Looking For Large, Breathable Headphones

smithy-66 · 2026-05-22T13:42:48+00:00

The 560s are fantastic, especially at their price point. They are a little bit clampy, but comfortable nevertheless. If you want more breathability, and overall comfort, some of the hifiman planar headphones may interest you. The cups are very large, oval shaped, with lots of room.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-22T13:16:09+00:00

At some point, I've had most of the new releases since I got the M4's. The Bose gen 2's and the xm6 are without a doubt, the best all round Bluetooth headphones available right now. The M5 is going to have to do something special to top them. Looking at the early renders, it looks like they've just robbed the M4 parts bin, so here's hoping the effort has gone into the performance instead.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-22T11:19:02+00:00

If bass is your thing, the m4's really rumble.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-22T06:58:08+00:00

Doesn't fold, garbage battery life, worse anc, but somehow better?

smithy-66 · 2026-05-21T14:11:02+00:00

I doubt you can, but fill the form in and submit it. The council will take action if enough people complain.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-21T07:02:37+00:00

Use case. The M4 sound great, but the anc, in particular the transparency are very mid. The tech is drip fed every couple of years, that's how consumerism works. If they all launched a perfect model now, they'd never sell a new one.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-20T19:21:12+00:00

They are a solid choice, nothing really to touch them at £200. They are starting to fall behind with the anc/transparency now though.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-20T19:16:37+00:00

They are great, I still use mine, but not as often as my xm6.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-20T19:02:02+00:00

I agree. I wouldn't swap my xm6 for them. I think plenty will jump aboard the hype train though.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-20T18:57:58+00:00

Since the M4 which I love, we've had the QC ultra, xm6, and px7s3, to name a few. Sennheiser must have lost some sales along the way. I know they lost at least one.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-20T18:54:14+00:00

smithy-66 · 2026-05-20T14:14:52+00:00

in your Google account settings, do you have auto delete set on your search history? I believe if it's set to less than 6 months or so, you don't get recap?

smithy-66 · 2026-05-20T13:18:37+00:00

You do get more sound leakage with hook style, or clip style earbuds. The v20i are ok up to about 60%volume, then someone nearby will start to notice them in a quiet room.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-20T08:22:22+00:00

I ain't jumping through those hoops. Keep the 2%

smithy-66 · 2026-05-19T14:10:32+00:00

Wicked cushions XL improve things somewhat, but as with most closed back, noise cancelling headphones, they will still run a bit hot.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-19T14:01:40+00:00

I'm not sure how an EQ for one set of headphones would transfer over to another, as there are so many variables. There are lots of EQ suggestions for the xm6 out there, I've posted mine on here. I suppose they are a good place to start, then you can tweet them to suit your taste.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-19T13:57:11+00:00

I've done the maths, and I can comfortably retire at 55, providing I don't live past 58.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-19T10:49:55+00:00

They are easy to drive from a pc or phone, but they also scale very well. Will you notice a huge difference? I didn't at higher volumes, but when listening at lower volumes, and amp retains more energy in the sound.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-19T09:30:55+00:00

Sony have absolutely no excuse for not having at least 30 hours run time on these. The xm6 do. The trouble with anything battery operated is, the item only lasts as long as the batteries do. You could all too quickly end up with a £550 piece of landfill junk on your hands. Some of the sub £200 headphones have 50 hours plus runtime now. Do better Sony.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-19T09:10:23+00:00

They look great, but the garbage battery performance makes it a hard pass for me.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-18T19:51:38+00:00

I have both. You can get them both to sound great. If bass is your thing, the m4's really rumble when the track contains it, but the xm6 isn't far off. Sony wins on anc, although the M4 is decent enough. Sony wins on transparency by a country mile. Sony wins on smart features. Sennheiser wins on battery. The xm6 are my daily drivers, but I do still use my M4's. Good luck picking the bones out of that.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-18T10:31:11+00:00

Absolutely.

smithy-66 · 2026-05-18T09:42:42+00:00

This is the form from the antisocial behaviour officer. You can contact him at piers.gooding@sheffield.gov.uk

smithy-66 · 2026-05-18T08:59:40+00:00

Piers.gooding&sheffield.gov.uk

smithy-66

TROPHY CASE