Hello all,

I am looking for recommendations for a pair of high-quality, noise-cancelling headphones for multi-purpose usage. The sound quality and noise-cancelling are the most important aspects. I can't do in-ear because they tend to irritate my ear canals. The first $500 isn't mine and is part of a student aid grant, so the budget has flexibility to go higher, but it has to be a brand new headset straight from a retailer—no refurbished or second-hand market, unfortunately.

After doing a fair bit of searching, I've seen the following recommendations consistently pop up:

1. Sony WH-1000XM6
2. Bose QuiteComfort Ultra (2nd gen)
3. Sennheiser Momentum 5

I'm having trouble picking between the three, so I'd greatly appreciate any advice and/or additional recommendations! Thank you in advance :)

Hd600 on sale for $300 right now. The Aune is $340.

I use headphones for everything. Gaming, music, YouTube, etc.. so they'd need to be perfect for a jack of all trades. Currently, I have hd560s. I am using Fiio k11.

Suggestions? Budget is $350 (with taxes).

Been looking to replace my current Headset. I'm currently using a pair of Sennheiser RS 175 RF's and while they've had their run they're getting old and I've had multiple issues with them (Hard to find replacement ear pads that don't damage audio quality, battery life shortening, I *HATE* the attenuators). Currently looking into my options and thought I might as well ask here.

I mostly use my current set for music and gaming and want to find a decent neutral-ish pair that will handle music with clarity and still reach into decent bass ranges pre-EQ. So far I've been the most sold on the concept of the HD 660s2's with a Schiit Magni amp, or a pair of HD490 pros.

So far my questions are the following:
- I've been told if I attempt buy anything from the 600 series I should get an amp in the process (or have a decent DAC)? I currently use the GoXLR to stream and believe they cover the DAC requirement, but I'd appreciate information on if I really do need to use an amp with them, and if the Magni would be sufficient.
- What is the main difference between the HD 660s2's and the HD 490's, do I need an amp for both (or neither), and are there better options in the price range (I've heard open-back headphones can damage the lower end of bass just because of how they are)?

- Is there anything I should look out for if I was to aim for either of these headsets?

Other information I can provide includes:
- I cannot use a Bluetooth headset unless it comes with its own Bluetooth base (hence the 175's, my computers Bluetooth chip is fried).
- Since I stream and need the audio channels provided by the GoXLR I've been told there's no point including a newer cleaner DAC.
- Is the concept of reaching clean audio for music with a better low end for gaming unfeasible with headsets typically focusing into subgenre's?
- Although the flair is for Open Back headsets and I'm specifically talking about Sennheiser products I would be fine getting recommendations for Closed Back headsets and other brands.
- I understand a lot of audio changes post neutral can come from EQ, I have the equalizer APO with peace ui and if you have a good curve for my preferred audio style with the headphones I'm asking about I would appreciate that as well.

Any and all information is greatly appreciated.

I’ve picked closed back flair but I’m open to others!

I’m looking for a headset that will pick up my voice but not my tv or music.

I will need to play music in the background because I’ve got paper thin walls and nosey neighbors and I handle sensitive client info on the phone.

It also needs to be something that isn’t noise cancelling FOR ME, because I have a tendency to talk louder when I can’t hear around me as clearly. I’d need something where I can still hear myself clearly so no big headphones.

Thanks!

Just bought the HD600 when it was on sale for 300 CAD 2 weeks ago. Lo and behold, a new product comes (ar3000) and many people are claiming it's tonally similar to HD600/650 but better than them as they don't have the same limitations as them.

I was previously using HD560S and Zero red iems. Powering them through the laptop's 3.5mm.

Should I return the HD600 and wait for more ar3000 reviews and buy them later or keep the hd600?

I was fine with hd560s before and bought hd600 because it was on sale and coupled with 15% student discount, it was a very good deal.

Hi everyone! I’m looking for new headphones with a budget of €100–130 mainly for single-player games like RDR2 and 2077 but also BRM5

I want something with immersive sound, good depth and a nice sense of space. I’d prefer closed-back headphones since I don’t want to hear too much background noise

I’m currently using the Razer BlackShark V2 and I wanna buy new headphones cause mine are already wearing out and dying off little by little

Would anything in this price range be a noticeable upgrade?

