Computer Shopper - UK (2020-04)

HEADPHONES

ISSUE386|COMPUTER SHOPPER|APRIL2020 71

inpreventingambientnoisefromspoiling

yourenjoyment.ANCheadphonesusean

integratedmicrophonetolistenoutfor

potentiallyintrusivesounds,andproduce

soundwavesof thesamevolumeand

frequency,butwhichfillthetroughsand

avoidthecrestsof theambientsound

waves, effectivelycancellingthelatterout,

so youhearlessof theoutsideworldand

moreof yourtunes.

Thismainlyworkswellwithconsistent

sounds,suchasthosefromanengineorair

conditioner,ratherthanhighlyvariablenoises

likespeech,butthatstillmeansANCis

wonderfulforrelaxingonalongplane

journeyorifyou’retryingto focusinalibrary.

Assuch,it’sagreatbonusto have,although

withrareexceptionsliketheLindyBNX-100,

expectitsinclusionto bumpupprices.

Passivenoisecancellationcanstilloccur

if yourheadphonesproduceatightseal,

whetherit’saroundyourearsorrightinside

yourearcanal;ANCjusttakestheeffectto

thenextlevel.Havingasnug(thoughnot

uncomfortablytight)fitisbeneficialfor

other reasons,too:ifyou’rewearingin-ear

headphonesthatlackaheadband,having

themtooloosecanleadto themfallingout.

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Althoughlightness,compactnessandstyling

areallworthyqualitiesinasetof headphones,

sotooistheinclusionof agoodsetof

controls.Thesewillletyoucontrolplayback

withouthavingto reachforyourphoneor

laptop.Sinceheadphoneshavebeengetting

smarterrecently,youmightalsogetbuttons

to answerorhangupphonecalls,andeven

activateabuilt-indigitalassistant,suchas

Amazon’sAlexaorGoogleAssistant.

Over-earheadphoneshaveanatural

advantagehere,astheirearcupsaremuch

larger–andthereforehavemuchmoreroom

forbuttonsorcapacitivetouchpads–than

dinkyin-earbuds.Evenso,mostrecent

in-earsshouldgiveyoubasiconboard

controlsviatouchandswipegesturesonthe

outsideof thecasing.Thesemightnotwork

asreliablyasphysicalbuttons,butthey’re

betterthannothing,andinsomecasesyou

canusevoicecommandsto orderyourdigital

assistantto adjustplaybackforyou.

comfortableandworsethanover-earsat
formingasealto keepoutambientnoise.
Whilemostof thephysicaldifferences
betweenlittleearbudsandbigover-ear
headphonesareself-evident,itpaysto think
abouthow,whenandwhereyou’remost
likely to listento music,podcastsorebooks
beforecommittingto astyle.Sincein-ear
headphonesaremuchlighterandmore
portable,they’rearguablybetterforwearing
whileexercisingorforshortcommutes,
while over-earheadphonescanbemore
comfortablyusedonlongertrips,atan
office deskorathome.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Youmightnote thatall10oftheheadphones
we’vecoveredhereareeitherexclusively
wireless,orcanbeusedwirelessly.That’s
because,unlessyou’reanaudiophilelistening
athomeoramusicianneedingstudio
headphones,theconvenienceof Bluetooth
haslongoutweighedthebenefitsof acabled
connectionforcasualusers.Ifyou’datleast
preferflexibility,notethatmanywireless
headphonesincludeanoptional3.5mmcable.
Allthatsaid,thequalityof Bluetooth
connectioncanvary.Morebasicheadphones
mayonlybeableto connectviatheSBC
Bluetoothcodec,whichwillgenerallysound
finebutmightproducehissingnoisesor
artefactingonthehigherfrequencies.AAC,
whichisthedefaultBluetoothcodecusedby
AppleiPhonesandiPads,canproducebetter
soundqualitywithlesscompression,asdoes
theaptXcodec(which,thankfully,isn’tlimited
to onemanufacturer).Sony’slosslessLDAC
codecalsohelpsensurecleanerfeedback.
Inshort,checkbothyoursourcedevice
andtheheadphonesyou’reinterestedinto
seewhichisthebestcompatiblecodec.
We’ve includedthisdatainthespecifications
tableonpage82.

FREQUENT OCCURRENCES
Thegoodnewsisthatall10pairsof
headphoneshereproducegoodoverallsound
quality,butsomeareevenbetterthanothers.
Aswithanyaudioproduct,theidealisa
balanceof lowbassnotes,anassertive
mid-range,andclean,brighthigher
frequencies,withoutanyoneoverpowering
theother.Uncontrolledlow-endcandrown
outamix,andweakmidscanmuddyvocal
andinstrumentalarrangements,soaneven
balanceisbest.
Theexceptionmightbeifyou’re
particularlyintocertainstylesof music,
whichmightsoundfineevenwitha
degree of imbalance.Electronicmusic,for
instance,cansoundfunwithatouchof
extra bass.We alwaystestheadphones
with arangeof tracksspanningdifferent
genresandstyles,to seewhetherapairis
bettersuitedto certainmusic.

TOTALSHUTOUT
Whateveryouwantto listento,active
noise-cancelling(ANC)canbeamassivehelp

BESTVALUEHEADPHONES

CREATIVEOutlierAir

At£70, the Outlier Air are pricier than abasic

set ofwired in-ears, but they’re easily worth

that much and more.These are true wireless headphones with asolid, stable Bluetooth

connection –thanks in part tothe high-end aptX codec –and much better battery lifethan

even its most premium competition. There’s no ANC –check out the over-ear Lindy

BNX-100 headphones if you’re after anoise-cancelling bargain –but sound quality and build

quality are both so high that we’d still rather spend the cash on these than the £120

Amazon Echo Buds or £140 Huawei FreeBuds 3.

BESTPREMIUMHEADPHONES

SONYWH-1000XM3

These headphones predaterivals such as the Bose Noise Cancelling

Headphones 700, but that only highlights how impressive it is that Sony

ANCover-earsstilllook,feelandsoundlikethebestpairaround.Arich,

vibrantyetbalancedsoundprofilecomplementssomebrilliantphysical

design –the WH-1000XM3 are extremely comfortable,even forlong

periods –and there’s aheap of extra features. Unusually,you get a

choice of all three major digital assistants (Siri, Alexa and Google

Assistant), and the bundle of accessories that come in the box isn’t

bad, either.ANC effectivenessisalso ahighlight.

BEST iPHONE HEADPHONES

APPLEAirPodsPro

If you own an Apple smartphone or tablet, the perks of pairing it

with the AirPods Pro might understandably tempt you awayfrom

less expensive headphones. There’s certainly aconvenience

advantage of keeping it in the family: streamlined pairing takes

afair bit of effort out of one of the more tedious aspects of

Bluetooth headphones.

The big asking price is also justified by the fact that these are,

Apple favouritism aside,anexcellent pair of in-ear headphones. Th

fantastic, ANC works well, they’re comfortable,and they even look

standard AirPods.

THE BESTHEADPHONES

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