Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2: Many of us liked Shure’s original Aonic 50 headphones, but they had pretty mediocre noise cancellation. Well, the second-generation version addresses this problem — the noise cancellation is much improved — and Shure has more than doubled the battery life to around 45 hours (they now have a quick-charge feature) and also reduced the charge of the headphones a little case, although it is still not so compact. These improvements make the Aonic 50 Gen 2 a better noise canceling headphone. While the Aonic 50 Gen 2s are pretty heavy at 334 grams, they’re solidly built and comfortable to wear too, with nicely padded ear cups. They have excellent sound quality with very good clarity and well-defined bass. Shure calls them a “studio headphone,” so the sound profile is fairly neutral, but you can add more bass in the EQ settings in Shure’s companion app for iOS and Android (engaging the Spatializer setting in the app widens the soundstage a bit , but no they don’t make a big difference).
Beoplay HX by Bang & Olufsen: Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay HX headphones are the successors to the company’s H9 series headphones (X is the Roman numeral for 10) and, like those previous H9 models, the HX headphones are priced at $599 (some colors are discounted at Amazon ). That price makes it a direct competitor to Apple’s AirPods Max, which are heavier at 385 grams versus the HX’s 285 grams. I don’t know if the HX headphones are more comfortable than the AirPods Max, but I found both models to be pretty equal in the comfort department during longer listening sessions, and these have the usual leather-covered B&O memory foam cushions lamb. Their sound matches that of the AirPods Max well — overall, it’s well-balanced, with deep, well-defined bass, natural sound (where vocals live), and attractive treble detail.
V-Moda M-200: V-Moda’s M-200 is one of the few wired headphones on this list. Released in late 2019, these clear and detailed-sounding over-ear headphones have excellent bass response, and the soft earcups mean they’re also comfortable to wear. With 50mm neodymium magnet drivers, CCAW voice coils and fine-tuning by Roland engineers — yes, V-Moda is now owned by Roland — the M‑200 is Hi‑Res Audio certified by the Japan Audio Society. Other V-Moda headphones tend to push the bass a bit, but this set has the more neutral profile you’d expect from studio monitor headphones. They come with two cables, one of which has a built-in microphone for making calls. It would be nice if V-Moda offered Lightning or USB-C cables for phones without a headphone jack. Note that last year V-Moda released M-200 ANC ($350), a wireless version of these headphones that includes active noise cancellation. They also sound great, but the noise cancellation, call quality, and overall feature set don’t match those of the AirPods Max.
Mark Levinson No. 5909: These are premium audio brand Mark Levinson’s first headphones and, yes, they’re really expensive at $999. But they are also really good. They have a solid design without managing to feel solid on your head (read: they’re substantial but not too heavy), and they’re comfortable to wear for long periods, thanks to their nicely padded earcups and replaceable leather-covered headband. Read practically Mark Levinson no. 5909.
OneOdio A10: The OneOdio A10s offer more than you’d expect for their relatively modest price, which is why they’ve featured on some of our best lists. They’re better built than you’d think for around $90 and are quite comfortable to wear. They have a dual-hinged design and feel sturdy, weighing in at 395 grams, making them the perfect headphones for a workout. They sound surprisingly good and have pretty good noise cancellation with a transparency mode (which does have a slight audible hiss though). The headphones also have very good battery life. No, they’re not as comfortable as Bose and Sony’s models (they feel a bit heavy), and their sound lacks that little bit of extra clarity, bass definition and depth that more premium headphones tend to give. But they exceeded my expectations and come with a nice carrying case, even if the OneOdio logo displayed on it is a bit odd.
EAH-A800 technique: There’s an old Technics EAH-A800 vibe — and it’s not just the Technics brand, which Panasonic revived in recent years. Their design is something of a throwback, but these headphones are comfortable and both fold and fold. They feature a big, punchy sound with powerful bass and good detail, although they take a day or two to break in.