Headphones (1 Viewer)

Payback

Payback

Full House
Moderator
Supporter
Joined
Apr 28, 2013
Messages
4,146
Reaction score
8,047
Location
Memphis, TN
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know....

However, I've got about 20 flights coming up this summer and a bunch of poker planned so I'm thinking about ordering a pair of headphones for travel/poker. I generally don't wear headphones at the table, but if I'm running uber bad at a casino I generally put them on to focus or if I have a neighbor I can't stand. I never wear them at home games.

Something that doesn't cost a small fortune would be ideal, but I'm looking for something comfortable, with a decent battery life (12+ hours would be great) and comfortable. Will spend a few hundo if needed, but would rather not if I can avoid it.

Anyone have anything out there they use/recommend for these purposes?
 
davin said:
Apple AirPods bro, best money I spent on ear phones!!! I even use em to mow the lawn lol
Click to expand...

Don't have any apple products in the house. Something I guess I should've mentioned in the OP. Android family here.
 
With that many flights I would go with either Bose QuietComfort 35 II or Sony WH-1000xM3. I own one of each for work travel and using around the office when I need to check out and concentrate. There is very fine margins between the two. Not sure of US pricing but I bought mine for ~$300 AUD each.

I don't recommend AirPods or Galaxy Buds for flying.
 
I have a pair of Bose Bluetooth headphones that I love. They run a little under $200 so not cheap, but IMO worth it.

  • I think the sound quality is great. I will warn you that I don't have the best hearing, and some audiophiles poo poo on Bose, so you might want to listen through them if you get a chance.
  • Built in mic for phone calls and Google Assistant/Siri support.
  • Bluetooth is easy and rock solid (as it should be in 2019)
  • Battery life is amazing. Mine are 2.5 years old, and I still only need to charge them about every other week. I haven't measured precisely, but I'd estimate I get about 10-12 hours out of a full charge.
  • Ear pads sit on your ears, not over them. They are memory foam, so extremely comfortable even for long periods.
  • No active noise cancellation, but they do block a lot of sound thanks to the memory foam. If you have music on, you won't hear much of anything unless it's LOUD.
  • Mine are foldable and fit into a nice compact case. Looks like the current model still folds up.
  • Mine came with a cord (2.5mm jack) that allows them to be used as regular plug-in headphones if the battery dies or you have a device that doesn't support BT. I'm not sure if the current model has that feature, though, because I don't see the jack for the cord in the picture below.
288647
 
Last edited:
Señor Tony said:
With that many flights I would go with either Bose QuietComfort 35 II or Sony WH-1000xM3. I own one of each for work travel and using around the office when I need to check out and concentrate. There is very fine margins between the two. Not sure of US pricing but I bought mine for ~$300 AUD each.

I don't recommend AirPods or Galaxy Buds for flying.
Click to expand...


Any preference of the two? How does the hand covering the headphone to hear surrounding noise actually work in real life? Might be a nice feature to have built in for poker.
 
If you can find a store near you where you can try each pair back to back before purchasing I would recommend doing so, they are so close in quality and price that it pretty much comes down to how they feel on your head and ear shape.

Personally, Sony are slightly more comfortable for my head shape and ear size when wearing on long distance flights 8+ hours. Bose I feel has ever so slightly better NC but if you are coming from regular ear buds or non-NC headphones either one will be very impressive! I also hate Micro USB on Bose and MUCH prefer USB Type C for the Sony so I can get away with a single cable for my phone, computer and headphones when traveling. Touch controls on Sony take some getting used to but once you find the sweet spot of touch location and pressure they work well.

Hand covering to remove/reduce noise cancellation works well but I feel strange doing it in public for anything more than a stranger coming up to be to initiate an exchange. For any real interaction I prefer to just remove them before said interaction.
 
K ALL IN 9 said:
I have audio technica ATH-M50x and I love them.
Click to expand...

A great sounding budget friendly headphone option, good recommendation!

I would still never pick them over the Bose QuietComfort 35 II or Sony WH-1000xM3 specifically for flight travel or commuting but around the home they are perfect.
 
Señor Tony said:
If you can find a store near you where you can try each pair back to back before purchasing I would recommend doing so, they are so close in quality and price that it pretty much comes down to how they feel on your head and ear shape.

