Here's a list of the best wireless headphones you can buy right now, as reviewed by Engadget editors..

Here’s a list of the best wireless headphones you can buy right now, as reviewed by Engadget editors…

  • costa@beehaw.org
    16·
    1 year ago

    I always go to rtings if I wanna buy something. They make such detailed reviews!

    • tojikomori@kbin.social
      1·
      1 year ago

      Anyone found any decent wireless ones with replaceable batteries? I was interested in the Fairbuds XL but it’s not well reviewed.

      For a while I had a pair of Sennheiser TV headphones that took AAAs, but they required a dedicated transmitter and weren’t great for music anyway.

      • kukkurovaca@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        2·
        1 year ago

        One sort-of semi solution is to use a bluetooth dongle with wired headphones. Usually still not easily replaceable batteries, but at least when the thing dies or becomes outdated due to codecs changing, you’re not wasting as much money and material as you are when you need to replace a whole headset.

        There are a lot of decent dongles nowadays. When last I checked I think the Qudelix-5K was the one to beat.

        • snowbell@beehaw.org
          1·
          1 year ago

          I love mine, and the battery management on the qudelix is phenomenal. Built in 80% mode, doesn’t pull from battery while plugged in. And it looks like it could be opened with a screwdriver though I haven’t tried.

      • sweng@programming.dev
        1·
        1 year ago

        If I search for Fairbuds XL reviews most of them seem very positive and hardly point out any major flaws. What are some of the negative aspects?

      • Weaselmaster@beehaw.org
        4·
        1 year ago

        They should focus on electric cars. Replacing tiny batteries in thin phones or thinner headphones is silly to legislate compared to gigantic batteries in big cars. The rest of the car could easily have a 20 year life with no internal combustion engine, but most get scrapped after 6-8 years.

        If they want to pretend that they’re saving the planet with legislation, go for the real volume.

        User replaceable batteries in earbuds would make them thicker and heavier - exactly what consumers say they don’t want.

        • moonw0man@beehaw.org
          3·
          1 year ago

          Electric Cars have replaceable batteries? No one’s throwing away that much money in precious metals. Recycling companies are spinning up to handle EV batteries as they start to fail, which they haven’t in large numbers yet.

    • Hammy@lemmy.one
      3·
      1 year ago

      I’ve been rocking my Sony WH-1000XM3’s for going on 5 years now and have had absolutely zero issues with battery life (or anything else for that matter). I wear them several hours a day, every work day for Zoom calls, etc. They’ve traveled with me and are great for flights.

      I’d buy another pair (of the newer model) in a heartbeat.

      • TechnoBabble@kbin.social
        1·
        1 year ago

        Probably not.

        But most wireless headphones would be destroyed in the process of taking them apart.

        I imagine some of the larger models above have (skilled) user replaceable batteries.

  • PonyOfWar@pawb.social
    6·
    1 year ago

    I’ll stay wired for the foreseeable future. Headphones I have to charge just seem like an extra inconvenience to me.

    • throwaway@monero.town
      3·
      1 year ago

      You should try some. I’ve got the Sony XM4s, the battery lasts for an eternity and I never want to faff about with wires again!

    • andyMFK@reddthat.com
      3·
      1 year ago

      Exactly. Wireless headphones all have an expiration date, they are all future e-waste. A good pair of weird headphones Will last a lifetime if taken care of

    • Xanvial@lemmy.one
      1·
      1 year ago

      Sony XM series have wired mode. Although the noice cancel feature still needs battery

      • moonw0man@beehaw.org
        1·
        1 year ago

        I use my XM4’s wired with my PC every day because I don’t like Bluetooth latency but love these headphones. The flexibility of wireless when I need it occasionally is great though! (Like today I’ll use them on a flight later)

  • Supersonic Stork@beehaw.org
    5·
    1 year ago

    Honestly the average user should probably go wireless. The convenience factor is huge, and most of these new headphones come with active noise cancelling.

