[JethroD]

Anyone have an opinion on the Avantree Audition Pro or Aria Pro?
I'm looking for comfortable, closed back, over ear that aren't overly bassy.
Also considering the Anker Q30
I want to keep this $100 or below. They don't need to be the greatest, just all around for rock music and TV/movies. ANC is nice but less important than sound quality.

I have a pair of Aria Me headphones, which are basically the same as the Aria Pro but with the ability to set & store a 'custom ear profile' into the headphones to account for personal differences in hearing and/or hearing loss. I bought & use these specifically for TV watching.

I would say the biggest pros for these, especially for my intended purpose of watching TV, are:
- Very comfortable! Lightweight and very soft ear pads. Ears (not necessarily small) completely fit inside the pads. Can wear for a few hours without problem.
- Support for AptX LL, which is critical for watching TV/Movies without latency. You do have to have the appropriate transmitter that supports it as well. And they also support AptX HD witch supports 24bit Bluetooth streaming for high-quality music playback (again, have to have the appropriate transmitter). These were the main features that limited me to these and a few other very expensive headphones. There's just not a lot that support AptX LL.
- I personally loved having the 'sound profile' ability of the Aria Me. I do have some hearing loss, and going through the test and applying the profile made a noticeable improvement in sound quality. I would guess those with great hearing may not notice as much of a difference. I suppose you could 'game' the test to try to get the profile you want with enough practice. The good thing is the profile is applied to the headphone, so every incoming source is affected. I think 'normally' they might be a bit flat, possibly V-shaped sonically. There is definitely some bass there too.
- Surprisingly good passive sound isolation. Wasn't expecting this, but they do as well as some that specifically advertise great sound isolation in my opinion.
- They have a jack you can use to run them wired.
- I love the charging stand that comes with the Aria Me. Keep it behind my TV and just drop the headphones on it when done. They're always fully charged for me.

Some cons:
- I personally find the ANC fairly useless and don't use it at all. To me, it just sounds like a high-pass filter. Turn it on, and you get no lows but some audible hiss. But the main thing is that it completely colors the audio. And to my ears (maybe due to the profile?!?) it is just funky sounding, almost like a comb filter or some weird notch filters. I don't really need it, though, and the passive isolation is very good.
- I do notice some tiny light 'static pops' every now and then. Barely audible, but there. Never figured out if I have a bad set or if it's my transmitter. Not all the time, and not a deal-breaker.

 

[raccoon city]

Anyone have an opinion on the Avantree Audition Pro or Aria Pro?
I'm looking for comfortable, closed back, over ear that aren't overly bassy.
Also considering the Anker Q30
I want to keep this $100 or below. They don't need to be the greatest, just all around for rock music and TV/movies. ANC is nice but less important than sound quality.

I have two pairs of Avantree Audition Pro headphones.
I chose them because they accept Brainwavz earpads, my most comfortable earpads.
They sound great, though I would like more bass.
If you don't care about Brainwavz earpads, there are many more headphones to choose from, though I really like my Avantree Audition Pro's and think they are a good choice.

 

[svmusa]

Wanted to add my positive experience with Panasonic RB-M500B Immersive Bass headphones, this is a bass monster but I find decent overall V shape tuning than skull candy offerings. You can tune the bass to your liking and I think Panasonic did a better job to ensure vocal and highs are not lost at medium and low volumes without having to balst your eardrums, I use it a lot on move and of they are good for asking price. Of course they are not a gaint killer at the asking price, after few days of usage I cannot complain, worth a try for those who crave to have slam and impact from bass at lower listening volumes.

 

[KopaneDePooj]

Hi, I tried recently Momentum 3 Wireless and Sony 1000XM3. I find the sound too "digital" with both of them. Artificial sounding bass & treble, sinked in / recessed vocals.
I'd like something more "normal" sounding, not necessarily neutral but more analog sounding, with full-bodied vocals, punchy bass but not overwhelming, and linear highs. Something along Koss Porta Pro or Momentum 2 sound but with bluetooth. I don't care about noise cancelling, I just want to loose the wires. Something over-ear, comfortable. Any suggestions?

