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Over The Ear Headphones Wireless: 11 Thing You've Forgotten To Do
Best Over the Ear Headphones

Wireless headphones let you listen to music or podcasts anywhere without having to run an audio cable from your device. These headphones are great for public transport, in the office or at home.

Wireless headphones with over-ears can feature a premium design and exceptional noise cancellation. They are usually packed in a stylish case.

Soundcore Life Q30

These over-ears are a major upgrade from the Soundcore Life 2 of late-2018. They look better, feel more durable, and have a more polished look. The hinges are tighter and the soft cups are slightly larger. They're still made of plastic, but they are more polished. You can also switch the 3.5mm cable for a premium USB-C version to make use of them with portable Hi-Fi systems as well as stationary Hi-Res players. They also come with dual built-in mics that worked well in our tests with FaceTime, Skype and Microsoft Teams calls.

The Soundcore app comes with a wide variety of EQ presets that can be adjusted and saved to allow you to listen to music or podcasts in your preferred style. The Soundcore app makes it easy to use and sets these headphones apart.

The Q30's 40mm speakers effectively eliminate nearly all ambient noise when ANC is turned on. This results in a very pleasant listening experience. They have a natural sounding signature that leans slightly to the treble end, which some may feel is lacking in bass response (we have had better results using the Bass Booster Equalizer preset). You can fix this easily by using the Soundcore App, which has an eight-band Equalizer.

The left ear cup has a power button and a pairing button and an USB-C charging port. The right ear cup features play/pause and volume up/down buttons. beats studio3 wireless over ear headphones matte black -clicking on these buttons allows you to skip tracks or repeat previous ones. They also come with an option to speak to them which allows you to request to switch the mode or set an alarm. The right earcup can be covered with your hand to activate ambient mode, to allow you to be aware of what is happening around you without taking off the headphones.

These headphones have a great battery life. The Q30 was able to last for a full hour in our tests when ANC was on than its rivals. This lets you enjoy a long flight, or a full day at work. The USB-C cord included in the kit lets you quickly recharge them. You'll also receive an alert when your battery is nearing empty.

Focal Bathys Wireless

Focal's Bathys Wireless is a pair of powerful over-ear Bluetooth headphones that feature active noise cancellation as well as Bluetooth playback. They are designed to be premium, high-end headphones that can be used at home or on the move. The headphones are a more expensive than other headphones, but their exceptional sound quality is the reason they stand out.

The Focal Bathys are packed in a compact elegant white box with a cloth finish. It includes everything you will need. The headphone carry case folds flat, and comes with a case, USB-C to USB-C cable, 1.2mm SE cable and an audio adapter.

The battery's capacity is 600mAh, which can last a whole day of casual listening. They also have an audio input to make use of wired. Wirelessly, they're connected via Bluetooth. You can control their functions using an app (now named Focal and Naim in line with English Naim's products that are network-aware) or by pressing the button located on the left earcup, which scrolls through ANC profiles like silent, soft 'transparent,' and 'full.

The app allows you to modify different settings, like the brightness of the LEDs as well as the EQ presets (including a'music' profile that sounds more neutral and brighter than the other profiles) and the battery life. You can also select the ANC level and mode as well as set an 'acoustic environments setting to alter the sensitivity to mimic the sound of headphones in a different room.

The Focal Bathys feature an incredibly bass-rich profile that gives more warmth and punch to your most loved tracks. In the end, instruments and vocals are pushed back into the mix and sound muffled, while details like cymbals and vocals are not as prominent as you'd expect on other headphones. They're also not as effective at active noise cancellation when contrasted with other headphones that have more advanced technology, like the Sony WH-1000XM5 or Apple AirPods Max.

Sony WH-1000XM5

Sony headphones are renowned for their quality, and the WH1000XM5 headphones are no exception. It is a top pick in the mainstream over ear headphone market and also falls within the luxury lifestyle segment where brands such as Apple, Montblanc, Bang & Olufsen and Montblanc are situated. The XM5s are expensive however, if you are able to, there aren't many better wireless headphones for over-ear use.

The XM5s are loaded with a number of features that make life easier for the listener and automate some tasks they would otherwise be required to do manually. Sony's DSEE Extreme Engine (which upscales music to near-high-resolution) as well as Bluetooth's LDAC Technology, are all included. This allows high-quality audio to be streamed at bitrates that are higher than Bluetooth. It also has a built-in microphone for making calls hands-free.

The XM5 headphones aren't different from the previous generation headphones from WH in regards to noise cancellation. They're among the best-performing cans to block out the constant drones found in underground and train carriages. The XM5s are great at their job of shielding listeners from the traffic noises of busy airports and streets as well.

The sound quality is very good. The XM5s aren't quite as precise in the lower frequencies as the XM4, but there's a greater sense of clarity and realism, too. The bass in Rage Against the Machine's Bullet in the Head shows off the Sonys' power and definition, without affecting the rest the music. In the same way, Massive Attack's grooving Angel shows off the XM5s ability to create accurate and precise bass notes.

Battery life is great, with up to 30 hours of listening time when ANC is in use and 40 hours if it's off. This is more than enough to cover an entire weekend or a few days of heavy use.

The XM5s are not water resistant or dust resistant. Sony actually recommends not sweating into them or wearing them in the rain. This may not be a problem for most people however for those who spend long hours in the gym or live in a humid region it could be a major problem.

Apple AirPods Max

The Apple AirPods Max are a pair of wireless headphones over-ear with Bluetooth technology and noise cancellation. They have 40mm Apple-designed dynamic drivers with an audio profile that is neutral and emphasizes the mids and highs while not going too loud on either end of the spectrum. They are ideal for music and movies. They also have better sound quality than many other headphones.


The headphones are light and comfortable on the head. The earcups are made of memory foam and covered with a woven fabric. They sit comfortably on the ears without pressing on the sides of the face. The earcups can also tilt and rotate to accommodate various head shapes. The spring-loaded hinges offer an incredibly firm, yet not too much clamping force that makes sure the ear cups stay in place during listening sessions.

A small button on the top of the right earcup allows you to switch between noise cancelling modes. It also has a pushable jog-dial-like button, similar to the digital crown on the Apple Watch, that you can turn to control volume and press once, twice or thrice to playback control. Siri is activated by pressing and pressing the button. These buttons are placed well and easy to use, but I would have liked an option to switch off the headphones when they are not in use. The headphones go into standby mode when removed from your ears or if they are placed in their case. They only come back into use when you place them over your head.

Another great feature is spatial audio, which utilizes the accelerometers and gyroscopes of the AirPods Max and your iPhone or iPad to determine where you're moving, then repositions sound to make it seem like they're coming from these locations. This creates a cinema-like experience when watching movies and videos recorded in Dolby Atmos, 5.1 or 7.1. The only drawback is that spatial audio requires an iOS device to use it and it won't allow you to experience it on other devices.

The AirPods Max is a decent pair, but I would be a bit disappointed for spending $549 at an Apple Store knowing that the newer model would be better after a year. The AirPods Pro have more advanced features and better battery performance, making it hard to justify the extra expense for most people.

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