Looking for Bluetooth over ear headphones at 2k

Jee

Jee

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Hi, the title pretty much says it all. Looking to get a decent wireless over ear headphone for my sis around 2 to 3k. There are certainly no trouble finding one but there are just so many options I am quite overwhelmed on what to pick. Nothing particular, just the usual good neutral sound quality, fairly comfortable and decent battery.

The main reason she wants one is that the ear buds seems to be a bit painful on ears during continuous use and gets a bit icky. I on the other hand give a lot of importance to sound quality but its hard to find reliable reviews for cheap headphones. I usually check crinacle for audio devices but he doesn't bother with cheap stuff so would like to get some recommendations from experts here. And if something is significantly better at 4 or 5k I wouldn't mind stretching the budget a little and maybe get one for myself as well. :p
 
You could also try non in ear tws earbuds. Moondrop has recently launched a model called block. It's available for pre-order rn. I use their space travel tws earbuds and they're excellent.

But if you want to go the headphones route, check out sound core q10 by anker.
 
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B_the_B said:
You could also try non in ear tws earbuds. Moondrop has recently launched a model called block. It's available for pre-order rn. I use their space travel tws earbuds and they're excellent.

But if you want to go the headphones route, check out sound core q10 by anker.
Click to expand...

How's the battery life on Space Travel? I recently opted for Sony WF-C500 instead of Space Travel solely due to the battery life. EQed it with wavelet.
 
Kubdya Khavis said:
How's the battery life on Space Travel? I recently opted for Sony WF-C500 instead of Space Travel solely due to the battery life. EQed it with wavelet.
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It's pretty good. I don't think the case holds a lot of charge though. I get 3-4 hrs with just the earbuds and the case will be able to top it up 2-3 times. You can still get the space travel because they're so cheap. And the sound quality in normal mode is fantastic (both the ANC and transparency mode let wind noises through if there's even a decently strong wind, and it's irritating).
 
B_the_B said:
You could also try non in ear tws earbuds. Moondrop has recently launched a model called block. It's available for pre-order rn. I use their space travel tws earbuds and they're excellent.

But if you want to go the headphones route, check out sound core q10 by anker.
Click to expand...
She specifically asked for over ear as she finds iem a bit painful on the ears. The anker you suggested looks pretty good so I think I will get that, thanks for the help.

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B_the_B said:
It's pretty good. I don't think the case holds a lot of charge though. I get 3-4 hrs with just the earbuds and the case will be able to top it up 2-3 times. You can still get the space travel because they're so cheap. And the sound quality in normal mode is fantastic (both the ANC and transparency mode let wind noises through if there's even a decently strong wind, and it's irritating).
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TWS for less than 3k is nuts, how does it compare to moondrop chu 2? I tried airpods and amazon basic tws before but wasn't a fan of them, airpods was alright with some eq but still not that good compared to chu.
 
blr_p said:
Or step up some more for the noise cancelling variant by the same brand

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Oof that's quite expensive, I was looking more at 2k range so the other model suggested looks good enough to me. If I end up liking this one enough maybe I will get the anc version for myself :p
 
Jee said:
TWS for less than 3k is nuts, how does it compare to moondrop chu 2?
Click to expand...

Actually there are quite a few decent options around the 3k mark. I got my Sony WF-C500 for 2.9k. Skullcandy Dime 3 has decent review from rtings. Its also available on autoeq project if you want to tweak it. Both CMF Buds and Buds Pro have decent reviews for people who like bass boosted V signatures. QCY Melobuds and Soundcore R50i ANC are good options too. Moondrop Space Travel is generally regarded as the best sounding tws in its price range. But its bang average on all other fronts especially the battery life. Only 3-4hrs of battery life on the buds with no fast charging. After a year its going to go down further as the battery starts to degrade. Also no IP rating so could potentially get wrecked by sweat. A good buy if you have 3k lying around unsed and dont mind buying something else in a year or two.

If you want to play around with the sound signature then I would suggest getting a pair of tws that's either listed on autoeq or listed on squiglink by a reputed source. That way you can autoeq it to your liking. That's what I've done with my Sony tws and its made a big difference.
 
