In search for the perfect headphone – noise canceling and wireless

I do a fair bit of travelling. I’d guess at about 80-100 days per year are spent in some mode of transportation. I don’t commute since I do freelance work, though.

To allow a bit more concentration on journeys I started looking for a wireless (read Bluetooth) and noise cancelling headphone.

The journey starts with AKGs N60 NC wireless.

I got those as refurbished from Harman on EBay for 180€ instead of 280€ so this was a big plus.

Straight out of the box, I liked the case, and the extremely compact size these could be folded to.

I then switched them on, and down-pressed the on-off switch.

Pairing with my iPhone 6s was a breeeze, just worked straight away.

Noise Cancelling is pretty good. I tested them with some white noise, and some sine sweeps. There seems to be a hole in the NC around 3-5kHz. It still atenuates, but not as much as in the other frequencies. Probably on purpose to allow warnings and shouts to pass.

I’d guess the NC does about 30dB of reduction. It really works quite well without giving you a sucked in and hollow feeling on your ears.

The comfort of these headphones is good, but not great. Its winter here but still I can feel my ears sweating below the leather. They’re pretty light and don’t clasp you head, but I wouldn’t want to run with those on. I guess they’d fall of.

Mechanics seem okay too. Quite well built. Not on paar with Beoplays or my trusted NADs, but good. Will hold up for a few years I guess.

Now, the sound: Well, the sound is amazing. Even on Bluetooth, which is not the iPhones forte. Just very well rounded. Beautiful voices, no artifacts from NC. Amazing really. A joy to listen to.

Bass is just right. Good fundament, not overwhelming or inflated.

This really is a terrific headphone.

Good news: My room-mate ordered the Sony MDR1000XM2, the Sennheiser Momentum Over-Ear BT and the B&W PX… So soon we’ll know much better which is the ultimate!