Our 2024 favorite headphones !
Here's a useful guide to help you make the right choice. Some great innovations have emerged, and we describe them below.
What's new?
Every headset featured in this article will have at least one of the following enhancements:
- Highly enhanced sound with Hi-res standard.
- Lossless connectivity via the new Bluetooth lossless protocol.
- Powerful algorithm for ambient noise reduction.
- Multimicrophone system to analyze noise wherever you are.
- Longer autonomy thanks to better batteries.
- High-quality materials for comfort and durability.
- Constant updating for product improvement even after purchase.
Models to consider.
This is the fifth generation of Sony's wireless range.
Visually, the product has a very modern, minimalist look. Beautiful, sleek design with full touch control for listening, call answering and noise reduction functions.
In terms of musicality, bass is clean and firm, with crystal-clear highs and an assertive presence. There's an equalizer to tweak the sound, though it's definitely up to scratch without any adjustment.
The sound is controlled via an application, allowing you to adjust equalization, noise reduction (very effective) and the famous "360 Reality Audio" sound reproducing new surround sound patterns. The headset is updated as Sony develops its technologies.
Alexa and OK Google voice commands are integrated, and a single battery charge provides 30 hours of use, while an ultra-fast 3-minute charge results in 3 hours of hearing!
This headphone is recommended for audiophiles because of its ability to process uncompressed signals. What's more, various online services offer music encoded in "360", bringing a new, enveloping experience to stereophonic listening.
The ACE is Sonos' first mobile Bluetooth headset, released in early June 2024. With its high-end design, it competes with the best on the market.
It's worth noting that the price range of the various headphones evaluated here is slightly higher than average. What's important to consider is that the vast majority of products on the market priced in the $200 range offer dynamic sound, but without flavor or nuance. Give them a comparative listen at your dealer's. Chances are you'll be won over!
The Sonos ACE is therefore comparable to the Sony WH-1000X5, one of the benchmarks on the market.
The finish is impeccable, with a soft-touch matte finish. The headband system is made of chrome-plated metal, ensuring long, trouble-free life. The soft leather earpads are removable and easy to replace. Lighter than the competition.
The sound is on a par with the brand's products, with a well-balanced, powerful sound with less intense highs, but well achieved. There's no parasitic hissing during punchy high notes, which isn't the case with low- to mid-range headphones. We're talking about parasitic artifacts.
Modes and settings boil down to what's most useful, such as noise reduction, conscious mode and equalization.
In addition to music listening, these audiophile headphones offer Dolby Atmos sound for home theater. But that's not all: the "ACE" synchronizes with the Sonos "ARC" cinema system to reproduce, via WIFI, the same sound as the one you've set up by analyzing your room.
For all types of listening, the sound is very full, enabling the Ace to be adept at reproducing tracks mixed in Dolby Atmos or 360 Reality Audio (from the Apple Music, Tidal and Amazon Music platforms). All audio streams, from simple stereo to Dolby Atmos in 7.1.4 channels, are supported, and it's the bar's processor that's responsible for bringing you the cinema experience.
JBL, a brand renowned for its high-end products, confirms its reputation with this flagship model launched in 2023.
This model is less for the music lover than for the dynamic music enthusiast. For reference, the Sony WH-X1000XM/5 has a sensitivity of 102 decibels, versus 117 for the TOUR ONE M2!
In terms of comfort, these headphones are very pleasant, with soft contact points and a headband that can be widely deployed. The finish is good, offering a very modern, "active life and youth" look.
Control functions include a well-designed mix of touch and physical buttons. On first use, you'll appreciate the "Google Fast Pair" function, which automatically detects the presence of a new Bluetooth device, so all you have to do is confirm the addition and you're connected. The headset is also compatible with the Personi-Fi 2.0 function, allowing you to adapt the sound to your hearing...
In short, these headphones sound reasonably good and are very dynamic, with a fine noise reduction that makes them excellent for everyday use.
