Audio-Technica ATH-SR50BT Bluetooth Wireless Over-Ear Headphones, Black (ATH-SR50BTBK)

Initially I was pondering between these and the Sony XM3's and decided to pull the trigger on this instead. Now I've been using these for a couple of weeks with my iPhone and honestly? I don't regret it. I very much enjoyed these cans and I think you will too.Of course, since all phone manufacturers got smooth brain and thought it was the move to imitate Apple's ditching of the 3.5 mm headphone jack, it seems that getting Bluetooth was basically a requirement. Unless somehow you actually like dealing with weird adapters. Also, I was personally sick and tired of burning through Apple earbuds because of constant cases of me snagging the wire and proceeding to drop my phone or break the earbuds.Coming into these cans after research, I knew right off the bat the noise cancelling properties weren't all that great, but personally I didn't mind. I use my own car for transportation and don't live in a bustling urban city, so to me, something that can at least drown out low drones of airplanes and AC is fine. After all, they call it noise REDUCTION for a reason. It doesn't totally cancel things out, just reduces them. Also includes a hear-through mode!I know lots of people will be put off by the lack of USB-C on a modern product like this, but personally I don't mind. I'm very vigilant about charging my devices overnight while I sleep so it's not a problem. Plus, this thing has great battery life anyways so I rarely find myself running out of juice.But that's enough about features, what about sound? Honestly, these are great. They provide a more neutral sound signature compared to the Sony's. I know for some it's a bit boring, however it didn't hamper my enjoyment at all. What's more, as a requirement, I prefer neutral headphones to actually have good sound quality to back up the normally boring signature, and these very much deliver, as expected of Audio Technica.In even better news, the drivers are actually good, even when turned off and using the included cable. In testing, I didn't really notice a difference between being turned on and off in sound quality and staging, which is great! Do note however that if you do decide to use the cable while it's turned on that it becomes much harder to drive than when it's off.The last thing to note about sound quality is that it has surprisingly good sound stage for Bluetooth headphones. I was kind of shocked to be honest that it was actually equal to open-backs at the same or lesser price.As for comfort, these are very good. The larger drivers means more room inside the ear cups which is good for those with bigger ears as portable headphones like these tend to turn them into on-ears instead of their intended over-ears. The pads are a soft, smooth pleather with a cushy memory foam. There is padding on the headband but not as much as the Sony's. It's Audio Technica's signature of minimal foam on the headband, but it's not uncomfortable even after long periods. However, do note that these things will make your ears hot especially after turning on noise reduction for a while.Let's top this off with the nitpicks I had. First, let me start by saying the combination of touch controls and buttons and switches annoys me. You have this nice, satisfying clicky button for the quick hear-through mode, but then reserve everything else for a touch pad on the left ear cup. The touch sensor also is annoying in that you'll activate it even when just grabbing the headphones sometimes. It's a bit irksome and personally I would've preferred if they went all in for either touch or buttons.Also, when turning them on, it defaults to noise reduction. It's irritating to put these on and be immediately confronted with the head pressure created by this mode. And there's no way to change the default in the app, so you have to cycle back through hear-through to the standard mode via placing all your fingers on the cup, which sometimes isn't detected.I'm a bit miffed at the lack of including any sort of notch notation system for the headband adjustment. I'm a bit OCD and like my headphones on both ends set completely even, and the lack of any sort of marking on the headband bothers me. It's a minor complaint though.Last but not least, I don't have a problem with it but Audio Technica's app doesn't offer EQ for these. Fine by me, I wouldn't want to ruin the great sound signature.Overall, great headphones and I think they were well worth the price of $200. However, I do wish I would've bought these during the Christmas season when they were on sale for $120, as this price point does have some pretty tough competitors including Sennheiser with their PXC cans. I can definitely recommend these, however.

This headphone purchase is the result of many hours of research, I don't exactly consider myself an audiophile but I do know what a bad sound is and what good sound is.With that said, I wanted a good sounding headphone with a great quality build for when I am at the gym working out. The headphones feel sturdy and can take some sweat while delivering a comfortable wear with a great natural sound. Battery life is great. touch pad is a little wonky but definitely usable. I wanted to find a set of headphones that I wouldn't mind being out the price tag if they got banged up a little.Use case:I have many many many sets of headphones, (I buy and try a lot for the many different purposes they serve) and these are perfect for my gym time. I spend about an hour a day at the gym and I occasionally use them long periods at work.Noise:The noise cancellation as actually noise reduction. I work in IT and have a server room I work out of sometimes that is fairly loud with fans and AC hum and beeping. As long as you manage your expectations about the capabilities of it - it works fine. It definitely reduced noise, I will occasionally hear someone drop a weight at the gym (ugh) and the headphones will spike with that noise, but other than that there is a good buffer. You can cycle between NR, Hear through, and off, for the noise reduction capability.Battery:Battery life is super decent, I forget to charge them often, and sometimes I only charge it when I can for only half hour increments. I am a bit disappointed that these were not type c charging but the I find myself charging so seldomly that it doesn't matter, I have a micro usb plugged into an xbox and I plug it in every 2 weeks or so to charge and that has been working for me.Gym use:I love these headphones for the gym mostly and they work great for that for most everything. They have good head pressure and can withstand running speed on a treadmill. The only thing they don't do the best on is when I have to raise my arms close to my ears. my exposed arm occasionally touches the touch pad on the left earcup and makes a gesture action happen like pause or volume up.These headphones became a family favorite, so much so that we call them the family headphones, I wear them to the gym, wife wears them to the gym, and my 9 year old son uses them with his ipad when his headphones are dead, forgot to bring them on a trip, or can't be found. (He is a little rough on them but sturdy build quality has proved itself).Over all these headphones were a great buy for someone looking for a set that does it all for a great price in great quality, I think they look great and have more than earned their keep.