Just like all other tech products out there, companies are trying to cram in as many new
features as possible into their latest Premium ANC headphones.
The latest ANC headphones do more than just play music and block out noise.
And since these companies are constantly competing against each other for your money… the bar
for what to look for in a pair of premium ANC headphones has been raised for 2019, which
is great for us consumers.
So today we’re going to be looking at the Sony 1000XM3, the Microsoft Surface Headphones,
and Jabra Elite 85H’s cause I feel these headphones meet the bar for new headphones
being released here on out.
Now before everybody starts asking where’s the Bose QC35, Sennheiser PXC550, or Beats
Studio 3’s I feel it would be unfair to include them in this video cause they don’t
have all of the features that meet the bar for ANC Headphones in 2019.
Im not saying you shouldn’t get them, but its safe to assume Bose, Sennheiser, and Beats
Slash Apple might have new headphones in the pipe line.
So if you want to pick any of the newer headphones mentioned in this video those will be linked
down below.
And if you want to learn more about any of these 3 headphones please watch their full
reviews.
Now obviously the first most basic thing that new ANC headphones being released in 2019
should have is USB C charging…
USB C charging is a big deal cause if you have an android device you can charge your
phone and headphones with the same cable.
But more importantly, USB C usually means better fast charging performance.
The Sony 1000XM3’s have fast charging where if you charge them up from a dead battery
for 10 minutes they’ll get you 5 hours of playback time.
The Jabra Elite 85H’s also have similar fast charging where they’ll get you the
5 hours of playback time, but instead of in 10 minutes, they’ll do it in 15.
But unfortunately the fast charging on the surface headphones just doesn’t compare
to these other 2 headphones.
The surface headphones can only get you about an hour of playback time from a 5 minute charge.
But in general, the battery life on the surface headphones is very weak compared to the majority
of headphones on the market right.
These headphones only have an advertised battery life of 15 hours… and I feel that if you’re
looking into getting a pair of ANC headphones these days you wanna be looking for something
around the 25 hour range.
Cause the Sony 1000XM3’s have an advertised battery life of 30 hours, with ANC turned
on… and the Jabra Elite 85H’s one ups that by having a 36 hour battery life.
Bluetooth connectivity is also something you want to take into consideration.
Obviously you want headphones to have a stable bluetooth connection that doesn’t cut out,
but you also want to make sure they have low latency so you can use your headphones to
watch videos on your phone.
And thankfully all three of these headphones meet that criteria.
But I also feel that all premium ANC headphones here on out should all support simultaneous
multi device connectivity so you can easily hot swap from your phone to your computer.
And thankfully both the Jabra and Surface Headphones do this… but unfortunately the
1000XM3’s can only be connected to one device at a time.
Now its not a huge deal, but it is something your miss when you don’t have it anymore.
But just like everything else, Active noise cancelation technology in ANC headphones has
been steadily improving over the years.
Obviously if you’re thinking about getting ANC Headphones you probably want the ANC headphones
that block out the most noise.
But thanks to the recent improvements in ANC technology there are a few other things to
take into consideration.
First up, you wanna look for ANC headphones who’s ANC doesn’t have a lot of cabin
pressure, so it doesn’t feel like you constantly gotta pop your ears like on some older ANC
headphones.
You also want to look for ANC headphones who ANC doesn’t really change the way your music
sounds when you have ANC turned on which is very common on cheaper ANC headphones.
And finally you also want to look for ANC headphones who’s ANC does a good job of
blocking out wind noise which ultimately boils down to hardware design and the placement
of their microphone array.
And thankfully, the Active Noise Cancellation on all three of these ANC headphones meet
this new criteria.
But still, the active noise cancellation on ANC headphones still varies from headphones
to headphones.
But so that you can see for yourself we’re about to jump into an ANC test.
All of these headphones are running the latest firmware updates available as of May 2nd 2019.
Like you may have just seen, the Sony 1000XM3’s manage to block out the most amount of noise
here across the board.
But regardless, I feel that all three of these headphones have decent Active Noise Cancellation
cause neither of them have a lot of cabin pressure, they don’t really change the way
these headphones sound, and they all do a good job of rejecting wind noise.
