9 votes

Headphone/Earbud recommendation - Is there one product that fits all my needs?

For the past week, I have been researching headphones/earbuds, buying them, and then cancelling the order immediately because I realized I was making a compromise on what I am wanting. Not a crazy amount of cancelled purchases, just maybe...three.

Anyways, I am in the market for the holy grail of headphones or earbuds that fits my needs but I am thinking I might have to buy multiple for the different scenarios that I am looking for. Which are:

  • Preferably earbuds so I can take one out if I need to have an ear free for something.
  • Great mic quality - I want to be able to use these for work call and when I go outside to walk. Really need something that handles wind and background noise pretty well that doesn't leave the other person on the phone annoyed talking to me. I don't want to walk around with a boom mic in front of face though.
  • No preference on wired or wireless. If wired, I would like direct USB-C so I don't have to think about dongles or anything. I also read that mic quality degrades with Bluetooth? Not sure how accurate that is but the consensus I have read was that wired earbuds have better mics than Bluetooth. Wireless would be amazing if I knew that everything else worked well. I would take a short battery life to have top notch everything else.
  • Decent sound quality for music. I already have a pair of aftershokz that I use for working out so I'm not stranger to compromised sound quality. But when I go out on walks I want to listen to language podcasts so I can hear clearly.
  • Active noise cancelling - longshot but this would just be nice to have since I have gotten a taste for these with my Sony headphones.

I would be interested to hear your product recommendations or solutions to my wants. I have a feeling that the perfect product doesn't exist but at the bare minimum I would take something that sounds decent and has a good mic that handles outdoor sounds well. ANC and wireless are optional but would be very amazing to have.

I would be using these with a Samsung S22.

10 comments

  1. Bonooru
    Link
    I got the MX1000m4s a while ago and have been quite happy with them. My goal was ANC for riding transit and being comfy, but I think they'd work for you as well? They're stable enough on my head...

    I got the MX1000m4s a while ago and have been quite happy with them. My goal was ANC for riding transit and being comfy, but I think they'd work for you as well?

    • They're stable enough on my head that I can pop one ear cup behind my ear and have it be stable and comfortable, so I think that qualifies for your first requirement
    • I've had no complaints when taking the occasional phone call
    • I'm not an audiophile (so I can't speak with any authority), but my podcasts sound fine to me
    • ANC works better than the BoseQC35 that these replaced on transit. It is sufficient for my needs.
    4 votes
  2. aphoenix
    Link
    So I have Galaxy Buds, and have roughly the same requirements. I find them good to very good across the board. They are earbuds, so you can take them out if you need to have an ear free, but they...

    So I have Galaxy Buds, and have roughly the same requirements. I find them good to very good across the board.

    • They are earbuds, so you can take them out if you need to have an ear free, but they actually have a sound passthrough mode that's maybe even better than taking one out.
    • The mic quality is good. I wouldn't record a podcast on it, but I've never had anyone complain about the quality when talking using earbuds. I have had calls while walking outside or while doing outdoor activities.
    • They are wireless, and they are also USB-C for charging, or contact charging.
    • The sound quality is good. They don't have ridiculously good bass or anything - I have a set of Sennheiser cans that are phenomenal and the galaxy buds do not compare to them favourably, but they're better than most of the other headphones I've had.
    • Active noise cancelling - the noise cancelling is quite good. They're not the best noise cancelling ever, but they have been sufficient for all the uses I've had, including snow-blowing my driveway yesterday.

    Bonus: they will work effortlessly within the Samsung environment. I have a Galaxy S10 and a Galaxy Watch5. They all work very well with each other.

    Overall, I would give them 4.5/5 stars.

    3 votes
  3. [2]
    Greg
    Link
    So, I probably wouldn't actually do this if it were me, but I think the closest thing to your precise requirements would be an unobtrusive USB-C lav mic on the collar along with whatever bluetooth...

    So, I probably wouldn't actually do this if it were me, but I think the closest thing to your precise requirements would be an unobtrusive USB-C lav mic on the collar along with whatever bluetooth earbuds you prefer. At least assuming Android doesn't do anything too weird when you tell it to use different devices for audio in and out - I realise I've never had occasion to try it.

    As I understand it the Sony WH-1000XM5 has pretty much the best non-boom mic on the market (simulated wind test towards the end), but they're over ear rather than earbud so you'd be relying on passthrough mode if you needed to hear the outside world. Given how much everyone seems to love pretty much everything about these headphones, I'd probably make that tradeoff if I were in the market right now.

