Headset Recommendation for Listening Music at Work?

OMGJL on 13/03/2023 - 14:37

Dear OzBargainers,

I would like to hear your recommendation for a headset. It will be used at work(office) for listening music.

Primary goal is comfortable wearing, I wish to wear it serval hours straight. The most comfortable headset I have used so far is Bose QC35 ii, I can wear it all day long.

The second priority is sound quality, I am not a heavy bass head, I prefer balanced, details and good sound stages.

Budget would be anywhere around $100 to $400, depends on the quality/value.

Better to be wired (AUX/USB both fine), as work PC does not have bluetooth, nor it allows to install drivers etc. (unless someone can recommend a Win10 driver-less BT USB adapter)

(mic is nice to have but optional, I can find ways around it. Noise cancelation is nice but not required.)

any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Electrical & Electronics Headphones

Comments

  • scrimshaw on 13/03/2023 - 14:49
    +5

    https://i.imgur.com/0RGBPvn.png

    Sony WH-1000XM4 $355 or XM5 $389.

    Under $400 on the Good Guys Commercial portal.

    Or Sony eBay for in refurbished condition $388.55 with PLUSMAR1 voucher.

    These are BT headphones but they come with a 3.5mm wire, and it will sound better if you use them in wired mode.

    • OMGJL on 13/03/2023 - 15:18

      Thanks very much!

      Have you tried the refurb ones yourself? Heard mixed review on OzB before…

      • freefall101 on 13/03/2023 - 15:43
        +1

        I bought refurb XM4s, fairly certain they were brand new. There was a bit of a mark on the box, so I assume I got box damaged instead of refurb.

  • cameldownunder on 13/03/2023 - 15:38
    +1

    Bose QC45. That's what I use, and sometimes I forget I am in an open floor office.

  • FoxJump on 13/03/2023 - 15:43

    i like my bose nc700

    • scrimshaw on 13/03/2023 - 16:39

      The NC700 does not have 3.5mm jack and it doesn't have a retractable headband.

      The Sony's are technically better, both in ANC performance and sound quality (according to reviews anyway

      • FoxJump on 14/03/2023 - 23:38

        they have a 2.5mm hole for which you can get an adapter.

  • meowsers on 13/03/2023 - 15:46

    I see a lot of people wearing these https://www.bose.com.au/en_au/support/products/bose_wearable…

    Not sure if they are still made.

    They are like subtle headphones that seem to beam sound up to your ears, while not making it look like you have headphones on and are antisocial. people around you cant hear them

    • OMGJL on 13/03/2023 - 15:56

      not a big concern for my job. My team sometimes type in the group chat even though we sit right against each other. Majority of time we just stare into the monitor coding/wondering off.

  • p1 ama on 13/03/2023 - 15:59
    +1

    The most comfortable headset I have used so far is Bose QC35 ii, I can wear it all day long.

    Any reason why you want something new instead of continuing to use the QC35 II?

    • OMGJL on 13/03/2023 - 16:43

      2 reason:

      1. I use it at home, and wanted something at work so I don't need to carry it around all the time. Plus its pretty hot to wear it in summer during commute, means I'll need to use my TWS earbuds on the train, and carry the headset in the bag, and I'll have to charge it rather frequently too ——- convenience factor.

      2. QC35ii will force switch itself off when it's connected by a wire (which will also turn off its dsp), resulting a very cheap and dull sound — works PC don't have BT.

      • CrispyChrispy on 13/03/2023 - 16:50

        I use it at home, and wanted something at work so I don't need to carry it around all the time. Plus its pretty hot to wear it in summer during commute

        Then would you want another set of headphones or as @rumblytangara suggested, IEMs or earphones of some kind?

        • OMGJL on 13/03/2023 - 17:04

          don't want in-ear buds, (I could've keep using my TWS at work with my phone), this is more due to health reasons, blocking the ear for more than half a day everyday is not great AFAIK.

          his other suggestions were great, I do still have some concerns (which I've replied below), if you have any insight that you could share? That would be greatly appriciated!

