening time when ANC is active and 40 hours if it's off. This is enough to last an entire weekend or a few days' heavy use.

The XM5s do not come with dust or water resistant. In fact, Sony recommends that you not sweat on them or wear them in the rain. This may not be a problem for some people, but it might prove a stumbling block for anyone who spend a lot of their time in the gym or lives in a rainy city.

Apple AirPods Max

The Apple AirPods Max are a pair of over-ear wireless headphones equipped with Bluetooth technology and noise cancellation. Apple designed dynamic drivers measuring 40mm with a neutral sound profile that focuses on mids and highs without going too loud. This makes them perfect for both movies and music. They also offer better sound quality when compared with other headphones.

The headphones have a light build that feels comfortable on the head. The earcups are made from memory foam covered in a woven fabric. They sit comfortably on the ears without placing pressure on the sides of the face. The ear cups can be tilted and rotated to accommodate different head shapes. The hinges that are spring loaded have a strong but not too powerful clamping force, which ensures that the earcups remain in place throughout listening sessions.

Switch on noise cancellation by pressing a small button at the top of the right earcup. It also has a pushable like a jog-dial, similar to the digital crown on the Apple Watch, that you can turn to control volume and press the button once twice or three times to playback control. Siri is invoked by pressing and pressing the button. The buttons are easy to use and are well-placed, but I would have liked to see the power button that could shut off the headphones when not in use. The headphones automatically switch to standby mode after being removed from your ear or placed in their case. They only come back on when you place them on your head again.

Another great feature is spatial audio, which makes use of the gyroscopes and accelerometers in the AirPods Max and your iPhone or iPad to determine the direction you're going, and then repositions sounds to create the illusion that they're coming from those places. This creates an immersive theater-like experience for movies and videos that were recorded in 5.1, 7.1 or Dolby Atmos. Only iOS devices can be used to listen to spatial audio.

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 blutooth headphones if I knew that they'd be beaten in a year by the second-generation model. The AirPods Pro have more advanced features and a better battery performance, so it's difficult to justify the cost for the majority of people.