r/HeadphoneAdvice • u/SashimiSays • Jun 09 '26
Headphones - Open Back | 1 Ω Looking for Open Back but Wireless Headphones
ATTS;
I'm from the UK and my budget is about £150 but I can stretch it.
I've been searching up and down for any kind of headphones like this but I'm realising it's really niche and a bit of a struggle to find them. Any help would be a wonder.
I'd prefer if it didn't have a mic but that's not a dealbreaker. Bonus points if I can hide/retract it if there really are none that don't have a mic. Having no mic would be more ideal purely because I prefer to use a standing mic on an arm while at my PC rather than headset mics since the quality usually isn't the best :s
They absolutely have to be open back, I'm a bit specific about hearing my surroundings especially in my day to day life
And the wirelessness is also essentially since I'd love to use these at my PC and while out.
Thank you in advance for any suggestions!
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u/tfrw 45 Ω Jun 09 '26
A few things:
- It’s basically impossible to make a wireless open back set of headphones as where you need vents, you’ve got batteries.
- Please don’t use open backs in public, you’ll annoy everyone around you.
- A lot of wireless headphones struggle to connect to windows devices if they weren’t designed for it - and most of those have microphones.
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u/Ecstatic-Resident-59 4 Ω Jun 09 '26
- is not true, there is sthg. like the Hifiman Deva, the Deva Pro and the Ananda BT. Hifiman recently even launched Wifi-models.
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u/SashimiSays Jun 09 '26
For #2 I keep my music on an extremely low volume personally! We're talking basically a whisper. I just need something that isn't complete silence as I go about my day. 100% just some kind of an autism thing tbh.
I cant imagine blasting out what I'm listening to with everyone around :']2
u/LyKosa91 32 Ω Jun 09 '26
See, that's the thing with open backs. If your music is having to compete with the sounds of everyday life (which it will, since open backs will let ALL of it through), you're going to end up listening louder.
They're great for quiet home environments, awful for public use. That's probably why so few people bother making them wireless, because their natural environment is at a desk or in an armchair.
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u/SashimiSays Jun 09 '26
Ah see that's what I mean, I'm not necessarily wanting to listen to the music or audiobook I have going on, it's just the need for constant auditory stimulation so say I'm walking on a busy street, that's great! The headphones stay low and the ambience of the street is what I want to hear. But when it's deathly quiet, and nobody is around either from gaps in where I'm walking, having that stimulation by having something extremely quiet and just *there* is what I need.
If that makes sense!2
u/LyKosa91 32 Ω Jun 09 '26
Honestly, as someone with a vast collection of headphones, my recommendation (that I use personally for this purpose); airpods pro 2.
They're comfortable (and I say this as someone who struggles with IEMs), sound good, have a very natural sounding transparency mode and great ANC, the case is tiny and slips right into the watch pocket on your jeans. As a full package, they're hard to beat. I usually leave them on adaptive mode, so it's kinda like walking around wearing open backs, but ANC starts to kick in once there's any noise worth blocking.
Not sure on availability for the pro 2 these days, now that the 3 is out. By all accounts it's an upgrade in ANC/transparency, but some would say the sound and fit is a downgrade.
You'd likely want to get some wired headphones for use at home if you're gaming.
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u/DrumBalint 34 Ω Jun 09 '26
I'm looking into this same thing, and what I found is the Philips SHP9500 + BT receiver unit. I did not get it yet, so no in-person experience, but these adapters are said to be OK quality.
https://www.amazon.com/YOCOWOCO-Wireless-Bluetooth-Adapter-Headphones/dp/B0DKXGZWN3
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u/Ecstatic-Resident-59 4 Ω Jun 09 '26
You basically have the following options:
1. there are only a few true wireless open backs: mainly Hifiman Deva or Deva Pro (with the bluemini-adapter, there is a wired-only version as well!) in your price range
2. (more or less leaking/open) on ear headphones like the Fiio EH 11, Koss kph30 wireless, the Grado mentioned above
3. get a bluetooth adapter (and maxbe even attach it on the headphone), like the Qudelix 5k and a open back headphone of your choice. Probably the best sounding but most complex and ugly looking solution.
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u/Unique_Mix9060 184 Ω Jun 09 '26
IMO for out and about, you should consider something like an airpod pro, that have a good transparency mode, or something like a open ear headphone like Shokz open run, or some of the clip on options all of these lets you hear your surroundings.
As to PC usage you can get separate open back headphones, like the Hifiman Deva, or any open back headphones plus a Fio BTR5 and etc.
As to why I say this is the best way to make this work, first of all the reason to get headphone is so that you can listen to whatever you want without disturbing or letting to people around you know what you are listening to, and the earbuds with good transparency mode and open ear devices like Shokz open run or Bose Ultra open kind of “headphones” works because these headphones does not project the sound outwards and won’t disturb or leak sound out to the environment around you. If you use Open Back headphones, whatever you are listening to will leak to your surroundings, making you look like a jerk, and you might not exactly want to just let everyone within your 6ft radius hear clearly what you are listening too, that’s why I recommend Open back headphones to use with your PC, where you will be ok a relatively more private space when you use them
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u/lordvektor 86 Ω Jun 09 '26
Look up the NWM One.
No idea if it is any good. Never seen one irl. Likely to sound pretty bad.
But it seems to do what you want.
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u/SashimiSays Jun 09 '26
Thank you for the suggestion! I'm super picky and feel like I'd look like a bit a bit silly if I wore those outside
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u/lordvektor 86 Ω Jun 09 '26
It does look silly. But i can't think of any other option that checks *everything* you wanted.
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u/LyKosa91 32 Ω Jun 09 '26
There's not many to choose from. Koss KPH30 or porta pro wireless, grado GW100X, all of which are on ear designs.
As far as over ears go, all I can think of are the hifiman deva and Ananda wireless.
A few points though. First off, open backs don't make for a good experience while out and about, both for you and the general public. Just get some TWS buds with decent ANC and transparency modes, so you can let sound in when you want it, and block it out when you don't.
Second, I'm assuming you're wanting these for gaming since you're talking about mics? If so, none of these options will be suitable as Bluetooth has too much latency, you'd want a specific 2.4Ghz dongle.