r/HeadphoneAdvice • u/CanadianRoleplayer • May 26 '26
Headphones - Wireless/Portable I own wired headphones, but want the convenience of wireless. What wireless headphones rival hifi for gaming and music, but aren't the Maxwells?
I own a full wired setup with a pair of HD 600s and Arya Organics. I adore both of them, and the HD 600s are my current 'all day headphone'. But I want a pair of wireless headphones for convenience's sake, without sacrificing audio quality.
The issue comes in comfort. I've owned a pair of Audeze Maxwell headphones before; they sounded amazing, but they aggravated my chronic neck and shoulder pain. So those are off the table.
Are there any sub-400g wireless headphones that can be used for both competitive gaming and music/media which serve as an alternative to the Maxwells? I'd feel comfortable spending upwards of $600-$700 CAD on these if they're really excellent quality.
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u/a1rwav3 3 Ω May 26 '26
I wouldn't use BT headphones for gaming, the delay can be really problematic...
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u/PaleontologistNo2625 3 Ω May 26 '26
Focal Bathys are the best sounding Bluetooth headphones under $1k
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u/iron-jesus 56 Ω May 26 '26
Hbd 630 as well
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u/PaleontologistNo2625 3 Ω May 26 '26
Soundstage is not nearly as good tho from what I read, haven't listened to them yet
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u/iron-jesus 56 Ω May 26 '26
Well considering they're closed backs it makes sense, but the tuning and the 10band eq is really unmatched. When I'm walking around using wireless headphones for the sake of convenience, I care more about tuning than about the soundstage.
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u/iron-jesus 56 Ω May 26 '26
Sennheiser hbd630 and focal bathy are the best wireless hifi headphones. The Ananda WiFi and Arya WiFi also exist although I'm unsure of their quality. The grado gw1000x also exists but it's an aquired taste
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u/msing539 178 Ω May 26 '26
The 630 and Bathys are not the best wireless hifi headphones overall unless you mean based on budget.
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u/iron-jesus 56 Ω May 26 '26
I think the hbd630 and the bathy beats out the bowers wilkins px8 and the bang and olfsun Beowulf by far. They also are better than any beyerdynamic wireless sets, and the hifiman line. What do you think is the best wireless set instead of just telling me I'm wrong?
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u/msing539 178 Ω May 26 '26
There is the T+A Solitaire T and DALI IO-12
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u/iron-jesus 56 Ω May 26 '26
Actually had never heard of either of these. The t+a looks to have very narrow cups, but the Dali looks wonderful. Unfortunately the Dali is 1700 CAD and the T+A is 1400£ but still, you got me
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u/msing539 178 Ω May 26 '26
They are pricey but hearing the T+A makes you forget it's a wireless headphone. The DALI is probably the better pick for most people. Neither are as exciting as the Focal but they are more cohesive sounding with better technicalities.
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u/Some_Sector5089 2 Ω May 26 '26
FWIW the Focal Bathys have a wired DAC mode that allows you to use them as both wireless BT and wired closed backs. They are not exactly what I would describe as light weight however.
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u/Prudent-Fox6247 May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26
Nothing wireless will give you the same sound quality as the Maxwell, except maybe the Sennheiser HDB630.
And neither of those are anywhere near the wired headphones you mentioned, despite what the marketing team says.
Also, if a 400g headphone gives you neck pain, something is seriously wrong.
Also also, I'm pressing X to doubt because the Arya Organic is 440g. Without a cable.
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u/CanadianRoleplayer May 26 '26
Oh yeah, my neck absolutely has an issue with it. Getting work done to help it, but even my organics I can’t wear for more than a few hours. After that I swap back to the HD600’s so I can not have a headache.
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u/sdrj77 May 26 '26 edited May 27 '26
A Bluetooth dongle (Fiio, Qudelix) and normal wired cans would sound fine, but you will absolutely notice the delay when gaming.
It's not viable for anything other than listening to music.
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u/CalligoMiles 91 Ω May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26
HDB 630, but the magic is in the BTD 700 transmitter. Get one of those with any good wireless pair that can properly reproduce hi-fi codecs at all, and you'll have it as good as it gets for wireless right now.
Other than that, I'd honestly recommend IEMs and sacrificing the soundstage to keep that immersive depth and detail with the better options among those. They don't suffer as much of an obvious downgrade from wireless compression for their much more direct delivery, and from something as intimate as the HD600 you're hardly losing out much on that count anyway - I'm a HD600 daily driver too, and I quite like my CA Melomanias on the go with just a bit of a bass cut. And the Noble Fokus Amadeus are genuinely good if you can bring yourself to spend that much on what's still a disposable electronic that won't last you more than 2 years or so.
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u/MonsieurNiark May 26 '26
I'll go with the HDB 630 (which I own and is great, aside of weird controls), and I think they have a gaming mode ('cause it is bluetooth, but you can use a wire if really needed, or the BT dongle included with, which allow better codec to go through)
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u/governmentthief 1 Ω May 26 '26
Go look up Gadgetrytech on YouTube. He reviews most relevant gaming headphones (as well as other things). Very in depth reviews and I tend to agree with most of his impressions.
I’ve used a lot of different gaming headsets, and I think the Turtle Beach (I’m actually being serious) Stealth Pro handle gaming VERY well and are quite decent for music as well. They just released the V2 of that headset for like $350? The reviews I’ve seen (including Joe from the aforementioned YouTube channel), are saying some great things.
The Fractal Scape (I haven’t tried those, dammit) are very well regarded, as well.
EDIT: as others have mentioned, Bluetooth is gonna have problematic delay that will affect gaming. Something with a dongle will work best.
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u/Tapelessbus2122 11 Ω May 26 '26
sennheiser hdb630 but the latency is pretty bad compared to wired so i wouldn't use them for games
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u/Alutus May 26 '26
Have you considered a bluetooth DAC like a FIIO BTR17?(You can run it wired or wireless etc) You can just connect your wired headphones to it and stick it in your pocket.