Looking for an Active Noise Cancelling over The Ear Bluetooth Headset That's Great for Listening to Bass & Sub Bass Heavy Music

Zachary on 15/02/2019 - 00:07
Last edited 15/02/2019 - 09:24

…optionally with a legacy 3.5mm connection for devices that don't have bluetooth or their bluetooth is like busted or something but have a working 3.5mm port….preferably with this but I guess I don't mind if I don't/can't get it….

I think these are due for a replacement and upgrade; they have serve me well these past few years, my beloved Creative Aurvana - however they've become a bit flaky …..physically, but recently electronically as well…

When I mean headset, I actually do mean the headphones need to come with an attached mic (that's of decent quality as well as I know some headsets have crap mics….) so I can talk through them as well as listen. The batteries will need to last at least a good whole day…..if at all possible…

I don't mind if they are expensive(but I'm not looking at studio quality ones as I know some of these can be upwards of $1000 - unless you can only get these at studio quality level?), as long as they have the features I wanted described here(Including the title), of course preferably and ideally the lowest costing pair from where ever it is that I can buy from, that isn't a scam(or knock off) of course….hahaha…

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

EDIT: Forgot to say that it needs to be travel friendly too, so either a carry case or and a way for the headset to comfortable rest on my shoulders (shoulders… what is this? collar bone are or around there anyways is probably what I meant to say), etc….

EDIT 2: If the battery can't last a whole day, ie 24 hrs of use, then have the batteries at least easily removable, like my Aurvana's so I can lengthen its use for the day; if I can also use standard size batteries, like AA or AAA ones that'd be even better as I have some eneloops I could put to use… I guess if I can recharge the batteries whilst they're inside the headset could be a plus too - saves me having to take them out and chuck them in a dedicated recharger…..

Find Me A Bargain Headphones

Comments

  • Diji1 on 15/02/2019 - 01:31

    Nuraphone.

    • Zachary on 17/02/2019 - 00:56

      Those….uhh….look rather peculiar…..yes….mmm…but I'll give them a try, no need to discriminate; will give all a try…

  • Kangal on 15/02/2019 - 02:05
    +1

    Many variant choices:
    B&O
    Bose
    Sennheiser
    Sony

    …there's other brands but they're not as good as the above, is the main consensus.. However, you shouldn't judge the product based on the brand, but rather on the merits of the actual product. Just remember the "whole package", that includes:
    price, audio quality, battery life, noise cancelling behaviour, comfort, ease of buttons/tactile, folding/portability, etc etc.

  • wallet72 on 15/02/2019 - 12:08
    +1

    Sennheiser for sound, Sony for comfort - it is such a personal preference you would only find out for sure by trying before you buy. JB Hifi usually have a good range of units to try, and if you are in Sydney Nurafone are in the CBD for you to try (not sure about other cities).

  • theHMASfriendship on 15/02/2019 - 14:27

    Sony XM3s have stronger bass than the rest of the usual active noise cancelling, bluetooth over ear crew. Folds down into a small case, 30hr battery life (usb c charging!) and noise cancelling is on par with bose. Can be had for $300-350 on special, e.g. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/435703

    Most come with a 3.5mm cable too.

    • Zachary on 15/02/2019 - 19:48

      Hm those look like they might actually fit the bill…..dunno about the mic part, I've been so accustomed to having the mic to be positioned really close to your mouth to get a clear voice through (so it feels a bit strange if I don't feel/see a mic in front my mouth….hahaha), but this might be one of those top notch ones where you don't need to have the mic stuffed near your mouth to talk and the other person hearing clearly on the other end….any comments on that? Have you tried calling someone through these cans and what was it like?

      Hmmmm, the official says the legacy cable only comes with the stereo cable, so I take it that there won't be a mic line via the old 3.5mm combined connection?

      • theHMASfriendship on 15/02/2019 - 21:24
        +1

        Yeah there isn't an inline mic. Call quality isn't super awesome but usually dont have a problem with people hearing me.

