The best over-ear closed headphones with a combined connection

Phillips products have always been of good quality at a reasonable price. The TAH5205 full-size headphones, which hit the market in the summer of 2021, are no exception. Convenient, practical and inexpensive model immediately fell in love with users. Let's see what.

Headphones are made of nice-looking and touch matte plastic in black or white. The assembly is solid, nothing creaks, no backlash, at least at first. The wide headband and leatherette ear pads do not squeeze the head and ears, everything is easily adjustable, the fit is very comfortable, put it on and forgot after 5 seconds.

Let's add here a folding design, a detachable 3.5 mm cable that is comfortable in length, a USB C charging port, and we get a very nice and ergonomic headset for every day.

Headphones quickly pair with the device, moreover, they remember a lot of connections, and the latter is given priority. Management is simple. All buttons and connectors are located on one bowl. This is a multifunctional button for switching tracks and managing calls, a volume rocker, power buttons, bass boost, USB and mini-jack connectors, and a light indicator. The latter, by the way, has digital echo and noise suppression, which makes phone conversations quite high quality. The interlocutor hears you perfectly, especially in a quiet and calm place.

Despite the support of only the standard SBC codec, the sound in Bluetooth headphones is very good and the unpretentious listener will be generally satisfied. All the same, 40-mm emitters with neodymium magnets do their job. For those who will not have enough bass and attack in compositions, the Bass Boost mode will help. Well, lovers of a more natural sound will be able to appreciate its quality over the wire.

Headphones show good autonomy - up to 29 hours at a volume level of 60%, if the bass boost mode is not enabled, and somewhere up to 20 with it. A full charge will take about 2 hours, but a fast one will take only 15 minutes. During this time, we managed to charge the device that ran down by about 15% or 3-4 hours of work, which could not but please.

In general, Philips TAH5205 made a positive impression. Solid, ergonomic, cute, with good sound and autonomy. For $60 you can't ask for anything better.

JBL has been the undisputed market leader in portable acoustics and headphones for at least the last decade. The Tune 660NC on-ear headphones, introduced by the company in 2021, are positioned as an inexpensive youth model with active noise cancellation.

The Tune 660NC comes in three vibrant colors (white, pink and blue) and traditional black for those who prefer the classics. But he looks boring. The new model looks almost no different from the previous devices in the line - Tune 510 and Tune 600. The design is the same, and brand affiliation gives out a huge JBL logo on both cups. By the way, they not only fold inward, but also swivel, so that the folded headphones take up less space and fit into a hoodie pocket without any problems.

The assembly is reliable, all the elements are made with high quality, there is no feeling of cheapness, despite the plastic case. Leatherette ear cushions are small, they do not completely wrap around the ear, but they are tactilely pleasant, do not press and are almost not felt on the head. But the material itself is very thin, and most likely it will quickly be erased, and the replacement of the ear pads is not provided.

Headphone controls are quite advanced. At the same time, it is simple and intuitive.

Three separate mechanical buttons are responsible for volume control, play / pause, and calling an assistant. Siri, Google, and even Bixby are supported. There are also on / off buttons for the gadget and active noise reduction, charge and operation indicators, a USB C port for charging and a not-so-standard 2.5 mm jack for connecting the bundled cable, at the other end of which is the usual 3.5 mm mini Jack.

"Noise reduction" in the headphones is good. Both active and passive. Yes, you will listen to the noise of the street, but very unobtrusively, without the characteristic straining hum. Moreover, in some cases, passive isolation is enough.

The noise cancellation of the microphone did not disappoint either. The interlocutor will hear you loudly, clearly, legibly, although slightly muffled. In general, as a headset 660NC can be used safely.

By the way, unlike JBL Live Pro +, ANC in Tune 660NC has almost no effect on the sound character. The headphones sound clean and smooth with the brand's traditional high-end boost, but without overdrive. The scene is conveyed accurately, especially in instrumental compositions. Each instrument has its place and you clearly understand where it sounds from. In general, the sound of the Tune 660NC can be called universal, it is not at all aggressive and even a little poppy.

Let's move on to autonomy. A 610 mAh battery allows the device to work up to 44 hours with active noise cancellation enabled and up to 55 hours without it. And it's sooo long. Even if you listen to music every day for 4 hours, then one charge will last you about two weeks. At the same time, it will take 2 hours to fully charge, and only 10 minutes is enough to charge the device for playing about 3 hours of music.

JBL has once again created a bright representative of the mass market. The Tune 660NC is an excellent choice for the unassuming listener, for whom headphones are first and foremost a stylish and practical gadget, and only then a device for listening to music. Although, fans of the brand will, of course, disagree with us.

Pioneer's HDJ-CUE1 headphones are the light version of the HDJ line of professional DJ headphones, inheriting their rugged design and powerful drivers for high volume and rich bass. The gadget is available in two versions: with a combined and wired connection. The difference in cost is about $30.

