Best bluetooth headphones?

[D4v3]

Hey guys,

Been on the hunt for a good pair of bluetooth headphones but keep coming up short. Would love to find a pair that's designed with sound quality instead of ANC in mind. Over the ear, open back but closed is OK as long as sound stage is good. Bluetooth multipoint is a must.

Was considering the Drop Panda's, most of the reviews on them say they sound fantastic but Amir seems to think they are hot garbage so not sure what to think. Was condering the SONY WH-1000XM4 but I have no need of ANC and the sound quality on them seems to be pretty mediocre.

Is there a good set of wireless headphones out there?

 

[AudioStudies]

Was condering the SONY WH-1000XM4 but I have no need of ANC and the sound quality on them seems to be pretty mediocre.

I disagree with this. I find the SQ to be quite good on this Sony model. I am going to try the HifiMan Deva Pros also, they are on order and cost $329.00 for an open-back planar magnetic design with bluetooth.

 

[D4v3]

I disagree with this. I find the SQ to be quite good on this Sony model. I am going to try the HifiMan Deva Pros also, they are on order and cost $329.00 for an open-back planar magnetic design with bluetooth.

I have looked at the Deva's in the past, the look like good headphones but I'm nto sure how I feel about the Bluemini adapter. Does the R2R revision have multipoint? The battery life on it is very short too. I use my headphones quite a bit and I don't think I could get a day out of it without having to charge it.

 

[AudioStudies]

I have looked at the Deva's in the past, the look like good headphones but I'm nto sure how I feel about the Bluemini adapter. Does the R2R revision have multipoint? The battery life on it is very short too. I use my headphones quite a bit and I don't think I could get a day out of it without having to charge it.

Not sure about the multipoint. The adapter may not look the best aesthetically, but I doubt that it weighs very much. I will let you know when they arrive. JBL has a fairly high end set of wireless cans, I think they might have been called the Cube One -- I didn't find much in the way of reviews on them, but they are obviously a respected company. I am still on the hunt also, even though I have the Sony and Deva Pro on order, I want to experiment a bit. HifiMan has a wireless pair that goes for about $900 I think, but they did no receive a good review here in ASR. Owners of the Sennheiser Momentum 3 seem to like them, but I read somewhere that the Sennheiser app is not near as good as Sony's app.

 

[D4v3]

Not sure about the multipoint. The adapter may not look the best aesthetically, but I doubt that it weighs very much. I will let you know when they arrive. JBL has a fairly high end set of wireless cans, I think they might have been called the Cube One -- I didn't find much in the way of reviews on them, but they are obviously a respected company. I am still on the hunt also, even though I have the Sony and Deva Pro on order, I want to experiment a bit. HifiMan has a wireless pair that goes for about $900 I think, but they did no receive a good review here in ASR. Owners of the Sennheiser Momentum 3 seem to like them, but I read somewhere that the Sennheiser app is not near as good as Sony's app.

Wish I could try a few out myself but the budget only allows for one pair so I gotta make it count. The momentum 3 seems like a good choice too, apparently they sound good but the ANC is pretty weak (not that the ANC matters to me much)

I'm really suprised by how down Amir was on the Drop Panda's, there's a lot of reviews out there that tout them as excellet sounding headphones. Though, I'm sure there's no shortage of shillers so who knows.

 

[Oso Polar]

IMHO Sony WH-1000XM4 have a pretty good sound quality. Here is the review: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...0xm4-review-noise-cancelling-headphone.19828/ Of course, sound while they are turned off is bad, as noted in the review, but they are not designed to be used while turned off! My wife uses them. As for myself, my solution for this problem is Qudelix-5K + wired headphones (with a shorter cable).

 

[GaryH]

As for myself, my solution for this problem is Qudelix-5K + wired headphones (with a shorter cable).

This is the true audiophile solution - minimal compromises in sound quality due to LDAC support, plus the fully parametric equalizer of course.

 

[jhaider]

“Best” I have no idea. However, I really like AKG NC700M2. The only headphones I have that throw a broader image are Sennheiser HD800 on a Qudelix.

 

[MayaTlab]

As for myself, my solution for this problem is Qudelix-5K + wired headphones (with a shorter cable).

Since @D4v3 seems open to the idea of open, non-portable headphones I assume that the use case rather is around the home / office than walking / commuting, so that would indeed be my recommendation as well.

Otherwise the entire portable, closed back over-ears wireless market seems... problematic, and I've personally owned more than a dozen of the usual suspect this year and been thoroughly disappointed each time for various reasons.

 

[AudioStudies]

As for myself, my solution for this problem is Qudelix-5K + wired headphones (with a shorter cable).

How does the Qudelix 5k compare in size with a mobile phone? Do you use a shorter cable because you have somehow mounted this device near your head?? Or just in you pocket, like using a mobile phone with a headphone jack?

 

[MayaTlab]

How does the Qudelix 5k compare in size with a mobile phone? Do you use a shorter cable because you have somehow mounted this device near your head?? Or just in you pocket, like using a mobile phone with a headphone jack?

Much smaller : https://www.qudelix.com/blogs/5k-dac-amp/size-weight

Personally I wear it at my trousers' belt rings using the clip and tuck the excess cable in my pocket. I have a desktop setup with a DAC/amp combo that I mainly use for monitors, but since I've acquired the 5K, when I'm sitting at my desk, I no longer bother with the combo's HP output and just use a braided USC-C cable that I plug into the Qudelix at my belt and switch from wireless to wired to wireless again throughout the day this way.