    If the earbud style is more important, a neckband design might be a good compromise. The mic will be larger and better positioned than either wired or true wireless buds, but you can still take just one out if you need to and they're easier to throw in a bag or jacket pocket than full size cans. Sony seem to be a good bet here as well, the mic and ANC on the WI-1000XM2 are supposed to be particularly good, although the overall package won't quite match up to good over ears that have more space for the engineers to play with.

    3 votes
    1. psi
      Link Parent
      I third this recommendation. I think the Sony WH-1000XM3 (or one of the newer models) is the best pair of headphones for most people. They're wireless, support high fidelity Bluetooth codecs,...

      As I understand it the Sony WH-1000XM5 has pretty much the best non-boom mic on the market (simulated wind test towards the end), but they're over ear rather than earbud so you'd be relying on passthrough mode if you needed to hear the outside world. Given how much everyone seems to love pretty much everything about these headphones, I'd probably make that tradeoff if I were in the market right now.

      I third this recommendation. I think the Sony WH-1000XM3 (or one of the newer models) is the best pair of headphones for most people. They're wireless, support high fidelity Bluetooth codecs, include a mic, have a fantastic battery life, include ANC, and are comfortable like a warm hug. The only real drawback is the price.

      2 votes
  4. oracle17
    Link
    Hi. I realize that I'm (very) late to the party, but a popular headphone you might want to check out is the Salnotes Zero, which has the option of a mic, has the option of being usbc, and was...

    Hi. I realize that I'm (very) late to the party, but a popular headphone you might want to check out is the Salnotes Zero, which has the option of a mic, has the option of being usbc, and was tuned by Crinacle, who professionally measures and reviews headphones. It's also very affordable, so it shouldn't break the bank

    3 votes
  5. [3]
    Akir
    Link
    Headphones are one of the few times I would actually look into audiophile forums and see what they're recommending. A while back I had two really good recommendations, though I don't know if they...

    Headphones are one of the few times I would actually look into audiophile forums and see what they're recommending. A while back I had two really good recommendations, though I don't know if they are still as well regarded as they are today. That would be the Kz KZN Pro and the Fiio F1. Neither of them come with a microphone but I know that Fiio had an alternative SKU that does include one (maybe the F2?) and the KZN Pro allows you to use your own cable which you can probably find one with an integrated microphone. Both of those options are super cheap - they were in the range of $20-40 when I bought mine - and they have extremely high audio quality. And as you can probably guess when I brought up cables they are good old fashioned wired units with a regular analog headphone plug.

    You might want to ask this question on Reddit at /r/HeadphoneAdvice/

    2 votes
    1. Greg
      Link Parent
      Might just be my bad luck, but I’ve struggled to find an inline mic that really offers standout quality - my own headphones support Bluetooth with the integrated mic, or 3.5mm in with inline mic,...

      Might just be my bad luck, but I’ve struggled to find an inline mic that really offers standout quality - my own headphones support Bluetooth with the integrated mic, or 3.5mm in with inline mic, and even though they’re amazing for my needs and I’m big on modularity in general, I wouldn’t recommend them in either of those configurations to walk and talk over a pair with a well designed mic array like the XM5s or similar.

      1 vote
    2. psi
      Link Parent
      More generally, you might want to check out the world of "ChiFi" (Chinese Hi-Fi) and its associated subreddit /r/ChiFi. Since the earbuds are fairly cheap, you can afford to experiment some....

      More generally, you might want to check out the world of "ChiFi" (Chinese Hi-Fi) and its associated subreddit /r/ChiFi. Since the earbuds are fairly cheap, you can afford to experiment some. Personally I'm a fan of my Tin HiFi 2 buds (~$50), with the caveat that the stock cable doesn't come with a mic. That said, ChiFi earbuds typically have swappable cables, and this particular earbud is no exception -- just buy an aftermarket mmcx cable with a microphone (example). (Note that the plug type on the cable must match the plug type on the earbud.)

      1 vote
  6. spit-evil-olive-tips
    Link
    I have Anker Q30s and have been happy with them. they tick all your boxes except for being over-ear rather than earbuds. they're wireless, USB-C chargeable, and the active noise cancelling on them...

    I have Anker Q30s and have been happy with them. they tick all your boxes except for being over-ear rather than earbuds.

    they're wireless, USB-C chargeable, and the active noise cancelling on them works very well.

    2 votes
  7. DrStone
    Link
    No specific recommendations, but you should check out RTings for reviews. They have in-depth analysis, some best-of articles for various categories to get you started, as well as a “table tool”...

    No specific recommendations, but you should check out RTings for reviews. They have in-depth analysis, some best-of articles for various categories to get you started, as well as a “table tool” that you can sort and filter by all sorts of metrics.

    2 votes