Best Headphones 2020: Feel the cinematic sound in your ears

 

How to put a wireless home cinema in your ears? 

Creating your own home cinema doesn't have to mean filling your house with speakers, amplifiers, and cables. Whisper it, but even if immersive surround sound – complete with a grumbly subwoofer – is what you really want, a good pair of home cinema-centric headphones can give you all that and more. 

That will depend on why you want to use headphones with a TV, though. Might be you’re sharing a living space with flatmates or family who is constantly distracting you. 

Or perhaps you like to watch movies late at night with the volume turned right up and don’t want to disturb the neighbors. Whatever your goal, a little know-how can go along way when it comes to choosing the right pair of wireless headphones for a home cinema-equivalent experience – and prevent you from making any silly purchasing mistakes. 

Make them wireless and make them wonderful. In practice, there are major issues with using regular Bluetooth wireless headphones with a TV. Even if you have a smart TV that has Bluetooth, it’s going to be a vanilla kind of Bluetooth that will cause lip-sync delays. 

There are two technology solutions; TV headphones that communicate with a Bluetooth transmitter inserted into a TV. They’re generally compatible with the aptX HD and aptX Low Latency codecs. TV headphones that communicate with an RF (radio frequency) base station that’s connected to a TV’s headphones jack. 

Either way, if you want a good pair of TV headphones for this purpose, you’re going to need a specific product created for that purpose. Here are some of the best headphones for watching TV.

1. Best TV headphones for Dolby Atmos: JVC XP-EXT1 Wireless Theater System

A multi-channel home cinema to replace a room full of speakers

Range: TBC (5GHz RF) | Battery life: Up to 12 hours | Drivers: 40mm neodymium | Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz range | Weight: 330g

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2. Best TV headphones for movies and gaming: Creative SxFi Theater

Simulates a 7.1 speaker array with Super X-Fi effect

Range: Up to 10m/33 ft (2.4 GHz RF) | Battery life: Up to 30 hours | Drivers: 50mm neodymium | Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz range | Weight: 346g

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3. Best TV headphones for two people: Sennheiser RS 175 RF wireless headphones

Virtual surround sound for two on this RF transmitter product

Range: Up to 328ft/100m (2.4 GHz RF) | Battery life: Up to 18 hours | Drivers: 50mm neodymium | Frequency response: 17Hz to 22KHz range | Weight: 310g

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4. Best TV headphones for value: Sony MDR-RF811RK

A low price and a simple set-up make these headphones great all-rounders

Range: Up to 100m | Battery life: Up to 13 hours | Drivers: 40mm neodymium | Frequency response: 20Hz to 20KHz range | Weight: 310g

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5. Best TV headphones using Bluetooth: Bowers & Wilkins PX7

Versatile Bluetooth headphones with aptX Adaptive help

Range: Up to 60m (Bluetooth 5.0) | Battery life: Up to 30 hours | Drivers: 2 x 43.6mm | Frequency response: 10Hz to 30KHz range | Weight: 310g

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