Earphones / Headphones: Where to try, what to buy?

Appreciate this doesn't answer your question, but have you tried Comply tips for in ears, they're super comfy?

Yes and they don't help!

Fair enough, can't argue with that!

I have a set of these which are by far the best gym headphones I've owned. https://www.whathifi.com/sennheiser/pxc-310-bt/review
Compact and don't move about at all with good sound quality and noise cancelling. The downside is they are out of stock so you have to hunt for them second hand (I've actually bought a second pair for when the first die).

They look ideal. Will have a look on eBay.

Did that range just die then? Or did it morph into something else?

This was the next model. I haven't tried them but look pretty similar. Also out of production though but probably a bit easier to find second hand.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-Wireless-Bluetooth-Headphones-Compatibility-Black/dp/B007K3SB6K

Be aware that they had wired and wireless versions of these so you need to be careful which you are getting.

I don't think they have a modern equivalent.

Everything seems to be pointing toward the AKG or the Marshall. Everything else is too big and clunky for the gym.
Far too many reviews on Amazon to find anything useful!

OneOdio A9's.

Picked up a pair of these. A big caveat is that I haven't used decent over-ear headphones for closing on 20yrs and these my first noise cancelling ones.

• Looks and feels wise they seem well made.
  
• Quite heavy (250g ish on rough scales).
  
• Quite warm.
  
• Quite tight, so not so comfy for long periods. But maybe they'll loosen up.
  
• Noise cancelling is as stated. Bit of hiss with no music, but really good. Being able to block out all the abnoxious cunts on the phone in the office was heavenly.
  
• Sound is good. Ultimately they're using BT from a phone, so there's going to be a limit. On the bassier, richer, fuller, side - which works for me as I struggle with harsh or high trebble... I guess I wouldn't describe them as neutral. As the volume goes up some vocals can suffer a bit on things like old soul or soft vocals.
  
• Paid £28 posted off ebay. So TBH DGAF if they're not perfect (although I'm not 100% they're brand new). Worth noting if you buy from AliExpress you can register the 24m warranty. Bit more expensive tho.
  
• the mic seems to work well for voice calls.
  

Yeah I'm enjoying them so far, as noted a bit uncomfortable over glasses but hopefully they'll loosen up. Certainly a massive improvement over the last budget wireless headphone I used (Infrared!). Unfortunately office wifi is fucked so I've had to buy a new dongle for my PC too.

I should be on commission.

Where to look for sub 100 wired over ears? All the lists and reviews I can find focus on Bluetooth + ANC + voice assistant features, I just want a decent sounding set of cans which don’t need to be charged or require anything special to drive them.

Bose QC25?

Ah - voice assistant features. Maybe not QC25 then.

AKG 550?

Loads to choose from. I'd go with the major microphone manufacturers, they have been doing it for ages and rarely make a bad product. Sennheiser, beyerdynamic, AKG, audio technica.

Cheers all! Probably going for the Audio Technica ATH M40X. Although I prefer the looks of the Sony MDR-7506 it supposedly needs amplification more than the Audio Technica and I don't see myself convincing my better half to starting using a headphone amp.

No doubt this has been done to death, but too may pages to read through.

I’m a film editor and am about to have to start cutting from home. I’m after a good quality pair of noise cancelling over ears that can be run with a cable (3.5mm or quarter inch) and Bluetooth. Budget less important than quality and comfort.

Thanks

Bose QuietComfort 35 II or Sony Sony WH-1000XM3 seem to be the most popular options. Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 if money is no object, main improvement over the QC35 is call quality I believe so not sure if it's worth it for you.

Great stuff, thanks. Will do some reading up

Do they have to be noise cancelling? You can get something fairly isolating if you're using over ears. and the noise cancelling mainly deals with constant tone noises which probably isn't as big an issue at home as a train or aeroplane or whatever.

Also, do you need wireless or will they solely be wired?

I’d like noise cancelling so I can use them outside if the edit too.

Definitely need to be both wired and BT.

I’ve got a pair of the Sony’s recommended above arriving this evening. I’ll see how they feel and if not impressed will give the Bose a try too

Any suggestions for compact,wireless, folding, noise cancelling headphones?

I travel hand luggage only a lot and always have concerns that I'll break my sennheisers when I cram them into my bag as they don't fold that well. Will be used mainly for travel so good noise cancelling is important.

I know this is not what you've asked for and they're definitely not wireless, but if you haven't considered something like a pair of Etymotic's, I recommend it. The passive noise cancelling really is eerily good.

compact and noise cancelling is tough, most of them don't fold up that well.

I've never really been able to get on with wearing in-ears for 6 hours+. Are they any different to normal in-ears in terms of fit. It's not what I'm looking for but it is a possible if I can't find any headphones that meet the criteria. What model do you recommend?

Sound quality isn't as important as clarity as they'll mainly be used for video rather than music.

@sumo yes there's not much that I can find. I do have an old pair that fit most of the criteria but they're an old version of bluetooth so have an audio delay which is just annoying to fix all the time.

Maybe these?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/AKG-Cancelling-Headphones-Wireless-Bluetooth/dp/B0721KKLB4/ref=asc_df_B0721KKLB4/

Not sure I'd trust on-ears but they do fold up well.
Whathifi seems to like them.
https://www.whathifi.com/akg/n60nc-wireless/review