Whether you’re buying for an audiophile or perhaps looking for a cheeky present for yourself, you can’t go past a good set of headphones. Here are 5 of our favourites that hit a range of different price points.
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Astro A10 – $89
This one is for the gamers who are looking for a reliable entry level headset that won’t break the bank.
Astro as generally known for their fancy headsets that set you back a couple of hundred bucks. It’s for that reason that I think they have done such a good job at providing a more budget offering to the market – they know what important details to hit.
The A10s have great sound quality considering the price point. But it should be noted that this applies to gaming only. If you’re looking for something that you can also enjoy quality music on, they do fall slightly short. But to be fair, that isn’t what they’re designed for.
The mic quality, which looks similar to to the Astro A20s, is similarily good. Being flexible, it can be folded up and down at will and is also flip-to-mute. This means that it will stop picking up sound once you fold it up. I’ve always dug this as a feature in gaming headsets, and it’s nice to see in a budget-offering.
It will also work across PC, console and mobile – so it’s a versatile option.
Price: $89
Plantronics BackBeat 500 – $119.95
If you’re looking to dip your toe in the wireless waters, but don’t want to drop $500, these are definitely worth a look.
The quality and features of Plantronics wireless offering is really decent, particularly for a sub-$200 set of headphones. They left me genuinely surprised.
Although you’re not going to get noise isolation at this price point, you will get an 18 hour battery life and multipoint bluetooth pairing.
Another pleasant surprise is the memory foam earpads. When paired with the soft pleather headband make for a comfortable experience.
Price: $119.95
Sennheiser OCX 686G Sports Earphones – $179.95
Adjusting earbuds while exercising is the worst – at best it’s a bit annoying and at worst it can throw you off your game.
These bad boys are ear canal earbuds, so they’re specifically designed to stay in place. Although they aren’t the cheapest earbuds on the market, they’re built to last. In addition to staying put, they’re also water resistant and sweat proof so they won’t need to be replaced for a good while.
The sound quality is also quite impressive, particularly for sports earbuds. It’s nice that quality wasn’t entirely compromised in the name of comfort and functionality.
One fun feature is an inline remote that can be used to control your music on the go. However, it doesn’t work with iOS devices.
Price: $179.95
Sony WH-1000XM2 – $499.95
We can’t have a gift guide about headphones without including some high-end noise cancelling ones. Although Bose is often cited as one of the best in market, my pick goes to the Sony WH-1000XM2’s.
The sound quality and noise cancellation is absolutely stunning. If you need to disappear from the world around you for awhile, or even just hardcore concentrate on work – these are perfect.
And even better – you’re going to get a good 30 hours of charge, even with noise cancellation turned off. Without it you’re looking at roughly 38 hours. That’s impressive.
What really sets these apart though are the extra features. For example, the right earcup is touch sensitive, meaning you can tap to pause your tunes or swipe up to increase the volume.
Has Chad from sales come over to ask you a question? You can temporarily turn noise cancellation off by cupping it with your hand – no need to take your headphones off! Once you remove your hand noise cancellation will turn back on.
And if superb noise cancellation wasn’t enough – the Sony headphones app will also let you adjust the noise cancellation, as well as the equaliser, reverb and sound direction.
And if you travel a lot like I do, you will appreciate the Atmospheric Pressure Optimisation – which optimises the sound for planes.
Worth. Every. Cent.
Price: $499.95
Oppo PM-3 – $489
The first thing that struck me about the PM-3s is that they’re a sexy, sexy piece of audio technology.
Even two years on from their original release, they still offer competitive sound quality compared to their market competitors.
The combination of their closed-back design with planar magnetic drivers provides stunning sound quality. And while they don’t offer full noise cancellation, they do a good job of isolating ambient sound.
They are also well padded which makes them comfortable for long sessions. As someone who is at a desk all day (and is to headaches – which overly snug headbands don’t help with) this is a real draw card to me.
The PM3s are also compact enough to easily commute or take trips with. Although they aren’t the smallest headphones on the market, they’re surprisingly compact for a set that contain planar drivers, which tend to be on the larger side.
Price: $489
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