Headphone questions....(not sure where to post this).

[Fnaar]

I can't use earphones either (they just fall out). For home use with the laptop, I have over-the-ear bluetooth ones, which were about £7 from Home Bargains, and the sound is great 👍😎

 

[winjim]

Not used them, around that Price I'd probably be tempted to go for the Sony CH710, but for comparison if you can go wired, I'd opt for the Beyerdynamic DT240 or the Sennheiser HD400s, both will sound far and away better than anything wireless in the sub £120 range.

But then wired headphones usually will, but you have to match them to the source and for a phone/tablet go for a lower impedance option.

I'd be interested to compare the noise cancelling on the Sonys with that on my Lindys. I'm autistic and prone to sensory overload which is why I wanted it and TBH while the Lindys do cut out some noise which makes what you're listening to clearer, I wasn't blown away. That said, I haven't experienced a really good noise cancelling system to know how good I should expect it to be and I can't afford another pair at the moment.

I definitely wanted wireless which obviously bumps the price up.

 

[stephec]

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@Dave7 If these would suit the intended use then they're spot on.

I got a pair for running and now use them for watching films on my tablet instead of my big over ear headphones.

 

[DRM]

I have a pair of Bluetooth Sony over ear headphones, they were about £50, the sound, to me is excellent, no discernible difference between those and my Bose in ear ones, which are supposed to be top notch sound wise

 

[si_c]

I'd be interested to compare the noise cancelling on the Sonys with that on my Lindys. I'm autistic and prone to sensory overload which is why I wanted it and TBH while the Lindys do cut out some noise which makes what you're listening to clearer, I wasn't blown away. That said, I haven't experienced a really good noise cancelling system to know how good I should expect it to be and I can't afford another pair at the moment.

I definitely wanted wireless which obviously bumps the price up.

There is a huge difference between low end ANC and the higher end units, I've tried some more affordable options and like you I was underwhelmed. My first decent pair were the Bose 700 (I was lucky enough to get these for free when I upgraded my Pixel 4 to Pixel 6 Pro) and they really make a huge difference.

Off the back of these I bought a pair of Sony WH-1000XM4s, which to my mind are slightly better than the Bose. To put things into perspective, on a plane all background noise disappears entirely and any sound leakage is minimal. When working I can't hear Mrs C come in until she taps me on the shoulders most of the time, even when not listening to music. Once you have something playing you don't hear anything at all. The ANC profile between the two is slightly different, but not worth picking one or the other over. Edit: to my mind the audio quality of the Sony's is better, I've always found Bose products to have a bit of a mid-range weakness.

Both have an ambient sound mode which uses the mics to pass sound through, I've used this mode when riding to the shops and it's surprisingly effective.

In terms of sound reduction alone it outperforms something like my closed back DT990pro headphones comfortably, as far as audio quality goes the wired Beyers or my Sennheisers are far better, but they also cost more than the Sony's and I run an external DAC with separate headphone Amp, so I'd expect it to be good.

If you find yourself with a bit of auditory overload then I can't recommend a set of good ANC headphones enough. For what it's worth I'm looking at getting a pair of Sennheiser Momentums for work and keeping the Sony's for travel as they pack down really well.

 

[winjim]

There is a huge difference between low end ANC and the higher end units, I've tried some more affordable options and like you I was underwhelmed. My first decent pair were the Bose 700 (I was lucky enough to get these for free when I upgraded my Pixel 4 to Pixel 6 Pro) and they really make a huge difference.

Off the back of these I bought a pair of Sony WH-1000XM4s, which to my mind are slightly better than the Bose. To put things into perspective, on a plane all background noise disappears entirely and any sound leakage is minimal. When working I can't hear Mrs C come in until she taps me on the shoulders most of the time, even when not listening to music. Once you have something playing you don't hear anything at all. The ANC profile between the two is slightly different, but not worth picking one or the other over. Edit: to my mind the audio quality of the Sony's is better, I've always found Bose products to have a bit of a mid-range weakness.

Both have an ambient sound mode which uses the mics to pass sound through, I've used this mode when riding to the shops and it's surprisingly effective.

In terms of sound reduction alone it outperforms something like my closed back DT990pro headphones comfortably, as far as audio quality goes the wired Beyers or my Sennheisers are far better, but they also cost more than the Sony's and I run an external DAC with separate headphone Amp, so I'd expect it to be good.

If you find yourself with a bit of auditory overload then I can't recommend a set of good ANC headphones enough. For what it's worth I'm looking at getting a pair of Sennheiser Momentums for work and keeping the Sony's for travel as they pack down really well.

Thanks, I might look at a pair of those Sonys when I can afford it.

 

[Dave7]

I have a pair of Bluetooth Sony over ear headphones, they were about £50, the sound, to me is excellent, no discernible difference between those and my Bose in ear ones, which are supposed to be top notch sound wise

Is bluetooth any use when she only wants them for her tablet ?

 

[si_c]

Is bluetooth any use when she only wants them for her tablet ?

That really depends on if her tablet has a 3.5mm headphone jack or not, if not then there are two basic options 1) bluetooth or 2) a dongle. The latter means using an adapter into the charge port which is slightly bulkier. Not all tablets are compatible with this and not all adapters work with all tablets even if the latter supports it. Bluetooth works much better in general, forgetting to charge them notwithstanding.

 

[DCBassman]

What tablet is it?

 

[DRM]

Is bluetooth any use when she only wants them for her tablet ?

Yes, as I can listen to music without the cable getting tangled up, and if I’m doing something you can get on with that with music or a podcast on without being tethered to the tablet

 

[cookiemonster]

I've just bought the new Sony headphones, XM5, as my previous pair died a death after almost daily use for 7 years. Sound is fantastic, battery life is good but they are pricey.

 

[si_c]

I've just bought the new Sony headphones, XM5, as my previous pair died a death after almost daily use for 7 years. Sound is fantastic, battery life is good but they are pricey.

They do look pretty good, but not enough of an upgrade over the XM4s to warrant the money for me right now. The biggest con I can see for them is that they don't fold away like the previous versions, which make it really easy just to throw them into their case and put them into a backpack. I've recently flown with 17" laptop, power brick, keyboard, mouse, power bank and headphones in a 14L backpack, with space for snacks and a couple of books. I wouldn't have wanted to put the XM5s in there as they just take up too much space.

 

[cookiemonster]

They do look pretty good, but not enough of an upgrade over the XM4s to warrant the money for me right now. The biggest con I can see for them is that they don't fold away like the previous versions, which make it really easy just to throw them into their case and put them into a backpack. I've recently flown with 17" laptop, power brick, keyboard, mouse, power bank and headphones in a 14L backpack, with space for snacks and a couple of books. I wouldn't have wanted to put the XM5s in there as they just take up too much space.

My previous headphones weren’t XM4s, as they were 7 years old. Much older model than that. Just hang them around your neck. That’s what I do.

But they are just brilliant in comparison to my old ones.

 

[Mo1959]

Another Sony XM4 user. Love them. I’ve got the over the ear ones when I’m listening in the house and the in ear ones for outdoors.

 

[steveindenmark]

She needs bone conducting. Bluetooth headphones. There are several brands and prices on the market. I use aeropex for cycling and they are excellent.