Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen).
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
Ahead of Deepavali (Diwali), the festival of lights, it is customary for people to clean the house and buy new clothes and gifts for their loved ones.
Earphones are a good gifting option, as they allow the owner to zone out to enjoy good music to relax at home or else watch movies or TV series on their laptop or tablet during long journeys.
Here are some of the best earphones that are worth gifting to your loved ones:
Apple AirPods (4th gen)
Apple AirPods 4 with ANC.
Credit: Apple
The new AirPods 4 boasts Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), a first for open ear designed-based Apple earphones to date. With the newly designed earbuds and microphones, the AirPods 4 can reduce environmental noise such as aeroplane engines, city traffic, and more.
It also supports Transparency mode to keep users aware of their environment. There is also Adaptive Audio mode, which dynamically switches between Transparency mode and ANC based on the conditions of a user’s environment. It also supports the Conversation Awareness feature, which lowers the user’s media volume when he/she starts speaking to someone nearby.
It comes with the new H2 chip. It powers the new Voice Isolation feature, which promises clearer call quality no matter the environmental conditions. With coordination with advanced sensors, AirPods can recognise head nod gestures.
It allows users to simply nod their head yes or gently shake their head no to respond to Siri announcements. For even more control, AirPods 4 also feature a new force sensor on the stem to play or pause media and mute or end calls with a quick press. Thanks to the H2 chip, AirPods 4 are also great for gaming and can deliver low wireless audio latency and excellent voice quality when chatting with teammates and other players, including support for 16-bit, 48kHz audio.
With a full charge, it can deliver up to four hours with ANC on. And, with ANC on, it can last for five hours.
With a charge case, it can deliver up to 20 hours of listening time with ANC on. And, up to 30 hours of listening time with noise control off.
Apple is offering AirPods 4 with ANC feature for Rs 17,900. There is also AirPods 4 without ANC feature for Rs 12,900.
Sony WF-1000XM5
Sony WF-1000XM5.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
Sony's WF-1000XM5 comes with a newly developed Integrated Processor V2 which works in coordination with HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN2e to control the six microphones, across both ears, to deliver better noise cancelling quality even in buzzing outdoor environment.
It also comes with Real-time audio processors and high-performance mics, which power Sony’s specially designed driver unit Dynamic Driver X, to deliver wide frequency reproduction, deep bass, and clear vocals. They promise to offer an immersive audio experience.
Furthermore, it supports 24-bit audio processing and high-performance analogue amplification. The new earbuds promise to offer crystal-clear audio reproduction with low distortion. It also supports High-Resolution Audio Wireless thanks to LDAC, as well as DSEE Extreme to upscale compared digital music in real-time. Additionally, the earbuds feature 360 Reality Audio, which creates an immersive audio experience.
With a full charge, it can deliver up to eight hours with ANC on and up to 24 hours with the case. It also supports fast charging too. With just three minutes of charging, it can last for one hour.
The new WF-1000XM5 costs Rs 24,990.
Google Pixel Buds Pro 2
The new Pixel Buds Pro 2.
Credit: Google
The Buds Pro 2 is the first-ever Google earphones with a proprietary chipset. Called Tensor A1, it promises improved Active Noise Cancellation with the Silent Seal 2.0 feature. It promises 2X better ANC compared to the Pixel Bud Pro (Gen 1).
Also, it boasts a twist-to-adjust feature to fit properly into the ear and prevent leakage of outside noise coming inside.
Inside, each earbud houses a large 11 mm driver for powerful bass, a new high-frequency chamber for smooth treble and spatial audio with head tracking.
Also, it comes with beamforming mics, and wind-blocking mesh covers and uses Google AI to make you and the person that you're talking to sound extra clear.
The new Pixel Buds Pro 2.
Credit: Google
And, it supports Gemini Live (on select Android phones only). It offers a mobile conversational experience that uses Google’s state-of-the-art speech technology to let users have extended conversations with Gemini.
Each earbud comes with a 200mAh cell and the case will have 800mAh capacity. With a full charge, Pixel Buds Pro 2 can deliver up to eight hours of battery life with ANC on and 30 hours with the case.
It also supports fast charging. A quick 15-minute charge provides up to three hours of extra battery life.
It should be noted that the new Pixel Buds app will offer insights on hearing wellness. The buds will track how loud the user plays over time. If it senses that loudness is nearing a dangerous level, it will suggest the user lower the volume to prolong good hearing health.
The Pixel Buds Pro 2 costs Rs 22,900.
Dyson OnTrac
Dyson OnTrac headphones.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
It features multi-pivot gimbal arms and a uniquely positioned battery in the headband to ensure balanced weight distribution.
