Ask HN: Best Headphones at Under $500
7 comments
10 years ago, I would have answered: Sennheiser HD 280. They are comfortable, portable, and the thick pads offer semi noise-cancelling capabilities. I loved the fact that they faithfully reproduced the audio spectrum as the artist intended with their music.
Today, I can’t be anywhere without Airpod Pros. They are simply superb. Music sounds incredible on them, without excessive bass tones. Active noise cancelling is excellent. The user interface is sublime and intuitive. I only wish the battery life were a bit longer, but is sufficient for 95% of use cases
Today, I can’t be anywhere without Airpod Pros. They are simply superb. Music sounds incredible on them, without excessive bass tones. Active noise cancelling is excellent. The user interface is sublime and intuitive. I only wish the battery life were a bit longer, but is sufficient for 95% of use cases
I just picked up the first gen AirPods Max on sale (~$469). I didn't think I would appreciate the noise cancelling as much as I do. Really helpful for focusing and tuning out the world around me.
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I love my Airpods Pro so much, even though I don't have an iPhone. I previously had Bose and Sony noise-canceling over-the-ear headphones, but they were so heavy and uncomfortable to use for any extended amount of time. The ear pads would always get sweaty and gross, and one of the aftermarket replacement pads caused an allergic reaction on my ears (which I never experienced before). I also tried Pixel Buds and a few wired ones. Nothing came close, comfort-wise.
The Airpods Pro sound just as good to me as any of the other ones, and are dramatically more comfortable – I forget they're even there, and wear them for walking, running, cycling, working out, gaming, calls, etc.
They have some spatial features (like faking the position of a sound in space), but I turn all of that off and just use basic noise canceling and it works great.
The one downside is that the mic kinda sucks and picks up all sorts of ambient noise (typing, people walking or chatting nearby, etc.) on a call. I use a separate external mic and sometimes Krisp.ai to help filter out the noise.
The Airpods Pro sound just as good to me as any of the other ones, and are dramatically more comfortable – I forget they're even there, and wear them for walking, running, cycling, working out, gaming, calls, etc.
They have some spatial features (like faking the position of a sound in space), but I turn all of that off and just use basic noise canceling and it works great.
The one downside is that the mic kinda sucks and picks up all sorts of ambient noise (typing, people walking or chatting nearby, etc.) on a call. I use a separate external mic and sometimes Krisp.ai to help filter out the noise.
Soundcore by Anker Space Q45 Adaptive Active Noise Cancelling Headphones. They are cost competitive, but not perfect.
Koss Portapros for about $40 have been my gotos for years. Particularly the wired ones. The Bluetooth ones suck.
> What do you have that has been a positive experience?
Sony WH-1000XM4, very comfortable and great ANC
Sony WH-1000XM4, very comfortable and great ANC
What do you have that has been a positive experience?