Launched in 2022, the M4s are still Sennheiser's best offering today.
These headphones are designed primarily for musical listening. It offers a fairly linear frequency response, although the ultra-low frequencies tend to be a little overdriven. Fortunately, you can adjust this tendency via the equalization function in the mobile or tablet application.
The product finish is impeccable! With its soft, matte finish and fabric-covered headband, it's a beautifully put-together product that exudes quality at first glance.
Like its competitors, it offers very effective noise reduction, even if the residual is very low. Nothing to do with cheap reducers that downright distort your music in tunnel listening! It works very well, but with less authority, that's all.
With its natural, well-balanced and well-determined sound reproduction, and perfectly homogeneous, full-bodied and silky highs, these headphones remain highly appreciated. And the battery life is the best of all, with a claimed sixty hours!
Our special-purpose models.
SENNHEISER CONVERSATION CLEAR PLUS
Conversation Clear Plus offers many advanced features such as automatic settings, speech enhancement, active noise cancellation (ANC), beam-forming microphones, wireless application control and Bluetooth™ streaming from most devices. If you're looking for quality headphones that also offer some hearing optimization whether your hearing is normal or slightly inferior, these headphones are worth considering. No, we're not talking about a hearing aid, but rather an earphone offering a host of automatic and manual adjustments to cancel out noisy environments and will optimize conversations at all times.
As with most high-end products, a mobile application is available to fine-tune the result.
2024-style TV headphones!
With Sennheiser TV Clear, you can enjoy the best TV shows and movies with superior voice clarity without the need for a Bluetooth-enabled TV. These headphones come with a separate puck-shaped transmitter (equivalent to the old TV plug-in towers) to guarantee Log in for any TV with an optical or analog (rca) output. And unlike conventional TV solutions, TV Clear can also connect via Bluetooth to your smartphone simultaneously, meaning you won't miss any calls just because you're watching TV with headphones on!
Our in-ear models:
DENON PERL
Rain-resistant in-ear headphones for active outdoor people.
Model includes noise reduction, adjustable sound via Masimo AAT app, addressable touch control and much more.
Great sound at an affordable price.
SONY WF-L900
An innovative product with groundbreaking features!
Firstly, this ITE doesn't block your ear, while the sound comes to you from an inserted circular area. Secondly, to control your listening, you touch your face thanks to its Wide Area Tap function.
Using Sony's headphone app, it's easy to choose your touch control functions. You'll be able to set the parameters of each earphone to an individual control profile, getting volume control, the ability to rewind a song, voice assistant activation and even access to Spotify.
In addition to the control options, you can activate advanced features such as adaptive volume control and wide-area typing (your face) using the app.
SENNHEISER MOMENTUM TRUE WIRELESS 3
The Momentum TW3 is Sennheiser's most advanced product to date.
Good sound quality and noise reduction system. Each offers its own particularity: for Sennheiser, it's the geolocation assigned to the settings...
Sound zones" are one of the app's most interesting features. Equipped with a map, you can customize the locations you frequent, such as your home or workplace, and save noise reduction settings, as well as your preferred low/mid/high equalization setting. Once you've entered the radius (as you've defined it on the location map), your settings will automatically be replaced by the settings saved for that sound zone. You also define what happens when you leave a zone. Either the settings remain as they are until you enter another sound zone with a different ANC and equalizer, or they automatically switch to your saved preferences when you leave a given zone.
Extraordinary product!
The JBL TOUR PRO 2 offers an innovative app-free approach. In fact, the recharging box incorporates a touchscreen for adjusting all the headset's advanced functions.
It's best to think of the case and screen as a remote control for your headphones. Instead of taking your mobile device to connect to the listening settings, you can simply do the whole thing easily even while walking.
Summer is just around the corner. Let's enjoy this source of pleasure and comfort, on a stroll or by the pool. Remember to thank your guests with a Sonxplus gift card at your summer dinners.
Stay tuned!