Now when it comes to sound quality, since all three of these headphones have a companion
app where you can change their EQ, you can make them sound how ever want depending on
the type of music you listen to.
But there are still a few things to take into consideration when choosing between any of
these headphones.
And that’s clarity, instrument separation, soundstage, and how good the bass kicks.
In general all three of these headphones sound good, but if you’re looking for something
with a lot of bass than you’re better off with the Sony’s or Surface Headphones.
Cause even if you crank the bass all the way up on the Jabra’s its not going to kick
as hard as these other two headphones.
And when it comes sound stage and instrument separation… again both the Sony’s and
Surface Headphones sound relatively the same but unfortunately I do have to say the soundstage
on the Jabra’s is a little narrower and the instrument separation isn’t as good.
But over all if I had to rank these headphones from best to worst regarding sound quality
it would have to go Sony, then surface headphones, and then Jabra.
But another feature that I feel all premium ANC headphones should have here on out is
an ambient mode.
An ambient mode is super important cause this way you can still be aware of your soundings
when you’re wearing your headphones out in public, or so that you can hear when someone
calls your name when you’re at home or working at your desk.
And again all three of these headphones have an ambient mode.
But just like ANC, ambient modes from headphones to headphones preforms a little differently.
Unfortunately, the ambient mode on the Jabra Elite 85H’s does have a noticeable hiss
to it.
You can’t hear it when you’re listening to music, but it is very noticeable if youre
watching movies or videos with these headphones.
Where as the ambient modes on both the Sony’s and Surface headphones don’t have any back
ground hiss to them.
But you also want your ambient mode on any pair of headphones to be smart enough to block
out random loud noise like a siren or dog barking so that you don’t go def or have
a sudden jump scare… and so that you can see what I’m talking about were going to
jump into another demo.
Major headphone warning.
Like you just saw, the ambient mode on the Jabra’s pick up everything… so if a siren
goes by you’re going to hear it super loudly.
Where as both the Sony’s and surface headphones actively block out these random and sudden
loud noises saving you from jump scares and your hearing.
But besides ambient modes, most ANC headphones these days now come with voice assistant interrogation.
For right now, the Jabra Elite 85H’s only support Alexa, but I do hope Google Assistant
makes its way to the 85H’s cause personally I find Google assistant to be more useful.
Cause for comparison, both the Sony 1000XM3’s and Bose QC35’s support both Alexa and Google
Assistant voice assistant integration.
Now the
Surface Headphones also have voice assistant integration, but they rely mostly on Cortana.
And since Microsoft is kind of stepping away from Cortana I do hope one of the other two
voice assistants find their way to the Surface Headphones.
But the last thing I want to talk about is microphone sound quality cause I feel headphone
manufactures still have a lot of improving to do, especially in 2019.
With out a doubt Jabra has the best sounding microphone in this group.
The microphone on the Surface headphones is ok, but I feel it still sounds a little echo.
But Sony definitely has the worst sounding microphone here, it sounds very muffled.
And I think its safe to assume that when you’re spending upwards of $300 on a pair of headphones
you want a decent microphone for phone calls.
But over all, objectively speaking if you’re looking into getting a pair of Premium ANC
headphones today you’re better off going with the Sony 1000XM3’s cause they have
the most affective Active Noise Cancelation here, their ambient mode doesn’t have any
hissing and blocks out ear piercing random loud noises, and they have a 30 hour battery
life with impressive fast charging.
Even though the Jabra Elite 85H’s are impressive in their own right and are $50 less than the
other 2 headphones here.
I don’t think they are as refined as the 1000XM3’s.
And that’s ok, cause both the Elite 85H’s and Surface headphones are first gen products
for their respective manufactures.
Both of these headphones have room for improvement.
Jabra mainly needs to focus on improving the ANC and Ambient Mode on their headphones and
Microsoft drastically needs to improve the battery life and fast charging performance
on theirs.
This video isn’t me comparing my top 3 favorite ANC headphones, and I understand that for
some people the 1000XM3’s isn’t the best option for them cause of their fairly cramped
ear cups.
In which case you’ll probably be better off with the Jabra’s cause of their roomier
ear cups.
Im just trying to show case where the bar for this new generation of Premium ANC headphones
being released here on out is currently set.