So before I even mention anything, disregard the flair, I’ve posted here recently, I just got a new pair of Bluetooth ear defenders by iclever, they cancel up to 35 db which is great and all but I’ve come to realize they’re not for everyday use especially if you have tinnitus, I also have cerebral palsy which leads to an extremely high and sometimes painful startle reflex, so all this to say, what do you think the best noise decibel is? I need to dampen, yelling, fire alarms , dogs barking ( I go to a center for SN adults ) but I still need to hear speech around and in front of me. Also a bonus would be if they look like real headphones,( slim , discreet) I’ve heard 25 db is the sweet spot of being able to hear people talking but they dampen everything else, I’ve looked into alpine, I’ve heard good things about them? My price range is $20-30 USD if possible

My day to day headphones are DT770's an i am in love with them, and i absolutely love the "beyer peak" and the V sound. But even though the sound is very full and lively, sometimes i wish for a headphone that can deliver an extreme amount of top ends. I live in turkey(ankara) and my budget is around 70-100euro. Im thinking of maybe buying the sr950's or hi-x15's. What can you recommend?. I am looking for a V sounding headphones with extra sparky treble.

I have access to many behringer headphones, sr950's, audio technica's and hi-x15's.(they are sold in the audio markets in my area) but i might wait until i go to europe(vilnius) to get new headphones, because those stores have almost everything. Ive tried senny hd240, sony mdr7506 and arctis nova 1 and senny accentum plus. They were a bit thin sounding and not lively.

Hello dear HeadphoneAdvice community, I am looking to get myself a pair of wireless over-ear ANC headphones for my daily commute and occasional longer 8 hour travel via train. I'd also like to occasionally wear them around the house to tune out noisy neighbours. I am buying in Europe and willing to spend up to 500€. I listen to electronic music (edm, hyperpop, indietronica), rock (indie rock, emo, metalcore), pop, r&b and hip-hop.

Now for my priorities:

1.Comfort:

I have a big head and wear glasses with thicker plastic frames so comfort is my top priority since it won't matter how good anything else is if I can't wear them for more than an hour. A gentle clamp, deep cushions and wider headband would be good. I've had to return the Sonos Ace Ultra for their strong clamping pressure that caused me a lot of pain behind my ears where my glasses frames rest after 45min.

1. Build Quality:

   The build quality is also important to me as I've previously owned the Bose QC Ultra 2 which ticked all my boxes but the constant loud mechanical clunk in the right earcup was a deal breaker for me. I can accept some light sounds headphones may make but have some sensory issues and can't stand loud thumping or creaking like that. Also if I'm investing a large sum of money into a device I'd like it to last a couple years. I've used my Sony xmf-xm3 earbuds for 6 years now and only am replacing them due to them starting to reasonably have more and more issues.

2. ANC:

   As these are mainly for commuting I need them to be decently capable of tuning out noise. Especially busy trains with screaming children or walking past loud construction can be very irritating to me. I don't need an absolute bubble of silence and just want the ANC to be good enough while media is playing to protect me from unpleasant noises. I also have noisy upstairs neigbours so being able to grab a pair of headphones to have some peace of mind would be a great help.

3. Sound Quality:

   I do consider my preferences more in the audiophile direction. I have a set of Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro hooked up to an ifi zen dac at home on my PC. Obviously I don't expect a wireless Bluetooth headphone to perform anywhere near a wired open-back studio headphone but just wanted to use this as a reference for my preferred sound profile steering to a more flat and brighter sound. I found the Sonos Ace Ultra disappointing in this area as well as they felt a bit muffled and dark. But would have been happy to sacrifice sound to the level of the Ace if it had met my comfort needs since I really liked their build and ANC.

4. Battery Life:

   Should be at least enough to get through a day but I think every headphone in this category is capable of around 24 hrs of playback. Would of course be happy with a bigger battery for less charging and overall less battery degradation as a result. Obviously models like the Sonos Ace Ultra and Sennheiser Momentum 5 are especially great here for offering a user replaceable battery.

5. Controls:

   I'm not a big fan of touch controls so I would prefer buttons. But this is a major nitpick that I am flexible on so I am okay with touch controls as well.

I am exclusively looking to go for over-ears and no in-ears due to me having noticed the issues they cause me inside my ears like pain, earwax buildup and risk of pushing in things into my ear. I did clean them with a microfiber after each use but also find the maintance of them annoying as well as the try and buy of them being riskier due to some retailers treating them as a hygiene product.

Here are my top picks so far:

1. Technics EAH-1000

Sound Quality and ANC seem to be top notch. It has button controls which I like. Many reviewers have said they are quite comfortable but one review said the clamp was tighter than the Sonos Ace Ultra which has me a little worried. I have ordered these to try them out for myself.