Personally, Sony are slightly more comfortable for my head shape and ear size when wearing on long distance flights 8+ hours. Bose I feel has ever so slightly better NC but if you are coming from regular ear buds or non-NC headphones either one will be very impressive! I also hate Micro USB on Bose and MUCH prefer USB Type C for the Sony so I can get away with a single cable for my phone, computer and headphones when traveling. Touch controls on Sony take some getting used to but once you find the sweet spot of touch location and pressure they work well.

Hand covering to remove/reduce noise cancellation works well but I feel strange doing it in public for anything more than a stranger coming up to be to initiate an exchange. For any real interaction I prefer to just remove them before said interaction.
Click to expand...

I'm going to try and swing by a store this weekend as I don't fly out for the first trip till next weekend. My phone is USB-C and my current pair uses a micro cord so I understand that argument. That would let me dump another cable from my backpack.
 
Bose QC35’s for me. I admittedly don’t wear headphones at the table, and I wonder if they’d work TOO well in a casino environment... if you had music pumping through those babies, you’d never realize if anyone was talking to you.

But I bring them on every flight I take, and they’re a dream. Really lightweight and comfortable too. I had an expensive pair of over the ear Beats headphones before my QC35’s, and they were a literal pain in comparison.
 
FWIW I was going to buy expensive $300-$400 headphones, and at the same time bought an inexpensive set of Marley Positive Vibration 2 headphones for limited use at work. $60 CAD on sale. Bluetooth or wired (includes a mic). I was so satisfied I decided to use them for work, home, gaming. Haven't timed it but the battery seems to last forever. They are on-ear. Most of the time drowns out all other sounds but sometimes can still hear depending how loud external sounds are.
 
Not a fan of Bose (and I’m a closet audiophile). However, their QC headphones seem to be popular and sound ok. I did a lot of research into headphones and noise canceling tech (around the holidays), and I landed firmly in the Sony camp. And I was not alone. The Sony headphones seem to have the best headphones (aside from spending stupid momey). I purchased a pair of THESE and have not looked back. I have always been a tad suspicious of the noise canceling tech, but have taken these headphones of a couple flights, and the tech is amazing. It eliminates the engine sounds, and I’m immersed in silent calm world. Now, they have modes that allow external sound pass through, and the functionality of these headphones is very well executed.

Don’t take my word...

 
Let me just add, and I might be in the minority, but for over the ear cans, I prefer wired... Less to mess with, less to worry about (battery life, etc). If I am running, sure, wireless. But if I'm sitting in plane or at the poker table using over the ear headphones, I prefer wired.
 
Wedge, I hear ya... you can run these as wired. The Sony has a beefy connect cable. And as for wireless, a 30 hour battery life.

Another review

 
I will be the voice for a couple of lower priced headphone. My hearing is not that great anymore and spending big bucks on high end headphones is a waste for me anymore, I have 2 sets of over the ear headphones:

A pair of Mpow 059's which are the cheaper set but are easily my favorites. Extremely comfortable (can wear them for hours on end), decent noise cancelling (not as good as the Cowin's), really good sound quality, built in mic, 20hr of battery life, can be used wired as well and they fold up which is a big plus. Best headphones for me by far and only ($30), I used them all the time
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072J9CNHH

A pair of Corwin E7's ($60) which do a great job of noise cancellation, have great sound, built in mic, but for me I found the earcups are not extremely comfortable for long periods of time but have 25+ hours per charge. For short plane trips they are fine.
https://www.amazon.com/Cancelling-Headphones-Bluetooth-Comfortable-Cellphone/dp/B019U00D7K

I also have a pair of SoundPeat wireless earbuds which are good but I have problems keeping earbuds in my ears due to the shape of my ears and I don't like the over the ear clips type earbuds and a pair of clone Airbuds which have the same issues of keeping them in my ears. Much prefer over the ear style headphones.
 
GenghisKhan said:
FWIW I was going to buy expensive $300-$400 headphones, and at the same time bought an inexpensive set of Marley Positive Vibration 2 headphones for limited use at work. $60 CAD on sale. Bluetooth or wired (includes a mic). I was so satisfied I decided to use them for work, home, gaming. Haven't timed it but the battery seems to last forever. They are on-ear. Most of the time drowns out all other sounds but sometimes can still hear depending how loud external sounds are.
Click to expand...

I might have to check these out - thanks!

