Quality wireless headphones with no sound leakage.

Roman Totale

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Hi, I'm looking for a pair of headphones to use in my workspace I'll be sharing with a friend. I don't actually need noise cancelling for myself, as it's a quiet zone, but I need something without sound leakage which would annoy him.

I'll be using them primarily with a Mac to listen to Apple Lossless files, and would much prefer wireless.

What's best with Mac; bluetooth, Apt X, or what?

I've been following the WHF recommendations/reviews, but they don't mention leakage. Presumably around ear is best for that anyway...?

I was thinking of the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Around Ear Wireless at £380. i don't want to pay much more than that, and in fact something at £250 to £300 might be tempting.

Your thoughts welcome.
 

dalethorn

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Roman Totale said:
Hi, I'm looking for a pair of headphones to use in my workspace I'll be sharing with a friend. I don't actually need noise cancelling for myself, as it's a quiet zone, but I need something without sound leakage which would annoy him.

I'll be using them primarily with a Mac to listen to Apple Lossless files, and would much prefer wireless.

What's best with Mac; bluetooth, Apt X, or what?

I've been following the WHF recommendations/reviews, but they don't mention leakage. Presumably around ear is best for that anyway...?

I was thinking of the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Around Ear Wireless at £380. i don't want to pay much more than that, and in fact something at £250 to £300 might be tempting.

Your thoughts welcome.

I've had the Puro BT5200 and v-Moda wireless headphones. Both have low leakage, but not low enough for a quiet office at audiophile volume levels. The B&O H6 I have has much lower leakage, but I haven't tried the H7 or H8 wireless yet - those may be worth looking into.
 

Roman Totale

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dalethorn said:
Roman Totale said:
Hi, I'm looking for a pair of headphones to use in my workspace I'll be sharing with a friend. I don't actually need noise cancelling for myself, as it's a quiet zone, but I need something without sound leakage which would annoy him.

I'll be using them primarily with a Mac to listen to Apple Lossless files, and would much prefer wireless.

What's best with Mac; bluetooth, Apt X, or what?

I've been following the WHF recommendations/reviews, but they don't mention leakage. Presumably around ear is best for that anyway...?

I was thinking of the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Around Ear Wireless at £380. i don't want to pay much more than that, and in fact something at £250 to £300 might be tempting.

Your thoughts welcome.

I've had the Puro BT5200 and v-Moda wireless headphones. Both have low leakage, but not low enough for a quiet office at audiophile volume levels. The B&O H6 I have has much lower leakage, but I haven't tried the H7 or H8 wireless yet - those may be worth looking into.

Thanks dalethorn
 

expat_mike

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Roman Totale said:
What's best with Mac; bluetooth, Apt X, or what?

You need to check carefully, because i think that Apple do not support bluetooth or AptX.

Some of the posts on this thread mention the phones working with Apple, but I have not read any mention of sound isolation. http://www.head-fi.org/t/749700/bang-olufsen-beoplay-h8-wireless-noise-cancelling-on-ear-headphones

http://www.head-fi.org/t/773165/bowers-wilkins-p5-wireless

http://www.head-fi.org/t/681976/bowers-wilkins-p7-over-the-ear-headphones

http://www.head-fi.org/t/746519/huge-comparison-of-almost-all-the-best-bluetooth-headphones-post-your-own-comparisons-here

Dale probably has the most experience of reviewing headphones, of all the posters on this forum, so it is good that he has a lready replied.
 

Roman Totale

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Thanks expat_mike, I'll have a look at those. Apple devices certainly have Bluetooth functionality for communicating with each other, but that's a helpful suggestion to look into if it works with headphones.
 

Superaintit

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Roman Totale said:
Hi, I'm looking for a pair of headphones to use in my workspace I'll be sharing with a friend. I don't actually need noise cancelling for myself, as it's a quiet zone, but I need something without sound leakage which would annoy him.

I'll be using them primarily with a Mac to listen to Apple Lossless files, and would much prefer wireless.

What's best with Mac; bluetooth, Apt X, or what?

I've been following the WHF recommendations/reviews, but they don't mention leakage. Presumably around ear is best for that anyway...?

I was thinking of the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Around Ear Wireless at £380. i don't want to pay much more than that, and in fact something at £250 to £300 might be tempting.

Your thoughts welcome.

In my experience closed over ear headphones provide the best noise isolation. Having said that I'm wearing on-ears at the moment and nobody hears anything...
Over ears are a lot more comfortable after about 3 hours, though.
That part is easy.

Now the wireless part, which is more tricky. I know only a few models from Sennheiser, Bose, B&O and B&W of which I only heard B&O H8, B&W 5 wireless. I searched a few months ago for a wireless, noise cancelling headphone and couldn't find one to match my needs. There are more coming on the market and I suspect the new Iphone with only a lightning connector will drive manufacturers to develop wireless headphones that can be coupled both to an iphone or an android device.
Long story short: I would wait till september/october just after the new iphone launch.
If you must have them now I would suggest listening to the Sennheiser you mentioned, the B&O H7 and see if Akg have a wireless equivalent of the NC 60 on ears
(The B&O H8 I really, really don't like. Love the H6 though. They are voiced differently but are wired.)
 

dalethorn

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Roman Totale said:
Thanks Superaintit, I might hold out until September.

I got the Bose QC-35, and it's now my first full-time wireless/Bluetooth headphone. No more cable for me! You can see my review on youtube now. I love the QC-35.
 

Superaintit

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Heard the qc-35 this afternoon. They are quite good. Actually they are the best Bose headphones yet for neutral playback although the bass still is more present then neutral. Very refined presentation. A trifle too much for my taste. All in all the best wireless noisecancelling phones on the market.
 

dalethorn

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Superaintit said:
Heard the qc-35 this afternoon. They are quite good. Actually they are the best Bose headphones yet for neutral playback although the bass still is more present then neutral. Very refined presentation. A trifle too much for my taste. All in all the best wireless noisecancelling phones on the market.

Good summary - thanks.
 

Roman Totale

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Thanks dalethorn, they seem a serious contender. I looked on youtube but couldn't work out which review was yours. Have you herad the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 wireless for comparison?
 

dalethorn

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Roman Totale said:
Thanks dalethorn, they seem a serious contender. I looked on youtube but couldn't work out which review was yours. Have you herad the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 wireless for comparison?

The Bose QC35 wireless sound matches the QC25 not-wireless sound. But, I don't know if Sennheiser's wireless sound is as good as their not-wireless sound. If it is as good, it could be a winner.
 

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