If music be the food of love, then chew on this! Yep, bringing Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night savagely up to date, with the all the carefree recklessness of a man reasonably convinced he can’t be sued, I believe high-quality audio does indeed make sweet love to your ears, so make sure that sound is the best it can be.
Now, recently, I reviewed a whole array of audio-excellence earbud options, covering both Apple AirPod alternatives from the upper echelons of the spending spectrum, alongside the better buds from the bargain end of retailing rainbow. However, while I love metaphorically cutting-out the vocal cords of the blusterously boorish bipedal crowds around me when I leave the house with A1 audio pumped directly into my eardrum, without looking like a prototype Cyberman from Doctor Who, when I’m at home it’s a different matter.
They say an Englishman’s home is his castle, and when I’m back in my stately ruin I like to relax all of my orifices and not have them blocked by electronic insertions. So, once the door is firmly closed and triple bolted behind me, I transfer my on-going audio experience from earbuds to non-intrusive on-ear headphones. And, what’s more, I actually like ’em wired.
Why? Well because: a) Wired cans tend to cost a lot less than their wireless siblings. B) Generally, the sound quality is superior due to a lack of interference and the fact they use analogue signals that can handle more data than the likes of Bluetooth, so can deliver full-res audio without all that digital compression mess about. C) You don’t have to charge them, change batteries or worry about the built-in battery grinding to an inevitable, no-longer-chargeable end. So, as you can see, wireless cans may be cool, but the wired variety are your real high-fidelity friends with benefits.
Let’s get ears-on with some wired wonders…
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Marshall Monitor II ANC
Best for: Those about to rock…
There is a name, a name synonymous with the world of rock, a name that belonged to a man called Jim from Milton Keynes, back in the 60s, who created something that went on to become the backdrop ‘wall’ of choice for the greatest ever guitarists at intimate gigs and epic festivals alike the world over. That name is Marshall and what Jim created was the Marshall amp.
But it wasn’t just an iconic (initially) valve-driven amplifier, that Jim gave the world of rock, it was also a ‘sound’, a look, a feel that was eagerly embraced by the legends of the age, such as Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Angus Young, and still melts the faces of eager gig-goers today with the likes of Noel Gallagher and Joe Bonamassa.
Yeah, I’m a bit of a Marshall fan, being a bobbins but enthusiastically loud guitarist myself, but what have we got, beyond amps, in the shape of the Monitor II ANC? Well, what we have is Marshall’s top-dog on-ear model, utterly awash with the kind of advanced audio engineering you’d expect from a company with such a premium pedigree.
Starting with the comfort-factor, the Monitor II’s earmuffs and headband fit like a well-padded glove, embracing the ears with a gentle but firm cupping that holds them perfectly in place and creates an audio oasis that lets the Active Noise Cancellation work its magic. And it is magic – having received the review model at the same time as welcoming new next-door neighbours who, before, during and after-Christmas, have spent every day driving huge herds of renovation cattle through their new lounge, the superior ANC has been an absolute Satan-send (this is ‘rock’ remember) in keeping me from turning home-improvement homicidal.
So, comfortable and utterly effective against migraine-inducing local area interlopers, what do the Marshalls actually sound like? Well, sound set-up straight out of the box is superb, as rich and detailed as Bill Gates’s tax return and with a mighty bass offering that, in no uncertain terms, screams “Marshall!”. However, though clearly created with the rock/metal enthusiast firmly in mind, the accompanying Marshall smartphone app (operating over Bluetooth) gives you EQ options for all manner of musical stylings (also ‘Spoken’) and a slot to customise to your own taste. You can then assign three of these EQs to the ‘M’ button located on the right can – so audio for all.
Yes, I did say Bluetooth. Because even though the best performance here is eked out using the splendidly tangle-resistant coiled cable, complete with 3.5mm jack, you can also go wireless, utilising Bluetooth 5.0 for an epically strong connection. But this is a review round-up of WIRED headphones, so we’ll leave that there… well, except to say this also gives you Google Assistant or Siri voice command ability. And now we’ll leave that there.
