Peddler
1000+ Head-Fier
Over the last few months I have been taking advantage of Amazon's excellent returns policy to try out some of the better Bluetooth headphones currently on the market. I am not blessed with earning a high wage so I feel that it's important that I maximise my hand earned cash as much as possible.
I have had the opportunity to try out the following:
Bose QC35
Sennheiser PXC550
V-Moda Crossfade Wireless
1More 802
Various models from Bluedio
One thing I discovered is that I don't really like active noise cancelling. Whilst I think it's a very impressive piece of technology i don't like what it does to the sound quality. Also to be honest I've always felt that simply wearing headphones themselves reduces enough outside noise for it to be a bit of a non issue for me. I've always been a big believer in keeping things as simple as possible and, in the case of audio, keeping the signal path as simple as possible.
I also think that, to an extent, there's always going to have to be a compromise when it comes to wireless headphones be sound quality - from a purist point of view. I think it's fair to say that if you're looking for the ultimate in sound quality, you're not going to use a wireless headphone in the first place.
This is the logic that Val from V-Moda applies when talking about their Bluetooth headphones - when you're sitting quietly at home and want to listen to music in a more analytical way, you can use the cable but when you're out and about and wanting to use the wireless option, the amount of ambient background noise effectively cancels out much of the differences between wired and wireless use.
In trying out these assorted headphones I realised early on that the most well-known and respected brands do not necessarily offer the best when it comes to wireless headphones. For example, I found the sound quality of the Sennheiser PXC550’s surprisingly poor. True, they looked and felt great, had some excellent features but when it came to pure sound quality, they kinda sucked.
The Bose QC35’s were actually quite nice. No specific elements were lacking when it came to sound, they went reasonably loud and were very comfortable. Their noise cancelling tech worked really well and their bluetooth performance was superb. With this in mind, I very nearly bought them. What stopped me in the end was the rather ‘bland’ sound they produced. Nothing particularly offensive but they sounded like pretty much any decent pair of 40 quid headphones from a sound quality perspective. I felt I could do better.
1More sent me a pair of their excellent MK802 Bluetooth headphones in glorious Metallic Scarlet (Red). These headphones impressed me greatly. They use the APT-x codec which is fully compatible with my Android devices and sounded pretty much identical when used either wired or wirelessly. Their sound character is pretty flat - they definitely share a sound characteristic with their superb 1More Hybrid Triple Driver in ear monitors and this is definitely not a bad thing. The bluetooth performance is perfectly acceptable - although I have noticed the occasional drop out, it’s not enough to really spoil the experience. The only real fly in the ointment with the MK802’s is the fact that they’re not very comfortable and, after about half an hour or so I find you have to make micro adjustments to the fit in order to maintain comfort. Again, this isn’t particularly a deal breaker and I strongly suspect I will end up keeping them.
Eventually though I ended up purchasing the V-Moda Crossfade Wireless. I got these brand new in the box for 100 quid so I was extremely pleased with that deal. I also purchased the XL Pads (although I didn’t really have a problem with the standard pads in all fairness). The XL pads do slightly change the characteristics of the bass - but not in a bad way. At first they were rather tight and uncomfortable but they are definitely loosening up over time. They do a reasonable job of eliminating outside noise but do leak somewhat - especially at higher volume levels.
What really impressed me with the V-Moda’s was not so much their accuracy but rather the sheer musicality they bring to the table. As with many of the full-sized bluetooth headphones, they can be driven wired as well as wireless and there’s a noticeable difference in sound quality between the two. Wired use tightens up the bass somewhat and eliminates the low level hiss that you get in bluetooth mode. The amplification in Bluetooth mode with these headphones is very impressive though - they have a powerful bass-driven signature which offers a wonderful non-fatiguing listening experience which works really well on some of the older rock in my music collection. It’s fair to say that these headphones work at their best with modern music such as electronic dance music, trance and rock rather than classical baroque for example. Having said that I really like using these for pretty much all genres.
