You’re at home on the weekends getting your dose of alternative rock and heavy metal music on your Bluetooth speaker when suddenly dad yells from the other room to “turn it down a bit”.
It’s kind of like Macaulay Culkin’s (the Home Alone series child star) situation in the song Black or White by Michael Jackson. Watch the video here to see what I mean.
So, is there any way you can listen to what you want without waking the neighbours and also without compromising on the music experience?
The solution: Head out and get a new pair of headphones!
In this list I am going to be talking about different types of headphones from various price segments that you can have a look at.
And, we kick off with...
Headphones for the Milkha Singh in You
Weekend or daily runners get that extra boost when they have a beat to match their strides with, not to mention the one hitting a 120 kilos on the bench press gets more push when having a heavy metal or some motivational track getting through his ears.
No doubt a good headphone is indeed an essential companion for fitness lovers and if you’re tight on budget and looking for an option in the under Rs 2,000 segment, the JBL Endurance Run is a good option.
Though they are wired, the Endurance comes with rubberised earbuds that snugly fit into the ears and don’t come off that easily. Sound quality is good though noise cancellation isn’t the best. Still a good pair to invest in for Rs 1,599.
The ones who hate wires and also don’t want to compromise on the ergonomics and sound quality can go for the Jabra Elite 65t. The wireless earbuds come with 15 hours of music time bundled with a separate charging box for portability.
Apart from the IP56 sweat, dust and water resistance, the Elite 65t comes with a special coating to enhance the grip. Didn’t fall off when I was running. Also the sound quality is excellent though it takes time to get familiar with the buttons and controls. A price tag of Rs 14,999 might sound steep but again it caters to a niche category.
Headphones for the AR Rehman in You
Music lovers who just want to cut off themselves from the world and immerse into uninterrupted high fidelity music can look for options like the Sony WH-1000XM3 for those with big pockets to splurge or try to go easy on the budget with mid-range options like the Skullcandy Venue.
The Sony WH-1000XM3 (also known as the Mach 3) is the upgrade to last year’s WH-1000XM2 which was also worth the buck. However, this years upgrades bring better sound quality and more plush materials for the overall build, making it conducive for long duration usage.
Noise cancellation is a game changer for the Mach 3 while features like Google Assistant, NFC and ambient noise control just makes the deal sweeter. At Rs 29,999, the Sony WH-1000MX3 is the great bargain, unless you’re a Bose fan and would prefer the QC35 instead.
The Skullcandy Venue comes in at Rs 18,999 and for that price it doesn’t come with as many features. Though it offers noise cancellation but the apparent sound leak tends to spoil the experience of listening to music on this one.
Build material didn’t appeal to me and I feel Skullcandy could have done a better job. Battery life is the only aspect I was happy with.
Headphones for the Aam Aadmi in You
And last but not the least is the “general class”! The ones who are looking for good sturdy wireless headphones that have good battery life and they are fine with compromising on the sound quality.
Lo and Behold! The OnePlus Bullets Wireless and the RHA MA650.
OnePlus Bullets Wireless comes forth as a decent bet for its price. It’s durable, easy to use, multi-functional with microphone and supports dash charging too. The audio notes can be wayward, but has got a balanced approach that most people wouldn’t mind owning for under Rs 5,000.
The MA650 from RHA is better suited to the needs of audiophiles, with the added extra battery life that it offers. Durability isn’t an issue while noise cancellation too gets the job done. Others in this price bracket, like Sennheiser offer good value for the money, but with the at Rs 7,990 MA650, you’re getting much more.
So, as you can see, this feature covers product range for audiophiles and entry-level music listeners, who’re not only looking for that “rich bass” experience, they would also prefer something to help in the working out, and definitely something that doesn’t pop out of your ears before one hits the finish line.
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