Wire we waiting?

These high-end headphones will provide a real treat for your ears-maybe it's time to upgrade

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Welcome to the big leagues, where a pair of headphones will set you back anything in advance of ₨80K or so. 

Headphones at this premium end of the market are aimed at the listener who prizes sound quality above all, and manufacturers of products at this elevated level rightly tend to focus on sound rather than features. If you’re able to part with this kind of money for a pair of headphones, you can expect the engineering and cost to have been put into the delivery of the sound being fed to them.

Build quality and comfort over extended listening sessions is also paramount – but what you will find less of here are ‘convenience’ features such as active noise cancelling and Bluetooth connectivity. All the headphones here are wired – given the latency and compression in the delivery of music over Bluetooth, wired is always going to provide better sound. For this reason alone, these are headphones more suited to home use; for privately listening to your tunes in supreme comfort, and at the best quality possible.

The headphones on our list comprise top-drawer in-ear and both closed and open-back over-ear designs. An open-back design in our experience results in greater transparency and dynamic expression, as there is no enclosure to trap unwanted resonances; on the other hand, a closed design is more isolating and tends to result in punchier, more muscular bass. For practical reasons, a closed design may win out – particularly if you are taking your headphones out and about. Open-back headphones leak sound – everyone around you will be able to hear what you are listening to, and you will be plagued by external noises interrupting your listening pleasure. But for home use, you may find open is the only way to go.