    The average pair of wireless headphones is also good enough for casual listening (depending on codec) and can come pretty close to wired solutions.

    That said, I would never go for wireless on ear/over ear headphones again. The more features something has, the harder it is to fix when something breaks.

    My wireless solution is a set of mmcx in ear monitors connected via Bluetooth adapter. Even without active noise cancellation, they block out sound well. For desktop my job requires critical listening, and I like neutral signatures, so I’d rather stick to desktop monitors and wired solutions.

    • ArtificialLink@lemmy.one
      1·
      1 year ago

      The convenience of wireless is great but it also means you’ll need new headphones right around ever 5 years.

      Wired is still the best option hands down imo. I can buy headphones that last for decades not years.

      • abhibeckert@beehaw.org
        0·
        1 year ago

        See I’ve had the opposite problem. Every single pair of wired headphones I’ve ever owned, except for my current pair, has failed when the wire had flexed too much. I suspect the current pair has lasted so long because I’ve almost entirely switched to wireless.

        Some really expensive small ones I’ve used can fail after single digit hours of use (luckily work pays for those… and they’re willing to make that compromise for nearly invisible cables). I keep a box of a dozen new sets ready to go under my desk, they’re several hundred dollars each. We don’t allow the wearer to put them on or take them off - an assistant carefully does it and tapes the cable to their skin under their clothes to try to reduce the risk of failure.

        Obviously there are wired headphones with thicker / stronger cables, but those come with serious comfort compromises which most people just are not willing to make. There are jobs where you need a wired pair. I work one of those jobs. For any other situation though, I think wireless is better, and I use wireless as much as I can.

  • neardeaf@beehaw.org
    3·
    1 year ago

    And here I am mourning the soon to be death of my Bose QuietComfort 35 WIRED earbuds with the insanely soft comfortable silicone ear tips with WINGS that fit super snug & comfy, never fall out.

    I’ve yet to find a sub 120-150 dollar replacement for them. I’ve been using them daily for like 10+ years :(

    • abhibeckert@beehaw.org
      1·
      1 year ago

      Honestly, you’re in for a treat once you find a good replacement. “Comfort” and “wired” are an oxymoron. Wireless headphones can be so much more comfortable.

    • PeachMan@lemmy.one
      2·
      1 year ago

      I have tried several, and been thoroughly unimpressed. My advice is to save up and spend the extra money on ANC that’s actually good. Sony and Bose both make EXCELLENT cans with great battery life. QuietComfort from Bose, and the WH-1000XM series from Sony. Don’t cheap out, you’ll get an inferior product.

      You can get them used if you want, usually for under $200. Just replace the ear pads if you’re paranoid about germs. I got a used set of WH-1000XM3’s from a friend and they’ve been amazing, for two years now.

      You can find similar prices on eBay, or here: https://www.unclaimedbaggage.com/collections/headphones#/filter:vendor:Bose/filter:vendor:Sony/filter:ss_filter_type:On$2520Ear$252FOver$2520Ear

      Unclaimed Baggage is a cool website, they sell stuff that people left on airplanes. Looks like there isn’t much in stock at the moment, but check back periodically and you’ll see a lot of good Bose deals.

    • ProtoDan@lemmy.one
      2·
      1 year ago

      I find poorly implemented anc on cheap headphones to be painful. You’d be better off looking for good sound isolation.

      • afunkysongaday@beehaw.org
        1·
        1 year ago

        I got no experience with ANC in over-ears. It’s weird: with in-ears, you get pretty good ANC even in the cheaper <$50 ones. But it seems like you can’t get decent quality anc in cheaper over-ears…

        Slightly rephrasing my question: what’s the least I have to spend for over-ears decent quality and?

  • Goronmon@kbin.social
    1·
    1 year ago

    You know you’re getting old when even the “budget” item on a list like this seems expensive.

    The idea that people are just dropping $300+ on a a headset is crazy to me.