This may be OT since strictly speaking it’s about hardware… I trust it is ok to post it given the spirit of the community, but have my apologies and feel free to remove it if it’s not.
I’m looking to replace my old Bose QC25, since they have recently died (after a long a fulfilling life), but it seems everything nowadays is bluetooth (which I don’t mind) and require some proprietary app to turn ANC on/off (which I do mind… are physical buttons/switches become too expensive to include in your overpriced earbuds?).
Anyway… do you know of any headphones/earbuds that meet the following?
- can be powered via wire or have batteries that last 12+hrs (long-haul flights)
- have decent noise cancelling
- don’t require me to install a apps or can be used with some open source app (possibly with full functionality and straightforward to setup)
- are not overly expensive (I have to buy 2 pairs and I’ll only use them a few times a year when I fly)
The wf-1000mx3 are earbuds, and they have some of the best noise cancelling on the market… or did when they came out. I guess they are a few years old now, but it’s significantly better than any non-Sony ANC I’ve ever used, headphone or earbud.
I’m sure they compare favorably to other earbuds. But their form factor means they’re inevitably going to have inferior ANC to the flagship over-ear headphones from Bose and Sony. Those would be the QC-45 and WH-1000XM5 headphones at the moment.
It’s why you don’t see them directly compared very often; they’re in different leagues and there’s really no contest.