1. Sony the Collexion

I can get these at 521€ so they do exceed the budget a bit but if they really could tick all my boxes I'd be willing to do so. They are often complemented for their great comfort and ANC. Sound Quality seems to be better than the regular XM5 or XM6. Just worried about Sony's usual build issues becoming a problem later. The battery life is also quite poor compared to others headphones in the category. Also lacking features like wired USB-C audio is odd for a headphone of this price. And ultimately price is what makes them a less attractive option.

1. Sennheiser Momentum 5

This one seems quite great for Sound Quality at its price. ANC seems to be behind the other two models I've mentioned though and comfort might be an issue due to the tight clamping force. Also the earcups seem shallow and the headband cushioning while improved over Momentum 4 (which I also tried for a day and had to return due to top of head pressure pain) still seems not too comfortable. The user replacable battery is a huge plus though.

Anyways sorry for the long post. The search for the right headphone has been driving me a little crazy for a while and I would be deeply grateful for any help that this community could provide. I am open to other suggestions besides the ones I've mentioned these are just the ones currently in my close contenders list. As mentioned I have ordered the Technics to try now so hopefully they are a good choice for me but seeing how my return cycle has continued with headphones thought I'd try something new and seek outside advice as well.

Thank you kindly in advance to anyone who takes the time to read all this and respond I really appreciate it.

Would be for desktop use, gaming and music. Something preferably 300$ and under. I currently have an sjy horizon closed carbon that I got from eBay, unfortunately I don't believe my current setup can handle it

I'm in the US and am willing to spend ~400 bucks on ANC headphones IF noise cancelling is substantially and consistently better than something from the 100-200 dollar price range. Lots of headphones INITIALLY meet that criteria, but when I look up peoples' thoughts on ANC specifically I notice several complaints for each option:

• Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen seems to have a lot of issues with ANC "thumping" while on the bus/subway that can only sometimes be remedied by switching to weaker ANC settings (negating the point of buying the stronger-ANC headphones), and the non-ultra headphones also face the same issue to a less frequent extent from what I've read online.
• Sonos Ace headphones face similar popping issues, not sure if the Ultras will too since they've only been available for about a month.
• The Sony XM6 headphones looked promising, but apparently their ANC got kneecapped by automatic updates a few months ago and seems to still be an ongoing issue. Even once that does get resolved, the hinges keep breaking.
• Airpods Max only had 1 post having issues with ANC crackling, but many more posts mentioning connectivity issues (and I don't even own Apple products, so I assume it'd be even worse for me).

It could be that those users just got lemons, but that's a lot of expensive lemons. Can anyone with these headphones (or ones with a similar level of ANC and price new) confirm or deny how common these issues are? If anyone has different recommendations, I am aware IEMs can block more sound, but I hate having things in my ears so I'm only looking at over-ear headphones. I do not care about passthrough or call quality.

I’ve had the Beats Studio pro since they came out but I’ve worn them down a bit so I’m looking for a replacement.
My top priorities are battery life and good noise cancellation and I’m willing to spend a decent amount of money if I need to. I am also open to earbuds but those seem to have a shorter battery life?

Hey Fam. New here. Ive just purchased my first quality corded headphones. I was able to scoop up a demo for $289usd. Full warranty and returnable within 60 days if not satisfied. My source is mostly streaming and using a bluesound node (n132). The node states it has a THX headphone amplifier.

“Integrated THX AAA™ Headphone Amplifier: A significant upgrade in the N132 is the built-in THX AAA™ (Achromatic Audio Amplifier) headphone amplifier with a full-sized 1/4" (6.3mm) headphone output. This technology provides incredibly linear response, ultra-low noise, and virtually no distortion, offering an audiophile-grade headphone listening experience directly from the NODE.”

I cant justify headphones over $300 and had to make a quick decision on them before they were sold.

I prefer a warm sound and listen to hip hop, pop, edm/house but will also listen country, jazz and jam bands too.

Am I doing this amp justice using these specific focals? Or should I find something more worthy of this amplifier?

Thanks and go easy on me. Ha.

This guy said that they just pay people/sponsor to give good review on it so is that true if so what is a better option for around 300$? USD.

I used open back headphones for years (Rampage Alpha X) and I get used to it so I need something very similar. People recommended me Fifine H19 and H18V but I'm not sure about it? Any advices? I can't say an exact budget cause a 50 dollar headphone can be 100 in my country so it will be flexible I suppose.

I'm currently using the AirPods Pro 2 and I'm thinking about getting either the Nothing Ear (3) or the AirPods Pro 3. I have around 235€ and I’m from Spain

I mainly use them for listening to music and gaming on PC, but I also use them with my iPhone. I'm mostly interested in sound quality, and I want to know which ones sound better overall.

