3 Best Wireless Headphones For Classical Music (2024)

Wireless over-the-ears headphones have become very advanced in recent years. Almost every respectable brand offer noise cancellation technology, a good Bluetooth connectivity and a dedicated app. In this review, we wish to cover the best wireless, over-the-ears headphone for classical music. We decided on the three models below because of their relatively fair price, comfortable wear and solid connectivity and noise cancellation. All three models weigh around 0.5 – 0.6 pound (around 0.25 Kg) and are strongly built. For this review, we decided to skip high-end headphones that cost more than $400 (some can cost thousands of dollars), trying to maintain a “best value” perspective.

Because of the similarities between the three models, we mainly focused on the sound quality. We listened to three recent classical music albums, superbly recorded, of different classical music genres – orchestral (Ivan Fischer’s recent performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 7), chamber (the interesting “Vienna 1900”) and piano solo (Vikingur Ólafsson wonderful album of music by Rameau and Debussy).

Bose QuietComfort Ultra

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra is Bose’s evolutionary model from the successful QuietComfort 35 and then 700. The Ultra model is more comfortable and feels lighter on the head, and one cannot deny that the overall design looks more contemporary than the bulky 35. In fact, QuietComfort Ultra is the lightest from the sets we cover here (though not by much), and can be worn for long stretches of time. The noise cancellation is improved compared to the older QuietComfort 35 and 700.

As for the sound quality – from the three models we’ve tested, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra gave the most unintrusive sound-image. Out of the box, there is no over-the-top bass or treble, and the middles is given enough room in the sound image to give a good separation between frequencies. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra gave the best performance overall for all three albums we tested, and were especially realistic on the chamber and solo piano albums. We did wish for an extra bass when listening to Mahler’s climaxes, but that can be easily achieved by the Bose Equalizer settings. Bose’s new “Spatial Audio” feature is a pleasant addition, but it falls short in comparison to Apple’s version and lacks the native “Dolby Atmos” support that the AirPods Max offers.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra

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Bowers & Wilkins – PX7 S2e

The Bowers & Wilkins Over-ear Noise Canceling Wireless Headphones (or B&W, as they are known) provide an upgrade from their well-received PX5 model, with bigger driver and longer battery life, which B&W claims can reach 30 Hours.

The sound is very consistent with the B&W philosophy, which proves highly successful in their speakers lineup – a “punchy” treble, that stays focused and distinct even when the dynamics increase. The separation between instrument is nice, sometimes at the expense of the overall blend of the music, most notable in the Mahler album.

From the models we tested, we feel that these pair, though very good in playing classical music, may suite listeners that like other kinds of genres as well – jazz, pop and rock. As noise cancellation goes – this model is the one that best maintained the basic quality of the sound when operated, at the expense of the amount of outside noise that still went through.

Bowers & Wilkins – PX7 S2e

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Sony WH-1000XM5

The Sony WH-1000XM5 Noise Cancellation Headphones provides the most advanced and successful noise cancellation from the three models we’ve tested. This comes with a price, though – the max noise cancellation makes the music sound a bit muffled. The newer version (WH-1000XM5) offers an even improved noise cancellation than before, adaptive to the listeners’ surroundings, but still noticeably effects the sound character. That being said, these Sony headphones offer the deepest bass, if you prefer to emphasis it when listening to your music. It is mighty impressive when a piano is hitting the lower notes, or when contrabasses come to the fore. The blend is good in orchestral music but may feel less detailed compared to the Bose 700.

One of the best advantages of the Sony WH-1000XM5 may seem trivial – they are very nicely packaged – they can fold and put nicely into their provided pouch. At the time this review is published, these Sony headphones are also the most inexpensive of the three.