 

[WDitters]

Hi, I tried recently Momentum 3 Wireless and Sony 1000XM3. I find the sound too "digital" with both of them. Artificial sounding bass & treble, sinked in / recessed vocals.
I'd like something more "normal" sounding, not necessarily neutral but more analog sounding, with full-bodied vocals, punchy bass but not overwhelming, and linear highs. Something along Koss Porta Pro or Momentum 2 sound but with bluetooth. I don't care about noise cancelling, I just want to loose the wires. Something over-ear, comfortable. Any suggestions?

DALI IO-4 (or DALI IO-6 with ANC) .. Stellar battery life, perhaps a little bit less revealing than the Shure Aonic 50, but smoother, more liquid and analog sounding.

(And way more musical than any of the Sony or Bose headphones)

 

[JoshG1217]

Shure Aonic 50 and Phiaton Legacy 900 are the best I have found. For TWS, the new Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 plus beat out the noble falcon pro in A/B. I have not heard the Dali, but the 2 above beat the xm4, the V moda M200 ANC (which are terrible), and the Beyer Lagoon. For a budget option, I think the AKG BT371 are pretty decent, but I did not have them at the same time as the others, so can't say 100% in A/B comparison.

 

[WDitters]

Shure Aonic 50 and Phiaton Legacy 900 are the best I have found. For TWS, the new Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 plus beat out the noble falcon pro in A/B. I have not heard the Dali, but the 2 above beat the xm4, the V moda M200 ANC (which are terrible), and the Beyer Lagoon. For a budget option, I think the AKG BT371 are pretty decent, but I did not have them at the same time as the others, so can't say 100% in A/B comparison.

Shure Aonic 50 is a tad more resolving than the DALI, but as a consequence also a tad more unforgiving... The clarity and the detail can come across as a little bit more piercing and sibilant for those who are not seeking that much transparency..

 

[KopaneDePooj]

I forgot to mention that budget is $200 max, and oval, large earpads are a must. The Momentum 3 pads were perfect. This will be more of a convenience / comfort headphone, no need it to be super hi-fi, just balanced, relaxed in the high-mids to highs, punchy fun bass but not overpowering like the Sonys.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I forgot to mention that budget is $200 max, and oval, large earpads are a must. The Momentum 3 pads were perfect. This will be more of a convenience / comfort headphone, no need it to be super hi-fi, just balanced, relaxed in the high-mids to highs, punchy fun bass but not overpowering like the Sonys.

You can just equalize bass down. Pretty simple. I would get the XM3 and knock the bass down. It is what I have done and once the bass bloat is trimmed back the XM3 sounds very good I think. I also would highly recommend the KEF Space One Wireless. It is often on sale.

 

[KopaneDePooj]

You can just equalize bass down. Pretty simple. I would get the XM3 and knock the bass down. It is what I have done and once the bass bloat is trimmed back the XM3 sounds very good I think. I also would highly recommend the KEF Space One Wireless. It is often on sale.

Actually I did that today I have bought an open box, with 60 days return policy and I have them for 3 days now, first I tried them without EQ.
Today I applied some EQ in the app and they are better but still I'm not a fan of EQ generally, as in my experience the character of the headphone remains even with EQ.
What I like about the XM3 is the great ergonomics, they just melt on my head Now I'm thinking on waiting for the XM4 price to come down and maybe get them instead. With XM3 I don't like that they loose LDAC when eq'ed. And I'd like a bit larger pads and all the other improvements. Do they sound the same? (XM4 vs. XM3)

@JoshG1217 the Phiaton Legacy 900 looks nice but I don't see them available in Europe.