Although the top end of the V-Moda’s is somewhat recessed, I have noticed that the audible texture of some instruments has a wonderful analogue quality which is difficult to describe. Wood instruments sound like they’re made of wood, you could accurately transcribe very deep bass lines (assuming you have the skill - I certainly don’t) - notes appear to be easier to follow than many bluetooth headphones which can exhibit a degree of monotone to the deep bass. Even cymbals have a distinct ‘sheen’ to their sound - even with the subdued top end.
They’re not perfect - not perhaps even close, but they are musical. The 1More MK802’s are almost certainly more accurate than the V-Moda’s - perhaps you could even say that they’re more ‘perfect’ but I personally don’t find them as musical. Hopefully people can make sense of this.
Is my search for the ultimate bluetooth headphone over? For the time being, almost certainly. My experience with all the different models recently has taught me a few things.
Just because something’s more ‘accurate’ doesn’t mean to say I will automatically prefer it. Although this may sound strange to an owner of the excellent Triple Fi 10’s, I’m beginning to come to the conclusion that good old fashioned ‘tone’ definitely has its part to play.
Whilst I value other people’s opinions (they are very helpful when it comes to headphones because it’s almost impossible to find one place that has them all and let you test them all out (there’s always Amazon’s excellent return policy - but I strongly suspect they will get more than a little ‘miffed’ if you abuse the hell out of it.
I am a secret ‘BASSHEAD’. I love the signature of the V-Moda’s Syrupy smooth sound. I comfortably acknowledge that they are not accurate but there you go.
APT-x isn’t the answer to everything bluetooth. I acknowledge that bandwidth is very important - but so it good design, amplification and form factor. Again, I suppose this comes down to ‘tone’
Most of my listening is done in reasonably short bursts at work - I have to remove them when delivering to customers. Although IEM’s can do the trick nicely I prefer the ease of access found in full-sized headphones.
I now use my ‘high-end’ Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10’s and 1More Triple Driver iem’s as an ‘aural cleanser’ - re-setting my bassheadness back to ‘flat(ish) which actually helps me to appreciate both types of sound characteristics.
Although a lot of purists will consider bluetooth to be not acceptable for high quality music playback, I personally feel that the electronics have matured sufficiently to be a viable alternative to wired listening - especially when you consider that most of the time you will be using bluetooth headphones in a portable way where the very best in sound quality will almost certainly not be realised due to external noise bleeding through to the music. It’s also nice to have the basic controls available on the headphones themselves as you can keep your expensive mobile device safely tucked away in your pocket.
There are many inexpensive bluetooth sports earbuds currently available on Amazon - what is really quite surprising is that they generally sound quite good. This makes justification in purchasing more expensive bluetooth headphones quite difficult to justify. To be honest I haven't yet had the chance to try out more expensive bluetooth earbuds - the most expensive ones I have tried were the rather excellent 1More iBFree wireless phones.
When I first tried the iBFree Bluetooth headphones I didn't really like their sound character. Whilst their build quality is excellent, their wireless capabilities are very good and their battery life is outstanding, they sounded hard, shouty and their fit left something to be desired. I tried lots of different tips and these did vary the sound - the differences were subtle.
I then chanced to find a pair of the triple flange tips which I used to use with the Etymotic ER4P’s - I decided to give them a try - and boy I’m glad I did. The transformation in sound was nothing short of remarkable. The bass increases in depth and focus without swamping the mids which also really shine. Their top end is tamed down considerably and yet still remains sweet and detailed. 1More’s headphones all share a similar ‘house’ sound and the iBFree’s used in conjunction with the Etymotic triple flange tips sound very close to their rather excellent Triple Driver IEM’s. So close in fact, I really felt that I was listening to multiple-balanced armature drivers. Their electronics are excellent - no noticeable line noise to my ears and the APTx compatibility works nicely with my Android phone to offer a nice resolution to the sound.
Earlier I mentioned that you cannot achieve the best in resolution if you’re using Bluetooth - and whilst I still maintain that this is true, the iBFree’s/Etymotic tips have come closer than any other bluetooth headphone I have tried when it comes to a pure, basically flat sound. For their price, they’re a steal in my opinion.
