Since I live in an apartment, I use over ear Bluetooth noise canceling headphones to watch TV or listen to music on a daily basis. I have a Sony 1000-XM2 that I love, an MPow M5 and Soundcore Q20 that I gave to my mom. The Sonys are my gold standard for sound quality, but both the MPOW and Soundcore are exceptional as well.
The MPow M5 finally started to physically break after 4+ years of years of near daily use, so I purchased these to replace them.
I selected these because they were the among the highest rated and most purchased over ear noise canceling blue tooth headphones under $40.
I received my headphones in about a couple days. The box contained the headphones, a carrying case, and cables. The build quality of the headset seems very solid with substantial earcups, a large battery between the head padding and earcups. The construction is all mat plastic with a metal leaf spring in the headband. I’m not sure if the swivel hinges are metal. ANC is controlled with a sliding switch behind the left ear while on/off, volume, skipping, pausing and pairing are controlled with three plastic push-buttons behind the right ear.
When you press the buttons you hear/ feel a mechanical click that I am guessing is designed to be hepatic feedback and less intrusive than audible beeps in the headphones. Primary function of the buttons are track skipping and on/off. Holding the track buttons for a couple of seconds will allow you to control volume. This exactly the opposite of most headphones and very annoying in my opinion, as I more often want to adjust volume than skip tracks. The center (on/off) button, also allows you to pause and when held for about five seconds will put the headphones in pairing mode. As the noise canceling is on a separate slider but it does turn off with the headphones unlike other budget brands/ models. Aside from the very annoying track skipping, the controls are intuitive and reasonable.
Sound quality is really good for the price. These is some punch in the bass but it isn’t overpowering. Mids and highs are clear. At the highest volumes the sound remains super clear with consistent bass. The sound quality is very good overall and exceptional at the price, better than my MPOW on par with Soundcore Q20s.
Noise canceling operates as a single mode without a bypass/ ambient sound feature which is expected at this price point. Noise canceling is at least reasonably good for this price point. Low frequency noise can’t be heard, but, mid-to-high frequencies are not affected much. The sonic profile does not change with noise canceling on. Overall, noise canceling is what one can expect at this price point. If you need more mid to high frequency noise reduction, I’d recommend just getting a pair of Sony MX’s.
Range is good. I can go anywhere in my apartment or even outside nearby with no loss of sound quality. Again, at this price point, I think this is expectedly good. Battery life seems insanely good. I have probably listened to 80.hours of TV and music on a single charge.
The headphones have a “C” profile that curves moderately off the side of my head. I have a small to medium sized head, and I find these fit reasonably. However, they are a bit on the heavy side and the protein pads are thick and can get a little hot, though not unreasonably so.
Overall I give this set extremely high marks for sound quality and battery life. Build quality, noise cancellation, and comfort are good. The only detraction I see are that that weird track skipping primary function in the controls. If I could give four and a half stars, I would, but given how Amazon reviews work, I’ll give this five stars.
Genie - Research Bot
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