 

[JoshG1217]

Actually I did that today I have bought an open box, with 60 days return policy and I have them for 3 days now, first I tried them without EQ.
Today I applied some EQ in the app and they are better but still I'm not a fan of EQ generally, as in my experience the character of the headphone remains even with EQ.
What I like about the XM3 is the great ergonomics, they just melt on my head Now I'm thinking on waiting for the XM4 price to come down and maybe get them instead. With XM3 I don't like that they loose LDAC when eq'ed. And I'd like a bit larger pads and all the other improvements. Do they sound the same? (XM4 vs. XM3)

@JoshG1217 the Phiaton Legacy 900 looks nice but I don't see them available in Europe.

These are pretty decent for that budget: https://www.amazon.com/AKG-N700NC-W...hild=1&keywords=akg+anc&qid=1620940976&sr=8-6

These are $210: https://www.amazon.com/Phiaton-Canc...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Both are better than the Xm3/4 sound-wise

 

[OhmAlone]

The best kept secret in audio right now (IMO) is the AKG N700NC M2. You can find these all over the bay brand new for like 80 bucks. You ain’t finding anything at that price in an ANC headphone with this build quality and sound quality anywhere else. The only caveat are the smallish ear pads - but if your ears fit, it’s a steal (mine do, and I didn’t think they would by just looking at the pads).

I have the XM3, XM4, QC35II and the AKG’s. For build quality and sound quality the N700 smokes all of them and it isn’t even close. Just the pad material alone makes you immediately realize that these were built with a higher aesthetic appeal than the others - it looks nicer, feels nicer, etc. The plastic, same thing. The edges are clean, the detailing high quality. They just look and feel premium when you open the box and inspect them. The others really don’t - not to me anyway.

Then when you get to the sound quality, it only gets worse for the others. More separation, less muddy bass, wider presentation - they just sound more natural and even to me across the board. Maybe if you like thumping EDM the Sony’s might be better for you, but for other types of music, I don’t think they compete at all.

I will give the ANC nod to Sony and Bose, no question. If you’re just looking for that fortress of solitude effect, then forget everything I said. Sony and Bose are your ticket. The AKG NC is good (for me anyway), but it’s not next level. But for everything else, you can get a heck of a nice headphone for a two digit price that I would easily pit against headphones costing 4 or 5 times more in a price blind test.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Never found the AKG sound for me. When it comes to tailoring the sound via EQ, why would anybody use the Sony app for the XM3/4? Seriously, do yourself a favour and get a quality free player such as Onkyo HF Player with a great equalizer in it and you get to use LDAC if you want. Frankly, though I do use LDAC because I can, I find AAC just as good. If you can hear a difference between AAC and LDAC you have pretty amazing ears, certainly way better than mine. There is not a chance in h**l that the AKG has even remotely as effective noise cancelling, it will be terrible stock off the shelf technology they purchased. Sony developed their own NC and they know what they are doing. I usually don't even bother with NC, but when I have enabled it on the XM3 it is pretty darn good, IMO.

 

[JoshG1217]

Never found the AKG sound for me. When it comes to tailoring the sound via EQ, why would anybody use the Sony app for the XM3/4? Seriously, do yourself a favour and get a quality free player such as Onkyo HF Player with a great equalizer in it and you get to use LDAC if you want. Frankly, though I do use LDAC because I can, I find AAC just as good. If you can hear a difference between AAC and LDAC you have pretty amazing ears, certainly way better than mine. There is not a chance in h**l that the AKG has even remotely as effective noise cancelling, it will be terrible stock off the shelf technology they purchased. Sony developed their own NC and they know what they are doing. I usually don't even bother with NC, but when I have enabled it on the XM3 it is pretty darn good, IMO.

Sony does have good anc, just not good sound. They are so damn muddy.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Sony does have good anc, just not good sound. They are so damn muddy.

Yes, stock it is terrible. The XM3 I am talking about. However, once you spend 10 minutes with a very user-friendly equalizer such as the FIR EQ built into Onkyo HF Player and cut away the bass bloat the XM3 is fantastic sounding, truly fantastic. I feel bad for people who form an opinion of what the XM3 is capable of sounding like based on a stock tuning audition. The XM3, once liberated from the terrible stock muddiness is really something, and it is portable, wireless, comfortable as can be and it has still class leading/equal NC.