So Sennheiser recently released their new HD 450BT’s and thanks to a new FCC filling
we know that sony will be releasing their new WH-CH710N in the next few months.
But that got me wondering… when will Audio-Technica release their update to their SR50BT’s?
Now for those who might not know, the SR50BT’s are a great pair of $200 headphones… but
they definitely have a lot of room for improvement.
So here’s my wish list of what I would like to see on the new SR50BT’s and when I think
they’ll come out.
So first off there aren’t any new FCC fillings that would suggest that a replacement for
the SR50BT’s are imminent.
In fact, all of the products that are listed on Audio-Technica’s application list have
all been released.
But given at Audio-techninca’s track record I think its likely that we’ll see an update
to the SR50BT’s at IFA 2020 which takes place in late august early September… cause
IFA 2018 is where the SR50BT’s were first announced.
So it might still be awhile.
Now obviously one of the first things that we want to see on these updated SR50BT’s
is USB C charging.
Which I think is a safe bet cause Audio-Technica’s new Active Noise Cancelling wireless earbuds
the ANC300TW’s have a USB C port.
But here’s the real interesting thing… if the new SR50BT’s have a USB C port they’ll
be the first Audio-Technica Over ear Headphones to do so.
Cause all of Audio-Technica’s headphones up to now are still using a Micro USB port
which isn’t a good thing.
Now when it comes to the audio jack… im not too worried about Audio-technica getting
rid of it just cause of their branding and reputation.
Now having an audio jack on a pair headphones might seem obvious… but its something that
starting to happen now.
Sennheiser got rid of the audio jack on their $120 HD 350BT’s and Apple got rid of the
audio jack on their $300 Beats Solo Pro.
And I wouldn’t be surprised if apple got rid of the audio jack on their Beats Studio
Pro.
And I just don’t think that we’re ready to get rid of the audio jack on headphones
just yet.
If you’re a content creator you still want to be able to plug in and monitor your audio
if you’re working on a project… and even if you’re just an average user you still
want to be able to do something as simple as plugging in to watch an in flight movie
if you’re on an airplane.
Now when it comes to the over all design and build quality of these headphones…
I actually wouldn’t change anything.
The SR50BT’s have exceptional build quality.
Now they’re not as durable as the Sennheiser HD 450BT’s but these headphones do feel
very premium.
And they also put the Sony WH-CH700N to shame cause they stay basically silent whenever
you flex them.
And when it comes to comfort… again I wouldn’t change anything.
These headphones have very little clamping force so they’re big head approved and their
ear cups are fairly spacious so they should be able to fit most ear types.
Now they aren’t as spacious as the ear cups on the WH-CH700N but they’re way better
than the ear cups found on Sennheiser’s headphones.
So personally I wouldn’t care if they change their ear cups or not… but a little extra
room in the ear cups is always welcomed.
But something that I definitely do want to see changed on the SR50BT is their touch controls.
For me the touch controls on these headphones is their biggest draw back.
First off they’re on the left side so as a righty they can be a little awkward to use…
and since you have to touch on specific parts of this touchpad it can be very hard to know
where you are.
So I would much rather just have physical control buttons like whats found on the HD
450BT’s or WH-CH700N.
And besides you can maybe even use the cost and space savings from getting rid of the
touch pad and increase the battery life of these headphones from 28 hours to 35 hours.
But finally the last thing that I want to see improved on the SR50BT’s is their active
noise cancelation.
Now the SR50BT’s are blocking out a suitable amount of noise for a pair of $200 headphones…
but so that you can see for yourself we’re going to jump into an ANC test.
So like you may have just seen the SR50BT’s block out a similar amount of noise compared
to the Sennheiser HD 450BT and the Sony WH-CH700N.
But if you want to get nit picky the SR50BT’s do struggle the most here to block out higher
frequency sounds.
But more importantly when I was doing this ANC test I noticed that the SR50BT’s had
the most amount of cabin pressure here.
Now its nowhere near as bad as the Bose QC35’s and it doesn’t give me headaches… but
it is noticeable.
And these days we’re starting to see more and more headphones that have basically zero
cabin pressure.
Thats actually one of the main improvements that we saw from the Sennheiser HD 4.50BTNC
to the New HD 450BT.
So here’s hoping to Audio-technica manages to reduce the cabin pressure on their new
SR50BT’s.
But over all the SR50BT’s are still a great pair of $200 ANC Headphones.
They feel premium, they fit great, and they sound amazing.
And they even have features that are completely missing on both the HD 450BT’s and WH-CH700N
like an ambient mode so that you can hear your surrounding when you’re walking around
the city and they also have a conversation mode so that you can quickly talk to someone
without having to take your headphones off.
And the fact that these headphones are so good already just makes making this wishlist
video a little harder.
But obviously on the new SR50BT’s we want to see USB C charging and improvements to
the Active noise cancelation on these headphones.
Peronsally i would really like for them to get rid of the touch pad on these headphones…
but if they choose to redesign these ear pads to make them more spacious I wouldn’t mind
it.
Now would I recommend that you get these headphones today with the suspicion that well see the
new SR50BT’s at IFA 2020?
If the HD 450BT’s are too small for you and if you can’t wait for the Sony WH-CH710N
to drop then yeah I would still recommend these headphones.
But if you’re watching this video in the summer I would say hold off and lets see what
happens at IFA.