Yes, earbuds may be the rage and, for such tiny things, they are capable of delivering commendable sound.
But for those wanting to immerse themselves in their favourite tunes, there can surely be only one answer: a proper set of cans.
Pre-pandemic, it seemed like every third Tube passenger was rocking a set of wireless Beats on-ear headphones or Apple’s instantly recognisable AirPods. Now, with more time at home, and perhaps a greater desire to block out the rest of the world, over-ear headphones are becoming as much of an essential as a box of lateral flows. The only danger is that you’re so engrossed in the music (noise cancelling is near-compulsory in high-end devices) that you can’t hear the Amazon delivery man knocking.
Bluetooth has allowed manufacturers to ditch the cables, giving freedom to listeners to roam to the other end of the house from their device and making them more travel-friendly than ever. With the latest crop of over-ear headphones, foldable constructions are considered a prerequisite. This ensures they are compact enough to slip in your bag, while giving justice to your carefully curated playlist.
Here we test several of the best folding headphones. After all, nobody would want to forget their favourite ‘phones when it finally comes the time to pack your bag for that well-deserved summer break (or even the office commute, perish the thought).
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Bose QuietComfort 45
The QuietComfort series has been going for a long time, and has very much settled into a groove. The QC45s from 2021 look similar to, and share drivers with, the QC35II phones released in 2019, and they look rather like the QC35s from 2016... an update to USB-C charging (a five-minute charge yielding 2.5hrs of playback) is good to see on the latest models, but that’s probably the most noticeable of the updates on these noise-cancelling wireless headphones.
Not that that’s a bad thing, however, as these are incremental upgrades to something that’s not broken. The headphones fold up nicely for storage, and are comfortable to wear. Noise cancelling makes use of six microphones, four of which are beamforming, and a single button to switch between transparency levels. There's no aptX support, but Apple’s AAC and the more generic SBC codec should mean support for most devices.
Sound quality is excellent, with a slight overreliance on high and mid tones that will send you to the Bose Music app to correct. Once you’ve tuned them to your liking, the noise cancelling can show you what it’s really capable of, your music well isolated against any background sounds that might sneak through, and with a pleasant emphasis on speech tones that means podcasts are clear, with no muddy overemphasis on the bass.
Buy now £295.96, John Lewis
Sony WH-1000XM4
Once hailed as some of the best headphones ever made, the XM4s are relegated to a great value proposition by the release of the XM5s. It’s possible to find them with around £100 off the RRP as we write, and the XM3s are still available for even less.
What do you get for buying 2020’s cans? Well some consider the ‘old’ look to be superior to the XM5s’ redesign, and you keep the 30-hour battery life and the same sound processors, though there are fewer microphones at work to filter out ambient noise and pick up your voice when you’re on a call. They still automatically pause your music when you start talking, and can detect whether you’ve taken them off. They also fold up smaller, as they retain the joints and hinges smoothed over on the newer model.
As the supported codecs are limited to SBC, AAC and LDAC some older Android phones and all Windows users will find themselves poorly catered for, but owners of dedicated Sony hi-fi equipment will be extremely happy. With a comfortable fit and superb noise cancellation, there's nothing wrong with stepping back a few years when it sounds this good.
Buy now £230.00, Argos
JBL Tour One M2
“Designed to inspire.” says the message on the box. Well, the JBL Tour Ones are certainly an attractive, well-proportioned and fine-sounding pair of headphones.
Like the Sennheiser Momentum, the JBL ‘phones come stylishly presented and boast a solid carry case rather than the Sennheiser soft silver-grey pouch.
They’re really lovely to the touch and are smaller than the rival Sennheisers. They took barely a second to connect via Bluetooth - the merest flick of a toggle switch - and whatever you’ve been streaming on your device starts playing automatically.
These are over-ear and really comfortable to wear. The sound quality is excellent though perhaps not as revelatory as the Sennheiser. They win top marks for ease of use - not too many buttons, easy volume adjustment and the option of noise cancelling if it’s your preference.
The sound is “brighter” than Sennheiser, meaning female vocals – I tested them by playing the Cowboy Junkies - come with a degree of sibilance. But Bob Dylan’s latter-day masterpiece, Murder Most Foul, retained his deep growl.
Buy now £199.99, JBL
Sennheiser Momentum 4
Best for: Comfort and control
A colossus of the audio arena, Sennheiser is, quite simply, one of the most popular headphone companies in the history of headphone companies; and you don’t get to be that without lavishing absolute innovation on your products at every turn.
The latest in the over-ear line, the Momentum 4, features an audiophile-inspired 42mm transducer system with an accompanying app including built-in EQ, presets, sound modes, and the option to personalise your sound still further, this is Sennheiser’s Signature Sound and it’s ear-delightingly dynamic, bright, brilliant and clad in clarity.
