Best Over the Ear Headphones

Wireless blutooth headphones headphones let you listen to podcasts and music without the requirement of connecting a wire to your audio device. They are also a great choice for public transportation, at work, or at home.

Wireless over-ear headphones can have an elegant design and outstanding noise cancellation. They usually come with a stylish storage case.

Soundcore Life Q30

A major improvement over the Soundcore Life 2 from late-2018 The new over-ears are more attractive, feel more durable, and are generally more polished. They're still mostly made of plastic, but the hinges are a bit more secure and the soft protein leather ear cups are larger. You can even swap the 3.5mm cable for a better USB-C version to make use of them with stationary Hi-Fi systems and mobile Hi-Res players. They also have two microphones built-in, which work well in our tests for FaceTime, Skype, and Microsoft Teams calls.

The Soundcore app has a huge selection of EQ presets that can be customized and saved so you can listen to podcasts and music in the style you prefer. This is what sets these headphones apart from other ANC headphones, and the Soundcore app is extremely easy to use.

When ANC is on, the Q30's 40mm drivers cut out almost all ambient noise and make for very pleasant listening. They have a natural sound signature that leans slightly to the treble side, which some may find lacking in bass response (we had better results using the Bass Booster EQ preset). But, you can fix this with the Soundcore app, as there is an 8-band equalizer to help you tinker.

The left earcup has the power button, a pairing button, and an USB-C charging port. The right earcup features buttons for play/pause, volume control and volume up/down. Double-clicking on these buttons allows you to skip tracks or replay previous ones. You can also use voice commands to ask for a change in mode or set alarms. You can also cover the right ear cup by using your hands to activate ambient modes so that you can hear the world around you without removing the headphones.

These headphones have a fantastic battery life. In our tests with ANC switched on the Q30 lasted nearly an hour longer than its rivals. This lets you enjoy a long flight, or a full day at work. The USB-C cable included allows you to quickly recharge them. You'll also receive an alert when your battery is getting close to empty.

Focal Bathys Wireless

Focal's Bathys Wireless are a set of premium over-ear headphones that feature active noise cancellation and Bluetooth playback. They're made to be a pair of premium blootooth headphones that are great for listening to music and podcasts on the go, but sound amazing when used to listen to audiophile music at home too. The headphones are a little higher priced than comparable headphones, but their outstanding sound quality is the reason they stand out.

The Focal Bathys are packaged in a compact elegant white box with a cloth finish. It includes all the accessories that you'll need. There's also a fold-flat carry case for the headphones and a USB-C cable to USB C cable, 1.2mmSE cable and an audio converter.

They're powered by a decent 600mAh battery that will get you through a whole day of listening to music and include an audio input for wired use. Wirelessly, they're connected via Bluetooth. You can control their functions using an app (now called Focal & Naim in line with English sister brand Naim’s products that are network-aware) or by pressing the button on the left earcup, which scrolls through ANC profiles such as'silent,'soft 'transparent,' and 'full.

The app allows you to adjust various settings, such as the brightness of the LEDs and the EQ presets (including the music profile, that sounds more neutral and brighter than the other profiles) and the battery life. You can also select the ANC level and mode and set an 'acoustic environments' to adjust the sensitivity to mimic the sound of the headphones in a different acoustic room.

The Focal Bathys have an incredibly bass-rich profile that gives more warmth, punch and impact to your favourite tracks. This means that instruments and vocals can be muted, and details such as cymbals may be less prominent than on other headphones. They're also not as effective at active noise cancellation when compared to other over-ears with more advanced technology such as the Sony WH-1000XM5 or Apple AirPods Max.

Sony WH-1000XM5

Sony headphones are known for their quality and the WH1000XM5 is not an exception. It sits at the upper end of the mainstream headphones for over-ear, and is slipping into the luxury lifestyle area where the likes of Bang & Olufsen, Apple and Montblanc are a common sight. This means that the XM5s are expensive in price tag, but should you be able to afford it, there are better over the ear wireless headphones out there.

The XM5s are loaded with a number of features that make life easier for the listener and automate tasks that they would need to perform manually. Sony's DSEE Extreme engine (which upscales compressed music to close to high-res) is included as well as support for Bluetooth's LDAC technology. This lets high-quality music to be streamed at bitrates that are higher than Bluetooth. It also has a built-in microphone for making hands-free phone calls.

Similar to the previous generation of WH headphones, the XM5s excel in noise cancellation. They're among the top-performing headphones for cutting out constant drones found in underground and train carriages. The XM5s do a great job of separating listeners from background noise of airports and busy streets also.

The sound quality is also very good. The XM5s may not be as clear in the low frequencies as the XM4, but there's a greater sense of clarity and transparency as well. The bass in Rage Against the Machine’s Bullet in the Head shows the Sonys' power and definition, without affecting the music. The XM5s are also able to deliver precise and tight bass notes on Massive Attack's Angel.

Battery life is excellent with up to 30 hours listening time when ANC is active and 40 hours if it's off. This is more than enough to cover an entire weekend or a few days of heavy use.

The XM5s do not come with water resistant or dust resistant. Sony actually recommends not sweating on them or wearing them in the rain. This might not be a problem for many people, but it could cause a problem for those who spends much of their time in the gym or lives in a rainy city.

Apple AirPods Max

Apple AirPods Max is a pair over-ear wireless headphones that come with Bluetooth technology and noise cancellation. Apple designed dynamic drivers measuring 40mm, with a neutral sound profile that emphasizes highs and mids without going overboard. This makes them great for movies and music. They also offer better sound quality when compared with other headphones.

The headphones are light in design that is comfortable on the head. The earcups, which are made of memory foam covered with woven fabric, Wireless blutooth Headphones and are comfortable to wear over the ear they do not place pressure on the sides or the forehead. The ear cups can tilt and rotate to accommodate various head shapes. The hinges that are spring loaded have a strong but not too robust clamping force that ensures that the ear cups stay in place throughout listening sessions.

A small button at the top of the right ear cup can be used to toggle noise cancellation modes. You can also use an earphone-style jog dial with a push button similar to the digital crown on the Apple Watch. You can twist it for volume control and press it one three, twice, or even three times to playback the controls. Pressing and holding the button invokes Siri. These buttons are well-placed and simple to use, however I would have liked an option to switch off the headphones when they are not in use. The headphones automatically go into standby mode after being removed from your ears or placed in their case. They only wake up when you put them on your head again.

Another great feature is spatial audio, which utilizes the accelerometers and gyroscopes in the AirPods Max and your iPhone or iPad to figure out the direction you're moving in, and then repositions sound to make it seem like they're coming from these locations. This creates an immersive theater-like experience for films and videos recorded in 5.1, 7.1 or Dolby Atmos. Only iOS devices are able to listen to audio in spatial format.

The AirPods Max is a decent pair, but I would feel a little ripped off for spending $549 at an Apple Store knowing that the second-generation model would be better after a year. AirPods Pro are more expensive however they offer superior battery life and more advanced features.