[Anti-Hero]

So it looks like no matter how much I whine and complain, the headphone jack is never gonna come back to my cellphone. I guess It's time to finally look into some decent Bluetooth headphones, but it's been like 10 years since I looked into Bluetooth headphones and back then, everything Bluetooth was hot, stinky garbage. So I'd like some recommendations. I want a pair of full sized headphones with built in bluetooth. I love my old Grados and was looking at the GW100x. The reviews seem decent, but what do you guys think? Are there better options?

 

[msing539]

BT headphones have come a long way, but the lower end headphones still don't quite compete with their wired counterparts. When I looked into them two years ago, I ended with the Sennheiser Momentum 3, which to me, was the best mix of build quality, sound, and ANC. The only thing lacking and the reason I sold them was battery life. The Momentum 4 has improved on that, but I haven't heard it.

Side note, I heard the Mark Levinson No. 5909--for a Bluetooth ANC headphone, I was really impressed by it. But $1000... never.

 

[Thomasr]

Another option is to get a BT-enabled DAC/amp (e.g. I have the Fiio BTR7). Your phone casts to that via Bluetooth, and you can plug in any wired headphone you like.

I do own a set of Bluetooth headphones - the Anker Soundcore Q35 - and they have their uses, but they absolutely and unequivocally are not audiophile gear.

 

[DivineCurrent]

I personally would go with a bluetooth DAC/Amp, especially the Qudelix 5K, to connect your wired headphones to. The Qudelix 5k has lots of features including built in 20 band parametric EQ and crossfeed, 3.5mm single ended and 2.5mm balanced options. I use it all the time with iPhone.

 

[Luckyleo]

I had the GW100x for a while but sold them. They were okay, but I really like my wired Grado's much better. What is your use case? Commuting, walking around, chores around the house, airplanes? My use case for BT has changed tremendously since I retired and now rarely travel. I know that most of the people on head-fi disparage Bose for many different reasons. However, they make pretty good BT headphones. Good enough for me most of the time.

Leo

 

[zorizori]

I would also like to echo the sentiment about using a BT DAC/AMP instead of going full on BT headphones or earbuds, since longevity of these devices are an issue and the performance to price is definitely not on par with wired at least of now.

If portability is an issue with your use case, the FiiO stuff somebody mentioned could be a great option.

 

[dunring]

The Bower & Wilkins px7 Carbon are nice, but then I took the other approach. Got a Moto G Power phone with a 5000ma battery and a Sound blaster X1 which works on anything. Tons of power, none of the wireless stuff can get loud enough for a favorite song every now and then.