ANC can be toggled on or off via a button located on the left can, allowing you to drop in and out of conversations as and when you choose, while the brass main control joystick allows effortless control of volume and track selection alike.
Coming with a USB-C charging cable and canvas carrying bag, it’s worth mentioning at this junction that the supplied review model was actually the Monitor II ANC’s limited edition 60th anniversary iteration (£320), which are the same spec-wise, yet come in an all-black (‘None More Black’ for Spinal Tap fans) finish and with a slick-looking vegan leather padded hard case.
Literal and metaphorical music to my ears, punching their way through The Beastie Boys, AC-DC, Cream, Black Sabbath, Massive Attack and Faithless (R.I.P. Maxi Jazz), to name but a few, with astounding precision and spaciousness, to conclude on another ‘This is Spinal Tap’-based Marshall reference, out off 10, these go up to 11.
Connectivity: Cable and Bluetooth
Drivers: 40mm
Noise Cancelling: Active
Mic: Yes
Weight: 320g
Buy now £280.00, Marshall
Philips Fidelio X3/00
Best for: No-nonsense audio excellence
With a usual retail price of £300, you can currently snaffle yourself a set of Philips’ finest Fidelio X3 for a meagre £168 over on Amazon which, no matter how you cut it, is an absolutely banging bargain. However, Amazon also state that the X3 are noise cancelling (twice in fact), which they are not, which goes to show you can’t believe all you read online.
However, what they are is an absolute powerhouse of sonic performance, free from all the frilly, some might say ‘silly’ distractions of other cans that don’t focus solely on sound.
Featuring a nicely lengthy three-metre cable for ample freedom of movement, huge comfy, memory foam cups and dual inner and outer headbands that hug your head like a gossamer hat, and a lovingly light touch at only 380g in weight, the Philips X3 adorn the average adult head with all the snug naturality of your own hair.
Which is important, because you wouldn’t want a leaky seal to rob you of a single iota of the infinitely nuanced audio delivered lovingly onto your lugholes by the 50mm neodymium drivers the Philips’ come packing, drivers that – for added accuracy awesomeness – tilt at 15-degrees to best play to the intelligent design/evolution of the human ear.
As all can-owners will know, fatigue is a general problem with prolonged use of over-ear headphones, but the X3 counteracts this via the use of an open-back ear-cup design covered with acoustically transparent speaker fabric that allows air to flow freely, eliminating pressure build-up behind the diaphragm and leaving you afloat in utterly immersive audio.
Featuring a frequency range of 5Hz to 40kHz, you’re not going to miss a single sound, especially seeing as the audible spectrum for humans is only 20Hz to 20kHz, so, yeah, suitable for whales and bats too.
Hi-res audio perfection, masterfully done, I ran the Philips X3 ’phones through the entirety of my increasingly eclectic favoured musical genre gamut, taking in a few of the more dynamic film soundtracks on the way too, and couldn’t find a single sonorous fault. So, in summary: at £300, these are a bargain; at £168, just what are you waiting for?
Connectivity: Detachable cable
Drivers: 50mm neodymium
Noise Cancelling: No
Mic: No
Weight: 379.9g
Buy now £168.00, Amazon
HyperX Cloud Alpha Blackout Edition
Best for: Hi-Res audio for hardcore gamers
Other than when I was a student and should have been in lectures, rather than sat on my slovenly student backside playing Sonic the Hedgehog on the SNES, I spent most of my (so-far) adult life not being a gamer. Then, back in late 2015, drunk on expendable income, I bought a PS4 and that was the end of my social life, save for bickering online with grown men who still live in their parents’ basement, possibly in Detroit.
However, what I quickly learnt was that a decent quality gaming headphones was pretty much the order of the day if you didn’t want to spend far too much time shouting “Eh?” “Sorry?” “What was that again?” and the classic “No, I said stop shooting me!”
The cans I treated myself to were good, but over-shell-like tech has evolved much in the last nigh-on seven years and so slipping into the warm embrace of the HyperX Cloud Alpha Blackout edition was a fresh ear-opener.
