Wireless headphones are fantastic audio tools enabling hassle-free audio enjoyment. These are generally allrounders in every aspect, be it enjoying music on your cozy couch, in a cafeteria, in-office or traveling in public transport. If you are looking for the best wireless headphones below $200 to enjoy your music, you are in the right place.
Lets get started.
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Different kind of headphones
Headphones could be of a few types and having some background about them can help immensely in choosing the right pair.
Open Back and Closed Back
Open-back headphones are those where the ear cups are not completely sealed. The ear cups of these headphones are covered with grills or cups with holes on them. As a result of this, air and sound freely move from inside the cup to the outside and vice versa. The diaphragm of these headphones pushes air towards the ear and also in the opposite direction.
This leads to your immediate neighbors also able to hear what you are hearing and may cause a disturbance in a quiet environment. The open back nature of these headphones provide a very accurate sound with a lot of depth. That’s why these headphones are used in studio setups by audio professionals to mix sound.
The ear cups of the closed-back headphones are completely sealed. This means that air and sound from the ear cups cannot leak outside. These headphones are excellent for isolation and noise cancellation. These headphones are extremely versatile. They can be used in a studio environment, in a busy or crowded environment without disturbing others, or outside in public transport enjoying your favorite music. The headphones which we will discuss in this article are all closed back.
Placement of the Ear Cups and Drivers
Headphones can be further divided between in-ear, circum-aural, Supra-aural, and bone-conducting.
In-ear headphones are the ones where the earphones can be inserted into the ear canal. These headphones provide great isolation.
Circum-aural headphones are ones where the headphones do not sit on your ear but are cups made in a way that they sit around the ear. These are easier to be used for long sessions and can provide good isolation.
Supra-aural headphones sit on your ear. These tend to be uncomfortable for listening to long hours of music. Supra-aural headphones get warm, these are lighter and generally do not seal sound as well.
Bone conduction headphones bypass the eardrum to send the sound signals. They send the signals through bone conduction. These sit directly on the listener’s cheekbones and the vibrations transmit the sound to the cochlea. These are very helpful for people who also need to keep their ears unobstructed. For example, joggers who also need to aware of oncoming traffic.
With this understanding, lets dive into the best wireless headphones under $200.
Bose Sound Link On Ear Wireless Headphones
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The Bose Sound Link On Ear Wireless Headphones are no new kids in the block. These have been around since 2017 and offer some great features with fantastic sound quality.
The build of the headphone is typical of Bose. The body of the headphone is made up of plastic but does not feel cheap at all. These headphones are lightweight and the ear cups have nice soft earpads making them very comfortable to wear. Even long-term usage of the headphones does not feel uncomfortable. These headphones are very portable, with inward folding of the earcups towards the headband making it easy to be carried in a case.
The power button of the headphone doubles up for pairing when pressed and held for a few seconds. The process of pairing is intuitive and hassle-free. The advanced microphone button helps in capturing quality audio reducing background. These headphones also come with active EQ.
The Bose Sound Link On Ear Wireless headphone boasts extremely good Bluetooth connectivity. It can effortlessly connect to 2 devices and can switch between them seamlessly. For the lovers of wired headphones, Bose has also included a 3.5mm jack.
Once fully charged, the battery is good for about 15 hours and takes around 1.5 hrs to recharge. This is a space where we feel Bose can improve by introducing USB C for faster charging as compared to micro-USB used currently.
These headphones sound great and the active EQ can help to boost the frequencies intuitively. The mids and the highs are very clear while the lows can be improved. Overall a great headphone for regular easy listening of music at home, café, office, or while commuting. Easy to connect and toggle between listening to music and taking calls. A great buy.
Bose Sound Sport In ear headphone
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These are tried and tested model of Bose and works extremely well. The earpieces are a bit larger than what you would expect but they do what they are supposed to do. They stick to your ears without falling off and provide a quality listening experience.
The earbuds are made up of good quality plastic which does not feel cheap. The reason for the slight bulkiness is due to the housing of the Bluetooth components and the battery in the earbuds. The power button of the earbuds also doubles up as the pairing button with your device. The mic and the other controls are located on the line that connects the earpieces.
The headphones provide decent connectivity. It connects via Bluetooth 4.1 and also features NFC. The Sound Sport supports SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs which are perfect for IOS devices while some android devices might fall short. The headphones when fully charged can last for 6 hours and takes around 2 hours for charging.
Being a Bose product, the headphones provide a consistently good consumer-grade sound experience. It has decent bass and good mids and highs. Being an in-ear headphone, it provides decent isolation to seal off outside sound to a great extent.
Overall a great in-ear headphone to use especially while exercising. It undoubtedly provides a much better listening experience than many similar models in the market. A good buy and a very versatile headphone to own. After all, it is a Bose.
Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones WHCH710N
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When you talk about noise cancellation headphones, the first name that comes to your mind is Bose. In recent times there are a number of headphones that have taken Bose head-on and Sony being one of them. If you are looking for good noise-canceling headphones, the Sony WHCH710N is worth checking out.