The Dyson headphones also boast a custom Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) algorithm which uses 8 microphones, sampling external sound 384,000 times a second. It can significantly reduce up to 40dB of unwanted noise.
With 40mm, 16-ohm neodymium speaker drivers and advanced audio signal processing, the Dyson OnTrac will be able to ensure that every note or word is delivered with precision.
The speaker housing is tilted 13-inch towards the ear for a more direct audio response. With The MyDyson app, users can control in-ear and external volume. The app can also alert users to potentially harmful levels.
With a full charge, it can deliver up to 55 hours of battery life. It is more than to last for two weeks of listening even with ANC enabled.
The Dyson OnTrac is available for Rs 44,900
Sony ULT Wear
Sony ULT Wear headphones.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
The ULT Wear headphones feature Sony’s proprietary Integrated Processor V1, the same processor found in Sony’s popular 1000X series headphones.
It has a specially designed driver unit to deliver precise, punchy, high-quality sound with an extra bass effect and t. Also, it has Dual Noise Sensor technology, which works with the Integrated Processor V1 to greatly reduce external sound and make noise cancellation more effective.
With a full charge, it can last 30 hours with the Noise Cancellation (NC) feature on. And with NC-off, it can deliver up to 50 hours of battery life. It costs Rs 16,990.
OnePlus Buds 3 Pro
OnePlus Buds Pro 3.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
OnePlus Buds Pro 3 comes in a familiar pebble stone-inspired case. The earbuds are based on in-ear design with silicone tips, which ensure they comfortably fit into the ears.
Also, the earbuds come with an IP55 rating. Each earbud comes with dual drivers--an 11mm woofer and a 6mm tweeter. For the 11mm woofer, the company has incorporated a second magnet to increase the amount of power the woofer can generate. It has also redesigned the diaphragm with 30-layer ceramic-metal composite material to improve audio sensitivity and sound accuracy.
And, the 6mm tweeter features a 35-micrometre flat voice coil and flat diaphragm, to ensure the tiniest high-frequency details with less loss of audio quality are delivered into the ear. It is said to be 35 per cent better than the regular OnePlus Buds 3.
With Adaptive Noise Cancellation mode on, it is capable of reducing up to 50Db noise around the user.
Each bud houses a 58mAh cell and the case has a 566mAh battery capacity. With full charge, it can support up to 10 hours of playtime.
With Adaptive Noise Cancellation on, it can run for six hours on a stretch. And, with the charging case, it goes on for 43 hours. It also supports fast charging. With 10 minutes of charging, it can last for five hours.
It costs Rs Rs 11,999.
CMF Buds Pro 2
CMF Buds Pro 2.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
The CMF Buds Pro 2 features dual drivers. They come integrated with an 11 mm bass driver and a 6 mm tweeter, to deliver immersive audio output.
It houses six HD mics, and comes with Clear Voice Technology 2.0 and Wind-Noise Reduction 2.0, for clearer calls in any environment. With Spatial Audio Effects, it can offer three-dimensional audio.
It boasts LDAC technology, Dirac Opteo and is certified for Hi-Res Audio Wireless to deliver clear audio.
It also comes with advanced Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation and can reduce audio disturbance up to 50 dB and support an expansive frequency range of up to 5000 Hz.
With a full charge, they deliver up to 11 hours of music playback and six hours of talk time on phones without noise cancellation.
And, with noise cancellation on, it can last up to 6.5 hours of music playback and a little over four hours of phone calls.
With the charging case, it can go up to 43 hours of music play and 23 hours of talk time on the phone. It costs Rs 4,999.
OnePlus Nord Buds 3
OnePlus Nord Buds 3
Credit: OnePlus India
OnePlus Nord Buds 3 is one of the best cost-effective earphones in the market.
Each earbud comes with a 12.4mm dynamic driver, titanised diaphragm. And, they work with BassWave Enhancement algorithm 2.0 to deliver crisp audio output.
With the Hey Melody app, users can use Master EQ to customise the frequency to match their taste in terms of enhancing bass effect, vocals and more.
It also supports 3D audio with OnePlus phones such as the OnePlus Open, OnePlus 12, 12R, 11,11R, and OnePlus Nord 4.
It also supports Active noise cancellation and is capable of reducing outside noise up to 32dB.
Also, with dual microphones and an AI call noise cancellation feature, it can capture the owner's voice clearly and ensure the person on the other side call hears it without any distortions.
Each earbud houses a 58mAh battery. The earphones can deliver up to 12 hours with ANC. And, it can last for eight hours with ANC on. And, with the charging case (440mAh capacity), it can last up to 43 hours. It comes in two colours-- Harmonic Gray and Melodic White-- for Rs 2,299.
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