# Wireless headphones recommendations?



## Munchkin89 (Nov 24, 2020)

I'm looking to get my dad some for his birthday, but I'm really struggling to find any that fit the bill!

He's turning 70. They'd be for use when he's doing light gardening and tidying his workshop, not exercising or anything!
His genre in classical music - Mozart, Brahms, Wagner etc
He won't be needing them for calls and doesn't have Alexa
I'd like him to be able to pair them with his Samsung phone, Windows computer and tablet (a hudl?) if possible
I think the retro look might be good, to take him back to the 70s kind of thing - not a dealbreaker though!
My budget is ideally under £100. I could go up to £270ish but under £100 would be far better!
He has big ears!! I think over ear would be good, but think 'Prince Charles' kind of proportions!

I've been bashing the internet but finding something that ticks all the boxes is proving impossible. If you have any suggestions though please do let me know!

I'm also on the lookout for a simple MP3 player with basic and easy to see/use controls that he can use in conjunction with the headphones (is it bluetooth you need for wireless?) that I can give him for Christmas. Something with masses of storage. Any suggestions there would be great too!


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

I'm not sure what's available to you in the UK, but I recently bought a pair of Anker Soundcore Q30's. They've been getting rave reviews on YouTube, and I've got to say that they sound pretty terrific for US$80. Here they are:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Soundcore-Cancelling-Headphones-Multiple-Bluetooth/dp/B08HMWZBXC


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## RogerWaters (Feb 13, 2017)

FWIW, apparently wireless headphones compress music to enable it to be sent via a smaller bandwidth medium (wireless). So if you are listening to files that are compressed to start with (MP3, m4a), then you will be adding compression to compression which is a big no-no for sound quality.


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## Munchkin89 (Nov 24, 2020)

@wkasimer thanks for the recommendation! I watched a bunch of Youtube reviews and ended up ordering them. Fingers crossed they're good, and that he actually uses them!

@RogerWaters Oh dear, that is unfortunate! :-( He really 'listens' to his music so he may end up disappointed. I wanted him to use them when he's gardening as he's overly anxious about the neighbors being disturbed if he plays the radio normally, so he never does. I hope they'll be better than nothing. 

Am I right in thinking that the quality of music will be affected by the MP3 player too? So it may be a backhander getting him a big old basic MP3 player and he should just use his Samsung phone instead?


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## Guest002 (Feb 19, 2020)

I wouldn't worry about the compression of signal issue. He has 70 year old ears, he won't notice a thing amiss. And I don't mean that dismissively or rudely, but it just plain physical fact. By the time you're 40, you've lost about 4KHz of audio signal from the top end anyway. A bit more for wireless transmission will be neither here nor there.

I have 55 year old ears. I am an utter fanatic at ripping accurately and to FLAC (losslessly compressed audio, so the whole music signal).

I have a set of Bluetooth Bose headphones that are a joy to use and stickler-me heard no imperfections in the audio signal, let alone any that would ruin my enjoyment.

Buy him a *comfortable* set from the likes of Sennheiser or Bose and he will thank you. Ability to endure long periods of wear without getting a headache from the pressure, or red-hot ears from the all-encompassing cups is a far more important consideration, I would say, than audiofile street-cred. Buy the best you can afford that are effortlessly comfortable is my advice. Everything else is largely irrelevant if one cannot bear wearing them!

PS. Despite being a stickler for using FLAC, I am unable to reliably spot a 320kbps MP3. Anything above 256kbps should be acceptable for casual use. Just check the max kbps any MP3 player you are contemplating buying can do. If it's 256kbps or better, you'll be fine.

For the record, I have these ones, lightweight and comfortable, but as they don't seem to be currently available, that recommendation is probably not a lot of use!


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)

Munchkin89 said:


> I'd like him to be able to pair them with his Samsung phone, Windows computer and tablet (a hudl?) if possible


I know it's too late, you already ordered, but everything you mention has a headphone jack. Why wireless? You can get a lot more for a lot less in a wired headphone.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

I think Sony makes very good wireless noise canceling headphones, some of which can be had quite cheaply, especially now on Black Friday. These are £119:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-Wh-XB900N-Wireless-Cancelling-Headphones-Black/dp/B07RVC23SG/

They can also pair easily with a Sony Walkman by using NFC. You only tap the player to the ear cup and they connect. This Sony player is £130, and has an easy to use touchscreen interface. You can drag and drop music files from your PC, and you can use a micro SD card up to 512gb to add storage to the included 16gb. It will play any format you can imagine, including MP3, WMA, FLAC and DSD.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-NW-A55L-Walkman-Portable-S-Master-Black/dp/B07X3XD1BW/

Edit: I see you bought Anker. They're fine, I'm sure. Anyway, it has NFC, so I still recommend a player that has easy NFC pairing. An old-ish phone will probably do nicely.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

NoCoPilot said:


> I know it's too late, you already ordered, but everything you mention has a headphone jack. Why wireless? You can get a lot more for a lot less in a wired headphone.


Have you ever tried gardening with a wired headphone?


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