The build of the headphone is plastic and is very lightweight. This helps in wearing the headphones for long hours and still not being uncomfortable. The earcups can rotate 90 degrees for the headphone to lie flat on the ear cups. The ear cups have very soft memory foam padding which makes them comfortable to wear. The headband also comes with padding which is an added comfort.
This headphone can pair with your device through Bluetooth and also NFC. The headphone features AAC Bluetooth codec and it provides stable and reliable connectivity. If you want, you can also wire the headphone with the 3.5mm jack cable included. The headphones provide a massive 35 hours of playback when fully charged.
The controls on the right ear cup include volume controls and a center button to play and pause music or take and end a call. You can also toggle between active noise cancellation and ambient mode via the toggle button on the same earcup next to the volume buttons. The noise cancellation features in these headphones are top-notch for the price that you pay for them.
These headphones provide a decent listening experience. These headphones do not produce the best bass or the most accurate mids and highs but we need to understand these are for a regular consumer-grade listening experience than a pro studio one. From that perspective, these headphones provide an equally good listening experience across genres of music.
Overall, this headphone provides a solid value in noise cancellation, battery life, and regular listening experience which a normal consumer might want to achieve. A great value for money.
Sennheiser HD 450BT
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Sennheiser is a known name in the high-quality open-back headphones space. The HD 450 BT is not an open back but a closed-back noise cancellation headphone with an Active Noise Cancellation feature. The headphone comes with an easy carriage option of the ear cups folding inwards to the headband becoming a comfortable snug fit in the case provided.
There are a bunch of controls on the headphone. The power button doubles up for toggling noise cancellation. There is a voice assistance button for virtual help. The switch buttons can help in skipping, moving forward, or can be also used as a play and pause button for a track. The switch button also helps in taking, ending, and to put calls on hold. And lastly, it also comes with volume control.
The headphone sports Active Noise cancellation. This feature of the headphone is best achieved with a tighter fit of the headphone. HD 450 BT offers plenty of Bluetooth codecs and offers compatibility with both IOS and Android devices. It provides a reliable and stable connection.
The headphone offers a 30 hours battery life when fully charged. It takes about 2 hours to get fully charged. Being one of the top audio equipment manufacturing company, this headphone provides great quality sound. The headphone sounds equally good across different genres of music. The headphone provides a slightly boosted bass which suits easy listening very nicely. A good choice for easy listening and listening to music while on the move.
Sennheiser PXC 550-II Wireless
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If you have liked the Sennheiser HD 450BT and if you are able to increase your budget a little more then you can get this fantastic model PXC 550 -II wireless from Sennheiser. These are great upgrade headphones that combines great sound with fantastic noise cancellation features.
The built of the headphone is full plastic and it comes in a protective case. The earpads and the headband are covered with synthetic leather. The earpads have comfortable memory foam and are removable for cleaning purposes.
The controls of the headphone are all on the right ear cup. The voice assistant buttons connect your device with the headphone. There are a bunch of gesture control features this headphone comes with which one needs to learn to operate the headphone. In addition to this, the Sennheiser App can help with firmware updates and choosing different noise cancellation modes. You can also choose your EQ preferences via the App and customize the settings.
This headphone boasts one of the best noise cancellation functions. It provides a superior cancellation of external noise making this feature very effective. The headphone also provides great isolation and a combination of the ANC and Isolation provide a remarkable listening experience. Due to this, these headphones are great to be used while commuting, cutting all the external chatter and din and keeping you immersed in your music.
These headphones provide stable connectivity with 20-hour battery life. The headphones produce accurate low and mid frequencies and a sound that stands out from the regular closed-back headphones. A must-have for a true seeker of quality audio. This is perhaps one of the best which you can get below a $200 mark.
Audio-Technica ATHM50XBT
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Audio Technica ATH M50x has been around for some time and there was a demand from the market to have a wireless variety of these headphones. Listening to the market Audio Technica came out with the BT version of the headphones.
Audio Technica has always been a serious sound equipment manufacturing company, trying to provide the best sound experience rather than fancy features. The ATH M50x BT is no exception.
The headphone has a plastic body with a metal-supported headband. The ear cups and the headband are both cushioned. The ear cups fold inside towards the headband reducing the space taken in your bag.
The left ear cup has a bunch of controls including the volume, power, and touch controls. The headphone sports a Blue Tooth 5 radio connection which supports fast data transfer and at the same time keeps energy consumption to a low. You can also use the headphone connected with the cable provided in the package. The battery lasts for about 30 hours after fully charged.
Soundwise the ATH M50x BT perhaps provides one of the best listening experiences at a sub $200 range. The Bass of the headphone is slightly boosted with the mids and highs being nicely adjusted to give a great listening experience.
These headphones provide great isolation and good enough to be used outside without your listening experience being affected. But these headphones are not active noise cancellation ones, so the expectation needs to be adjusted here.
A must have pair of headphones for music lovers and individuals who want stable and fast wireless connectivity with superior quality of sound.
Summing up
Headphones are very personal choices. Every individual has a unique preference of frequency and the above list of headphones provide a decent variety for all. All these headphones are superior grade headphones, manufactured by companies who have been in the sound space for decades and are very safe bets. Check this article if you want to know more about professional headphones and to check if you want to get one of them. Happy listening!
Last update on 2024-06-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
