Hi, I’ve been contemplating a set of the noise cancelling variety for a while, mainly for music whilst on planes / trains etc and also for working on trains.

What I would like to know is are these things good for watching TV? I hadn’t considered them for this but being a man child I’m often playing on the PS4 late at night and need to keep the volume right down. Do bluetooth headphones work well for gaming and watching films etc or is there a lag of any kind?

TV sound comes through a Naim Muso at the moment.

The its just the Sony vs Bose decision!!

Don’t dismiss AKG headphones. They make some lovely sounding stuff.

Sony, Bose, Sennheiser, Jabra & AKG to consider

I’ve got a set of AKG Y50BT and there superb. I use them for gaming as well as travelling.

Any idea about how they work with TV sound tho?

Will look at other brands. Was hoping the Sonys come down in price as they are replacing the XM3 soon. Bose fit my head slightly better but the Qc35 still seem high on price.

Can’t comment on TV usage -although I can’t imagine why they would suffer any sort of lag vs the TV speaker system.

But in terms of quality I listened to several pairs before I chose the Sennheiser Momentums which I’ve now been happily using for a couple of years, mainly for travel. In my opinion their sound is substantially better than Bose which to me seemed a bit un-dynamic and “recessed”.

I have a pair of Anker Soundcore Life Q20 (catchy name!) Family, sorry I mean NOISE cancelling headphones.

They have been a god send in these working from home times, work well for PS4 (either wirelessly or just plugged into the controller) and for podcasts/music etc, i have worn them for over 6 hours some days with no issues.

being a man child I’m often playing on the PS4 late at night

A gaming headset surely?

Otherwise, how would your bros know when you’ve ragequit?

captain assume they do not have noise cancelling though? Looks like Samsung owns AKG?

I’ve a pair of AKG Y50BT which I use for general TV and gaming, I’ve not noticed any issues with lag at all. They’re not noise cancelling, although they do make a pretty decent job of damping external noise. They’re on-ear, so sound leakage could maybe be a thing if you’re cranking them up on public transport?

I have QC35 and wouldn’t travel without them. They’re brilliant, both cordless and plugged in to the in flight entertainment. I also use them at my desk to listen to music and/or make calls. (As well as a pair of excellent corded Sony brass in ear ‘phones)

If I was buying now, though, I think I’d be swaying towards these – https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/sony-1000xm4-headphones

As and when they come out, I’ll try a pair and decide if they’re worth the upgrade from my Bose.

Your post prompted me to try my cheap Anker Q20 headphones with my new Sony tele.

All work fine. Almost no lag with speech on steamed stuff, so quite happy.

Can’t imagine you will be disappointed.

Have the Sennheiser HD 4.50btnc

Works fine with TV.

Use them lots in the workshop and they do a good job at cancelling our the noise of the saw, either, etc…

I tested a whole heap of noise-cancelling headphones last year. All in the £200-400 price range, probably about 20.

My final shootout was between the Sony wh1000 xm3 and the Jabra 85h.

Really close competition, the Sony had better noise isolation, but the sound signature of the Jabra was just a bit clearer, with really rich bass.

They leak zero noise, and the noise cancelling is pretty much level with anything you can get.

Although, I use a set of Open-back Phillips X2HR headphones for gaming. They’re astounding. Anyone in the same room as you can hear everything, but they make shell casings and footsteps sound much more real and distant. Open back Vs Closed back is like being in big room, or in a small studio.

Jabra look nice and Currys appear to have them at £129 so I’ll take a look. Guessing xm4s will be ££££££

@cb unfortunately the AKG don’t have noise cancelling.

Sennheiser Momentums

I got a pair of these second hand, and they do the job nicely. Neutral and not tiring to use for extended periods.

@Mark has a pair of the latest version on test, I believe.

As a couple of budget options we have these in the house:
Mpow H12 – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07X53FNKF £31
and
Soundcore Life Q20 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Soundcore-Bluetooth-Headphones-Cancellation-Playtime-Black/dp/B07NM3RSRQ £49

Both are excellent VFM. I prefer the noise cancelling of the Mpow’s
Definitely worth trying before splashing out the serious cash on the high end brands.

Jabra was just a bit clearer, with really rich bass.
I really rate Jabra stuff after using my Jabra Elite 65t Earbuds for calls/running/music over the past year.

The Sony mic doesn’t work with a PS4 (which is nuts given same company). There’s no lag but to be honest I prefer to use wired headphones as the Bluetooth offers no advantage when you’re on the sofa and they’re an expensive bit of kit to waste the battery needlessly

I’m often playing on the PS4 late at night and need to keep the volume right down.

You have to use specific PS4 compatible bluetooth headphones though – not any old bluetooth ones will work (apparently its due to the lag between the screen and the audio).

And regarding noise cancelling – if you are going to be using them for video calls etc beware that your voice can sound very odd and muffled (I found it very disconcerting so sent mine straight back and got a standard set).

Thanks all – interesting about the PS4 specific requirement, I would have got that wrong straight away!!

And regarding noise cancelling – if you are going to be using them for video calls etc beware that your voice can sound very odd and muffled (I found it very disconcerting so sent mine straight back and got a standard set).

You do realise that NC has an off switch? Or should do, anyway.
I tried the Anker Soundcore ’phones, alongside the Taotronics SoundSurge 60 BT ‘phones, and sent the Anker ones back, I just couldn’t get on with the sound, which was sort of hollow and boxy.
I use a music player app called KaiserTone, which has a multi-band EQ, and I couldn’t get rid of that sound, the Taotronics were a bit ‘flat’ sounding, but I created a custom curve that works really well, and they were about £55. The noise-cancelling works pretty well too, and they can take calls.
I’m sure the Sony and Bose ones are superb, and the forthcoming Apple ‘phones as well, but they’re all around £300 more!

Bose QC35 II – wore them 15 hours straight on a drive to the south of France.

Comfortable, quiet, great.

Sony are soon to release the new XH 1000 XM4 so keep an eye out for the XM3 being price cut. Arguably the best noise cancelling you can get, and best sounding, especially if they whack a big discount on.

In true STW fashion, I have them. (I did spend a lot of time with the qc35 ii bose, and the newer bose with the ridiculous slidey earpads – the xm3 were the best for me (and super cheap vie FB marketplace)

They are NOT gaming headphones though.

You do realise that NC has an off switch? Or should do, anyway.

The cheap SoundBeats ones I got didn’t have that feature.