Featuring a detachable boom mic with noise cancellation to ensure your dulcet tones are crystal clear and custom dual drivers that feature separate chambers for bass and combined mids and highs, the audio quality is nothing less than cinematic (also offered in 7.1 surround sound on PC), while in-line controls make it child’s play (even for a grown man) to alter the audio to suit the scenario.
Comfortable too, thanks to sizable, padded ear-cups featuring memory foam and a lovely light, expandable aluminium headband frame, these are an absolute must-have for the gamer with a soft-spot for slightly violent battle royale shoot-em-ups, as every word uttered online comes across in crisp, clear clarity and sound effects are right there in the room with you.
Compatible with PC, PS4, PS5, Switch and Android devices, if you want to up your gaming game, give yourself the tactical advantage, and have your in-game trash-talk delivered with a cutting clarity to rival even potty-mouthed Dwayne in, possibly, Detroit, then arm your ears with the HyperX Cloud Alpha Blackout edition – heck, even the name sounds ready to rumble.
Connectivity: Detachable cable
Drivers: 50mm neodymium
Noise Cancelling: Yes
Mic: Yes (Noise Cancelling, detachable)
Weight: 374g
Buy now £82.00, Amazon
OneOdio Monitor 60 Professional Studio Headphones
Best for: Those with designs on DJing
Never heard of OneOdio? No, me neither. But then, you can’t expect to have heard of everyone, even an audio tech company that’s been about for 10-years, sells in 146 countries and has shifted over 100-million products worldwide, so don’t be too tough on yourself.
Admittedly, I know less about jockeying discs than Jeremy Clarkson knows about keeping a dignified personal opinion about something, but I do know exceptional audio kit for tune-chucking when I wear it; and that really is exactly what we have here.
Created for those on the ‘pro’ production side of things, haunters of recording studios and broadcasting alike, the Monitor 60 cans punch out hot hi-res sound from 50mm drivers that’s better balanced than a pirouetting ballerina, offering unerring accuracy across all frequencies for bold bass, creamy mids and sweet, soaring highs.
Equally importantly, the OneOdios are as physiologically fitting as your own skin, featuring a flexible headband, lovingly embracing, super-soft ear-cups and – the absolute selling point for those aforementioned selectas – those ear-cups can be flipped out at 180°, leaving one ear free for monitoring duties. Plus, coming complete with three leads (one 3.5-3.5mm straight cable with microphone, one 3.5-3.5mm straight cable for TV, and one 3.5mm to ¼-inch coiled cable for monitoring), plus a carry bag, the OneOdio Monitor 60 Professional Studio headphones arrive ready for any use.
Finally, when it comes to outside distractions, the Monitor 60’s passive noise cancelling talents proved ample enough to help drown out the constant din of drilling neighbours, while the sheer sound quality utterly defies the sub-£100 asking price.
Connectivity: Wired
Drivers: 50mm
Noise Cancelling: Passive
Mic: No
Weight: 310g
Buy now £80.00, Amazon
Sennheiser HD 400S
Best for: Big performance on a budget
Sennheiser has a rightly weighty reputation in the audio arena; renowned world over for creating cans of formidable power, performance and prowess, they have also been associated for a long time with an equally powerful price tag. But that confidence-boosting cost is only if you want to wrap yourself in the brand’s witchcraft-suggesting wireless options. Indeed, by adding an analogue wire, lucky ear-users can enjoy Sennheiser’s undoubted top tech for next to nothing.
Take the HD 400S, for exacting audio example. Ultra-light at barely a fly-bothering 217g, the dynamic 32mm drivers deliver exactly the kind of superior sound-response you expect from Sennheiser, with fine detail woven skilfully throughout, bass tighter than a duck’s derriere, and performance perfection itself found in the midrange and high-end.
What’s more, there’s an omnidirectional mic built-in for calls, complete with inline remote control so that you don’t have to fiddle with your phone to alter music volume or hang up on someone who has irked you.
And here’s the thing, all this Sennheiserness is available at just £45 currently at Currys. Which, as a man who once accidentally left his beloved, many-pounds-costing, Sennheiser noise cancelling cans behind on a plane, is hard to compute. Okay, they’re reduced at Currys, but even direct from Sennheiser you’d be paying just £59, which is bafflingly good value.
