The Best Over Ear Headphones for 2024

The headphones market is a multi-billion dollar industry and is increasing every year in the number of total users. From budget headphones for work to premium gaming headphones, the headphones aren’t limited to just different price tags. On ear headphones, open back earphones, and over ear headphones, just to name a few, are some of the most popular ones that users generally opt for, depending on their requirements.

Each one has its own advantages and limitations, but over ear headphones are unmatched in their functionality and performance, since they cover your ears instead of pressing against them, resulting in better comfort. Not only are these headphones comfy to use for a long time, but they also come with better noise reduction for great immersion. If you are a professional gamer or an audiophile in general, here is the list of the best over ear headphones you should buy in 2024.

Game Rant’s Picks for the Best Over Ear Headphones in 2024

Bose is among the top five highest shareholders in the headphones market, having established its reputation and name among audiophiles quite impressively. From budget to premium audio devices, you can have everything from the company, but the QuietComfort is perhaps one of its greatest headphones ever. It is an upgraded version of the QuietComfort 45, which now not only has Quiet and Aware modes, but also provides Wind Block to further block any environmental noise caused by fast blowing winds.

The headphones are built with protein leather ear cushions that don’t cause pain in the ears even if you keep them on for the whole day. Whether you are listening to your favorite music or any podcast, it will keep on operating for several hours on a single charge. The automatic notification will keep reminding you about its battery life, which makes it easier to know when you should put these headphones on charge. Even though the 24-hour battery life is just a gimmick, it does offer quite a good amount of time and charges quickly. That said, you can also operate it through the Bose app or use the Spotify Tap to access your favorite tracks.

Don’t have a big budget? No problem! Go for Tozo’s HT2 Hybrid headphones that provide terrific sound quality for just $50. Even though the audio quality won’t be as impressive as on higher-end models, the audio doesn’t distort even at full volume and provides clear lows, mids, and highs. The bass is impressive as well, but what makes it even better is its noise cancellation feature. Whether you are at home or in a crowd, with noise cancellation, the bass will be punchier.

With the dedicated Tozo app support, you can further customize the noise cancellation feature or customize the EQ manually. However, you do get plenty of EQ presets to choose from. One of the most notable features of the HT2 is its battery life. It operates for almost twice the time you would see any other regular headphones at 60 hours max. However, with noise cancellation turned on, expect it to work for fewer hours. Nonetheless, the HT2 has many appreciable features as well, including a foldable design and an optional wired mode.

For under $150, it’s hard to find headphones that can match the performance of Crusher ANC 2, which is one of the first headphones from Skullcrusher that enable voice control. Through the Skull-iQ app, you can control its functions with your voice, but in case you feel you want quick controls, there are plenty of buttons on it to manage its functions. The active noise cancellation is also satisfactory in reducing the background noise to make listening to music more immersive. It won’t necessarily mute everything going on in the surroundings, but it does have a big impact on the listening experience.

The headphones have great battery life, just like the Tozo HT2, but the Crusher ANC 2 has the advantage of Rapid Charging, which charges it for up to four hours of operation in just 10 minutes. Users love how the company has provided EQ presets and also allows them to make their own. All in all, it’s not overly expensive for all these incredible features.

Sony is one of the leading brands for peripherals, particularly headphones. In the mid-range category, we believe that the XM4 is the best one as it wonderfully enhances the sound quality with the use of Edge AI, which upscales the compressed audio files. Unlike its predecessor, the XM3, the lower frequencies aren’t uplifted too much, which was a known problem among audiophiles. It seems that the XM4 is terrific in every area, including noise cancellation, ease of use, and battery life.

The voice control allows taking calls easily or changing the tracks effortless and the advanced ANC helps to remove background noise better than most headphones. The earcups are really soft on the ears and are highly durable. Each of these have built-in microphones to take calls with real-time noise cancellation. Plus, they can be folded for easy portability. While they are a bit expensive, the Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Headphones are a good option for users ready to move into the mid-range market, but aren’t quite ready to drop another $100 or so on a high-end pair.

