Flat Neutral Sounding ANC Wireless Headphones

[Rolling2405]

Need help looking for flat neutral sounding wireless ANC headphones. The AKG NC700m2 looks awesome but it seems like it is no longer selling anywhere for some reason. 

[Cocococo]

I'm sorry to tell you that AKG N700NCM2 is the only ANC headphone i would call worth the price, i have a pair and they're unbelievably good. What kind of budget are you looking at? ANC headphones don't get "good" until Focal Bathys and Dyson Zone (yeah seriously the Zone are good) Airpods Max on the clear EQ setting are moderately flat but tbh they're terrible value and have less detail than the earpods that everyone has in a junk drawer somewhere

[Rolling2405]

9 minutes ago, Cocococo said:

I'm sorry to tell you that AKG N700NCM2 is the only ANC headphone i would call worth the price, i have a pair and they're unbelievably good.

Yeah those are the ones I want to check but it seems like they are unavailable everywhere for some reason. Are they discontinued? Or maybe some other reason they are  unavailable?

 

15 minutes ago, Cocococo said:

What kind of budget are you looking at?

Around $300

[Cocococo]

31 minutes ago, Rolling2405 said:

Yeah those are the ones I want to check but it seems like they are unavailable everywhere for some reason. Are they discontinued? Or maybe some other reason they are  unavailable?

 

Around $300

AKG discontinued them unfortunately, nowadays the best "affordable" anc headphones are the JBL 760NC, honestly ANC isn't good enough to be a feature i'd consider too heavily when browsing for wireless headphones (even the best ANC is worthless without good isolation, and isolation is something none of the main ANC brands take seriously) if you're just after good sound i'd point you in the direction of Audeze Maxwell, easily the best sounding closed headphones up until 900usd. but they have no ANC so may not be ideal if you live somewhere with lots of vehicle traffic

[Rolling2405]

19 minutes ago, Cocococo said:

AKG discontinued them unfortunately

What a shame 

 

 

19 minutes ago, Cocococo said:

ANC is worthless without good isolation

My purpose for ANC is to increase my awareness of people and sounds in the environment around me while still privately listening to audio with headphones.

[Cocococo]

1 minute ago, Rolling2405 said:

What a shame 

 

 

My purpose for ANC is to increase my awareness of people and sounds in the environment around me while still privately listening to audio with headphones.

I have one more idea, but it's a bit of a difficult one to recommend. Big thing i need to know is how long your hair is/ if you have hair at all? I've tried the Final UX3000 in the past and despite sounding pretty good (very similar to the Rode NTH-100 people like to recommend) the earpads were too thin for my liking (take comfort stuff lightly, all my fav headphones have earpads that completely envelop your ears) but the big reason why i no longer have them is the adjustment hinges would rip my hair out, granted i have extremely long hair but if your hair is short on the sides the Final UX3000 might be a very smart buy at the moment. At least until AKG come to their senses and release a N700NCM3 with more cavernous earcups and thicker plushier headband

[Rolling2405]

On 12/24/2023 at 6:53 PM, Cocococo said:

I have one more idea, but it's a bit of a difficult one to recommend. Big thing i need to know is how long your hair is/ if you have hair at all? I've tried the Final UX3000 in the past and despite sounding pretty good (very similar to the Rode NTH-100 people like to recommend) the earpads were too thin for my liking (take comfort stuff lightly, all my fav headphones have earpads that completely envelop your ears) but the big reason why i no longer have them is the adjustment hinges would rip my hair out, granted i have extremely long hair but if your hair is short on the sides the Final UX3000 might be a very smart buy at the moment. At least until AKG come to their senses and release a N700NCM3 with more cavernous earcups and thicker plushier headband

I have decided to try the Focal Bathys since according to RTINGS they are pretty neutral wireless ANC headphones. Do you have any thoughts or opinions on the Focal Bathys?

[Cocococo]

3 hours ago, Rolling2405 said:

I have decided to try the Focal Bathys since according to RTINGS they are pretty neutral wireless ANC headphones. Do you have any thoughts or opinions on the Focal Bathys?

Bathys are pretty good, just bear in mind that Bathys NEED a perfect seal or they sound like garbage (lose all bass and exaggerates the lower treble boost Focal likes to put on their headphones) I never bought myself a pair because of cost, if you need ANC and you can't get Dyson Zone in your budget then Bathys are a good pick. Just be wary of the headband, Focal headband comfort is like dark chocolate or marmite, either you love it or absolutely hate it, no middle ground, try before you buy for sure.

 

I'd rather have a Audeze Maxwell than any other Bluetooth headphones, my main issue with the Bathys is that for the same price a pair of Focal Celestee's (best closed backs Focal makes, if you aren't willing to spend a fortune on pad swapping Elegia) along with a Qudelix 5k (bluetooth DAC that bears out virtually every desktop under Schiit Magni and Modi prices) for less money than the Bathys, get way better EQ customisation, no stupid batteries to die when you need the ANC most and Qudelix battery has wayyyyy more capacity than BT headphones.

[GoldenSound]

On 12/25/2023 at 1:12 AM, Rolling2405 said:

Need help looking for flat neutral sounding wireless ANC headphones. The AKG NC700m2 looks awesome but it seems like it is no longer selling anywhere for some reason. 

Very few wireless headphones offer a signature close to either harman neutral or diffuse field neutral.

The main ones that come to mind being Focal Bathys and Audeze Maxwell

[GoldenSound]

6 hours ago, Cocococo said:

and you can't get Dyson Zone in your budget

PLEASE don't get Dyson Zone, that is far from neutral if that's the goal, and generally speaking given the peaky and massively boosted treble it's going to be horrendously bright for most people.

Raw FR:

Deviation from diffuse field neutral:

[Cocococo]

1 hour ago, GoldenSound said:

PLEASE don't get Dyson Zone, that is far from neutral if that's the goal, and generally speaking given the peaky and massively boosted treble it's going to be horrendously bright for most people.

Raw FR:

Deviation from diffuse field neutral:

Agree they aren't amazing, for active noise cancelling headphones they're just the best out of an extremely poor bunch, Bathys ANC is very weak in comparison to Bose, Sony, Apple and whatever the latest "best budget" Chinese manufacturer.

 

Zone has some of the best ANC I've ever tried and treble can be tweaked down (though the treble is nowhere near as bad as the majority of popular headphones) but sound wise I'd take Bathys over Zone (then take Maxwell over both) 

[GoldenSound]

10 minutes ago, Cocococo said:

Agree they aren't amazing, for active noise cancelling headphones they're just the best out of an extremely poor bunch, Bathys ANC is very weak in comparison to Bose, Sony, Apple and whatever the latest "best budget" Chinese manufacturer.

 

Zone has some of the best ANC I've ever tried and treble can be tweaked down (though the treble is nowhere near as bad as the majority of popular headphones) but sound wise I'd take Bathys over Zone (then take Maxwell over both) 

Worth noting with Bathys ANC that whilst I agree it's not as good as Bose/Sony, a lot of people think it's weaker than it is because by default the ANC is set to 'mild' and you need to go into the app to set it to full