[Kalli]

Hi there,

I'm looking for my first pair of Bluetooth closed-back over-ear (on-ear if this is comparable) headphones. I will mostly use them with a smartphone while on the go (city, train, ...). I don't want to spend more than 200€ and I'm from Germany.
Most of the time I'm listening to classical music (mainly piano, solo or with orchestra). In rare cases I also listen to anything similar to rock music, so it would be nice if the headphones wouldn't fail totally here.
A lot of Bluetooth headphones have ANC those days. If it works without changing the sound signature that's fine. But with good passive noise isolation I may not need it at all (your thoughts on that would be nice).

I already tried a bunch of headphones (from below 100€ up to 200€). The below 100€ are mostly similar to those hyped TaoTronics which are overall too bass heavy and ANC totally changing the sound. So i figured I need to try a few more expensive ones. I will list a few headphones in no particular order and try to keep the list up to date in my progress:

Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT

Pros: controls, build quality​

Cons: a bit heavy on my head, "too analytic" sound signature for just listening, not enough passive sound isolation​

Sennheiser HD 450BT

Pros: controls, build quality, sound signature​

Cons: really small ear-pads which heated up my ears, ANC didn't change the sound signature a lot but added some weird "wobbling" sound into silent passages of music​

Audio-Technica ATH-SR50BT

Pros: build quality, really like the sound signature (wired, Bluetooth, ANC on/off)​

Cons: non-usable touch controls (at least for me), some pressure at the top of my head after about 1-2h​

AKG K361-BT

Pros: simple but responsive touch controls, really comfortable, sound signature​

Cons: minimal Bluetooth connection stutter every few minutes, seems to be a bit dated overall (micro USB, no aptX), lower parts of the earpads are always pressed together when not wearing​

AKG K371-BT?

May be an upgraded K361-BT?​

Marshall Monitor Bluetooth?

Worth to give it a shot? They're quite a good deal (125€) on Amazon at the moment.​

Cleer Enduro 100?

I did read good things about them here in the forum, but they seem to be hard to buy in Germany.​

As you can see I couldn't decide yet and still trying to find the headphones which are perfect for me. So I would appreciate any thoughts, suggestions or anything else that may help me in the progress.

Thanks in advance

 

[pjones5]

In my experience with the K371s (wired), they are a significant jump from the K361s. They also have reasonably good sound isolation (better than most) if you can get the right fit. Don't know if that necessarily applies to the BT version though...

 

[Kalli]

OH, nearly forgot about this post since noone answered

Actually I decided to go way higher in my budget since I invested so much time researching already, which makes it kinda worth it. (I that makes any sense)
At the moment I am waiting for the Shure Aonic 50 to be released in Germany and then I'll decide between those and the Dali IO-6.

Still thanks alot for your answer though.

 

[pjones5]

OH, nearly forgot about this post since noone answered

Actually I decided to go way higher in my budget since I invested so much time researching already, which makes it kinda worth it. (I that makes any sense)
At the moment I am waiting for the Shure Aonic 50 to be released in Germany and then I'll decide between those and the Dali IO-6.

Still thanks alot for your answer though.

Awesome! I have the same way of thinking
I usually enter into researching mode thinking my budget is fairly low and then after looking around for a long time, I go, "Well, I've already done all this research, I might as well spend a little extra to get what I want". Its a dangerous game, but I'm usually always happy with what I end up getting.

 

[Kalli]

Its a dangerous game, but I'm usually always happy with what I end up getting.

Exactly

 

[Peddler]

I would recommend the Sony WH1000XM2/3. Whilst these may retail slightly above your budget, I have seen them occasionally advertised at around this price.

 

[Kalli]

Thanks for the recommendation, my roomy has them, but i don't like their sound.

As I already mentioned in a post above I increased my budget quite a bit and going for either the Dali IO-6 or the Shure Aonic 50.
Still waiting for the Shure's to get released in Germany to test them.

 

[Chris Kaoss]

Take a look at the Dali IO4.
It might fit your needs perfectly, but with 299 € a bit out of your budget, i guess.

I keep waiting for the Panda to come and make a comparison between Panda and IO4 for my next wireless purchase.
Need a bit more space in the cups as well to prevent heating up too fast.

Will be used at my detailing business to work with.

Beste Grüße
Chris

 

[Kalli]

As I already mentioned in a post above I increased my budget quite a bit and going for either the Dali IO-6 or the Shure Aonic 50.
Still waiting for the Shure's to get released in Germany to test them.

 

[jBird10]

Hey hey, what did you decide in the end? I know it's been 4 years, but maybe you can also report on how's the actual day to day usage with your Headphones. Btw, I'm now either io-6, aonic 50 or Technics eah-a800 or ath-50xbt2. Since I'm using pixel 8, it supports ldac, so maybe not io-6. I've tried px7 s2 and the Sennheisers m4, loved the m4, kinda hated px7.