The model is offered in three colors: red, white and black, but if you wish, you can buy interchangeable sets of ear pads and cable in orange, yellow, green, blue or pink.

Since the earbuds are marketed as DJ headphones, they have a sturdy, foldable design with swivel ear cups so you can listen to music with one ear. All moving parts are rigorously tested in-house for durability, and metal tie-down sliders provide added durability.

The cable deserves special attention. It is twisted here, can stretch up to almost 1.8 meters and has a bayonet L-shaped connector to prevent accidental disconnection.

Like the design, the sound is also completely tailored to the performance of DJ sets. The 40 mm dynamic drivers transmit the entire supported frequency range quite cleanly, and here it is, frankly, very generous, 5 Hz - 30 kHz. All in all, if you like boosted bass and well-defined highs, then these are your headphones. Over the cable, of course, the sound will be brighter, but over Bluetooth it is also quite decent. The device supports Bluetooth 5.0 and uses AAC and SBC codecs.

The earbuds have a battery life of 30 hours after a 2.5-hour charge. The indicator is not bad, but not the most outstanding, especially considering the lack of ANC. But what really surprised me was the microUSB charging port on the 2020 headphones.

The Pioneer HDJ-CUE1BT is sure to impress with its customization, sound and comfortable sturdy construction. Yes, there is no ANC here, and the capabilities of the model as a headset are very mediocre. But it's a great workhorse for beginner DJs and a reliable second number for pros that will last for years.

The Sennheiser HD 450BT are quite interesting closed-back wireless headphones with built-in ANC, long battery life and support for popular codecs. They have a convenient folding design and moderate weight (238 g), which greatly simplifies their storage and transportation. Although, it still falls short of the Sennheiser PXC 550-II level.

For its price Sennheiser HD 450BT look very interesting. They are equipped with pretty good microphones and ANC algorithms that provide high-quality noise reduction. If desired, they can be used as classic on-ear headphones for the home by connecting to a receiver or audio card using a 3.5 mm cable. They also have excellent autonomy - the built-in battery can provide up to 30 hours of continuous music playback. And the design of the headband is quite comfortable.

However, as is often the case with a German manufacturer, the most interesting part of the story concerns the sound. Yes, and belonging to the HD series requires this. The 32-inch dynamic drivers play quite briskly and persistently, while at the same time emphasizing subtle details and nuances of the sound. They can easily handle any musical genre from jazz and folk to hip-hop and drum and bass. The latter case is especially interesting, since for once the German manufacturer decided to slightly tint the bass by tweaking the frequencies in the region from 20 to 100 Hz. Slightly is the key word. The bass serves as the foundation for the composition without obscuring the rest of the frequency spectrum.

The Marshall brand is a recognized benchmark in the world of musical equipment. Headphones of the Major line are one of the most popular in the model range of the legendary British company and have been pleasing connoisseurs of good sound for more than 10 years. In 2020, the manufacturer has already introduced the 4th generation of the Major, and we simply could not ignore it.

Major IVs retained Marshall's unmistakable aesthetic. These are all the same vintage square, slightly rounded bowls embossed under the skin in black or brown, connected to the headband with a practical metal shackle.

The model sits extremely comfortably on the head and does not press at all: you can leave it on for a long time, although it can be hot in summer due to the dense leatherette covering the ear pads. The bowls are foldable, but not swivel, however, due to their compactness, this does not create a problem for storage and transportation.

The headphones are equipped with two wires - USB C for charging and a detachable 3.5 mm one, so that you can listen to music the old fashioned way, and also share it with friends by connecting to other headphones.

On the right "ear" you can find a charging port, an audio jack and a joystick - a traditional brand control element for volume, track switching, pause and voice assistant. The power/sync indicator is also hidden here.

Major has a very solid sound. Unlike many other headphones, they do not seek to embellish the music, the compositions sound as authentic as possible. These are real headphones for music, although they can easily be used to watch videos, there is no out of sync between sound and video. Voices are heard clearly, and explosions are booming.

The microphone is also good. The interlocutor will hear you legibly in a quiet environment, but with ambient noise, the quality of speech transmission will predictably fall.

Autonomy in Major IV breaks all records - 80 hours of listening to music on a single charge. At the same time, it will take only 3 hours to charge, and in 15 minutes they can be charged for 15 hours of listening, in addition, the headphones are perfectly friendly with any Qi standard wireless charger. Although, frankly, it would be better instead of fast charging, the manufacturer worried about ANC. Moreover, the autonomy of the model is already excellent, but the lack of noise reduction is definitely a disadvantage for Bluetooth headphones in 2021.

Despite the very good passive noise isolation and volume margin, listening to music in the subway or on a busy street in Major IV will be problematic. True, the problem is solved by paying a $100 surcharge, or rather by purchasing Marshall Monitor II, but in this case you will have to sacrifice chic autonomy. Such is the dilemma.

In general, the Marshall Major IV are great headphones for music lovers. Their main advantages - external authenticity, sound and long battery life - outweigh the disadvantages, making them completely insignificant.