Fun Fact: You can create your home cinema, without breaking your bank and spending tons of money on speakers, amplifiers, and cables.
Best headphones for movies can give you all that and even more.
Since I am writing this article on winter and it is quite cold here, day by day I am becoming a couch potato. So yeah, in a way with this article I am helping myself too on picking the best headphones for movies.
Whether you want to watch movies on your TV, laptop, or phone I got you guys covered.
Without further a doo let’s take a look at the best picks.
| Image | Product | Features | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
Best Budget  | 10 | Check Latest Price | |
Best Value  | 9 | Check Latest Price | |
Best Earbuds  | 8.5 | Check Latest Price | |
Best Runner-Up  | 8.8 | Check Latest Price | |
Best Overall  | 8.6 | Check Latest Price |
The 5 Best Headphones For Movies:
5. Philips SHP9600 – Best Budget
In 2020 Philip upgraded two of its flagship lineup, the SHP, and Fidelio. While Fidelio X3 belongs to the premium-priced category, the SHP9600 is the opposite. A budget pair of headphones that bring a lot to the table.
Being the successor of the widely prominent SHP9500; a pair of headphones that earned a lot of praises due to their performance in many fields and most importantly, they did it at a budget price. Let’s find out if the 9600 can do the same, or if it is a “disgrace” to its brother.
Being a newer version, the SHP9600 also sports a new design that is slicker than its “old” predecessor. It comes in an all-black design that features very thin, bronze rings around the grills in the earcups, not a big change but I think that’s a good touch.
The whole wired headphones are constructed out of plastic, which is understandable for a pair of budget headphones. The headband is the only part that has steel reinforcement, and overall the whole build feels stable and well put together despite being plastic.
Comfort was what drove the 9500 to their success, and lucky enough, the SHP9600 inherited the comfort of its brother. They are extremely lightweight and the low clamp force makes them easy to wear all day long without any strain, making them ideal for movie-watching hours.
Besides the budget, what made me put them on the list was due to them being open-back, meaning they have detailed and spacious sound quality. We can also see some Bass improvement here while similarly the mids and highs have enough presence and clarity.
The only thing that might bother you, would be them being wired but besides that, they tick all the boxes for movie watching.
Pros:
- Great Comfort
- Great Price
- Spacious sound
Cons:
- Plastic build
- No Surround Sound
- Sound Bleed
- Wired headphones
4. SENNHEISER RS 175 RF – Best Value
Good sound quality is something Sennheiser understands pretty well, Sennheiser this time decided to represent their selves in the home theatre industry with their, RS 175 RF surround sound headphones.
RS 175 surround sound headphones will take your cinematic experience to the next level, offering a compact, yet ergonomic design with a powerful stand and transmitter.
The Sennheiser RS 17 surround sound headphones sports an all-black design with some good-looking silver accents. If you were to spot them in a room, the first thing that would come to your mind would be, Gaming Headsets.
Even though that is not the case here, they still look good, lightweight, and well-styled.
These surround sound headphones will reward you with great comfort during the movie hours, thanks to its well-cushioned earpad and the headband that is split into two sections (so it can sit on the transmitter, tightly).
Overall, these surround sound headphones have a simple, yet good design that doesn’t include any flashy RGB, and no complicated controls to worry about, just basic volume up-down.
Don’t mistake them for basic wireless headphones. They are uniquely made to listen to home entertainment like you never did before. Its bass boost and Surround sound feature will make you appreciate movies even more.
Furthermore, as you travel from room to room, its transmitter promises to stay clear and accurate.
To transmit the audio fed to the charging base the headphones use a frequency response of over 2.4 – 2.8 GHz, it supports both analog and digital audio outputs within the range of 100.
Sennheiser promises us a battery life of up to 18 hours, but note that the volume settings play a big role in their longevity. For the money, these are probably the best headphones for movies.
Pros:
- Surround Sound feature
- Bass Boost
- Great comfort
- Excellent transmission
- 18 Hour Battery Life
Cons:
- You can encounter distortions on the bass mode
- Not portable/Versatile; only home use.