When it comes to battery, a full charge will give you a whopping 60 hours of play, with ‘Smart Pause’ helping conserve that charge by automatically stopping and starting when you take them off or put them back on, so you’re never likely to be stuck for top tunes or calls clearer than a crystal bell, the adaptive ANC assisting invaluably in those areas.
And when it comes to controls the innovation continues to abound, with an intuitive and invisible tap and swipe ‘Smart Control’ system built into the ear cup cap making it impossibly easy to access all functions with none of the fumbling often associated with fiddly buttons.
But what of comfort? Here we find a lightweight build designed to take the strain off the muscles, complete with deep, softly cushioned earpads, a very pleasantly padded headband, and a lovingly low-friction hinge mechanism that provides perfect, pressure-free fit, so when it comes to comfort, the M4 envelopes the head like a tailor-made noise-glove.
A fresh audio tech triumph from Sennheiser at a more than reasonable price for listening gear at this level, the ANC performance may not be quite up there with the ‘twice the price’ options I’ve already looked at here, but then… practically half the price!
Buy now £245.05, Amazon
Sennheiser Momentum
I’ve always loved Sennheiser. I can still recall my first pair – giant yellow foam discs and a headband made of indestructible black plastic. Plugged into the CD player, they produced previously unimaginable sound quality.
More recently I bought a £70 HD 350BT set of cans – comfortable and pretty decent for the price. But let’s just say I haven’t used them since these Sennheiser Momentum beauties turned up just before Christmas.
Compared with even the best ear pods, these are like watching a film on widescreen cinema rather than a smartphone.
The depth of sound and lower-end kick – with each note identifiable rather than just a repetitive thump – is like a bass guitarist sitting on top of your head. The headband and ear “muffs” are clad in leather, and move up and down on an aluminium band. The entire feel is of quality. There are logically placed buttons – one to increase the volume, one to decrease and a third to pause the music, skip a track (two touches) or rewind (three touches).
There is noise cancelling, “transparent hearing” (to avoid danger from road traffic if out walking), a voice assistant and the ability to take phone calls while continuing to wear the headphones.
Testing their performance, The Weeknd’s track Gasoline is like a sonic explosion. The guitar notes on Sam Fender’s brilliant new album are as sharp as splintered glass. Carnival by Natalie Merchant, which I must have heard 1,000 times, is transformed. The music stops as soon as you remove them from your head.
My only real reservation is that these headphones are big. Describing them as heavy would be overstating it, but their presence is unmistakable, mostly by virtue of their incredible sound.
Buy now £399.00, OnBuy
Marshall Major IV
Well, they certainly look the part. The iconic Marshall logo, known to gig-goers across the world from the speaker stacks used by every rock band worth their salt, sits proudly on each “can”. They’re dinky, too - on-ear rather than over-ear - and light as a feather. Unlike the Sennheiser, there’s hardly any pressure on the ears from the headband.
But could I get them to connect to my iPhone via Bluetooth? No, I could not. After numerous failed attempts, I resorted to making use of the supplied cable to link to my iPod. Retro indeed.
Arcade Fire’s Sprawl II came out light and fluffy. There’s only one button, which is meant to turn the headphones on and off, control the volume, skip tracks and establish the Bluetooth link. In wired mode, though, it did nothing.
Love Will Tear Us Apart was also quite trebly, with little bass – one of the defining features of this great song. On Love & Money’s Strange Kind Of Love, there’s a more rounded sound, but you don’t feel as close to the music as with headphones. Incredibly comfortable, and super stylish but sadly lacks the musical punch of some of the other models on this list.
Buy now £74.39, Amazon
Pioneer DJ CUE1s
These may seem a bit of a wildcard choice for runners - Pioneer is known for being the go-to brand for DJs. These headphones, which can be worn wirelessly with a Bluetooth connection, are a cheaper entry-level point into the brand, and because they’re secure and lightweight to wear, they work well for workouts if you prefer this over-the-head design. And because Pioneer are favourites of the music world, you know the sound is going to be good quality.
They’re easy to connect to your phone - no app required - and have 30 hours of battery life. The design is also flexible, with the ability to fold into a more compact size for carrying. You can definitely get more sport-specific headphones, but if you want something versatile with a different feel, these are worth considering.
Buy now £88.95, Amazon
Audio-Technica ATH-S220BT
With a battery life of up to 60 hours, you could easily forget the Audio-Technica ATH-S220BT needs charging up at all. And when it comes to it, just a ten-minute battery boost gives you another three and a half hours of listening time.
A great affordable option in the headphones market, this set is superbly comfortable and lightweight as well at just 180 grams. Despite being low-cost and nifty, the sound quality remains impressive while functionality including multi-point pairing and Bluetooth connectivity are simple and effective. This is a recommended choice for gamers, long journeys, and those never-ending Zoom calls.
Buy now £49.99, Amazon