  • Melb69 on 16/02/2019 - 11:10

    Has OP been in a bubble with the NC headphones. This site is filled with NC options. The next thing OP is going to post is How can I get cheap NC headphones. Sony XM3s or Sennheisers. Do as one of the other poster have suggested and go to JB or some other store that has them as try before you buy. Then set yourself a budget. You can easily get a pair of the Sony or Bose for $350. Just don't complain if you cant get one at $300 or below as they are very hard to get.

    • Zachary on 17/02/2019 - 00:52

      Well my apologies if I have been in a bubble and wasn't participating in historical NC headphones threads/deals because at the time I wasn't interested in them…….now I am as I am seeking a replacement set…..

      The next thing OP is going to post is How can I get cheap NC headphones.

      Nope… :P It's all in this thread topic. ☺

      Do as one of the other poster have suggested and go to JB or some other store that has them as try before you buy. Then set yourself a budget. You can easily get a pair of the Sony or Bose for $350. Just don't complain if you cant get one at $300 or below as they are very hard to get.

      I will, thanks for the advice….

      • Melb69 on 17/02/2019 - 01:42

        There's virtually weekly posts ones on the Sonys. To answer your Q. Just go the Sonys XM3s as they will tick your requirements and price point ok for $350. You won't regret it. Good bass, good battery life, quick charge if needed, nice case, looks good IMO, good tech features, app allows equiliser as some have felt out of the box not to their liking for sound. good NC. Just try for comfort. Check out some you tube reviews. Highly rated.

    • Zachary on 18/02/2019 - 14:56

      Just don't complain if you cant get one at $300 or below as they are very hard to get.

      Whoa, just reading some historical posts and there was one at $274 price point at one time……..

      • Melb69 on 18/02/2019 - 18:13

        You'll only get that with commercial in

        • Zachary on 19/02/2019 - 01:36

          How do I get commercial in?

          Also just went to JB HiFi in Perth CBD, and yeah went through a few headphones sets. Some of the bluetooth on the headsets were disabled for no reason - guess I should have asked why, but oh well too late now…

          Nice selection, I guess….as it turns out, it boils down to Bose QC35 II and the Sony WH-1000XM3, a few more would have been made it except they missed some points I wanted, like rotatable cups to rest so it's not so awkward when bending your neck down for something or they had no bluetooth, always missing one or two of the features I want, some over the ear cups were too small for my ears, and a bunch of on-ear cans….hah

          The Bose seems to have a flaky bluetooth connection, would drop out(or even refuse to connect or be found) even when I'm like 0cm away from them, but I guess I could give them a benefit of a doubt for maybe having a dodgy pair for demo'ing, will try another pair in another store tomorrow…..otherwise when they do connect and get a stable connection, they actually give that authentic authority feeling behind the much needed sub bass trap beats…..oh yeah!

          As the model name suggests, I found these actually more comfortable than the Sony's. Can't really test out the noise cancellations without a controlled noisy environment…..one minute, it's hell and the next it's peace and quiet…..really hard to gauge its effectiveness…. BUT it does seem to be enough to cancel out the music that's played from the speakers in store…..or that could just be the result of having my music louder than theirs….haha….

          Aesthetics wise, it isn't too bad looking, but really nothing for me to gloat about….but I've seen worse…..hell I got one right here that I showed in OP! hahahaha…. Though I guess the bluetooth switch may be a bit of a sore eye scene……would have been nice if it was more hidden like Sony's….

          Now for the Sony's, these guys connect without fail after pressing the on button. Appears to have an equally amount of authority behind those sub bass notes, but one person said it does better in this area than the others; however I personally can't really tell from either without more in-depth testing of specific notes or frequencies or extreme sub bass music/songs…..which would require me to buy both…..for science…

          As with noise cancellations, can't really gauge effectiveness without a controlled environment….the touch controls an interesting one, would have to memorize what does what and how to do it to d it without thinking or taking off your set…..hah….unlike the Bose which actually have buttons if I call…..that you press that I'm more accustomed too….

