Looking for an European alternative to Sony WH-1000XM6, similar price and performance. I've found these candidates:

  • Sennheiser HDB 630 (expensive and no need for bundled USB transceiver)
  • Sennheiser Momentum 4 (cheap, but are they "dated")
  • Valco VMK 25.2 ANC (very few reviews available so unsure about performance)
  • DALI IO-8 (expensive)

Any other suggestions or comments to the headphones above?

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[โ€“] 10 points 8 months ago

I would recommend checking what you can find on rtings. They have a very good system for evaluating true audio performance.

The HDB 630 is on their top 5 for ANC, so I'd expect it to be very good, without diving further.

https://www.rtings.com/headphones

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  • [โ€“] 9 points 8 months ago

    Two Dutch contenders:

    • Fairbuds XL by Fairphone. Similar price point, repairable, can be ordered from the Fairphone website. Check reviews for sound signature.
    • Repeat.audio Prince. More HiFi, also repairable. I would describe the sound signature as Bright compared to the more V-shaped Sonies.

    I believe Argon and B&W also have good options, but I'm not familiar with details. If there's a HiFi Klubben kn your country, check out their website or a physical store.

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  • [โ€“] 7 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Rtings rates Focal Bathys very highly but kinda expensive.

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  • [โ€“] 4 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Valcos are china white label

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  • [โ€“] 5 points 8 months ago

    What's wrong with Sony being Japanese, other than being one of the greatest brands in history?

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 8 months ago

    I have the momentum 4. Sound is good. Touch control is good. They are comfortable and I find lots of other brands are not. One issue is they often donโ€™t automatically come on when removed. I assume itโ€™s due to build up like earwax over the sensors but I didnโ€™t have a problem with other brands. I would buy them again. My husband says talkin on the mic is poor for phone calls.

    My previous earbuds were pixels, for comparison. I was happy with the pixels, but found the pass through and sound isolation clunkier to use. Momentum is simpler. Pass through or noise cancelling.

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 8 months ago* (2 children)

    Philips Fidelio L4 could also be a good candidate. It's very similar in features and has very high battery life. I have gifted one for my partner after seeing his old headphones fall apart and he's very happy with it. It did get a bit more difficult with stock but maybe you can find it for 200โ‚ฌ

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

    Take a look at the AVENTHO 200 or AVENTHO 300 from Beyerdynamic, maybe they fit your needs.

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 8 months ago

    If youโ€™re willing to spend a bit more B&W Px8 is unparalleled, also including customer support on par with how Apple was in the early years.

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 8 months ago

    I think Argon is a danish company?! I have no experience with their headphones but their speakers are quite good

    https://argonaudio.com/collections/headphones

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 8 months ago
    • Jabra (Danish)
    • EPOS (Danish)
    • SteelSeries (Danish)
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