Good looking and as comfortable to wear as your favourite, well-broken-in, slobbing around the house jogging pants, the Sennheiser HD 400S phones are worth buying even if you already own what you consider to be decidedly ‘decent’ over-ears.
Connectivity: Detachable cable
Drivers: 32mm
Noise Cancelling: Passive
Mic: Yes
Weight: 217g
Buy now £45.00, Currys
Bose QuietComfort 45
Best for: The sound of silence
Many years ago, when my job involved mostly sitting on planes to places to look at new tech, the ultimate tool in my travel-surviving arsenal was a set of Bose QC 2 ANC over-ear headphones. Capable of aurally cutting me off from the endless droning engine noise, droning passenger noise, and yet still keep me entertained enough to be acutely aware every time a flight attendant approached with a drinks trolley, the QC 2 cans were my most trusted travel companion. Then, after an overnighter in NYC, I accidentally left them behind on the plane in my rush to disembark back at Heathrow, never to be reunited with them again. This was over a decade ago, but as you can probably tell I never got over the sudden loss.
But Bose did, and its QC models have been part of an ongoing evolution ever since those early days. The tech packed by today’s QuietComfort 45 make those beloved QC 2s look as prehistoric as me myself.
Offering both wired and, yes, wireless options, these may just well be the most comfortable over-ears about, thanks to pleatless ear cushions that barely bother your head even after hours of wearing them and a featherlight weight of just 240g. Which is just as well, as you’re not going to want to take them off once you experience the absolute sonic deprivation that Quiet Mode brings to your shell-likes within seconds of activation. Developed over 50 years of research, this is noise cancellation like no other, relieving you of the outside world entirely and leaving you free to revel in lush high-fidelity audio, perfectly presented with all the clarity of cut crystal and personally adjustable via the EQ in the accompanying Bose app.
Which brings us to the Bluetooth element. Featuring 5.1 for stronger connection over greater distance, you can also use the built-in mic to summon your voice assistant and make and take phone calls utilising the four external microphone array to reject outside noise and focus solely on your voice for incredibly clear conversations even in chaotic outside conditions.
But while the wireless connection is impressive, it’s when you hook the 45s up via the bundled 3.5 to 2.5mm cable that you really appreciate the immense, immersive audio experience that Bose is capable of delivering, with majestic sweeping soundscapes becoming your audio everyday.
Currently reduced by £70 on the link below, go bag yourself some Bose brilliance. Just don’t leave them behind you after some booze-heavy transatlantic red-eye round trip.
Connectivity: Cable and Bluetooth
Drivers: 40mm
Noise Cancelling: Acoustic
Mic: Yes
Weight: 240g
Buy now £250.00, Bose
Grado RS2x Reference
Best for: The balance of an audio-funambulist
Grado’s original tri-wood Reference RS1 model became a huge hit with expert ear-users back in the mid-90s thanks to the Grado boys’ beautiful blend of finely balanced technical finesse and lashings of pure, unadulterated style. Then, in late 2021, Grado did the double-whammy, announcing not just its new RS1x model, but also its RS2x, a more affordable set of wooden cans that still came packing all of Grado’s ingenious punch… which is what I currently have hugging my head as I write these words.
First off, with the lovely lightweight of just 230g, stunning maple and hemp wood-combo transducer housings, a leather headband, and an open-back design to help bring space and the bass, the RS2x embraces your ears with all the love of a practiced auralist, whilst the use of wood allows for warmth afresh to a signature sound as rich, balanced and full-bodied as a meticulously aged Malbec.
Imbued with Grado’s new, cutting-edge 44mm 4th Gen X Drivers, audio quality is as pure as the driven snow, with distortion reduced to near-nothing to let your musical genre of choice simply flow into your lugholes as uncoloured as nature and/or the original recording artist intended.
Okay, so, yes, open-back headphones do leak sound both in and out, proving a distraction to you and proving you to be a public pain to others, but then these are not the kind of cans you use on your daily commute across the capital, but rather headphones carefully crafted for undisturbed absolute appreciation in the comfort of your own home.
