PhoneArena Awards 2014: Best Smartphones 5

The company took customer feedback to heart and addressed many complaints about comfort, sound quality and isolation. For the most part, Urbanears succeeded, making the Plattan II a worthy sequel to the company’s most popular headphone. In short, these are basic headphones without a ton of features. But, because they’re feature-light, you get a good-sounding pair of wired headphones for significantly less than you would otherwise. Read the full review: Urbanears Plattan II Best over-ear headphones: Bowers & Wilkins P9 Signature Premium cans that are all about the sound quality Acoustic design: Closed | Weight: 413 g | Cable length: N/A | Frequency response: 2 – 30,000Hz | Drivers: 1.6 inch (40mm) Mylar/Titanium | Driver type: Dynamic | Sensitivity: 111dB SPL 1kHz – / 1Vrms | Impedance: 22 Ohms | Battery life: N/A | Wireless range: N/A | NFC: N/A Exceptional level of detail Clarity across the board Comfortable for long periods Lacking in extra features On the expensive side The Bowers & Wilkins P9 Signatures are simply some of the best-sounding headphones we’ve ever used. They have a tight, refined sound that offers an almost unmatched level of detail.

That said, the fact remains that they’re a comparatively feature-light pair of cans. If you want to spend less then you can get a much more portable pair that’ll be better suited to the morning commute or a plane ride thanks to additional features like noise-cancellation and Bluetooth connectivity. But, if you’re looking to invest in a seriously high-quality pair of headphones to listen to a high-quality music collection, then there are few that can match the P9s at this price point. Read the full review: B&W P9 Signature Best budget over-ear headphones: Audio-Technica ATH-SR5BT These over-ear headphones bring both performance and value Acoustic design: Closed | Weight: .64 pounds | Cable length: 3.9 feet | Frequency response: 5-40,000Hz | Drivers: Two 1.7″ drivers | Driver type: Dynamic | Sensitivity: 100 dB | Impedance: 35 ohm | Battery life: 40 hours | Wireless range: N/A | NFC: No Stellar battery life Balanced sound Wired mode sounds even better Highs can be too energetic Audiophiles typically shun wireless headphones because of poor sound quality.

PhoneArena Awards 2014: Best Smartphones 5 - Rudimentary Elements For mobile phones

However, Bluetooth audio has improved tremendously over the years. There are now plenty of wireless headphones that can please the music enthusiast, with Hi-Res Audio support being more and more prevalent. That said, the Audio-Technica ATH-SR5BT feature some of the best wired and wireless sound quality for a headphone under $200 (£150). They play well with all music genres and offer a near-flat response curve.

They’re extremely comfortable for long listening sessions and are well built. Battery life is equally impressive with nearly 40 hours of playback from a charge. And while they lack some features of more expensive wireless headphones like active noise cancelling and multi-device pairing, these are tradeoffs worth making for phenomenal sound. Read the full review: Audio-Technica ATH-SR5BT Best noise-canceling headphones: Bose QC 35 II Noise-cancelling headphones for folks who don’t want to hear a peep Acoustic design: Closed | Weight: 23g | Cable length: N/A | Frequency response: N/A | Drivers: N/A | Driver type: N/A | Sensitivity: N/A | Impedance: N/A | Battery life: 10 hours | Wireless range: 33 ft | NFC: Yes Class-leading noise cancellation Incredibly comfortable No instant mute Plastic build, plain design Despite being nearly identical to the already-excellent Bose QuietComfort 35 teh Bose QuietComfort 35 II is updated for 2018 with Google Assistant.