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Eric5273

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 12, 2009
771
503
New Jersey
I'm trying to decide whether or not to invest in some wireless headphones. 90% of my use is for telephone calls while around the house. It would be nice to be able to wander around the house without carrying my phone with me, and be able to talk on the phone/answer phone calls/make phone calls, etc.

The other 10% of my use is the couple of times per year that I travel and listen to music while at the airport, or on the plane.

Most important feature is that other people are able to hear me loud and clear during a phone conversation even with some occasional background noise.

Any advise on which ones to get?
 

danny_w

macrumors 601
Mar 8, 2005
4,462
297
Cumming, GA
Whatever you get do not get noise canceling headphones for phone calls unless the noise canceling feature can be easily turned off. I tried using my Bose QC35 phones a few time and couldn't hear myself. Great for listening to music, bad for phone calls!
 

EDH667

macrumors 65816
Nov 25, 2009
1,035
278
Northern California
I'm trying to decide whether or not to invest in some wireless headphones. 90% of my use is for telephone calls while around the house. It would be nice to be able to wander around the house without carrying my phone with me, and be able to talk on the phone/answer phone calls/make phone calls, etc.

The other 10% of my use is the couple of times per year that I travel and listen to music while at the airport, or on the plane.

Most important feature is that other people are able to hear me loud and clear during a phone conversation even with some occasional background noise.

Any advise on which ones to get?

Get the Apple AirPods. Of all the bluetooth headphones I have tried, the AirPods have been best for phone conversations. People tell me they can tell no difference when I'm using the AirPods. They also have extremely long coverage from your iPhone.

AT&T Wireless currently has them available online with a couple day delivery. https://www.att.com/audio/apple-airpods.html#sku=sku8140322
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,491
Get the Apple AirPods. Of all the bluetooth headphones I have tried, the AirPods have been best for phone conversations. People tell me they can tell no difference when I'm using the AirPods. They also have extremely long coverage from your iPhone.

AT&T Wireless currently has them available online with a couple day delivery. https://www.att.com/audio/apple-airpods.html#sku=sku8140322

And with the latest update with 3.7.2, the sound and connection with my phone calls seems to be much improved. What's a nice advantage as well, is you can just use one Airpod or both for calls. The treble and overall volume seems to be higher as well Over the previous update.
 

DNAppleGold

macrumors 6502
Apr 9, 2009
339
74
And with the latest update with 3.7.2, the sound and connection with my phone calls seems to be much improved. What's a nice advantage as well, is you can just use one Airpod or both for calls. The treble and overall volume seems to be higher as well Over the previous update.
+1 to both comments. And they have by far the longest range of any BT wireless I've used
 
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jjk454ss

macrumors 601
Jul 10, 2008
4,480
500
I was pleasantly surprised that my AirPods are the best I've used for calls also, without inline mic I was skeptical. But they best my other headphones; the LG Tones, Beats X, and Jaybird Freedoms.
 

Eric5273

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 12, 2009
771
503
New Jersey
Thanks for the advice. Just looking at them, it looks like the mic would be too far from your mouth that it would make it hard for the other person to hear you well. But I guess they worked that out somehow through software.
 

0970373

Suspended
Mar 15, 2008
2,727
1,412
Another +1 on the AirPods for phone calls. I like them better than BeatsX for calls. I use them when I work from home and they're great on long conference calls. Being able to wear just one is nice too. Switch ears if it becomes uncomfortable after wearing it for too long. Not good on planes or subways though.
 

c14nhl

macrumors 6502
Oct 30, 2008
456
188
Edinburgh
I have both the Beats Solo3 and AirPods.

Both have beam forming mics and I've had very positive feedback from those though have been on the other end of the line.

The Solo3s I use when working from home as listen to music and take calls throughout the day.

AirPods I use while in the office. I just pick up a Pod when my phone rings and I'm able to take the call instantly. The connectivity is incredible.

If primarily for calls, I'm a +1 for AirPods.
 

Rigby

macrumors 603
Aug 5, 2008
6,210
10,148
San Jose, CA
I'm trying to decide whether or not to invest in some wireless headphones. 90% of my use is for telephone calls while around the house. It would be nice to be able to wander around the house without carrying my phone with me, and be able to talk on the phone/answer phone calls/make phone calls, etc.

The other 10% of my use is the couple of times per year that I travel and listen to music while at the airport, or on the plane.
IMO the Airpods are by far the best wireless headphones for phone calls, with the caveat that they have no good controls to adjust the volume without the phone or an Apple Watch. Taking calls without the phone can also be frustrating since the double tap isn't very reliable.

Unfortunately one of the things that makes them good for calls makes them pretty bad for use on a plane: They have almost no sound isolation, and aren't really loud enough to drown out the engine noise and crying babies,
 
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