New wireless headphones

Off-Topic Games, Gaming and Hardware
1

Anyone got solid advice for good wireless headphones/earbuds?

I am looking for something small - not your traditional large headset (i know those come in wireless models too) - e.g. something akin to airpods, samsung earbuds, beats earpods, etc.

I don’t mind a behind the neck wire - just something that isn’t wired to pc itself.

So pre-reqs:

  1. wireless
  2. latency
  3. behind the neck or ear bud style
  4. sound quality (for reference i consider hyperx cloud 2 to have good enough sound for me)

nice to have:
4. volume control
5. ffw/rw control
6. noise cancellation
7. mic

Any suggestions experiences on what you use would be appreciated.

2

When you say noise cancellation, do you mean standard blocking out noise, or the actual active feature of noise cancellation. I ask because if you want active noise cancellation than just passive, you’re going to pay some big bucks.

For a cheapo wireless earphone, I heard many good things about the QCY T5. They can tend to develop slight issues over time, but they’re pretty cheap for something really decent. They also have a “Game Mode” which is supposed to reduce latency, but obviously at the cost of battery life.

At the high-end, probably the Sony WF-1000XM3. You won’t get active noise cancellation on a decent product until you spend around this price.

Note that most mics on bluetooth headphones are pretty bad, because they are generally extremely limited by the bluetooth standard. More so on no-wire(TWS) earphones, due to poor microphone location.
QCY T5:
https://www.amazon.com/QCY-Headphones-Compatible-Smartphones-Black/dp/B07YTTF3BN
Sony WF-1000XM3:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T81554H/ref=twister_B07T85W8P7

Sometimes latency can also depend on the source device, and what standards it supports between the two devices.

The QCY T5 may be a good entry to dip your toes in the water, if you haven’t had a wireless earphone yet. Nothing else that’s really super good at that price point, otherwise there are a few options around $100 and up. If you’re used to the HyperX Cloud sound signature, this may also not be that far off from what you’re used to(somewhat).

The Sony seems to reign supreme generally from what I’ve read. If you want active noise cancellation your options will be pretty limited. There are a couple options between these two, but I’m not sure about the latency. Honorable mentions go to the Lypertek Tevi(with alternative eartips, but seems to have latency issues) and the Galaxy Buds(regarding what one, the plus seems to be more of an aggressive fun sound, while the regular is less emphasized, but slightly harsh).

I didn’t include any neck-band options, because I’m not too familiar with what’s good in that area, but I will say that your battery life will likely be higher if you go neck-band.

Some links to help you learn about some options -
https://crinacle.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/clavinetjunkie
https://www.scarbir.com/

3

Either is fine. Just blocking out noise works (which I figure in-ear earbuds would likely just do innately).

Yeah the 50-100 range looks good.

I read about the sony’s but at $200 that’s a little steeper than I was hoping for. I actually have no idea how they perform for something like gaming either.

4

I’d say just pick up the QCY T5 through the Amazon link, and go from there. It’s not too expensive, and you can dip your toes into the water before spending closer to $100 on a ‘fancier’ pair, to see what you like, or don’t like, you may even end up liking it and saving money. I don’t have it myself, but it tends to ‘satisfy’ a greater number of pickier people, which is why I have been pushing it lol. I don’t think you’ll have latency problems, especially if you use the game mode, but battery life may not be very long. I’d say just give them a try. It’s not the best, but it’s a safer choice.

There’s a lot of garbage out there, and a lot of things people are paid to give good reviews of, as well as things people just don’t like the sound of. For example, there are some Raycon earphones, among others that have been being pushed lately by bought out people, while they all sound like garbage, and have been debunked by more credible sources.

Did you ever get a chance to check out the 3 links I provided above to the site/YT channel? They all provide a lot of good information, and definitely are things to keep an eye on.

5

I LOVE my XM3’s. it was a headache(windows 10) and a lot of troubleshooting to get all of the settings working between programs. Once that is all settled you won’t regret it, if you’re a sound purist