Still hand-built in Brooklyn, for exacting audio in the home at a price that really is a bargain, the Grado’s RS2x utterly excels.
Connectivity: Wired
Drivers: 44mm
Noise Cancelling: No
Mic: No
Weight: 230g
Buy now £599.00, Peter Tyson
Grado GS1000x Statement
Best for: Unrelenting audio class
People of Earth, please be upstanding for the Grado GS1000x Statement Open-Back, on-ear, wired headphones – a creation of personal music manipulation firmly in the upper echelons of expectation.
Right, have a look at the price… done that? Reeled a little in shock? Lets have a listen at why they’re worth that much.
The product of over two decades of audio evolution (from a starting point that was already more advanced that most), the remarkable new GS1000x Statement put Grado’s 50mm X Drivers in housings hewn from a sumptuous blend of mahogany (which I have, obviously, heard of) and ipê wood (which I had to look up), a wood-pairing that (in turn) brings warmth and stability to your sound.
This wooden wonder/X Driver perfect pairing comes combined with a 12-conductor cable and large cushions to generate a soundstage that’s more instantly immersive than slipping pleasantly into the pampered perfection of a pre-prepared bath. And the balance; the lows, the middles, the highs – all handled with such an easy, effortless feel that the Grado’s don’t even seem like they have to try, regardless of what you challenge them to.
Make no mistake, Grado has reached for the stratosphere with the GS1000x and, in doing so, have achieved the apex of existing audio. The price may still be beyond the present pockets of most people, but the sheer, mind-blowing quality here more than justifies the cost and, frankly, if you can, you should.
Connectivity: Wired
Drivers: 40mm
Noise Cancelling: No
Mic: No
Buy now £1295.00, Peter Tyson
iFi GO Link
Best for: Beating the smart device socket shortage
In a cynical bid to get you to buy their own-brand earbuds, many smartphone and tablet manufacturers have been busy removing 3.5mm jack sockets from their devices, leaving most punters with no choice but to pay out for audio extras they probably didn’t formerly need. However, as ever, there are ways around this with adapters that switch from 3.5mm to whatever new generic or proprietary ports are now available; but few that offer that adaptability and audio enhancement like the GO Link from iFi.
Okay, an audio jack adapter that brings hi-res audio home, the iFi Go Link package lets you switch from 3.5mm to standard USB-C or to USB-A using an additional adapter bundled and even features a third for those who favour things of an Apple flavour.
But so much more than that, housed in its – rather lovely – lightweight magnesium alloy main body is a high-quality DAC (Digital-to-Analogue Converter) and headphone amp. What this means is, not only can you gain wired access to all your devices again, but you can also up the analogue audio ante even further with advanced ultra-low distortion, enhanced clarity and seriously impressive dynamic range coming at you via the GO Link’s damnably smart DAC+ technology.
Running comparisons using the varying review headphones featured here, with and without the iFi GO Link in place, the difference in dynamics is instantly and jaw-droppingly noticeable. Everything from Pink Floyd’s Time to Sade’s No Ordinary Love (really) to Rage Against the Machine’s Take the Power Back to Hans Zimmer’s sublime No Time to Die soundtrack and, yes, because it’s the done thing, Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) is just elevated to breathtaking new levels of nuance and fine detail that you’ll never have noticed before.
An exceptional, no, essential over-ear headphone accessory that will exceed your expectations each and every track, £60 is a small price to pay to blast your private listening experience right into the sonic stratosphere.
Buy now £60.00, iFi
Verdict
Obviously, the over-ear audio omnipotents I’ve lent my ear to for this round-up of reviews all play very much to their own strengths, whether you want the ultimate in isolation, to spin discs down your local’s vinyl night like you’re Avicci live in Ibiza himself, or you want to straight-forward rock out with your mock(umentary) out.
Naturally, as you’ve probably already surmised, for me it’s the Marshall Monitor II ANC that claims the crown, keeping my new neighbours safely out of violent thoughts and filling my earholes with exceptional audio reproduction that transports my taste in music to whole new heights of endless eargasm. See you on the Dark Side of the Moon…
