[starfly]

the only really good anc in headphones is the sony xm4, bose 700, or airpod max. and all 3 have problems and flaws

sony have too much bass. we should not have to use the eq on such an expensive pair of headphones. this extra bass crap is becoming an epidemic

the bose have that fake virtual sound that bose always puts in their headphones, that shouldnt be in there. possibly another epidemic starting lol

the airpod max i heard dont even work with the power off, plus they are very expensive

and other flaws in these headphones too

the bose are even on sale right now where i live for like 100$ off.

the only thing that really bothers me when im out and about is loud talking close to me. and anc headphones are not that great at getting rid of that anyway. they are better at steady sounds. its usually some fat extroverted baby boomer who doesnt know how, or want to, use text message yacking on the phone lol

i would carry a cell phone jammer if they were smaller and cheaper lol

Right. I still have a pair of CIEMs that have great passive noise isolation. I just haven't used them in years as I just don't like sticking things deep in my ears anymore.

I actually owned the Nc700 for a few days until I gave it to my brother. They were very comfortable (wore them for 6 hours straight on a flight), but didn't like that they only support SBC/AAC, and then the app you need to create an account and all kinds of nonsense.

Definitely don't want Apple products as an android user, so sounds like the Sony is the one to get still.

 

[OmniscientNihilist]

Right. I still have a pair of CIEMs that have great passive noise isolation. I just haven't used them in years as I just don't like sticking things deep in my ears anymore.

I actually owned the Nc700 for a few days until I gave it to my brother. They were very comfortable (wore them for 6 hours straight on a flight), but didn't like that they only support SBC/AAC, and then the app you need to create an account and all kinds of nonsense.

Definitely don't want Apple products as an android user, so sounds like the Sony is the one to get still.

all headhpones should work with power off, if they dont their crap

all headphones should be neutral sound, if they arent their crap

all headphones with BT5 should transmit flac quality by default, otherwise their crap

all headphones should have full BASIC functionality without any phone or app, otherwise crap

if the companies cant get these basic things right then im not parting with my money

 

[Gamerlingual]

all headhpones should work with power off, if they dont their crap

all headphones should be neutral sound, if they arent their crap

all headphones with BT5 should transmit flac quality by default, otherwise their crap

all headphones should have full BASIC functionality without any phone or app, otherwise crap

if the companies cant get these basic things right then im not parting with my money

At your rate, it sounds like you’ll never enjoy music in any form. Hope you find something wired or wireless that works for you.

The XM4 are a perfect fit for the A55 and WM1Z

 

[OmniscientNihilist]

At your rate, it sounds like you’ll never enjoy music in any form. Hope you find something wired or wireless that works for you.

The XM4 are a perfect fit for the A55 and WM1Z

the headphone market is a minefield of bass boosted crap

but actually i have a pretty good headphone right now. very natural and neutral sound. sounds good with all types of music.

40mm speaker and only 24ohms too

i literally cant find anything else as good as what i already have.

 

[GRUMPYOLDGUY]

I have a question: If I don't care about ANC and want a headphone mainly for multipoint connectivity, portability, battery life and sound quality, is it still the best option that I can buy at this price?

Absolutely not. The only reason to get these is if you're a frequent traveler and need the best ANC. In fact, drop the frequent traveler part because microphone quality for telecons is atrocious. Sound quality is horrendous out of the box - there is a huge peak in the bass frequencies and a huge notch around 2.5KHz, and the built-in EQ doesn't have enough granularity to let you make corrections without screwing something else up. You can get something listenable from it, but by no means should it ever be described as "good". The sound can be corrected well with parametric EQ or convolution filtering, but then you're limited in what apps you can use for audio playback. If you're tied into the Apple ecosystem, go with the AirPods Max... but be prepared to shell out about $135 in accessories to round it out (waterfield case and 3.5mm adapter) otherwise the Bose 700 is better.

So, are these still the best ANC headphones to get? They're currently on sale and I expect to be flying again this summer. Would be nice to block out airplane noise

Yes. I've used this and the Bose 700 on airplanes frequently recently, and the ANC on the XM4s is objectively better. About 25dB reduction in engine rumble. I've relegated the 700 for use in the office for webex meetings due to their microphone and voice quality and take the XM4s and a Voyager 5200 headset on the road.

 

[OmniscientNihilist]

Absolutely not. The only reason to get these is if you're a frequent traveler and need the best ANC. In fact, drop the frequent traveler part because microphone quality for telecons is atrocious. Sound quality is horrendous out of the box - there is a huge peak in the bass frequencies and a huge notch around 2.5KHz, and the built-in EQ doesn't have enough granularity to let you make corrections without screwing something else up. You can get something listenable from it, but by no means should it ever be described as "good". The sound can be corrected well with parametric EQ or convolution filtering, but then you're limited in what apps you can use for audio playback. If you're tied into the Apple ecosystem, go with the AirPods Max... but be prepared to shell out about $135 in accessories to round it out (waterfield case and 3.5mm adapter) otherwise the Bose 700 is better.



