Which over ear headphones?

Which over ear headphones?

Author
Discussion

The Gauge

Original Poster:

3,188 posts

20 months

Sunday 3rd November
quotequote all
Looking to get the wife a pair of over ear headphones for music and using for work Teams calls, so must have…

Good noise cancelling
Good sound quality for music
Microphone for laptop Teams calls
Bluetooth

No particular budget but preferably no more than say £300ish

Any suggestions please?

dickymint

25,821 posts

265 months

Sunday 3rd November
quotequote all
Sony WH-1000XM4 without hesitation and many on here would agree.

https://www.sony.co.uk/store/product/wh1000xm4b.ce...


I've had the older 3 version for about 5 years and I wear them every day in work (very loud fabrication workshop) for 4 hours. Very comfortable and superb quantity. Wifey had had the 4's for a couple of years that are a shade better but not enough to justify an upgrade for me.

Sony has bought out a newer XM5 version but have totally changed how they fold and makes the case bigger - big mistake in my book.

rallye101

2,218 posts

204 months

Sunday 3rd November
quotequote all
dickymint said:
Sony WH-1000XM4 without hesitation and many on here would agree.

https://www.sony.co.uk/store/product/wh1000xm4b.ce...


I've had the older 3 version for about 5 years and I wear them every day in work (very loud fabrication workshop) for 4 hours. Very comfortable and superb quantity. Wifey had had the 4's for a couple of years that are a shade better but not enough to justify an upgrade for me.

Sony has bought out a newer XM5 version but have totally changed how they fold and makes the case bigger - big mistake in my book.
2nd'ed...

DodgyGeezer

42,391 posts

197 months

Sunday 3rd November
quotequote all
for us it was a choice between the aforementioned Sony and the Bose Quietcomfort - plumped for the Bose and haven't had any complaints so far (that said the acid test is coming up soon with a T/A flight... fingers crossed!)

The Gauge

Original Poster:

3,188 posts

20 months

Sunday 3rd November
quotequote all
I actually have the Sony XM4’s but didn’t realise they had a mic as I’ve never used it. So can i confirm that it has a built in mic that can connect via Bluetooth to a laptop for Teams calls?

Lovey1

475 posts

188 months

Wednesday 6th November
quotequote all
The Gauge said:
I actually have the Sony XM4’s but didn’t realise they had a mic as I’ve never used it. So can i confirm that it has a built in mic that can connect via Bluetooth to a laptop for Teams calls?
yes

conkerman

3,379 posts

142 months

Wednesday 6th November
quotequote all
JBL Live 770NC are decent value, and leaves a load of cash for beers. I use them every day and they work pretty well when connected to 2 devices.

Mars

9,093 posts

221 months

Wednesday 6th November
quotequote all
My intention is to purchase Bose QC Ultra in the Black Friday sales. I am hoping they will come down to around £300.

I've got the QC35s at present which are absolutely amazing. The best ANC on the market. I work in loud environments from where I often conduct video calls, and these are amazing in both directions at cutting out the background noise around me - for me - and not transmitting that noise to people on the other end.

Separately, I use them for my electronic drum kit too. I'll be keeping the QC35s for that purpose and the Ultras will move around with me and my laptop.

toon10

6,466 posts

164 months

Wednesday 6th November
quotequote all
I have the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2's.

They are bang on budget (£299) and Bluetooth although you can connect with a wire for when you're on a flight and want to watch airline content. They have good noise cancelling. I wouldn't say they are class leading in that respect, the Bose seemed better, but they are more than good enough.

They sound fantastic for music. More so than the Bose in my opinion. They are more forward sounding so maybe not as the artist intended but loads of punch and dynamics which is how I prefer to listen to music. This was the most important factor for me, and I tried a few options before getting the B&W. I was disappointed with the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4's which have absolutely no punch or dynamics to them. I tried some Focal's (can't remember the model), and they were a bit flatter and more lifeless but very clear and good with vocals.

I've not used the microphone for anything yet, but I think you can do phone calls and Teams calls with them.

wyson

2,691 posts

111 months

Wednesday 6th November
quotequote all
Teams certified Jabra Evolve 2 headset.

https://www.jabra.com/en-gb/business/office-headse...

Will do music perfectly well and work well with Teams. You want a boom mic for good call quality on the other end. Ideally the mic should be separated from the speakers and as close to the mouth as possible for the best sound quality. All the suggestions on this thread will be compromised for Teams calls because they don’t have a boom mic.

Don’t worry about the prices on the above webpage, they are a lot cheaper retail. You should be able to get a top of the line 85 model for your £300.

Edited by wyson on Wednesday 6th November 21:26

toasty

7,773 posts

227 months

Wednesday 6th November
quotequote all
Sony is great for noise cancelling and comfort, ok with music but pretty awful on Teams due to the mic picking up any ambient noise. If you’re not using predominantly for Teams, they’ll be fine.

Otherwise Jabra.

PT1984

2,553 posts

190 months

toon10 said:
I have the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2's.

They are bang on budget (£299) and Bluetooth although you can connect with a wire for when you're on a flight and want to watch airline content. They have good noise cancelling. I wouldn't say they are class leading in that respect, the Bose seemed better, but they are more than good enough.

They sound fantastic for music. More so than the Bose in my opinion. They are more forward sounding so maybe not as the artist intended but loads of punch and dynamics which is how I prefer to listen to music. This was the most important factor for me, and I tried a few options before getting the B&W. I was disappointed with the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4's which have absolutely no punch or dynamics to them. I tried some Focal's (can't remember the model), and they were a bit flatter and more lifeless but very clear and good with vocals.

I've not used the microphone for anything yet, but I think you can do phone calls and Teams calls with them.
These are down to £250 at Amazon but the previous version are £180 at John Lewis!