Meet the QuietComfort Ultra, which are Bose’s flagship headphones for uncompromised audio delivery, ANC, and comfort. While our best overall is still the best bang for the buck, the Ultra edition is for those who want an ultra comfy experience for prolonged usage. The earcups are wide enough to avoid any pain in the ears and make sure you get a surround sound experience with its excellent breakthrough spatialized audio.

Equipped with Snapdragon sound, the headphones are perfect for making calls to deliver a crisp and clear voice to your friends, colleagues, or family members, while the ANC removes the background noise effectively. Touch features are there to make operation convenient on the go, but at the same time, we don’t recommend using these when you are outside and it starts raining. The headphones, unfortunately, don’t bear any waterproof protection, which is definitely one of its major flaws compared to lower-end models.

If you keep your headphones day and night over your ears, chances are your ears will hurt at the end of the day, particularly because headphones can be heavier. This is why the JBL Tune 720BT exists, offering a design that is lighter than most over ear headphones without compromising much on the features. These are definitely not enthusiast-grade, but have punchy bass and can be very loud at full volume. With just 220 grams of weight and a foldable design, you are going to love how portable and easy these are.

Apart from its lightweight design, the battery life is insanely good. With a single charge, these can work several times longer than most over ear headphones listed here and can be charged fully in under two hours. These are equipped with the latest Bluetooth 5.3 connection that has a wide range and is super-stable even several meters away. However, there are some drawbacks too, including the absence of noise cancellation, which can be a deal-breaker for many, and the small size of the earcups, which isn’t ideal for users with big ears.

Things to Consider When Buying Over Ear Headphones

Before finalizing your purchase, you should take into account these key features:

• Audio Quality: First and foremost, look for the audio quality that doesn’t distort or compress the original audio file at least or even at max volume. Over ear headphones specialize in immersive experiences and, therefore, the bass is uncompromisable and should be punchy and thumping. Moreover, it’s recommended to have EQ presets or the ability to change the mood or bass and treble strength for better immersion or clarity.
• Noise Cancellation: Noise cancellation isn’t just a feature that reduces background noise when taking calls but actually affects the immersion. When the background noise such as wind gets blocked, the focus on listening becomes better. ANC or active noise cancellation is the most popular feature of good headphones that are a specialty of over ear models that block the background noise in real-time.
• Touch Features: While not necessary, touch features are pretty convenient and are mostly available in high-end headphones. Some headphones come with a couple of buttons for multimedia controls but are limited in functionality. Therefore, enthusiasts generally opt for touch features that can execute several types of operations from tapping.
• App Support: Some companies provide dedicated applications to use with their headphones that can perform a variety of functions and monitor the battery life. Many of these apps allow various customizations, like custom EQ presets, increase/decrease of bass/treble, and turn on/off ANC.
• Comfort: Over ear headphones are specifically aimed at providing better comfort because on ear headphones put continuous pressure on the ears that results in pain after a long usage. Over ear headphones are available in different sizes of earcups made with a variety of materials to increase comfort. Headphones that have stretchable or adjustable headbands will further help in a pleasant experience. Always check the ergonomics before purchasing over ear headphones.
• Battery Life: The battery life of headphones is greatly affected by volume levels, noise cancellation, and usage. Higher-end models tend to discharge in a couple of hours of continuous usage, particularly when the ANC is turned on and the bass strength is at max. Still, no headphones should discharge before six hours and higher is always better.

FAQ

Q: What is better: Over ear or on ear headphones?

Over ear headphones are far more comfortable for longer usage and are more immersive since there is less sound leakage. However, they are also bigger than on ear headphones.

Q: Do over ear headphones leak sound?

At low or medium levels of volume, the sound leakage is almost inaudible to a person sitting next to the one using the over ear headphones. However, at high or full volume, some headphones can leak a little bit of sound.

Q: Are over ear headphones safe for ears?

Even though over ear headphones don’t cause too much ear pain even after long sessions, listening to audio at high volume for longer may cause permanent hearing damage.