[david8613]

Anyone go to CES? I'm very interested in any new bluetooth headphones coming to market. If you see or hear anything cool please give details post some pics...

 

[Giogio]

BUMP!
 
I would LOVE to have a list of all BT Headphones announced at CES 2015!

 

[david8613]

This looks cool!
http://www.electronichouse.com/daily/headphones/definitive-technology-gets-headphones-symphony-1/?mqsc=E3786310&utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=EH+EH%20Daily%20Newsletter&utm_campaign=EH_Daily_010915

 

[Giogio]

Here we go:
http://www.cnet.com/pictures/best-new-wireless-bluetooth-headphones-of-ces-2015/
 
I do not trust his judgement very much.
Somebody who can say that the Beats Solo 2 Wireless sound better than the Fidelio M2BT must have something wrong in his ears, with all respect.
Specially considering how much he likes the Beats Studio Wireless which I find one of the worst Headphones ever made for that price (or one of the best ever made if it would cost $100).
But I suppose that objectivity in music is utopia.
 
So, IF he is really reporting all the best new ones, they are not so many.
Well, not for On and Over the Ear at least. I am personally not interested in In-Ear.
BUT, he is forgetting the Bang & Olufsen. And the Sony MDR-1ABT.
So I suspect he is may be forgetting something else.
 
We'll see.

 

[Lavcat]

I have not actually listened to any Beats but the solo 2 wireless are interesting to me.  I'd like to get some good Bluetooth headphones.  I have not heard of anything new that sounds better on paper.

 

[Giogio]

  I have not actually listened to any Beats but the solo 2 wireless are interesting to me.  I'd like to get some good Bluetooth headphones.  I have not heard of anything new that sounds better on paper.

That is because paper does not sound.
You can read it, not listen to it.
Forget paper.
And btw, if you can explain me WHY should the Solo 2 Wireless be the best sounding BT Headphones ever on paper, I am very curious to read it.
 
About this net Reviewer, I respect other people's opinions, and especially I respect TASTES. There is no discussion on tastes.
But this is supposed to be a PROFI. And a Profi is supposed to give at first if not only an objective opinion, or at least to divide very clearly the objective things from his subjective tastes, so clearly that everybody can understand what in his review is objective and what is not.
If a Profi is able to give 4 stars to the Beats Studio Wireless and 3,5 to the Plantronics Backbeat Pro, when the Beats have OBJECTIVELY much less detail, totally unbalanced sound, a dark muddy bass with almost zero rumble and mediocre body, dull low-mids and harsh highs, plus NO APTX and a weak ANC, while the Plantronics have a very clean sound, quite well balanced (with eventually a bit much highs but not harsh), wonderful soundstage, plenty of detail, a MUCH better quality of Bass, Aptx (and the Low latency one! Being the ONLY music Headphones having it!), Class 1 BT, a better ANC (which can be also deactivated), Head Sensor, Open Mic, wonderful controls........
Well, I REALLY have to think that he was not in his best day when he wrote those reviews.
I do not want to think that he is being paid by Beats. Well, I could think it, but I will not say it. He is a renowned Profi. So I prefer to say that he just did not test those headphones deeply enough or that "forgot" to specify that he was merely speaking of subjective preferences, omitting all the many objective superiorities of the Plantronics.
Besides, he says that the Bose Soundlink On Ear sound better than the Solo 2.
And he says, that the Solo 2 sound better than the Fidelio.
This is impossible, because the Fidelio sound MUCH better than the Bose.
Actually, the Fidelio sound much much better than the Beats Studio Wireless!
What-hifi and Digitalversus give them a wonderful 5 Stars. And Digitalversus posted grafics of their Frequency Response, showing that they are very well balanced, which is a super thing if you hear them, because they are not boring like the AKG K845, they are balanced but powerful and lively.
 
Thewirecutter are a bit arrogant (specially since when the guy of Forbes helps them) and have very often very different opinions than I have. I do not dislike them. But I do not like them either. It does not seem to me that they are hyping the reviews for obscure reasons, but people who are able to suggest the Jabra Revo Wireless as the best BT Headphone must really have their very own kind of criteria to compare headphones. The Revo are at best a mediocre headphone, no more.
Besides, why on Earth they did not even try the Plantronics? I can understand the Fidelio, they are not available in US (although these people do not buy headphones like I do, they receive them from the producers). But the Plantronics are American!
Then, they have lately tested the Bose and they still prefer the Revo for some idiot reasons!
You can NOT say that the Revo are better than the Bose!
The way they make comparison is WRONG, they mix different, VERY different price ranges.
And they include the price in the rating. And so, of course, the Revo at $100 against the Bose at $250..., they say the Bose is not worth the Money. The Revo is NOW cheaper, but when they wrote the review was as expensive as the Bose now, and they still gave them the first place without ever saying that it was not worth the money.
Beats is not worth the money, JBL is not worth the money, but Bose sound great and have very nice functions and a great portability. All this is worth the money for me and they should NOT look in my wallet when they make review.
They should give different options for different price ranges like What Hi-Fi does.
Or just stop choosing ONE Headphone. People are different, it is a LIE that ONE Headphone can be the best for everybody.
Also if they are a group and review in group, it does NOT mean that what they like must be liked by everybody.
If then you see how they completely excluded the Plantronics from the Best ANC comparison in the BT category, only selecting the mediocre sounding Samsung Level over, although the Plantronics sound better and have many more functions... NO WAY. They should have given both options, because many people may be interested in all those extras of the Plantronics and just want some ANC but not necessarily the super best ANC.
 
