Wireless headphone roundup - March 2023

Jan

Jan

Who's the Boss?
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Best wireless headphones for the office

Offices are notoriously noisy environments, and some layouts can make participating in conference calls, having your say in virtual meetings, and listening to important information challenging.

However, several models of high-quality wireless headphones with robust active noise cancellation (ANC) capabilities are available in South Africa, and they can make these aspects of office work easier.
 
Apple AirPods Max — R12,699 (iStore)
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You must be jazz.

(Don't give me that I am not the target market nonsense, all the (good) wealthy tech Tubers & reviewers all acknowledge it is a ton of dosh for what you get)
 
I use my Sony WH-1000XM3's every single day, for the past 3 years. One of my best purchases to date. Getting a little weary now, but still rock solid.

I'm not a fan of the design of the XM5's however, so contemplating getting an XM4 while they still on sale and keep it in the box sealed till my XM3's finally die.
 
charlieharper said:
I use my Sony WH-1000XM3's every single day, for the past 3 years. One of my best purchases to date. Getting a little weary now, but still rock solid.

I'm not a fan of the design of the XM5's however, so contemplating getting an XM4 while they still on sale and keep it in the box sealed till my XM3's finally die.
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Yeah they amazing headphones.
 
My Sennheiser 450BT's are perfect for the office, not so expensive that you worry they are going to get nicked, and the ANC works just sufficiently to block out the party goers at the coffee machine, but not so much you don't hear your boss calling.

edit : also quite good at taking the edge off the generator noise when working from home. Only problem is they are shitty with MS teams, with active sound feedback overpowering the ears with artificially enhanced background noise, and now recently a constant chiming while in mute.
 
charlieharper said:
I use my Sony WH-1000XM3's every single day, for the past 3 years. One of my best purchases to date. Getting a little weary now, but still rock solid.

I'm not a fan of the design of the XM5's however, so contemplating getting an XM4 while they still on sale and keep it in the box sealed till my XM3's finally die.
Click to expand...

Loving my XM4s. Off to Europe next week and they are the first thing packed for the plane.I can't imagine buying a newer model until they die and the way that is looking it will be years in the future.
 
I am thinking about getting a wireless headset for my PS4. What would you guys suggest? Not worried about a mic. Just want to experience surround in a headset.
 
FiestaST said:
You must be jazz.

(Don't give me that I am not the target market nonsense, all the (good) wealthy tech Tubers & reviewers all acknowledge it is a ton of dosh for what you get)
Click to expand...
But they are rated equal or better than the XM5s, on Google and RTINGS? Wealthy YouTubers don't know everything...

charlieharper said:
I use my Sony WH-1000XM3's every single day, for the past 3 years. One of my best purchases to date. Getting a little weary now, but still rock solid.

I'm not a fan of the design of the XM5's however, so contemplating getting an XM4 while they still on sale and keep it in the box sealed till my XM3's finally die.
Click to expand...

Picked up some XM4s on sale at IC earlier this year. Really happy so far, only complaint is they they kinda hurt me after a few hours of use.
 
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Offices are notoriously noisy environments, and some layouts can make participating in conference calls, having your say in virtual meetings, and listening to important information challenging.
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This is just hilarious. Should put this article side by side with those ridiculous ones touting the wonders of the office. The question is why should people be forced to wear headphones all day just to deal with a poorly designed office spaces that doesn't offer people their own private, quiet work areas?

prod said:
But they are rated equal or better than the XM5s, on Google and RTINGS? Wealthy YouTubers don't know everything...
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Even though the RTINGS summary seems to favour the AirPods Max I'd say that actually the XM5 is the one that is equal or better based on their rating for the various categories. Being two thirds the price of Apple's product pretty much seals the deal in Sony's favour.

Brieuse said:
My Sennheiser 450BT's are perfect for the office, not so expensive that you worry they are going to get nicked, and the ANC works just sufficiently to block out the party goers at the coffee machine, but not so much you don't hear your boss calling.
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You're not worried they're going to get stolen because no-one would be willing to steal R2000 headphones?

I'd think that blocking out the boss would be also be a key feature.
 
305FBF51-9C9C-4E83-A86E-DFA07324E635.jpeg
Beat Solo3. 40 hours battery life makes me one happy boy
 
Brieuse said:
My Sennheiser 450BT's are perfect for the office, not so expensive that you worry they are going to get nicked, and the ANC works just sufficiently to block out the party goers at the coffee machine, but not so much you don't hear your boss calling.
Click to expand...
I'm very happy with my 450 BT's as well, and up until now have paired it with a Meteor condenser mic for meetings. But the downside is that while the headphones ANC filters out surrounding noise, the mic seem to pick it up and amplify it. Often my colleagues will hear something loud from outside my home office and I have no what they are talking about until I take off the headphones.

So I'm looking to move on from my trusty 450BT's and find something with a attached mic that sits close to my mouth and only picks up hyper local voice sounds.

Anyone have any suggestions?

My criteria are:
  1. Not bluetooth. It can have bluetooth, but it can't be its only connectivity. Some usb dongle or external dac would be ideal
  2. Wireless
  3. Mic that can sit by my mouth when I'm in a meeting and be moved out of the way when not in use
  4. Rechargable while in use, or be able to swap out batteries and charge the batteries offline
  5. Noise Cancelling
  6. Over or on ear, not in ear
  7. Works on Linux
 
noxibox said:
You're not worried they're going to get stolen because no-one would be willing to steal R2000 headphones?

I'd think that blocking out the boss would be also be a key feature.
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perhaps, but compared to R9k and R13k headphones, for the office...

If I had R9k headphones they would go nowhere near the office.

Cannot block out the boss...
 
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