Yes. I've used this and the Bose 700 on airplanes frequently recently, and the ANC on the XM4s is objectively better. About 25dB reduction in engine rumble. I've relegated the 700 for use in the office for webex meetings due to their microphone and voice quality and take the XM4s and a Voyager 5200 headset on the road.

ya there is no good anc headpones that even exist right now

they are all flawed in one way or another

 

[GRUMPYOLDGUY]

all headhpones should work with power off, if they dont their crap

all headphones should be neutral sound, if they arent their crap

all headphones with BT5 should transmit flac quality by default, otherwise their crap

all headphones should have full BASIC functionality without any phone or app, otherwise crap

if the companies cant get these basic things right then im not parting with my money

1. Do you think DACs and bluetooth transceivers work using magic fairy dust?

2. Not necessarily if EQ can get you there.

3. Bandwidth is not the same thing as throughput. I don't know what the overhead on the link is, but I wouldn't be surprised if 1.5Mbps is not achievable.

4. Are you going to sit there with a laptop and peek/poke FW registers over UART? How do you think configuration changes are applied (hint: it's not magic fairy dust)

5. As someone else pointed out, it sounds like you will never be happy. Maybe find a different hobby...

 

[OmniscientNihilist]

1. Do you think DACs and bluetooth transceivers work using magic fairy dust?

2. Not necessarily if EQ can get you there.

3. Bandwidth is not the same thing as throughput. I don't know what the overhead on the link is, but I wouldn't be surprised if 1.5Mbps is not achievable.

4. Are you going to sit there with a laptop and peek/poke FW registers over UART? How do you think configuration changes are applied (hint: it's not magic fairy dust)

5. As someone else pointed out, it sounds like you will never be happy. Maybe find a different hobby...

if the technology cant yet make a good product then its not ready to be used, therefore im not wasting my money on it

my wired headphones have better sound at one third the cost

anc headphones are all crap

all headhpones should work with power off, if they dont their crap

all headphones should be neutral sound, if they arent their crap

all headphones with BT5 should transmit flac quality by default, otherwise their crap

all headphones should have full BASIC functionality without any phone or app, otherwise crap

 

[GRUMPYOLDGUY]

if the technology cant yet make a good product then its not ready to be used, therefore im not wasting my money on it

my wired headphones have better sound at one third the cost

anc headphones are all crap

all headhpones should work with power off, if they dont their crap

all headphones should be neutral sound, if they arent their crap

all headphones with BT5 should transmit flac quality by default, otherwise their crap

all headphones should have full BASIC functionality without any phone or app, otherwise crap

Great, then why are you looking at this thread? Get out there and solve the "why do I need a battery" problem... you will solve the world energy crisis in the process and probably get a Nobel prize.

 

[OmniscientNihilist]

Great, then why are you looking at this thread?

to tell everyone about all the flaws of the xm4

- too much bass

- not low profile enough, stick out on the head alot

- bad mic

- heavy and expensive

- worse sound then wired headphones half their price

- lots of complicated tech inside them to break down

 

[SilverEars]

to tell everyone about all the flaws of the xm4

- too much bass

- not low profile enough, stick out on the head alot

- bad mic

- heavy and expensive

- worse sound then wired headphones half their price

- lots of complicated tech inside them to break down

I don't know where heavy and expensive came from. They are made of plastic and light. They are inexpensive (on sale all the time) relative to majority of audiphile headphones that do not have any tech in them. They have practical use. These cancel noise.

 

[OmniscientNihilist]

I don't know where heavy and expensive came from. They are made of plastic and light. They are inexpensive (on sale all the time) relative to majority of audiphile headphones that do not have any tech in them. They have practical use. These cancel noise.

heavy, expensive, bad sound, break down more, uglier, charging, shorter lasting etc.. etc.. ... relative to a wired pair of headphones

is all these negatives of BT headphones even worth it, just to get rid of a wire?

 

[GRUMPYOLDGUY]

to tell everyone about all the flaws of the xm4

- too much bass

- not low profile enough, stick out on the head alot

- bad mic

- heavy and expensive

- worse sound then wired headphones half their price

- lots of complicated tech inside them to break down

Well, then roll up your sleeves and make something better. Since you've already (repeatedly) accomplished your task of communicating all the flaws... it begs the question, why are you still here? Seems like #5 in my first post to you wasn't too far off the mark... you need a hobby.

 

[SilverEars]

heavy, expensive, bad sound, break down more, uglier, charging, shorter lasting etc.. etc.. ... relative to a wired pair of headphones

is all these negatives of BT headphones even worth it, just to get rid of a wire?

It has not broken down on me (I don't throw things around) and it's NOT HEAVY! It's for practical usage as it's wireless and cancels noise.

If you don't need light weight that cancels noise without being tethered to wires. Go wired then for whatever superior sound it is. Get your bulky headphone setup. Some people live much simpler with an XM3 or 4. So that you are free to worry about important things like all non-audiophiles. Lol

 

[OmniscientNihilist]

It has not broken down on me (I don't throw things around) and it's NOT HEAVY! It's for practical usage as it's wireless and cancels noise.

If you don't need light weight that cancels noise without being tethered to wires. Go wired then for whatever superior sound it is. Get your bulky headphone setup. Some people live much simpler with an XM3 or 4.

i said relative to wired headphones

compare your 500$ xm4 to my wired headphones and you will see that yours have about 10 disadvantages

and 2 advantages