  • rumblytangara on 13/03/2023 - 16:33
    +2

    Urgh… sound quality and all the recommendations of Bose and Sony do not compute :/ I've found the defaults of both to be bass bloated with no detail. I have found my bone conduction headset (Shokz) to sound better than these- certainly more balanced.

    For closed headphones, I've found Sennheiser Momentums to be pretty good. In-ears (IEMs) can have incredible detail and really good sound isolation (Etymotics, Shure). If you want long term listening comfort, you can get custom molds for IEMs.

    If you sit far enough away from people, and listen at moderate levels, you might be able to get by with open back, over the ear headphones. Something like this is far cheaper than the bluetooth ANC headphones and far, far, far better in sound quality. They are also very comfortable as they sit around your ears (rather than squashing them down) and are cooler as they are open backed.

    https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-x-sennheiser-hd-58x-jubilee-he…

    The downsides- if you crank up the volume, people can hear it. And you can also hear what's going on around you, they don't block out noise. But these headphones are just beyond the threshold of letting you know exactly how inadequate most the common Bluetooth headsets are in terms of sound quality. There is so much additional detail and clarity that it's a bit of an 'aha' moment.

    • OMGJL on 13/03/2023 - 16:59

      sound quality and all the recommendations of Bose and Sony do not compute :/

      Which is half the reason why I mentioned wired in the first place, I have a rough idea that by having BT I'd pay more and may get slightly worse quality, but I don't know enough to describe it properly nor make better decisions.

      I've found Sennheiser Momentums to be pretty good

      It's a bit outside of my budget, I can afford it but being a cheap arse myself it's a hard trigger to pull. (TBH I don't really want to spend all the way to $400 in the first place —- if I can get the job done with $200 or even $100 then happy days —- also depends on how much quality I lose too, I wish to find a good middle ground)

      If you sit far enough away from people

      The guy in front of me is facing me, and is blocked by our monitor and the middle board, guy on my left WFH often, guy on my right is about 1.5m~2m apart, I guess if sound leakage isn't too bad I'd be fine.

      very comfortable as they sit around your ears

      Good call, this is exactly why the QC35ii fit me so well.

      hd 58x

      Seems to be a decent price range. Do I need to buy a separate AMP? and how's this compared to the HD6xx?

      I very appreciate your help and input!

      • rumblytangara on 13/03/2023 - 18:20

        You don't need a dedicated amp to drive the 58X. TBH I can listen fine to the 6XX without and amp be perfectly happy, I think the audiophile fuss about amps is a bit overblown. And yes, I have run a fairly wide gamut of amps and 'serious' headphones in the past. I wold recommend against going down the audiophile hole, it's a big pit of time and money and foo foo.

        If it's a very quiet office, sound leakage will be a problem. If there's a fair bit of background noise, you might get away with it. I've been in the office with someone using open Sennheisers, and it's been okay. But it was a noisy group.

        I have a rough idea that by having BT I'd pay more and may get slightly worse quality,

        Frankly I don't think the problem is necessarily BT. I think it's that nobody that uses these headphones has a clue what audio gear is capable of sounding like, so the manufacturers DNGAF and design for other parameters (being compact with tiny drivers, ANC, for lots of bass, who knows). I have BT speakers that sound pretty decent, BT doesn't automatically make stuff sound terrible.

        (Yeah, I am trying not to come across as an audio snob and failing miserably :)

  • tabz on 13/03/2023 - 18:48
    +1

    Beyerdynamic DT770 is both super comfy and sounds decent. It's not super bassy, but the sound signature is V shaped so the lower frequencies are elevated a bit. The 32ohm or the 80ohm versions should be easy enough to drive without an amp too.

    • OMGJL on 21/03/2023 - 12:56

      thanks for your help!

      but both are pushing onto the ear type of headset, I haven't wear or tried any of these, but it certainly doesn't look comfortable inspiring…

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