I really like the design of the Nothing Ear (3), which is actually what caught my attention in the first place, but I don't want to sacrifice sound quality just for the looks.

Would the Nothing Ear (3) be an upgrade over my current AirPods Pro 2? And how do they compare to the AirPods Pro 3?

Which ones would you recommend?

I have an Audio Technica AT-LP60X but want to listen to records using headphones. I bought this : https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0F2T9P8GR?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title with the hope that the headphone jack would have a separate ic for volume so that i don't accidentally go deaf, however that is not the case. Can anyone recommend a solution or new product entirely. Thanks!

I’m looking for the best headphones I can get for around $300 USD mainly for listening to music.
I want good, deep bass, but I also want everything else to sound great. I’m looking for clear vocals, detailed instruments, good treble, a wide soundstage, and overall excellent sound quality. I listen to pretty much every genre of music.
I care more about sound quality than brand name or looks. I’m open to both open-back and closed-back headphones, and wired or wireless if the sound quality is worth it.
I’ll mainly be using them on my PC, iPhone, and MacBook. I’m willing to buy a DAC or amp if necessary, but I’d prefer not to spend too much extra.
What headphones would you recommend for around $300? I’m looking for the best overall experience, not just headphones that are good at one thing.

Hi, could someone give me a purchase advice?

I had the hd 490 pro with ifi zen dac 3 (mixing pads with ifi base boost). Now I sold it because I had cravings for something better.

I’m considering right now the LEWITT LW6, Hedd D1, Hongshu EH 1, also maybe the new AR3000. Something in the up to 700€ price range (live in Germany).

My preferences are:
- bass: not flat, not overly emphasized, textured (bass rather more punchy than whoomy)
- mids: clear mids with good separation with a little spaciousnes (not to forward)
-treble: I little emphasize and detailed (liked the hd 490 pro)

Use case: Gaming, Content Creating, Maybe Music Production in the Future, Music Listening: edm, pop, also Vocal/Imstumental music.

I lean more towards the LW6 because of the versatility und wireless. Also I don’t need to buy a new Dac, because I don’t have any around and it adds to the cost.

I'm new to audio stuff, my budget is about 300+, and I don't know what to look for.

This will be used for gaming mostly, as I am a huge gamer. I'm also buying them online.

My current vinyl setup consists of an LP60 turntable and Edifier R1700BTs speakers.

I recently purchased a pair of Sennheiser HD560s headphones and would like to be able to use them to listen to my records as well!

How can i fill the gap here?

Soon i want to upgrade my Turntable, so the solutions should be future proof.

Budget <200€

Location: Portugal

Budget location

500pln would prefer less if possible

Poland

Source/amp

Phone/maybe pc sometime in future

Use

Walks/commune/Cleaning/non fps gaming/Cycling/sleeping if thats possible cuz i listen to asmr ?:'D

Would like anc and awarness mode closed back headphones. Would be nice if they muffled some noise or got anc cuz i live in a noisy area.

Prefered balance

Idk how that works so :')?

Prefered music genres

Idk i listen to everything? So i guess something that sounds true without losing parts of the music?

Past gear

Never used on ear headphonesonly ever used in ear ones but im pissed about them slipping out all the time and getting lost.

Anything else

Prefered colour black.

Tried on marshall V (?) i think or something and liked the look of them, idk about how they sound tho, i want something on ear not heavy and not the over ear type cuz when i tried them on, my head hurt from how heavy they are xD

In the market for a new pair of headphones after being disappointed by the AirPods Max.. been eyeing the xm6 but I wonder if they’d be worth the money. I had a pair of xm4 and freaking loved them so the sixes would be a logical next step right? If y’all have any other suggestions I’d appreciate it.. some considerations I’ve also had were the QC Ultras, Beats 360, and the Nothing Headphones Pro. I’d mainly use them for the gym but also travel, movies, just chilling. I would like to stay around or under the price of the XM6’s so no need to really worry about price lol.

Hey there, i need an advice on what to get. I want to gift my bf for his birthday a new headset for PC gaming, because his SteelSeries (i don’t even know the model) are like 7+ years, and don’t have a mic.

Criteria:

- Good mic
- Wired
- Comfortable
- Good sound

I have my old HyperX cloud alpha, i liked the mic (it’s gone now), they are comfy, but he hates the peeling of faux-leather. So i wanted to try the SteelSeries Acrtis Nova 7, but im not sure. Maybe it’s better to stick with HyperX Cloud 3 or something.

What are other options? Budget preferably under 200€