If you’re looking to drop a set of headphones under the tree this Christmas, here are my top picks.
Firstly if it’s for someone who likes to hit the gym or get outdoors, you can’t go past Beats Powerbeats fit.
These earbud headphones are sweat and water resistant and thanks to the secure-fit wingtips they will stay in your ears through just about every activity. When used with the new charging case you can expect to get around 30 hours of music from these earbuds which can be controlled using the Beats app.
For the music lover who prefers to stay in-doors, the office worker who want to cut out ambient noise or the traveller, I really love Sony’s
WH-1000XM6 over-ear headphones.
It’s hard to flaw Sony’s industry leading noise cancellation.
I can confirm having tested them out on a 15 hour flight recently that the XM6 Headphones are great for travel, and also deliver a premium listening experience in more cofortable and every day environments.
Now I’d consider both of those to be ‘premium’ options that come at a higher price point, but if you’r budget doesn’t work with that all is not lost.
For earbud style headphones, there’s Google’s Pixel Buds 2a. These are great for the price-conscious buyer, finally bringing Active Noise Cancellation and deep Gemini AI integration to the budget-friendly “A-Series.” They’re light, comfy, and deliver great sound quality, making them a solid choice if you want most of the premium features without the “Pro” price tag.
For lower cost over-ear headphones you can still stick with the reputable Sony brand.
The Sony WH-CH720N are the best value over-ear headphones in the budget class, offering effective Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) and impressive sound quality for well under A$200. They are incredibly light, comfortable for long listening sessions, and deliver up to 35 hours of battery life with ANC enabled.