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Kubdya Khavis said:
Actually there are quite a few decent options around the 3k mark. I got my Sony WF-C500 for 2.9k. Skullcandy Dime 3 has decent review from rtings. Its also available on autoeq project if you want to tweak it. Both CMF Buds and Buds Pro have decent reviews for people who like bass boosted V signatures. QCY Melobuds and Soundcore R50i ANC are good options too. Moondrop Space Travel is generally regarded as the best sounding tws in its price range. But its bang average on all other fronts especially the battery life. Only 3-4hrs of battery life on the buds with no fast charging. After a year its going to go down further as the battery starts to degrade. Also no IP rating so could potentially get wrecked by sweat. A good buy if you have 3k lying around unsed and dont mind buying something else in a year or two.
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There are a couple of other drawbacks too. The ANC and transparency mode are just name sake and don't really do a good job in either of the modes. And like I mentioned already, it lets wind noises through in both the modes which can be irritating ( but because they're IEMS there's always passive isolation, in the normal mode).

But the SQ in the normal mode is worth all those drawbacks . The bass is really full and meaty without being bloated. The vocals (male and female) come very cleanly without being veiled. The highs are not sibilant and just well rounded off. I don't like to splurge on headphones /earphones but I own several pairs collected over several years (Jabra revo, Skullcandy grind wireless, Koss porta pro, Sennheiser PX-80, Sennheiser HD-250BT, Sony WI-C100, Apple AirPods 2ng gen, Vido earbuds) and if I was to rate them purely on SQ terms, the space travel would be top / tied for top with the Jabra revo.
 
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B_the_B said:
The ANC and transparency mode are just name sake and don't really do a good job in either of the modes.
Click to expand...

Yup which is why I didnt think it was even worth mentioning. Tbh anc in any 3k tws is bound to be for name sake only (though CMF Buds and Buds Pro have received decent reviews for this). Moreover with anc on and off you are going to notice a change in the eq in budget tws. As far as Moondrop is concerned, its pretty obvious that they have put all the budget in the sound. I really wanted to buy them but the subpar battery and no IP rating eventually put me off. Would be an excellent buy for anyone who prefers sound over these two I suppose.
 
Kubdya Khavis said:
Yup which is why I didnt think it was even worth mentioning. Tbh anc in any 3k tws is bound to be for name sake only (though CMF Buds and Buds Pro have received decent reviews for this). Moreover with anc on and off you are going to notice a change in the eq in budget tws. As far as Moondrop is concerned, its pretty obvious that they have put all the budget in the sound. I really wanted to buy them but the subpar battery and no IP rating eventually put me off. Would be an excellent buy for anyone who prefers sound over these two I suppose.
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Yes, I'd be very interested to check out the CMF pro 2. I love what they are doing in the budget segment. Even their neckband earphones look so cool with the volume dial. Good SQ can definitely obtained without spending big money these days.
 
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blr_p said:
Why not try earmuffs over the earbuds?
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For noise cancellation ? Haha I'm personally more than ok with passive noise cancellation. People who want something more can try foam eartips for a tighter seal. Earmuffs may interfere if you want to interact with the earbuds. Especially some with touch buttons may face ghost touches.
 
Kubdya Khavis said:
For noise cancellation ?
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There is no 'cancellation'. Just enhanced passive isolation. Then the lower end anc can do the rest. You can optimise based on what sound signature you like and can listen at a lower volume.
Kubdya Khavis said:
Haha I'm personally more than ok with passive noise cancellation.
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Then earmuffs will work for you. I find people don't even consider doubling up like this. Because nobody makes videos like that


Works with wired buds too if that's your thing
Kubdya Khavis said:
People who want something more can try foam eartips for a tighter seal.
Click to expand...
That's an option but does not isolate as well as earmuffs because to get equivalent isolation with foam requires deep insertion which is obviously not possible.
Kubdya Khavis said:
Earmuffs may interfere if you want to interact with the earbuds. Especially some with touch buttons may face ghost touches.
Click to expand...
There needs to be some room in the earmuffs for this not to happen. Care needs to be taken to find suitable earmuffs because there are ones that are not suitable like 3M's X series. The 3M pro which you see in the above video isn't available in India yet.

3M's Optime 105 works with my jabra elite 10's. It can work with others too.

www.amazon.com

Check out this Amazon review of 3M Peltor Optime 105 Earmuffs, Hearing Conservation (Pack of 1)

Make your own Bluetooth hearing protection.
www.amazon.com

Another option is the Optime 98. Lighter with a lower NRR rating.

You can always interact with the earbuds through an app. And if possible disable touches on the earbuds.
 
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