The new standard for best ANC
October 06, 2022
Look no further for your new headphones, these are it. Unboxing alone is a treat with these headphones. Throw the box in the recycle bin and you're good to go. It is a little sad to see no quick start guide with the included paperwork however. The quick start guide is now a QR code on the box containing the legal paperwork (which is only two sheets, so it's not that much). The headphone case has a nice feel to it and has a nice magnetized compartment for holding the USB-C cable as well as an aux. cable. The USB-C cable is actually rather sad because it is only a 6" long cable that will really only get you by in a pinch. The compartment in the case is rather small, so I assume 6" is the best fit, and you most likely already have a good USB-C charger, so having this stowed away for emergency use is probably the best idea. Aside from that, you are treated to the main course - the head phones themselves.
I work in an office environment and tend to wear my headphones for ~6-8 hours a day while at my desk. These things are a dream. They are super lightweight and, while noticeable, certainly aren't a burden on my head. The cushioning is super soft and very pleasant on the head and ears. The finish on these headphones is a nice matte black - however, it is very prone to smudges and markings especially with any amount of grease or any residue on your hands/fingers (so make sure you wash your hands!). Turning on the headphones brings me into a completely new environment. I have a constant ~50 dB fan blowing behind me in my office and while I can still head it through the ANC it's only barely there - and that's with no audio playing in the headphones. Gone are the sounds of the AC/Heater and any footsteps or quiet talking in the halls. And then you get audio playing and everything in your room completely disappears to the sounds coming from your headphones. The ANC on these is amazing. There is no white noise that the headphones create when cancelling the sound like other ANC headphones. They really are next level. And the audio is really good with the headphones. I am no audiophile, but I feel like the sound is a little closed, otherwise, everything sounds great.
On the other end of the spectrum is the ambient mode. It's not as good, unfortunately. When using strictly the ambient mode loud clicks in the environment will make an ugly popping sound in the headphones - I don't think this is intentional, but it seems like this only happens with high frequency sounds (mine came from a multi-tool deploying and locking a tool). The ambient quality is also a bit grainy. With this is the speak-to-chat feature (deployable through the app). This works as intended and is a nice to have feature. It completely pauses the music and switches to ambient mode when it detects your voice. It might be best to have the option to quiet the music instead of completely pausing it which comes to the next point. Covering the right ear quiets the music and temporarily switches to ambient mode - this is perfection. It allows you to hold a conversation while keeping your music playing in the background. Awesome feature.
The touch controls on this are finally a set of touch controls that I like. Double-tap to play/pause, swipe up/down for volume up/down, forward and back for next/previous song. Simple, easy, and intentional. The double-tap for play/pause is especially a nice touch as it negates an accidental touch as an input or adjusting your headphones as an input.
Overall, these are fantastic headphones and definitely a pair that you should pick up. There is a reason for 4/5 starts, though - they can be better. While ANC is amazing, ambient isn't as good. The app has potential to make a lot of different customizations available as well. There are things to improve, but overall, a great set that is worth being on your head.... Read More
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