@Payback you have so many specific product suggestions that I won't speak to that but I will suggest that for flights I prefer over the ear headphones. I have used ear bud style headsets in the past and the plane noise almost drowns out what I am trying to listen to.
 
Are you looking for noise cancelling headphones that you may not be using to listen to music - i.e. just want them to blot out external sounds? Some NC headsets are very good at blocking out sound but may not be the best audio quality and others are not as good at blocking out sound but the sound quality is amazing.

Personally, I have a set of Audio Technica NC earbud style headphones that live in my bag. They're out of production now but the best headphones are the ones you have with you. I have lost count of the number of times I have got to the airport and realised I've forgotten my cans.
 
Lemonzest said:
I might have to check these out - thanks!

@Payback you have so many specific product suggestions that I won't speak to that but I will suggest that for flights I prefer over the ear headphones. I have used ear bud style headsets in the past and the plane noise almost drowns out what I am trying to listen to.
Click to expand...

I currently have a pair of earbuds that I use for the gym. Part of the reason I'm looking for another pair is one to keep in my travel /poker bag because I keep forgetting to grab my gym pair.

I've also been using them on other flights this year and have to turn the volume all the way up to hear anything and even then it doesn't always work if om close to the middle of the plane.


Darson said:
Are you looking for noise cancelling headphones that you may not be using to listen to music - i.e. just want them to blot out external sounds? Some NC headsets are very good at blocking out sound but may not be the best audio quality and others are not as good at blocking out sound but the sound quality is amazing.

Personally, I have a set of Audio Technica NC earbud style headphones that live in my bag. They're out of production now but the best headphones are the ones you have with you. I have lost count of the number of times I have got to the airport and realised I've forgotten my cans.
Click to expand...

See above on the forgetting.... Lol
Ultimately, I need something that I can play music and would prefer something that has NC for the plane.
 
Coming back to this thread with an update. First of all, thanks for all the input everyone gave. I stopped by the store on Friday after work to listen for myself. The difference in quality, comfort, and sound was noticeabley different between the top tiers and the others. After about 15 minutes of listening to both the Bose QC35 and the Sony WH-1000XM3 I determined I liked the feel of the Bose better, but that the Sony sound, features and longer battery life (plus fast charging on the USB-C) was enough to swing it to Sony.

After using them while playing online for a few hours yesterday I found the comfort was better than I initially thought. Last night at the casino, after getting stuck multpile buy ins, I put them on. I appreciate the amazing NC feature when one of my neighbors was obnoxious. Plus I could still tune in and listen to conversations covertly with the Sony quick listen feature. I managed to make a comeback and grind out a 4 figure win which paid for them. Can't wait to use them on the upcoming flights I have.
 
Payback said:
Coming back to this thread with an update. First of all, thanks for all the input everyone gave. I stopped by the store on Friday after work to listen for myself. The difference in quality, comfort, and sound was noticeabley different between the top tiers and the others. After about 15 minutes of listening to both the Bose QC35 and the Sony WH-1000XM3 I determined I liked the feel of the Bose better, but that the Sony sound, features and longer battery life (plus fast charging on the USB-C) was enough to swing it to Sony.

After using them while playing online for a few hours yesterday I found the comfort was better than I initially thought. Last night at the casino, after getting stuck multpile buy ins, I put them on. I appreciate the amazing NC feature when one of my neighbors was obnoxious. Plus I could still tune in and listen to conversations covertly with the Sony quick listen feature. I managed to make a comeback and grind out a 4 figure win which paid for them. Can't wait to use them on the upcoming flights I have.
Click to expand...

Thats a happy ending! Lovely that you paid for them right away!
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account and join our community. It's easy!

Register

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Similar threads

cpac54
  • Locked
Cancelled T.R. King YELLOW/GOLD King's Crown fracs/non-denoms
Replies
9
Views
462
cpac54
cpac54
slurpeee
Topper for non-poker table
Replies
3
Views
235
Taghkanic
Taghkanic
NotRealNameNoSir
72 Hours of Bagpipes - Wellness Check?
2 3 4
Replies
116
Views
4K
BonScot
BonScot
J
Cash Game BEST DENOMINATIONS FOR $20 buy-in with .25/.25 BB-SB
2
Replies
30
Views
1K
allforcharity
allforcharity
M
Tourney Help with ideas for home game
Replies
1
Views
213
Nine_high
Nine_high
Back
Top Bottom