I have had the opportunity to try out the following:
Bose QC35
Sennheiser PXC550
V-Moda Crossfade Wireless
1More 802
Various models from Bluedio
One thing I discovered is that I don't really like active noise cancelling. Whilst I think it's a very impressive piece of technology i don't like what it does to the sound quality. Also to be honest I've always felt that simply wearing headphones themselves reduces enough outside noise for it to be a bit of a non issue for me. I've always been a big believer in keeping things as simple as possible and, in the case of audio, keeping the signal path as simple as possible.
I also think that, to an extent, there's always going to have to be a compromise when it comes to wireless headphones be sound quality - from a purist point of view. I think it's fair to say that if you're looking for the ultimate in sound quality, you're not going to use a wireless headphone in the first place.
This is the logic that Val from V-Moda applies when talking about their Bluetooth headphones - when you're sitting quietly at home and want to listen to music in a more analytical way, you can use the cable but when you're out and about and wanting to use the wireless option, the amount of ambient background noise effectively cancels out much of the differences between wired and wireless use.
In trying out these assorted headphones I realised early on that the most well-known and respected brands do not necessarily offer the best when it comes to wireless headphones. For example, I found the sound quality of the Sennheiser PXC550’s surprisingly poor. True, they looked and felt great, had some excellent features but when it came to pure sound quality, they kinda sucked.
The Bose QC35’s were actually quite nice. No specific elements were lacking when it came to sound, they went reasonably loud and were very comfortable. Their noise cancelling tech worked really well and their bluetooth performance was superb. With this in mind, I very nearly bought them. What stopped me in the end was the rather ‘bland’ sound they produced. Nothing particularly offensive but they sounded like pretty much any decent pair of 40 quid headphones from a sound quality perspective. I felt I could do better.
1More sent me a pair of their excellent MK802 Bluetooth headphones in glorious Metallic Scarlet (Red). These headphones impressed me greatly. They use the APT-x codec which is fully compatible with my Android devices and sounded pretty much identical when used either wired or wirelessly. Their sound character is pretty flat - they definitely share a sound characteristic with their superb 1More Hybrid Triple Driver in ear monitors and this is definitely not a bad thing. The bluetooth performance is perfectly acceptable - although I have noticed the occasional drop out, it’s not enough to really spoil the experience. The only real fly in the ointment with the MK802’s is the fact that they’re not very comfortable and, after about half an hour or so I find you have to make micro adjustments to the fit in order to maintain comfort. Again, this isn’t particularly a deal breaker and I strongly suspect I will end up keeping them.
Eventually though I ended up purchasing the V-Moda Crossfade Wireless. I got these brand new in the box for 100 quid so I was extremely pleased with that deal. I also purchased the XL Pads (although I didn’t really have a problem with the standard pads in all fairness). The XL pads do slightly change the characteristics of the bass - but not in a bad way. At first they were rather tight and uncomfortable but they are definitely loosening up over time. They do a reasonable job of eliminating outside noise but do leak somewhat - especially at higher volume levels.
What really impressed me with the V-Moda’s was not so much their accuracy but rather the sheer musicality they bring to the table. As with many of the full-sized bluetooth headphones, they can be driven wired as well as wireless and there’s a noticeable difference in sound quality between the two. Wired use tightens up the bass somewhat and eliminates the low level hiss that you get in bluetooth mode. The amplification in Bluetooth mode with these headphones is very impressive though - they have a powerful bass-driven signature which offers a wonderful non-fatiguing listening experience which works really well on some of the older rock in my music collection. It’s fair to say that these headphones work at their best with modern music such as electronic dance music, trance and rock rather than classical baroque for example. Having said that I really like using these for pretty much all genres.
