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

I just picked up a pair of Cambridge Melomania 1.

They sound great to me. But I do notice a background hiss. It can be a bit distracting as I want to listen at low volumes and it persists during the music.

Is this something that others have noticed? It's something I've experienced with some other bluetooth wireless audio products but not all. It's the headphones rather than the streaming device, as it is there when not connected to a source.

[Edit: a bit of googling suggests the hiss is the noise floor of the headphones' amp]

Not necessarily a recommendation because I only just got them but I broke my last earphones so just got these for £25 on ebay, they seem decent so far, definitely better sound quality than the Chinese copies I had before and they're really light.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Skullcandy-Bluetooth-Sweat-Resistant-Microphone-Rechargeable-Black-Mint/dp/B072Q2XX19/ref=asc_df_B072Q2XX19/

Received a NuraLoop in the post about two weeks ago - I'd signed up for the kickstarter on a whim sometime last year and clean forgot about it.

The tuned sound takes a bit of getting used to - if you like neutral/clinical headphones, they probably aren't for you - but overall they're very good. The active noise cancellation is excellent (well, I haven't tried them on a train or a plane yet for obvious reasons, but my fiancee is quite amused at the fact she can sneak up on me while I'm wearing them and make me jump out of my skin) and they have an adjustable 'social' mode for audio-pass through (which I've started using quite a bit - better than spilling coffee everywhere) which on low settings doesn't seem to affect the audio quality perceptibly. The bluetooth codec is far better than on my Shures or Sennheisers, which means I can actually rely on them for things like Zoom calls.

Getting the fit right was a bit of trial and error - if you're used to isolating earphones like Shures where the earbud goes quite deep into the ear canal, then there's a temptation to try to wear them the same way. Don't, it'll make your ears hurt after you've been wearing them for an hour or more. Once I put some of the larger tips on (and recalibrated them for the new fit) I've found them to be very comfortable for extended wear.

The battery life is good, and they have an auto on/off feature that generally works fine - it's nice not having to fiddle around with long-pressing the control button and not being sure if you've done it properly or not when you take them off in a hurry. That said, sometimes they can be a bit slow to wake up - if so, I take them off and put them on again and generally that sorts it out. It's only very rarely that it's a problem though - I'm taking them off and putting them on again quite regularly for calls etc, rather than just leaving them on all day, and nine times in ten they'll restart promptly.

They're about £199 full price, and I think they stack up very well against my Shure 425s (similar price once you factor in a bluetooth cable) or my Sennheiser Momentum over-ears (which were £300 or so new, but they're the first-gen ones so I suppose they're getting on a bit in headphone terms - they're a few years old now). If I don't need to make calls then I still lean towards the Momentums as I find over-ear more comfortable than in-ear, but I'm pretty impressed with the NuraLoop.

Update - despite the earphones feeling more comfortable after I'd changed the tip size, the material they've used for the earphone tips ended up irritating my ear and I got an ear infection, which is not a problem I'd ever had with my Shures. So my initial enthusiasm for the Nuraloops is now very much diminished.

I cant have my.hifi for a while so I want to get some over ear headphones. Noise cancelling. Removable battery. Wirless/wired.

I guess I'd go to 300 max. Any suggestions?

I'd go in ear but not sure on isolation/quality.

A google says the Sony are best, so will get them.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-WH-1000XM3-Wireless-Cancelling-Headphones-Black/dp/B07GDR2LYK?th=1

The noise cancelling on those Sonys was real good when I tried them out in a John Lewis.

For a bit less cash perhaps consider Audio Technica SR50BT. I have been considering getting a pair, they've supposedly not got as good noise cancelling as Sony or Bose but look like they have massive thick ear pads which I like. I've not tried them yet, mind.

Ordered them. I believe in buying once, and getting the best.
I'll use them for long drives too, so worth having the best NC.
Plus i can't have a hifi for a bit and live with other people, so for sanity they'll be great.

My list of requirements was similar to yours and after some reading bought the Sony’s too.

I use them more to edit than for hi end music, but I’m more than happy with them. Sound is very good and the noise cancelling is absolutely brilliant. They’re comfortable enough to use for hours on end too, which was a concern I had before trying them.

A good choice.

