What are the best headphones for a home office?

[Sam (Sam Solomon)]

Now that it appears I’ll be working from home for the foreseeable future I am looking for recommendations on the best home office headphones. Currently have a set of V-Moda Crossfade Wireless headphones, but I’m sick of dealing with multiple charging cables and the battery life is getting worse. It’s acceptable, but I’d like something better.

Sam Solomon (SamuelRSolomon)

As the tweet says I’m looking for comfort, battery life and USB-C charging. It needs to have a microphone. Noise cancelling is a plus. I’m not a huge audiophile so while sound is important, they don’t need to be the best sounding headphones in the world.

The two headphone I’m closely looking at right now:

• Jabra Elite 85h
• Sony WH-1000XM3

The Jabra Elite 85h is The Wirecutter’s pick for best over-ear headphones and best headphones overall. The Sony WH-1000XM3 are the Sound Guys’s pick for best noise cancelling headphones. I am tempted to buy the Sony set because they are on sale right now. Although I might wait a bit longer and see if I can get a deal on the Jabra set.

Sony is also expected to come out with the Sony WH-1000XM4 sometime this year.

Do you have a pair of headphones you love?

[Sam (Sam Solomon)]

I haven’t made a decision yet here, but am still leaning towards the Jabra headset.

The practicality of the swipe controls in Sony’s headset seem like something that sound like a cool feature, but it is the type of thing I ignore or avoid. I found this review from Jim’s Review Room, which talks about it more.

Sony WH1000x M3 Noise Cancelling Headphone - REVIEW

Conveniently Jim also has a review of the Jabra Elite 85h. Guy seems like he is dialed into what a good set of headphones needs. I’d say his review gives more confidence in the build quality and that it meets my personal needs better. It’s cool that Jim does tests like run the headset under water.

Jabra 85H Active Noise Cancelling Headphone - REVIEW - ft. Sony 1000xm3

The only reservation I have about the 85h is the fabric outer. Just having the fabric case on my Pixel 3, I know that they start to fade in a year or so. Then again, hopefully these don’t have the same kind of wear as my phone.

[Sam (Sam Solomon)]

Curveball. I ordered the Jabra Elite Active 75t in navy. I know that they are earbuds and not over-ear headphones.

I still think the XH-1000MX3 and the Elite 85H would make better home office headphones, but I’ve been rocking this cheap pair of USB-C headphones for a few months. They fall out constantly and it seems like the cord is always in the way.

I’ve been waiting for Google to release the Pixel Buds 2 before making a decision. However, I need something now and this is an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.