Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsBest noise cancelling headphones money can buy.
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2024
These are not perfect as headphones go, but they are literally the nicest noise cancelling headphones that any amount of money can buy. They have their ups and downs. I'm going to talk in depth about each of these, but overall these are the best noise cancelling headphones money can buy, so even when it comes to their downsides, you can't do better.
First, if you're a regular consumer, you'll be blown away by the sound quality. However, if you're an audiophile used to audiophile grade open back headphones like the Sennheiser HD800, these fall short of audiophile levels of sound quality. Let me explain why that is.
Sound quality wise, the sound quality is overall spectacular, but it has two problems. Bass is way overemphasized, and the treble is rolled off. The treble issue is in my opinion the only really major flaw you have to deal with in these headphones. It's really a shame. Even with EQ, there's no good way to make up for the treble problem because the high end is just always a little lacking.
Bass is massively overemphasized, but everyone seems to do that these days, and most people seem to love it. Thankfully, you can just lower the bass in the EQ and it works fine, but from an audiophile perspective it's still a mark against it. You can also raise the bass if you want to lose your hearing and cause brain damage from the thump. These things will thump so hard that it'll give you a concussion.
Aside from those two downsides, instruments sound absolutely spectacular with amazing definition, separation, and clarity, it's just really unfortunate that they rolled off the treble. It'd be nice if the bass wasn't so overemphasized, but the bass at least is understandable since it seems to be what most people want. I will say however that the mid is absolutely spectacular, so there's that.
Even at their best, if you're a real audiophile, these don't hold up to the sound quality of high end audiophile open back headphones by Sennheiser like the HD650 or HD800. These are consumer grade, very top end consumer grade, but they don't reach the heights of real audiophile territory. For most people though, these will blow you away.
Noise cancelling wise, these are the best money can buy. I've tried other noise cancelling headphones, and these destroy everything that I've ever tried. It's a night and day difference in terms of the overall quality and effectiveness of the noise cancelling compared to other noise cancelling headphones.
However, they're not totally perfect. I have a bunch of air filter fans running full blast all the time, and it reduces their volume by 90+%, but it's a little inconsistent. Some of the inconsistency comes from just how the headphones sit in my head, if I get them just right, it mutes probably 98% of the sound, but if they're just a little off, it drops to between 90-95%. Sometimes it just seems to work better than other times with no apparent explanation. 90% is still a ton of noise reduction. Be aware though that you can still hear things, they're just quiet. Like if you pass a fan while walking, you can still hear it, it's just quiet.
There is sometimes a slight amount of pressure from the noise cancellation, but it's very minimal, and a lot of the time there's actually none.
Next, we get into the real premium stuff. You're paying like $400 for this, so let's talk about what you're really paying for: the creature comforts and luxury that get overlooked at lower price ranges...
For example, the case for these headphones is simply amazing. It feels extremely premium, it has a nice touch, it's light but durable, it has this lovely leathery material that is a joy to hold. It just feels like a million bucks. Even the zipper is nice! The internal layout is likewise spacious, protective and just overall very high quality.
Same with the headphones themselves. As an object that you hold in your hand, these things simply feel incredible. They're unbelievably light, I don't know how they made it feel this light. The headband literally feels like a cloud, it almost melts in your hand. I've never felt anything like it. It is insanely soft with this beautiful smooth leather feeling, yet it doesn't collapse when you wear it. I don't even understand how that works, but it does.
These are the most comfortable set of headphones I have ever put on my head by far. It feels like you're wearing a cloud. It's crazy. The clamp force is so low that I can wear these for hours and hours on end and they just feel insanely comfortable the entire time.
Even just holding these headphones physically, they feel like a million bucks. Like they've got these buttery smooth moving collapsible cans, yet they feel solid and durable, and they have this lovely smooth feeling to them.
These are the things you're really paying for when you pay $400. It's just all those little details and luxuries that really make it. They put a lot of luxury into the things outside the actual speakers, and it shows. They feel super premium in your hands, they're a beautiful shape, they're insanely comfortable to wear, they have this elegant simple design to them, and their case is outstanding. Seriously, if you hold the case and headphones of any of the other noise cancelling headphones in your hands, they just don't feel as nice as this.
Overall, I really wish they hadn't rolled off the treble. That's its one major flaw. However, these are so good that I can't go back to anything else (other than my open back audiophile sennheisers for serious listening). These are like the ultimate casual headphones for every day use. Watching TV? Use these. Going on an airplane? Use these. Going to the gym? Use these. Going for a walk? Use these. Unless all you want to do is sit down and seriously listen to some high quality music in a quiet room with audiophile headphones, you should be using these.
These are your ultimate every day use headphones. If you're a normal consumer who doesn't care about audiophile grade stuff, these will absolutely blow your mind. Even if you're an audiophile, you'll probably end up addicted to them for every day normal use. I'm kindof addicted to them myself, to be honest.