 

[Jimbob54]

The qudelix is great but it suffers from the issue you mention in that it still needs a wire of the right length and termination for your cans.

It's more liberating than using the cans straight into your phone or a dongle dac and you can easily fit into a jacket pocket or belt clip, but wireless it ain't.

Personally, if you have the ability to eq on your phone before Bluetooth transmission, I'd go for the bose qc35 ii. Minimal eq makes them sound decent and very comfy.

 

[AudioStudies]

Qudelix looks small enough that it could be attached to headphones, and if there is a way to securely attach -- then the wiring could be very short and not have to run up one's body. Though that wouldn't be completely wireless, it would come with the ability to use any set of wired cans including very high quality cans. A device with its own EQ seems to lend itself to using different sources, such as Tidal, Sirius XM, or local computer files.

 

[D4v3]

Thanks guys, the Qudelix-5K does seem like a reasonable option, how do you find the battery life?

@MayaTlab were there none that you thought sounded good?

In terms of headphones I'm thinking maybe the Momentum 3 have the best sound stage and instrument separation? Though the Bower & Wilkins PX7's are interesting. The PX7's seem to trade blows with the Sony's for sound quality depending on the review.

 

[MayaTlab]

Thanks guys, the Qudelix-5K does seem like a reasonable option, how do you find the battery life?

With over-ears by far the main determinant is going to be whether you use it balanced or unbalanced. The former cuts the battery life roughly in half. I tend to get around 8-11 hours single ended, 5-6 hours balanced. Which is why I tend to prefer headphones that can be comfortably used single-ended with some margin when paired with it.

You can eek out a bit more battery using low gain and standard performance mode.

the headphones themselves... don't seem to matter that much, at least the ones I've been using it with so far (mainly open dynamics with varied impedance and sensitivity profiles).

The rest I think matters less :
- application of the PEQ or not.
- multiple vs single BT connection.
If these have an influence on battery life (quite likely), it's probably not obvious enough that I can easily perceive it.

@MayaTlab were there none that you thought sounded good?

I'm not impressed by most headphones in general and tend to find all of them flawed without PEQ.

Since you seem open to the idea of open headphones for your use case, that's why the Qudelix 5K is an interesting option that you should consider, as it considerably widens your options, as any pair of headphones (well, most of them) can potentially become "wireless" (in a certain way), and will be able to be PEQed regardless of the source.

@Jimbob54's suggestion to inquire whether or not your multiple source devices / apps can all provide decent EQ options is another area worth exploring.

 

[D4v3]

With over-ears by far the main determinant is going to be whether you use it balanced or unbalanced. The former cuts the battery life roughly in half. I tend to get around 8-11 hours single ended, 5-6 hours balanced. Which is why I tend to prefer headphones that can be comfortably used single-ended with some margin when paired with it.

You can eek out a bit more battery using low gain and standard performance mode.

the headphones themselves... don't seem to matter that much, at least the ones I've been using it with so far (mainly open dynamics with varied impedance and sensitivity profiles).

The rest I think matters less :
- application of the PEQ or not.
- multiple vs single BT connection.
If these have an influence on battery life (quite likely), it's probably not obvious enough that I can easily perceive it.



I'm not impressed by most headphones in general and tend to find all of them flawed without PEQ.

Since you seem open to the idea of open headphones for your use case, that's why the Qudelix 5K is an interesting option that you should consider, as it considerably widens your options, as any pair of headphones (well, most of them) can potentially become "wireless" (in a certain way), and will be able to be PEQed regardless of the source.

@Jimbob54's suggestion to inquire whether or not your multiple source devices / apps can all provide decent EQ options is another area worth exploring.

Thank you for the info.

In general I prefer open back headphones, I have a pair of Senheiser HD579's which I think sound quite good but I've never found them perticularily comfortable. While I would definitely prefer an all wireless headphone without the need for the bluetooth adapter the sound quality is the main criteria for me.

Really wish a company would make a set of open back bluetooth headphones built around sound quality. Everything is built around ANC and all the media outlet push ANC and seem to frown on anything that doesn't have it.

 

[MayaTlab]

Everything is built around ANC and all the media outlet push ANC and seem to frown on anything that doesn't have it.

A by-product of active headphones is that they can have a real or near real time feedback mechanism (nearly always the case with current ANC headphones, but Apple's AirPods don't need an ANC circuit to have it as well) that ensures that they can reach an exact target below around 700-1000Hz, regardless of various factors such as pad compression / leakage / etc.
In terms of sound quality, when properly implemented in the form of a sensible FR target curve in the feedback range and with minimal drawbacks (low noise), it can be a considerable improvement vs. the usual passive closed backs headphones at lower frequencies. The main problem being that it rarely is properly implemented unfortunately .
So there are some SQ advantages to a pair of ANC headphones, at least in theory.

 

[AudioStudies]

The ANC has improved over the years, and the sound quality of headphones with ANC has improved over the years. I don't think ANC is a "signal" that the cans are of inferior quality.

 

[Epos7]

I have a pair of Master & Dynamic MW-65s. When I purchased them, reviews touted them as having better sound quality and worse noise cancelling when compared to the Sony and Bose options.

I can't personally say how they compare to other Bluetooth options, but I can say they are exceedingly comfortable. I enjoy listening to music on them, but the sound quality is clearly inferior to my HD600s. They're wireless, so this was expected. They can be had on sale.

 

[RC231]

I have a pair of Valco VMK-20 that I bought when someone here mentioned them. The marketing is a bit cheeky but they sound pretty good to me. I am happy to loan them to Amir for a set of measurements if he has time and people are interested.