          As with their legacy connection, didn't try them as they appear to be hard locked into the table…..

          I wanted to try out the nuraphone but they didn't have one on demo……

          …yeah….

          Edit: According to this comparison site, neither have an app for windows….rip….shame neither can connect the mic via legacy 3.5mm port….and only via bluetooth…..what happens if bluetooth dies or on a non-bluetooth enabled phone??

          • Melb69 on 19/02/2019 - 03:45

            @Zachary: Yes No mic connection through 3.5 jack. If you have a 3.5 port use cable to phone. If you want comfort from the sounds of it the bose. If you want best sound for bass, NC go sony. Overtime the sony may feel more comfortable. Decisions decisions. It's a personal choice and one you need to make yourself. Bose connect to multiple devices QC35ii. Sony you need to disconnect Bluetooth from on them connect to other. Does have nfc. YouTube reviews are also good. I think you have to be an affiliate with jbhi or GG. Staff not sure. Good deal at sub $300.Not for the general public from what I understand.

            • Zachary on 20/02/2019 - 14:17

              @Melb69: So went yesterday and apparently Bose decided to "disable" bluetooth on all their demo products…….for some reason that even that JB HiFi staff doesn't know….which explains the dodgy connection or failure….

              Well if the Sony's comfort will increase overtime, I guess I could go with Sony……I would have to have a wild stab because I don't know how reliable the bluetooth is on the Bose when it's enabled…kinda defeats the purpose of being a demo product, if you're trying to test the bluetooth only for it to be disabled, right? …speaking of which there were a few other branded headsets whose bluetooth was also disabled too……..also the Sony uses BT4.2 over Bose's 4.1 version…..according to above linked comparison…

              Well I only have one device to connect to anyways, so I guess I'm fine with Sony's single connect limitation.

              haha, anyone affiliated with JB or GG to help out? :P

              If you have a 3.5 port use cable to phone.

              But then I have to deal with the cable….hahaha….

              • Melb69 on 20/02/2019 - 21:59

                @Zachary: You only need the cable if you want to use the airplane jack or if you run out of battery or cant use it with a device that doesn't transmit Bluetooth. You shouldn't have an issue when talking via bluethooth. 30hour battery life and fast charge.

                • Zachary on 21/02/2019 - 01:43

                  @Melb69: I'm surprised airplanes dont have an option for bluetooth that you can just connect to in this day and age….and still using legacy cables…..

                  • Melb69 on 21/02/2019 - 03:25
                    +1

                    @Zachary: The new planes might, but generally its still the 2 pin connevtion

  • Melb69 on 19/02/2019 - 04:05

    By the way the sound of NC headphone will never be as good as a dedicated wired head set for bass and heavy bass. With NC for some reason the sound isn't as good compared to ones without this feature. You have to weigh up what's most important as per other posters comments. Some good deals in OzB for bose and Sony at $350 mark.

    • Zachary on 20/02/2019 - 14:07

      By the way the sound of NC headphone will never be as good as a dedicated wired head set for bass and heavy bass. With NC for some reason the sound isn't as good compared to ones without this feature.

      …really? Why's that?

      • Melb69 on 20/02/2019 - 21:57

        Believe the NC process affects the audio. The NC works of counter balancing the noise outside and pumping into your ear so you don't hear it. At the same time your getting your music. If your use to wireless headphone sounds and not an audiophile it wont be such a big deal. They are still good sounding headphones to me.

        • Zachary on 21/02/2019 - 01:49

          Yeah ok fair enough….

          Well this must be my lucky day……both the Bose QC35 II and Sony WH-1000XM3 are on sale at $319.20 and $318.40 respectively! Now which to pick……..hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…………..could get the Bose from Amazon for its 6% extra cashback which is further reduces the price paid, indirectly, on the set, or the Sony through AddictedtoAudio via Ebay but with only 1% cashback…..both having free post…nice….