Cheers. Yeah I know they won't be like my hifi but that's OK.
Tbh the excellent noise cancelling and comfort will come in handy for the long drives I have intended if nothing else.

Look forward to getting them.

Ordered them. I believe in buying once, and getting the best.

Nice one, that's a good attitude to have. Hope you enjoy.

I've got a pair of Sennheiser Momentum 2 On Ear headphones and a really quirky situation. They had a rattle which I was trying to explain to my GF. Fortunately (or unfortunately for this tale) the rattle has temporarily stopped. However, they squeal with incredible feedback if she adjusts them on her head. For me. Nothing. But for her, every movement, every slight pull away from her head, every touch creates massive feedback I can hear across the room.

We tried removing the earrings, the watch and bracelets, the hair clip. She tried them naked. They still squealed, and each time she'd hand them back to be and they'd be fine. Any ideas what this could be?

Obviously, I think she needs to have a conversation with her mum about being dropped as a baby and having metal plates etc. But she's okay through airports, and she has the On-Ear version which don't do this. I'm completely stumped about what the reason could be?

I'm considering these:
https://isotunes.co.uk/collections/earplug-headphones/products/isotunes-pro-2

Don't have much to compare with, but these are what youtuber Laura Kampf uses.

IP67. 16hr listening time, usb recharchable. Bluetooth 5 with aptX. Noise cancelling for calls.

not sure abotu the sony, the NC is great. But the touch control buttons are not, trying to be too smart for their own good. Might return if it keeps skiping a track instead of turning up/down.

I've heard that sort of thing is an issue with touch control generally. It's just a bit awkward to make the gestures on the earpiece.

Yup. I mean, what's wrong with buttons? Product designers trying to innovate but getting it wrong. Bad design.

Lol, I remember a colleague blowing up at me when I suggested that gestural control is often poorly implemented and buttons often do the job better.

I think I hit a sore spot as he’d just had a load of very expensive gestural light switches installed.

Agreed. I'd prefer to put the money into sound quality and noise cancelling. But yeah, it seems touch controls are "the thing".

You'll probably get used to it tbh, but I can imagine it's frustrating.

Today I managed to enable aptX streaming on my old MacBook which gives me higher quality streaming to my terribly - named MixCDer MS301 over-ears. They're actually real good since I've added some aftermarket plush ear cushions...

Yeah I actually looked and the alternatives all have it! So not much I can do. 9

Must admit the android NFC is really cool. Just put my phone to the war and it turns bluetooth on, on the phone, the headphones on, and connects them. Neat! Though you do not seem to be able to do the same action, for the reverse solution, ie turn off. Which is a bit weak.

That is a terrible name!

Haha!
I cant understand how it gets by. It's a bad solution to a non problem. The product managers should be ashamed.

I'm coming from sennheiser mx450x. which have buttons, and have worked every for 6 years, they're sleek and good looking.

It's odd isn't? With such a limited number of functions would have thought it would be a no brainer that buttons are always the way to go. Form does get the better of function though in some cases, until customers vote with their feet.

Yup.
Also I had some £30 over ears, Mpow ones, when I took them off they auto paused, super useful feature. No such thing on the sony.
For £250 quid phones, they're lacking a lot of easy stuff.

Apologies for my sprawling review.

Do they have a active noise cancelling?

She might be covering the microphone hole when she puts them on. All I can think of. Metal shouldn't be the issue.

Neckband recommendations? For general purpose not just running.

I need to replace my V-Moda Metallo Wireless, they have a dead left cable after 3 years of daily use. Not really reparable without breaking open the neckband (I think). I got the V-Modas as they look like regular earphones on a thin neckband and were one of a few earphones with aptx at the time. I have to say the design still stands out, all BT earphones look awful. Why does everything have to look like you have a stethoscope round your neck with a couple of scallops dangling off it?

I'm not convinced by true wireless as there are too many compromises for what are still giant earpieces which require you to carry around a makeup compact.

I like the RHA T20 for the detachable cable. I could swap the earpiece for a non-over the ear type, but they're very pricey and still have a mic on the cable rather than the neckband which is annoying.

I might just get some dirt cheap BT earphones for running and wired IEMs for the office.

Nuraloop is worth a look - I had a big ramble about mine above. Similar price
point to the RHAs but you get noise cancelling to boot.