After Aonic 50 Gen 2: Many of us liked Shure's original Aonic 50 headphones, but they had pretty average noise cancellation. Well, the 2nd generation version fixes that problem – noise cancellation is much improved – and Shure has more than doubled the battery life to around 45 hours (they now have a fast charge feature) and also reduced the duration of carrying the helmet. somewhat the case, although it is still not that compact. These upgrades make the Aonic 50 Gen 2 a top-notch noise-canceling headphone. Although the Aonic 50 Gen 2s are quite heavy (334 grams), they are built robustly and are also comfortable to wear, with well-padded ear cups. They feature excellent sound quality with very good clarity and well-defined bass. Shure calls them “studio headphones,” so the sound profile is pretty neutral, but you can add more bass in the EQ settings in Shure's companion app for iOS and Android (enabling the Spatializer setting in the app slightly widens the soundstage, but doesn't). it doesn't make a big difference).
Bang & Olufsen's Beoplay HX: Bang & Olufsen's Beoplay HX headphones are the successor to the company's H9 series headphones (the some colors are on sale on Amazon). ). This price makes it a direct competitor to Apple's AirPods Max, which are heavier at 385 grams compared to 285 grams for the HX. I don't know if the HX earbuds are more comfortable than the AirPods Max, but I found the two models pretty equal in terms of comfort during longer listening sessions, and these feature the usual foam ear cushions to memory foam covered with B&O lambskin. Their sound is on par with the AirPods Max: overall, it's well balanced, with deep, well-defined bass, natural-sounding mids (where the vocals live), and inviting detail in the highs.
V-Moda M-200: The M-200 from V-Moda is one of the few wired headphones on this list. Released in late 2019, these clear, detailed sounding over-ear headphones have excellent bass response, and the plush earcups mean they're comfortable to wear, too. Featuring 50mm drivers with neodymium magnets, CCAW voice coils and fine tuning by Roland engineers – yes, V-Moda is now owned by Roland – the M‑200 is Hi‑Res Audio certified by the Japan Audio Society. Other V-Moda headphones tend to push the bass a bit, but this set has the more neutral profile you'd expect from studio monitoring headphones. They come with two cords, one of which has a built-in microphone for making calls. It would be nice if V-Moda offered Lightning or USB-C cables for phones without a headphone jack. Note that last year V-Moda released the M-200 ANC ($350), a wireless version of these headphones that includes active noise cancellation. They also sound great, but their noise cancellation, call quality, and overall features don't match those of the AirPods Max.
Mark Levinson #5909 (Currently out of stock): These are the first headphones from premium audio brand Mark Levinson and, yes, they are very expensive at $999. But they are also very good. They have a sturdy design without feeling heavy on your head (read: they're substantial but not too heavy) and they're comfortable to wear for long periods of time, thanks to their nicely padded, replaceable leather-covered earcups and headband. Read our Mark Levinson #5909 Practical.
OneOdio A10: The OneOdio A10s offer more than you might expect for their relatively modest price, which is why they're on several of our best lists. They're built better than you'd think for around $90 and are quite comfortable to wear. They have a double hinge design and are sturdy, weighing 395 grams, making them perfect headset for a workout. They sound surprisingly good and have reasonably good noise cancellation with a transparency mode (which does, however, have a slight audible hiss). The headphones also have very good battery life. No, they're not as comfortable as the Bose and Sony models (they feel a bit heavy) and their sound lacks that bit of extra clarity, bass definition and depth that more premium headphones tend to offer . But they exceeded my expectations and came with a decent carrying case, although the OneOdio logo displayed on it is a bit garish.
Technical EAH-A800: There's a bit of an old-school vibe to the Technics EAH-A800 – and it's not just the Technics brand, which Panasonic has resurrected in recent years. Their design is something of a throwback, but these headphones are comfortable and fold and fold flat. They deliver big, energetic sound with punchy bass and good detail, although they take a day or two to get going.
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