Recommend Me Bluetooth Headphones with Low Latency

[Ziggy]

So I've been thinking about getting some over-the-ear Bluetooth headphones. I was first considering getting them for pretty much just music, but then I was thinking it would be nice to game with them if I wanted to. But from what I've read, it's up to the set of headphones to get low latency for watching TV or gaming. Now I can do the usual find a pair that fits my budget and has the best reviews. But I thought I would check here first and see if anyone uses a pair that they would recommend getting.

I'll have Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity to my desktop, I'm not really sure if that matters or not. I'm really only looking for over-the-ear headphones (not on-ear, and not buds or anything like that). I'd rather the set be on the smaller side. I know there's lots of "gaming headsets" out there, and those are probably good to go in the latency department, but they always look to be on the large side. And I can do without the microphone.

My go-to over-the-ear set right now are wired Sony. I like them, they sound fine and are comfortable. But the cushion material sheds it's faux leather and so every time I use them I get little bits of black stuck to me and it drives me nuts. So aside from wanting to getting something that's wireless, I really want something comfortable that wont break down and make a mess every time I use them.

I guess my budget is as much as $200, but I'd much rather get something that's sub $100. I'd go above $100 if they seem to really be worth it.

Any recommendations?

[Anapan]

I read that the Bluetooth revision determines the audio capability and therefore latency. I read that Bluetooth 5.1 and "APTX" are the latest buzzwords -- probably it's the best. I'm not too skilled at determining latency in audio, but the devices that advertise APTX seem pretty decent and don't have the ringing artefacts the old codecs used to.

I bought two Bluetooth devices recently.

The first was the Shokz OpenRun Pro (I later tried them against older revisions my co-workers owned, and they all sound the same to me) These were weird, and it took some getting used to, but they are impressive. I'd suggest try them in-store before ordering online. I need to wear earplugs most of my work day, and these are somehow legal (?) because they are water resistant and don't bypass the bylaw about earplugs in noisy situations. With earplugs, the bass is boosted to a really impressive level for how long these tiny light things can output. Without earplugs, a bit tinnier but you can easily hear everyone while still hearing the music clearly. Their position on your head can be easily disturbed and affects your sound perception a bit.

My second purchase was the Kokkia iTransciever. I didn't receive the right model twice in a row, but the last one still did the receiving really well. It's being returned, but I tried it on some of my wired-only devices and I found it working well. It's cool that they made a "Tiny Versatile 2.5mm Male to 3.5mm Female Adapter" to connect it into my wired-only Bose QuietComfort over-ear headphones making them fully wireless.

I actually bought the Kokkia device for my keyboard's XLR mic input to be used with a passive adapter so I could play with the Vocoder function on a different bluetooth headset. If I received the correct device, I'd have a lot more to say about the latency. Unfortunately I received the wrong product. Still, the wrong ones were impressive.

TLDR; Don't have any good Bluetooth over-ear headphones, so I wasted your time reading this overly long non answer. Just wanted to 1-up your long question because everyone else seemed intimidated by your verbosity.

[Ziggy]

I read that the Bluetooth revision determines the audio capability and therefore latency. I read that Bluetooth 5.1 and "APTX" are the latest buzzwords -- probably it's the best. I'm not too skilled at determining latency in audio, but the devices that advertise APTX seem pretty decent and don't have the ringing artefacts the old codecs used to.

Yes, I saw that BT 5 (or I guess 5.1) was the latest revision so I assume that means better latency. BT is actually pretty slow. You wouldn't notice the delay on a phone call or listening to music, since there's nothing to sync up to. But watching a video or playing a game would be very noticeable on old BT revisions or I guess current headphones that don't have a fast codec. With display lag, even with the slowest of displays where anyone can detect input lag, it's still in the realm of, "Hey, what?" But when audio isn't synced up properly with video, it's not only extremely noticeable but also very distracting. At least, I find that it is. I was looking at a cheap-ish pair of JBL headphones on Amazon, and in the questions someone asked if they would be good for watching TV. There was a manufacturer response that said no because of sync issues.

TLDR; Don't have any good Bluetooth over-ear headphones, so I wasted your time reading this overly long non answer. Just wanted to 1-up your long question because everyone else seemed intimidated by your verbosity.

LOL, is that what it was? I just assumed no one had any suggestions. A retro gaming forum isn't exactly the best place to ask for recommendations of current technology.

[marurun]

I didn’t reply because I don’t know jack about BT latency. I have some great BT headphones but those are for music and podcasts.

[o.pwuaioc]

I didn’t reply because I don’t know jack about BT latency. I have some great BT headphones but those are for music and podcasts.

Yeah, same here, but I am interested in the topic. The only bluetooth headphones I have are Samsung ear buds, which I guess aren't what you're looking for!

[Ziggy]

Yeah, no worries. I didn't think many of us here would have something like this. Like I said, I can do the usual hunting and checking feedback scores. I was just curious if someone here had something they would recommend.

I have a pair of imitation Air Buds. On a rare occasion, I like to use ear buds while working. But there's no way I would ever pay the going price for brand name ones. For the price, these are simply amazing. Long battery life, sounds absolutely fine, no complaints at all.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088M68HFK/

Just looking at them now, they're $21.99 with a 45% coupon. So, about $12. They are worth every penny of that, if anyone wants a beater pair of BT ear buds. Heck, I might grab a backup pair at this price.

If I end up pulling the trigger on an over-the-ear set, I'll be sure to update this thread with that info.

[opa]

I grabbed one. I don't have any wireless ear buds.

[Ziggy]

Also about the battery life of those... I keep them in my car so I have them when I want to use them at work. I had them sitting for I don't know how many months without charging them, possibly well over a year, and they still had enough battery life to play music for about an hour. When I was using them semi-often, just charging them on my way to and from work was enough to keep them charged for me.

[REPO Man]

I use these. They're only $22 and work like a dream. And the battery lasts quite awhile.

MOD edit: removed affiliate code
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[Ziggy]

Those would not be suitable for watching TV or gaming due to the latency.