Digitalversus seem ok.
 
What hi-Fi, I do not know. I like the Fidelio but their review seems a bit too hyped to me.
 
Digitaltrends seem interesting.
 
I do not know what to think but, I have the impressions that some reviewers are a bit superficial in their reviews.
And others, well, they may be even paid. We all know that some Professional Reviews are hyped, and some Amazon reviews are just not real (like also some of the trolls downvoters who downvote negative reviews).
It's part of the business. Or they think it is.
 
Now, you can trust "paper", or you can trust EARS.
Your choice.

 

[B9Scrambler]

@Giogio

I sense a touch of salt sprinkled throughout your comments, lol. You make some great points though.

These are all great reasons why it is a good idea to read as many opinions as possible. If you have the opportunity to try what you are interested in, then others opinions won't matter. Just get whatever sounds good to you

 

[Lavcat]

 
That is because paper does not sound.
You can read it, not listen to it.
Forget paper.
And btw, if you can explain me WHY should the Solo 2 Wireless be the best sounding BT Headphones ever on paper, I am very curious to read it.

 
Many a fine audio transducer has been made of paper.
 
 
A reason I am considering the Solo 2 Wireless is that I want a Bluetooth headphone I am not afraid to use outside.  The Solo 2 Wireless is made largely of plastic I understand.  I also want compatibility with my iPad.  Sound quality is not the major consideration.  When I said "sounds better on paper" I was not referring to the sound quality of the headphone.  I apologize for my possibly confusing choice of words but I assumed the meaning of the idiomatic expression would be clear in context.
 
I also want something that is comfortable on my head.  I don't know yet how Beats are in this respect.
 
And whatever can be said about Apple's business practices, I somehow doubt they have to pay reviewers to say nice things about their products.

 

[Giogio]

@B9Scrambler
Yes, I am kind of salt and pepper, a matter of origins, temperamental people. Diplomacy is not my thing. I generally am diplomatic only when I want to offend somebody.
Even if of course most people think the opposite. Because they do not understand temperament. And do not see the truth behind diplomacy
 
You are right, that`s what I was trying to say. Paper is paper. Facts are facts. And real facts can only be determined by yourself, because although some things are more or less objective (like if a bass is dull or not, if highs are crispy or not, if soundstage is wide or not), most are rather subjective.
So it is important to listen to many opinions (which is what I say in my reviews for those dumb downvote-trolls who seem to think that the purpose of a voting system is to thumb-down other's opinion), but it is more important is to try by yourself. Reviews are only useful till a certain point.
I started reviewing to somehow "help" people, because everybody is always looking for comparisons, but not everybody can order many things and send them back.
But while doing it I realized that no matter what other people can say, you will never understand a Headphone without trying yourself.

 

[Giogio]

@Lavcat
 
Well, you said that you did not hear of anything which sounds better on paper.

Which other Headphones did you take into examination before reaching this conclusion?
 
About the iPad, it is part of Apple's marketing to make you believe that a Solo2 would be more compatible with the iPad than other Headphones just because they write a list of compatible devices.
Apart for some people who reported skipping music with the Bose Soundlink On-Ear, and a guy who reported something similar with a Sony MDR-1RBT (MK1), I am not aware of any other headphone which have problems with Apple's products. And even those two does not give problems to everybody (or Amazon would be full of reviews about that).
 
Maybe you could write on Apple's forums anyway, or open a thread here asking people to post all the BT Headphones which are proven to be compatible.
 
Beats is not famous for the sturdiness of their headphones. Although this seems to have been addressed with the new models.
I am not sure what you mean with plastic being better. Than what?
I anyway can name you quite a few alternatives which are very resistant and better sounding than the Beats Studio Wireless (and therefore for sure also than the Solo2).
 
But if sound quality is not a concern, than Beats is probably the right choice.

 

[Lavcat]

  Oh, apparently you wrote while I was answering to B9Scrambler.
 
Well, you said that you did not hear of anything which sounds better on paper.
Which other Headphones did you take into examination before reaching this conclusion?

 
The models mentioned in the High End Bluetooth Headphones thread.

 

[Giogio]

Well, they are a lot of headphones.
I would go directly for the Solo2 if I were you. With them standing out from the crowd of all those high class headphones..., what else are you asking for?
At the end what matters is that you are satisfied with the sound, the comfort, the price, etc.
If they really are the best on paper for your needs, I do not see any reason why not to try them.
After all, between BestBuy and Amazon, it is not difficult to have the chance to try things.
You could even try more than one thing, compare, and send back.
 
Just do it.

 

[Giogio]

I have being investigating and I have made a list of all the new BT On and Over Ear Headphones launched at CES 2015.
I mostly found them on Cnet but not only:
 
Definitive Technology Symphony 1
 
Polk Hinge Wireless
 
Phiaton BT 330 NC
 
JLab Omni
 
Bang and Olufsen BeoPlay H8
 
Urbanears Plattan ADV Wireless
 
Gibson Standard Unplugged
 
Trainer by Gibson
 
AKG Y 45 BT
 
Harman Kardon Soho Wireless
 
Monoprice 11536/37
 
Onkyo OKH-M1BT
 
Sony MDR-1ABT
 
Sennheiser Momentum On and Over Ear
 
Sennheiser Urbanite XL Wireless
 
 
 
Now, I have already tried the Urbanite, I have opened a Thread about my (good) first impressions.
I see that the AKG are also available here, and cheap.
I am gonna giving them a try soon.

 

[thatonenoob]

Pendulemic should be in there.