Best Over the Ear Headphones

Wireless headphones let you listen to podcasts or music anywhere, without the need to run an audio cable from your device. These headphones are ideal to use on public transport, at the office or at home.

Wireless headphones with over-ears can feature an elegant design and outstanding noise cancellation. They are typically packaged in a stylish case.

Soundcore Q30

These over-ears are a major upgrade from the Soundcore Life 2 of late-2018. They look better and are more durable and have a more polished look. The hinges are stronger, and the soft cups are slightly larger. They are still largely made of plastic, however they are more polished. You can swap the 3.5mm cord for a high quality USB-C cable to make use of them with portable Hi-Res devices and stationary players. They also have two microphones built-in, which are great in our tests for FaceTime, Skype, and Microsoft Teams calls.

The Soundcore app offers a vast variety of EQ presets, which can be altered and saved so you can listen to podcasts and music in the style you prefer. This is the thing that sets these headphones apart from most other ANC headphones, and the Soundcore app is very easy to use.

When ANC is turned on the Q30's 40mm drivers eliminate most background noise, making for very pleasant listening. They have a natural sound profile that is a bit on the treble side, and some might find lacking in bass response (we had better results using the Bass Booster Equalizer preset). It is possible to fix this by using the Soundcore App, which comes with an 8-band Equalizer.

The headphones feature a power button and pairing button on the left earcup along with an USB-C port to charge. The right earcup has buttons for play/pause, volume up/down and volume up/down. Double-clicking these controls lets you to skip tracks or replay previous ones. You can also make use of voice commands to instruct them to switch modes or set alarms. You can also cover the right earcup with your fingers to activate ambient modes to allow you to hear the world around you without taking off the headphones.

The battery life on these headphones is excellent, too. In our tests with ANC turned on, the Q30 lasted nearly an hour longer than its competitors. This leaves plenty of time for an extended flight or working for a long time. They can be quickly recharged using the USB-C cable included, and you'll see an alert when they're getting empty.

Focal Bathys Wireless

Focal's Bathys Wireless is a pair of powerful over-ear Bluetooth headphones that offers both active noise cancellation, as well as Bluetooth playback. These headphones are designed to be high-end, premium headphones that can be used at home or while on the move. They're more expensive than other similar headphones but their superior sound quality is the main selling feature.

The Focal Bathys are packaged in a compact, slim and attractive white fabric-finished retail box that contains all the accessories you require inside. The package also includes a fold-flat carrying case for the headphones, a USB-C to USB C cable, 1.2mmSE cable and an audio converter.

The battery's capacity is 600mAh, which can last a whole day of listening to music casually. They also come with an audio input that you can make use of wired. When used wirelessly they're paired via Bluetooth and you can control their functions using an app (now named Focal & Naim which is probably in line with their English sister brand Naim's network-aware audio products) or via the button located on the left earcup which scrolls between ANC profiles such as'silent','soft' transparent', and full.

Using the app allows you to alter different settings such as the brightness of the LED, EQ presets including a'music profile' that sounds brighter and more neutral than the other ones and also their battery life. You can also choose the ANC mode and level and setting an 'acoustic settings setting to alter the sensitivity to simulate the sound of the headphones in a different acoustic room.

The Focal Bathys feature bass-rich, rich sound profiles that adds extra punch and warmth to your favorite tracks. This means that instruments and Bt Headphone vocals be muted, and details like cymbals might be less noticeable than on other headphones. The headphones are also less effective in active noise cancellation when compared with other headphones that feature higher-end technology, Buy Bluetooth Headphones like the Sony WH1000XM5 and Apple AirPods Max.

Sony WH-1000XM5

Sony headphones are renowned for their quality, and the WH1000XM5 headphones are no exception. It's located at the top end of the mainstream headphones for over-ear, and is slipping into the 'luxury lifestyle' sector where brands like Bang & Olufsen, Apple and Montblanc are a common sight. This means the XM5s come with a high cost, but should you be able to afford it, there are more superior wireless over-ear headphones on the market.

The XM5s have features to help listeners and, in a few cases, automate tasks they'd otherwise have to handle manually. Sony's DSEE Extreme engine (which upscales compressed music to near-high resolution) is also included and also support for Bluetooth's LDAC technology. This lets high-quality music to be streamed at bitrates that are higher than Bluetooth. The built-in microphone is capable of making hands-free phone calls.

Similar to the previous generation of WH headphones, the XM5s excel in noise cancellation. They are among the top in cutting down on the constant drones that can be heard in underground and train carriages. The XM5s do a great job isolating listeners from the traffic noises of busy airports and streets also.

Sound quality is also excellent. The XM5s aren't as detailed in the low frequencies as the XM4, but there's a more pronounced sense of clarity and realism also. The bass on Rage Against The Machine's Bullet in the Head shows the Sonys power and clarity without affecting the rest of the music. Similarly, Massive Attack's brooding Angel shows off the XM5s ability to produce precise and precise bass notes.

Battery life is also good, with up to 30 hours of listening with ANC active and up to 40 hours when it's turned off. This is plenty to last for a weekend getaway or a few days of heavy usage.

The XM5s aren't water resistant or dust resistant. Sony actually advises against sweating on the XM5s or taking them out in the rain. This may not be a problem for most people, but for those who spend long hours in the gym or live in a rainy area this could be a big issue.

Apple AirPods Max

Apple AirPods Max is a pair of wireless headphones over-ear that come with Buy bluetooth Headphones technology and noise cancellation. They feature 40mm dynamic drivers designed by Apple with a neutral audio profile that is focused on the mids and highs while not going overboard at either end of the spectrum. This makes them perfect for movies and music. They also have superior fidelity when compared to other headphones.

The headphones are light and feel comfortable on your head. The earcups are made out of memory foam that is covered in woven fabric, and buy bluetooth headphones they fit comfortably on the ears without putting pressure on the sides of the face. The ear cups can be flipped and rotated to accommodate different head shapes. The spring-loaded hinges offer a strong, but not too much clamping force to ensure that the ear cups remain in place throughout listening sessions.

A small button located on the the right ear cup can be used to toggle noise cancellation modes. You can also utilize the jog dial that is a push-button similar to the digital crown on the Apple Watch. You can twist it for volume control, and press it once, twice, or three times for playback controls. Siri is invoked by pressing and holding the button. The buttons are well-placed and simple to use, however I was disappointed that there wasn't the power button that could turn off the headphones when not in use. The headphones automatically go into standby mode when they are removed from your ears or put in their case. They only wake up when you slide them over your head again.

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

The AirPods Max are a decent pair of headphones, but I'd be a bit ripped off walking into an Apple Store and spending $549 on the headphones if I knew they'd be beaten in a year by the new model. The AirPods Pro have more advanced features and improved battery life, making it difficult to justify the expense for most people.