Best Headphones?

[Lisafuller]

Been looking to get a pair of headphones recently- specifically, over-ear headphones. So far, I’ve only really considered the Beats Studio 3 and the Apple AirPods Max. The former is just under $500 while the latter retails for around $850. I’m not too concerned about price, more about quality so I’m wondering if there’s anything about the Max that justifies the price difference? Alternatively I’m open to other headphone options.

[the observer]

Been looking to get a pair of headphones recently- specifically, over-ear headphones. So far, I’ve only really considered the Beats Studio 3 and the Apple AirPods Max. The former is just under $500 while the latter retails for around $850. I’m not too concerned about price, more about quality so I’m wondering if there’s anything about the Max that justifies the price difference? Alternatively I’m open to other headphone options.

Wireless buds are crap after 3 years
Built in batteries are a fraction of their new out of box lifespan after repeated charging.
Changing the batteries require too much effort, ie dismantle and resolder etc

I had wireless Bose buds which were awesome for the initial year or two. Thats about it.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Been looking to get a pair of headphones recently- specifically, over-ear headphones. So far, I’ve only really considered the Beats Studio 3 and the Apple AirPods Max. The former is just under $500 while the latter retails for around $850. I’m not too concerned about price, more about quality so I’m wondering if there’s anything about the Max that justifies the price difference? Alternatively I’m open to other headphone options.

Wireless buds are crap after 3 years
Built in batteries are a fraction of their new out of box lifespan after repeated charging.
Changing the batteries require too much effort, ie dismantle and resolder etc

I had wireless Bose buds which were awesome for the initial year or two. Thats about it.

I think Lisa is looking for information on the full cup type of earphones/headphones that covers the entire ear.

[the observer]

Been looking to get a pair of headphones recently- specifically, over-ear headphones. So far, I’ve only really considered the Beats Studio 3 and the Apple AirPods Max. The former is just under $500 while the latter retails for around $850. I’m not too concerned about price, more about quality so I’m wondering if there’s anything about the Max that justifies the price difference? Alternatively I’m open to other headphone options.

Wireless buds are crap after 3 years
Built in batteries are a fraction of their new out of box lifespan after repeated charging.
Changing the batteries require too much effort, ie dismantle and resolder etc

I had wireless Bose buds which were awesome for the initial year or two. Thats about it.

I think Lisa is looking for information on the full cup type of earphones/headphones that covers the entire ear.

As long as it’s wireless, the batteries will deteriorate.

[tiktok]

Check out head-fi for endless debate on this topic. For best quality IMHO you need over ear open type. But if isolation is a concern you will need to compromise, and if you want wireless will need to compromise more.

[malcontent]

Been looking to get a pair of headphones recently- specifically, over-ear headphones. So far, I’ve only really considered the Beats Studio 3 and the Apple AirPods Max. The former is just under $500 while the latter retails for around $850. I’m not too concerned about price, more about quality so I’m wondering if there’s anything about the Max that justifies the price difference? Alternatively I’m open to other headphone options.

I have the Bose over the ear noise cancelling headphones from back in the days of frequent air travel. Not sure if you’ve tried around the ear headphones before, but they make your ears quite hot unless you are in a heavily air conditioned environment, like on a plane. For this reason, I stuck to ear buds for my commute after trying the Bose a few times.

That said, I don’t necessarily recommend the Bose because the ear cups don’t last long and always shed after a year or two. They can be replaced, but I feel like I shouldn’t have to put in more money in considering what they cost.

However, my wife likes the Bose so we ended up with four, one for each of us on those long flights that we never take anymore. They are now tucked away in our dry box (hoping that will extend their life). We have never bought a single one of them locally, they are about 20-30% cheaper if you buy them in the US… even more if they are on sale, definitely less than US$300.

[Lisafuller]

Been looking to get a pair of headphones recently- specifically, over-ear headphones. So far, I’ve only really considered the Beats Studio 3 and the Apple AirPods Max. The former is just under $500 while the latter retails for around $850. I’m not too concerned about price, more about quality so I’m wondering if there’s anything about the Max that justifies the price difference? Alternatively I’m open to other headphone options.

Wireless buds are crap after 3 years
Built in batteries are a fraction of their new out of box lifespan after repeated charging.
Changing the batteries require too much effort, ie dismantle and resolder etc

I had wireless Bose buds which were awesome for the initial year or two. Thats about it.

I already have wireless buds (AirPods Pro) and they’re pretty great, other than the fact that they sometimes slip out of my ears. For wireless buds, I think the original AirPods are actually much better. I’m looking for a pair of over ear headphones now, for sit down use. I use my buds during commutes and while exercising, but they are very uncomfortable after a while.

[Lisafuller]

Been looking to get a pair of headphones recently- specifically, over-ear headphones. So far, I’ve only really considered the Beats Studio 3 and the Apple AirPods Max. The former is just under $500 while the latter retails for around $850. I’m not too concerned about price, more about quality so I’m wondering if there’s anything about the Max that justifies the price difference? Alternatively I’m open to other headphone options.

