Best Bluetooth headphones?

J

JDmsz

Audioholic Intern
I was looking for a Bluetooth headphone that has good quality bass but not light though and no more than 300-400 dollars. I was interested in the Sony WH1000XM2. So I went to my local best buy and tested them and surprisingly they sounded to thin for my taste. Now I don't if it's the source best buy was using or they had a volume cap limit. The specifications claim they go down to 4Hz (which humans can't hear) but it didn't even sound like they can go down to 25 hz. I know Bluetooth headphones don't favor "audiophiles" but just tell me what headphone I should go with or should I just give the WH1000XM2 and chance with my own device and see how it sounds.

P.S I don't like Bose's QC35s
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
I was looking for a Bluetooth headphone that has good quality bass but not light though and no more than 300-400 dollars. I was interested in the Sony WH1000XM2. So I went to my local best buy and tested them and surprisingly they sounded to thin for my taste. Now I don't if it's the source best buy was using or they had a volume cap limit. The specifications claim they go down to 4Hz (which humans can't hear) but it didn't even sound like they can go down to 25 hz. I know Bluetooth headphones don't favor "audiophiles" but just tell me what headphone I should go with or should I just give the WH1000XM2 and chance with my own device and see how it sounds.

P.S I don't like Bose's QC35s
I really like these and own a set, it is just about a steal at this price! Normal price is $300 and I paid $200, I never seen them at $140 (amazon prices tend to fluctuate, so may not be that price later).
https://www.amazon.com/AKG-845BT-Bluetooth-Wireless-Headphones/dp/B00H00OG7G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512773168&sr=8-1&keywords=akg+845bt

I suspect these are also quite good, you just missed a killer sale for $89 a pair, now back to normal pricing
https://rbhsound.com/hp1b.php
 
afterlife2

afterlife2

Audioholic Warlord
J

Justmy002

Enthusiast
If you find the Sony WX1000XM2 too thin for your taste, then I don't think there are many other possible options for you out there because in my opinion, the Sony has one of the best midranges and bass for a wireless headphone. Perhaps you might want to consider the Sennheiser PXC 550 then if you are already ruling out the Bose?
 
Eddie14

Eddie14

Enthusiast
The most powerful one I've ever had is Audio-Technica DSR9BT. Expensive, but worth.
 
P

pwlong

Audioholic Intern
I really like my Sennheiser PXC 550s -- great for plane travel, since they're NC too. Kinda pricey but super comfortable, and they sound good (to my ears anyway).
 
tyhjaarpa

tyhjaarpa

Audioholic Field Marshall
I went with these for Christmas and these are the best sounding headphones in my opinion. Looks pretty high end too. B&O PLAY by Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H8 Wireless On-Ear Headphone with Active Noise Cancelling, Bluetooth 4.2 (Gray Hazel) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R45Z2WU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_k7YjYx4FUMyT1
I have listened to some B&O headphones and speakers and to me they are way over priced. It feels like they are more interested to make them look good and use a lot money to marketing them than actually make them sound good. Nice if you have liked them, but to me they sounded like some cheap stuff.

Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 are best bluetooth headphones I personally have heard. How ever they don't have boosted bass like op is looking for but they have neutral sound.
 
d3vi0uz

d3vi0uz

Audiophyte
I've owned the Sennheiser PXC 550 for over a year now.

While they are mainly touted as having (arguably) the best active noise cancellation (I fly a lot) and marketed as such, they offer the best sound reproduction for me. They go for around $320 on Amazon now.

And they are one of the most comfortable headphones I've worn. I do coast to cast flights (SF to NYC) a few dozen times a year, and usually wear the PXC 550s for 3-5 hours at a time. Half the time I forget I'm wearing them, but that is probably due in part to the active noise cancelling.

The WH1000XM2 sounded good, but the PXC 550 feels a bit warmer and better sound stage, if that matters to you. The bass is neck and neck for me. Essentially, the PXC 550 does everything the WH1000XM2 does but better IMO.
 
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M

Mark Hogquist

Enthusiast
I'm seriously enjoying my Audio Technica ath ws99bt set. They have plenty of bass when and where it's needed imo. They sound better wired, especially with an amp, but every wireless set of cans I've listened to seem to be this way. They still reach great volume levels when used wireless. More so than any others I've found. They have a built-in amp according to specs and features. I have no idea what that is exactly, but I believe it's specific to the wireless mode. When I listen to bass heavy music, they sound brilliant.
 
tyhjaarpa

tyhjaarpa

Audioholic Field Marshall
I'm seriously enjoying my Audio Technica ath ws99bt set. They have plenty of bass when and where it's needed imo. They sound better wired, especially with an amp, but every wireless set of cans I've listened to seem to be this way. They still reach great volume levels when used wireless. More so than any others I've found. They have a built-in amp according to specs and features. I have no idea what that is exactly, but I believe it's specific to the wireless mode. When I listen to bass heavy music, they sound brilliant.
I have not tried that model, but the cans look smaller than ATH M50 and even those cans were really uncomfortable to wear for any extended time. Also the sound quality on ATH M50 were not outstanding, they had bass, yes, but that was pretty much it. Like I said I have not heard the ATH WS99 but to me they look quite a lot like M50's.
 
tyhjaarpa

tyhjaarpa

Audioholic Field Marshall
But this review website claims it has good quality score.

