OVER-EAR HEADPHONES
Closed & open, wired & wireless: group test
18 contenders for personal pleasure, including Apple’s AirPods Max...
AKG ◆ APPLE ◆ AUDIO-TECHNICA ◆ BEYERDYNAMIC ◆ BOSE ◆ BOWERS & WILKINS ◆ DALI ◆ JABRA ◆ JBL ◆ SHURE ◆ SENNHEISER ◆ SONY ◆ TECHNICS
Real headphones enclose your ears in comfort and sound. But which combination of attributes should you be seeking?
While ‘true wireless’ buds (see round-up in issue #333) are the headphone category of the moment, they are not for everything, and not for everyone. In-ear buds are limited in the spatial presention they deliver, they can be hard to control, and have limited battery life. And sticking things in your ears for long periods is simply inadvisable, period.
How much more sophisticated to have a comfy pair of over-ear headphones to cosset your noggin while you enjoy the maximum quality the headphone world has to offer?
But what type, brand and model to choose? There is no category of audio product so crowded as headphones, with every brand of repute and many newcomers populating the headphone market with wired and wireless, closed and open, dumb and smart designs of every colour under the rainbow, and more besides. To find the right cans for you, then, means thinking through your priorities to establish what kind of overear headphone you really need, then finding a recommendation. So start opposite to think through the options, then check our collection of reviews to see which models were as smart as advertised, and which delivered the sonic goods. And then enjoy.
We’ve included in this round-up, at the end, the ultimate headphone —the best we’ve ever heard. You almost certainly won’t be able to afford it, but there are places you can audition it and thereby experience a benchmark sound by which any other headphone can be judged. So let’s get into this private world of music ....