          • Melb69 on 21/02/2019 - 03:27

            @Zachary: So what are you getting? Before sale runs out.

            • Zachary on 21/02/2019 - 19:40

              @Melb69: I bought the Sony's…..on impulse; like you said - get in quick before she disappears, and it would appear it has…….hah……I guess it was a good thing I got it on impulse otherwise i would have had not gotten in, as today I would have came late….

              …might later check out the QC45's when they get released though….if they do….or then again maybe not, one is enough for me…hahaha…..until they too become flaky like the current ones i have even after fixing them up with hot glue….

              • Melb69 on 21/02/2019 - 19:57
                +1

                @Zachary: Don't do the post research. Enjoy your new headphones when then come. On these you can't hesitate as stocks at the lower prices don't come that often although it was a similar price earlier in the month. But why waste another few weeks trying to find one at the low price point. Hence why my original sarcastic comment about a post on missing out.

  • Zachary on 26/02/2019 - 02:35

    Ok so finally home and opened my parcel…

    Pics as to verify I actually got what I said I got:

    Front - I don't know why ozbargain as formatted my pic sideways….it looks landscape before I uploaded…..hm, it seems to have also compressed all my images too….without noting such or an option to opt out of it ……poor form…. Hmmm, there also appears to be a ding on one of the corners…..lets take a closer look, it would appear it was hard dropped during transit…..as I can feel the bubble wrap where this corner was at has deflated…..hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…..but shouldn't be too much of a worry as long as the product inside is still looking spic and span and unaffected…..

    Left side from front view

    Right side from front view

    Back

    Top

    Bottom

    And since I still have the box for my old set, may as well compare just for the hell of it…hahahaha:

    Front - comparing the boxes… - this is supposed to be landscade but ozbargain has reformatted it ….

    Inside cover 1 - suppose to be landscape…..but got reformatted on upload to this site….for some reason…

    Inside cover 2 - suppose to be landscape…..but got reformatted on upload to this site….for some reason…

    Bottom - suppose to be landscape…..but got reformatted on upload to this site….for some reason…

    Back - suppose to be upright and not upside down…..

    Left

    Right - suppose to be right side up, not upside down….

    Top

    I'll do the unboxing tomorrow…..need to sleep…..to wake up early tomorrow….

    PS - I've had my current Creative headset for almost 6 years.

  • Zachary on 27/02/2019 - 18:37

    Not gonna use OZB to host my images now that I know they compress and format the crap out of it(worse when in incorrect orientation…) without my consent, I shall host these on imgur instead…unless I don't care for quality(…not that I'm one to talk or else these pictures should be professionally taken with crystal clear clarity and saved in a lossless format to preserve original quality, if we're going that far…… :P) that much or just want a quickie….probably why hardly anyone hosts on this site for images…. /rant

    …anyways, so got to unboxing this beauty….some pics for your enjoyment, courtesy of imgur(oh god….now I remember the album issue they had….. faceplam): https://i.imgur.com/N2zU30G.jpg (Gah they've orientated it incorrectly here as well!)

    So it comes with a nice looking travel case - the box itself is actually pretty rigid …oh minus the bottom and the back and that's still floppy, the sides aren't as thick as the other two sides that give it that strong rigid feeling….ha…

    Comes with a sheet of paper that looks like they're advertising bluetooth capability and android and apple product compatibility (a black cover basically says the same); a quck start guide showing to work it, what's supposed to be inside the box and how long to charge for full battery, in this case 3 hrs, apparently NFC only works for Android or they'd show an apple device and or other in the illustrations; a reference guide details safety and technical specifications in more detail; legacy 3.5mm cable; left and right channel splitter for airplane trips; a USB 2.0 type C cable for charging and a quick reference on a piece of cardboard inside the carry case in case you forget how to work it.

    Interesting to note that the metal zip thing has a brass (I think that's brass, coz it's not bronze or else it'd have a browner look) colour finish….not sure if you can see it in that picture but this one might give you a better idea at what I'm looking at….