View attachment 23536
Quite many reviews are paid for and you should not trust them blindly. Also things like headphones are really subjective as there are many factors for how they sound to you and how they work for comfort as well.
 
Montucky

Montucky

Full Audioholic
Quite many reviews are paid for and you should not trust them blindly. Also things like headphones are really subjective as there are many factors for how they sound to you and how they work for comfort as well.
Yup. It's almost like asking what the best loudspeaker is. I can tell you from MY experience though, that I've always felt the RBH HP1B is about the most bang for the buck that I've come across. One thing you want to look for is something that supports APTX which is essentially CD quality (or close to it) via bluetooth which can make a nice difference.
That said, I've found that I also really like the Sony Hear.On series cans. They're like twice the price of the RBH's though and I don't think they sound any better, but I did find them more comfortable, but that is entirely 100% subjective. All of us have such different head sizes, ear shapes, sound preferences, etc. My wife tried a bunch of cans, and ended up finding the RBH's the most comfortable to her. They are her primary go-to. I've found myself stealing them a bunch lately too. Haha.
 
rojo

rojo

Audioholic Samurai
But this review website claims it has good quality score.

View attachment 23536
I listened to those in a Best Buy the other day. The demo was deceptively staged for ease of reproduction without much polyphony, but I still heard some grit and the tuning was boring. They were decent, but I prefer the sound from my Parrot Zik 2.0, currently available in various colors on Amazon for < $150. I'd probably still be more likely to suggest OP follow others' recommendation of Sennheiser, AKG, or RBH headphones, as my Parrot cans have other issues -- poor wired performance, heavy reliance on an app, and the ear pads aren't replaceable.
 
Montucky

Montucky

Full Audioholic
I listened to those in a Best Buy the other day. The demo was deceptively staged for ease of reproduction without much polyphony, but I still heard some grit and the tuning was boring.
The tough thing about this is it's tough for the average customer to know if the Best Buy demos can be trusted for better or worse. (Hint: You can't) You can get DRAMATICALLY different results from a set of headphones, depending upon device amplification, equalization, the source, etc. Sony supplied me with a demo setup for my store that had a bunch of preselected music. No matter what you'd do to the unit, after a couple minutes of being left alone, it would revert back to "demo" settings and go back to playing it's preselected loop of music. While some of it sounded decent, some of it sounded like garbage. I ended up unplugging the headphones from the demo unit and instead connecting them to the excellent Sony HAP-S1 media player for my headphone station. The same exact headphones sounded WAY, WAY, WAY better using that device paired with my selection of hi-res files and honestly leaving EQ totally alone. Made me realize that the Sony drivers were actually pretty good. These were the MDR-1A. I've also really liked using the Sony headphones amplifiers as well. That makes a REALLY dramatic difference when plugged into a device with typically lousy headphone amplification like a phone.
 
J

Justmy002

Enthusiast
I'd go with the Sennheiser PX550 or the Sony WH1000XM2. I own the Sony MDR1000X and totally love it. The MDR1000X has the same hardware, noise cancellation and sound EQ as the newer model so I do have a good idea of how the Sony WH1000XM2 sounds, and I do not think the sound is thin, perhaps it was the specific content that you heard. In fact, I think sound is even thinner on the Bose QC35. But anyway, everyone's sound preference is different. One thing for sure though, I think the Sony is super versatile and sounds excellent for all types of music genres. I've played everything from rock, EDM, dubstep, drum 'n' bass, acoustic rock, live music, etc. and they all sound great on the Sony.
 
Aanchal Vishesh Shahani

Aanchal Vishesh Shahani

Audiophyte
I'll recommend the Boult Audio Boost headphones because these headphones are designed very carefully to match your lifestyle with a stunning soft headband and comfortable earcups. I've been using these headphones for the past 5 months, and I am happy with the build quality of these headphones
 
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M

MacCali

Full Audioholic
I would suggest waiting for or they may have already dropped, the HiFiman Bluetooth headsets are going to be killer at a great price.

Second, blackfriday is right around the corner. You should hold out and buy something more premium.

Again, not sure how much you’ve looked into headphones, the dac is pretty important portion of headphones and Bluetooth headphones suffer major because of cheap crap being constituted into the product. That’s why traditional products are preferred for quality sound. That’s why I suggest a company that is strictly into headphones to provide quality products internally.

The HiFiman Deva is 219 on the HiFiman website. That’s a good deal.

They got the Ananda BT but that’s a 1000. Probably 700 on Black Friday
 

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