Wireless buds are crap after 3 years
Built in batteries are a fraction of their new out of box lifespan after repeated charging.
Changing the batteries require too much effort, ie dismantle and resolder etc

I had wireless Bose buds which were awesome for the initial year or two. Thats about it.

I think Lisa is looking for information on the full cup type of earphones/headphones that covers the entire ear.

Yup,, but specifically the over ear ones, not the on ear. Comments are still relevant though, since both are wireless.

[Lisafuller]

Wireless buds are crap after 3 years
Built in batteries are a fraction of their new out of box lifespan after repeated charging.
Changing the batteries require too much effort, ie dismantle and resolder etc

I had wireless Bose buds which were awesome for the initial year or two. Thats about it.

I think Lisa is looking for information on the full cup type of earphones/headphones that covers the entire ear.

As long as it’s wireless, the batteries will deteriorate.

Well, I don’t really have much of a choice here. I like the freedom of movement that comes with wireless headphones, I’ve been using wireless earbuds for years now and can’t imagine having to go back to the wired stuff.

[Lisafuller]

Check out head-fi for endless debate on this topic. For best quality IMHO you need over ear open type. But if isolation is a concern you will need to compromise, and if you want wireless will need to compromise more.

I’m not really an “audiophile” so terms like open don’t really mean much to me. I’ve seen people discussing “open” headphones but frankly I’m not even sure what that means. I just want a comfortable pair of headphones with high quality sound.

[Lisafuller]

Been looking to get a pair of headphones recently- specifically, over-ear headphones. So far, I’ve only really considered the Beats Studio 3 and the Apple AirPods Max. The former is just under $500 while the latter retails for around $850. I’m not too concerned about price, more about quality so I’m wondering if there’s anything about the Max that justifies the price difference? Alternatively I’m open to other headphone options.

I have the Bose over the ear noise cancelling headphones from back in the days of frequent air travel. Not sure if you’ve tried around the ear headphones before, but they make your ears quite hot unless you are in a heavily air conditioned environment, like on a plane. For this reason, I stuck to ear buds for my commute after trying the Bose a few times.

That said, I don’t necessarily recommend the Bose because the ear cups don’t last long and always shed after a year or two. They can be replaced, but I feel like I shouldn’t have to put in more money in considering what they cost.

However, my wife likes the Bose so we ended up with four, one for each of us on those long flights that we never take anymore. They are now tucked away in our dry box (hoping that will extend their life). We have never bought a single one of them locally, they are about 20-30% cheaper if you buy them in the US… even more if they are on sale, definitely less than US$300.

When you say around the ear, are you referring to over ear headphones? Or something else entirely. I’ve given the Bose headphones a try once in store a couple years back, the noise cancelling really impressed me because I didn’t really know that was a thing. My experience with them basically ends there. As for price, I find that most tech is cheaper in the US, for that reason I’ve bought my last few iPhones in Miami universally unlocked rather than in SG with a plan. Saved a couple hundred that way because the phone itself is cheaper and I only pay $25-30 a month for my plan which includes over 60GB of data, in addition to texts, minutes and caller ID.

[tiktok]

Check out head-fi for endless debate on this topic. For best quality IMHO you need over ear open type. But if isolation is a concern you will need to compromise, and if you want wireless will need to compromise more.

I’m not really an “audiophile” so terms like open don’t really mean much to me. I’ve seen people discussing “open” headphones but frankly I’m not even sure what that means. I just want a comfortable pair of headphones with high quality sound.

"Open back" is the actual term. It means the back the earpiece s porous, so the drivers behave more like real speakers, but the sound will leak out more and outside sounds will leak in.

As for comfortable, over ear headphones are probably not it in Singapore, because of the heat.

Personally, I'm very happy with my Xiaomi pro in ear headphones. On my 3rd pair now and use them daily.

[Lisafuller]

Check out head-fi for endless debate on this topic. For best quality IMHO you need over ear open type. But if isolation is a concern you will need to compromise, and if you want wireless will need to compromise more.

I’m not really an “audiophile” so terms like open don’t really mean much to me. I’ve seen people discussing “open” headphones but frankly I’m not even sure what that means. I just want a comfortable pair of headphones with high quality sound.

"Open back" is the actual term. It means the back the earpiece s porous, so the drivers behave more like real speakers, but the sound will leak out more and outside sounds will leak in.

As for comfortable, over ear headphones are probably not it in Singapore, because of the heat.

Personally, I'm very happy with my Xiaomi pro in ear headphones. On my 3rd pair now and use them daily.

I see. So Neither the AirPods Max nor the Beats would fit into this category. If they were open back, they wouldn’t be noise cancelling I assume. Since they let in outside noise. I do get your point about the heat, but I, planning on using them largely in the office and for travel etc. I’m also moving back to the states within this year or the next, so it’s not like the heat will be too big of an issue for me in the long run. As for the Xiaomis, why 3 pairs? Are they not too durable?

[the observer]

Because the xiaomi ones are really cheap?

[tiktok]

That's 3 pairs over 6 years, heavily used and taken everywhere, so they last ok. I've tried Airpods and Beats and they sound like shite IMHO. But it's a personal thing. A lot of people will convince themselves that a $500 pair of headphones sounds amazing just because they were expensive.