    I guess another post in the coming week or two after of use, for a personal review of it….that will hopefully wrap this thread up. ☺ Stay tuned!

    EDIT:

    Do not use the unit while walking, driving or cycling. Doing so may cause traffic accidents.

    Really…? I did not know…….

  • Zachary on 31/03/2019 - 23:08

    …okay….. I think I'm kinda overdue on this…….lets see where to start? The points listed below are in no particular order of importance:

    Battery life is actually less than the 30 hrs advertised, but more than 24 - shuts down at about 25-ish hrs used which is a pass in my book as I only needed 24 in case I needed a 24 hr straight run of the set……

    Recharging to full is as advertised, around 3 hrs, ± 10 minutes which is still acceptable……haven't tested the 10 minute charge advert yet where it says I would get at least 5 hrs use by only charging it for 10 minutes….

    Whilst charging, you can't use bluetooth, but can use legacy 3.5mm connection but since there's no mic line with the legacy connection, you won't be able to use it as a headset…..

    Receiving calls and using it as a headset works fine.

    The latency touted that it won't be much use for gaming or watching films is incorrect…well I at least didn't notice much latency whilst playing Killing Floor which is a fast pace zombie survival horror game…..I watched some youtube videos and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary….I guess maybe what they wanted to say is that it isn't ideal which is fair enough….apparently there's a 200ms lag compared to WiFi which is 150ms compared to 0ms or very little on wire, on some comparison sites….

    At first when I received it, I thought the build was rather flimsy…..after a while I kinda got used to it…..

    It's comfortable I guess, might be different if I were to have used it for more than 2 hrs straight though but I've not yet the need for more than 2 hrs straight……..but it lacks the way the Tiamat 7.1 V2 set does it where it has that nice angle between the headrest and the cushions such that it rests comfortably on my upper torso area……which is what I wanted……

    In some areas of the CBD, I notice playback of music would stutter or pop……presumably due to other wireless interference…….I would literally have to hold my phone 20cm or less to the set to not get those breaks in those areas……..not sure if this is can fixed or not…..maybe an area denial whilst I pass by so I can listen to my music without those hiccups? hahaha…..

    Have to occasionally clean my sweat off the cushions and headband rest……

    I should test the the bluetooth range…..but otherwise besides those CBD area hiccups, it's great if yo have the paired device in your pocket!

    There is no app for non-android or iphone users, so those running a windows phone or other non-android/iphone smartphones like me, won't get the full experience since the EQ is on that app…..which would benefit greatly when you're listening to different style of music genres and not just one constant one…..

    I think that's it, is there anything else I missed out to comment on?

    But yeah, hopefully these areas won't be needing some quick glue fixes anytime soon:
    https://i.imgur.com/EqYi4AS.jpg, https://i.imgur.com/wpgpzOv.jpg, https://i.imgur.com/v2jyPF7.jpg, https://i.imgur.com/AEWtk9t.jpg, and https://i.imgur.com/0Vusb9y.jpg

    I guess some more pictures coz why not:
    https://i.imgur.com/YrWZtDj.jpg and https://i.imgur.com/0yuy96K.jpg

    Think I'll have one more post to finish it up which I go into the bluetooth range and calling someone and using it as a headset as I've only received calls using it as apparently you can't use it if you're the one calling….which I'll find out…later this week or two…hah….

  • Zachary on 03/11/2019 - 13:18

    Woops, forgot about this.

    Bluetooth range is well depends on physical obstruction - I was able to get a good 20m signal before it dropped.

    Apparently when you're low on battery, your voice that's sent over is quiet, compared to if you had call with a full battery charge.

    Can't use legacy connection as well Bluetooth for dual audio streaming, say listening to music in the background using the Bluetooth connection whilst also working on a project on a computer connected using the 3.5mm method where you need audio feedback.

    OK I think that's it for this review of mine. Any questions, lay them here. If not see you around!

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