Although the top end of the V-Moda’s is somewhat recessed, I have noticed that the audible texture of some instruments has a wonderful analogue quality which is difficult to describe. Wood instruments sound like they’re made of wood, you could accurately transcribe very deep bass lines (assuming you have the skill - I certainly don’t) - notes appear to be easier to follow than many bluetooth headphones which can exhibit a degree of monotone to the deep bass. Even cymbals have a distinct ‘sheen’ to their sound - even with the subdued top end.
They’re not perfect - not perhaps even close, but they are musical. The 1More MK802’s are almost certainly more accurate than the V-Moda’s - perhaps you could even say that they’re more ‘perfect’ but I personally don’t find them as musical. Hopefully people can make sense of this.
Is my search for the ultimate bluetooth headphone over? For the time being, almost certainly. My experience with all the different models recently has taught me a few things.
Just because something’s more ‘accurate’ doesn’t mean to say I will automatically prefer it. Although this may sound strange to an owner of the excellent Triple Fi 10’s, I’m beginning to come to the conclusion that good old fashioned ‘tone’ definitely has its part to play.
Whilst I value other people’s opinions (they are very helpful when it comes to headphones because it’s almost impossible to find one place that has them all and let you test them all out (there’s always Amazon’s excellent return policy - but I strongly suspect they will get more than a little ‘miffed’ if you abuse the hell out of it.
I am a secret ‘BASSHEAD’. I love the signature of the V-Moda’s Syrupy smooth sound. I comfortably acknowledge that they are not accurate but there you go.
APT-x isn’t the answer to everything bluetooth. I acknowledge that bandwidth is very important - but so it good design, amplification and form factor. Again, I suppose this comes down to ‘tone’
Most of my listening is done in reasonably short bursts at work - I have to remove them when delivering to customers. Although IEM’s can do the trick nicely I prefer the ease of access found in full-sized headphones.
I now use my ‘high-end’ Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10’s and 1More Triple Driver iem’s as an ‘aural cleanser’ - re-setting my bassheadness back to ‘flat(ish) which actually helps me to appreciate both types of sound characteristics.
Although a lot of purists will consider bluetooth to be not acceptable for high quality music playback, I personally feel that the electronics have matured sufficiently to be a viable alternative to wired listening - especially when you consider that most of the time you will be using bluetooth headphones in a portable way where the very best in sound quality will almost certainly not be realised due to external noise bleeding through to the music. It’s also nice to have the basic controls available on the headphones themselves as you can keep your expensive mobile device safely tucked away in your pocket.
There are many inexpensive bluetooth sports earbuds currently available on Amazon - what is really quite surprising is that they generally sound quite good. This makes justification in purchasing more expensive bluetooth headphones quite difficult to justify. To be honest I haven't yet had the chance to try out more expensive bluetooth earbuds - the most expensive ones I have tried were the rather excellent 1More iBFree wireless phones.
When I first tried the iBFree Bluetooth headphones I didn't really like their sound character. Whilst their build quality is excellent, their wireless capabilities are very good and their battery life is outstanding, they sounded hard, shouty and their fit left something to be desired. I tried lots of different tips and these did vary the sound - the differences were subtle.
I then chanced to find a pair of the triple flange tips which I used to use with the Etymotic ER4P’s - I decided to give them a try - and boy I’m glad I did. The transformation in sound was nothing short of remarkable. The bass increases in depth and focus without swamping the mids which also really shine. Their top end is tamed down considerably and yet still remains sweet and detailed. 1More’s headphones all share a similar ‘house’ sound and the iBFree’s used in conjunction with the Etymotic triple flange tips sound very close to their rather excellent Triple Driver IEM’s. So close in fact, I really felt that I was listening to multiple-balanced armature drivers. Their electronics are excellent - no noticeable line noise to my ears and the APTx compatibility works nicely with my Android phone to offer a nice resolution to the sound.
Earlier I mentioned that you cannot achieve the best in resolution if you’re using Bluetooth - and whilst I still maintain that this is true, the iBFree’s/Etymotic tips have come closer than any other bluetooth headphone I have tried when it comes to a pure, basically flat sound. For their price, they’re a steal in my opinion.