3. Bose QuietComfort – Best Earbuds
For you guys who want to keep things simple and enjoy your movies in a pair of earbuds, I listed the Bose QuietComfort buds.
Or wait, maybe that’s not “simple” at all, it’s Bose we are talking about here.
A leading brand in the sound field that is titled as best in class for its noise cancellation capabilities.
Even though it took Bose a while, the QuietComfort earbuds deliver the best ANC you can get in a pair of wireless earbuds, go on, name something that can outperform it?
Nope, you can’t.
Seems like the Bose wants to show off their work, and didn’t even try being discrete with the QuiteComforts, meaning that they are quite bulky, yet again as the name implies the comfort is there.
They come in a nice matte finish that shines bright when exposed to sunlight, while it uses a high-end composite plastic as a building material.
Besides being sturdy they also have an IPX4 rating that makes them resistant to water splashes/ sweat.
What made me put the Bose QuietComfort on the list, must be its noise isolation feature. They use 4 built-in microphones to pick noise and isolate it at its finest, so you can enjoy your music at maximum without missing any tone due to background noises.
If you activate the Quiet mode which is the top noise-canceling level, any passing bus or truck that comes at a high speed will be minimized while the music that you playing will sound like a live set.
Bose claims 6 hours of battery life on a single charge, with the charging case it goes up to 12 hours more. Definitely a good set of wireless headphones for movies.
Pros:
- ANC
- Comfortable fit
- USB-C
- Durable and IPX4 Rating
- Supports Bluetooth 5.1
Cons:
- Quite bulky
- Average Battery Life
- No Surround Sound
- On the pricey side
2. Avantree Ensemble – Best Runner-Up
Avantree is what we can consider an underdog. If the name brand is not a must in your buying list, and you are willing to trade the name for some affordable and feature-packed pair of bluetooth headphones made especially for watching movies, then the Avantree Ensemble is your friend.
At first glance, these bluetooth headphones have an attractive yet modest and simple design. I really like the matte finish it is quite sufficient even though not top quality, which is understandable for the price they come with. The earcups can be rotated and folded for easy storage and transportation also thanks to their plastic build they are really lightweight.
The headband of these bluetooth headphones is the only part that has metal on its joints and it is protected by a plastic, synthetic leather pad. With all this being said, lightweight, generous padding, and adjustability – there’s no doubt that comfortability is taken for granted.
Another thing that we like about these bluetooth headphones would be its transmitter, it works as both a charger and docking station. Nothing groundbreaking regarding the transmitter, pretty minimalistic. It sports a black matte finish with the Bluetooth 5.0 imprinted in the front.
Since we talking about Bluetooth, the Ensembles support Bluetooth 5.0, meaning the connectivity is smooth and flawlessly, making your TV experience wonderful and reliable. Another thing that contributes to that definitely is the audio quality.
Avantree Ensemble bluetooth headphones produces great sound performance, it is clear and natural without any harsh frequencies. You got pretty much all the frequencies in order and balanced. But you should note that the sound quality sometimes depends on the TV you are using.
Battery life is another thing Avantree does well, it is designed for long terms use, capable of lasting up to 35 hours of playtime. I consider these to be the best wireless headphones when it comes to watching movies because they have great audio quality and surround sound listening modes.
Pros:
- Great Comfort
- Easy to use
- Well-balanced sound for TV movies.
- Great Battery Life
Cons:
- It doesn’t provide a power brick for charging
- No ANC
- No Surround Sound
1. Sony L600 – Best Overall
Sony just can’t stop producing an audio device for everything, it does it so well so we don’t see any fault here. Why should they stop?
From Bluetooth speakers, soundbars, wireless headphones – it covers them all, as for their sound quality and design, that is not even questionable – “If it’s Sony, then it’s good”.
In the TV/Movie aspect, Sony decided to represent their famous brand with the Sony L600 wireless headphones. Let’s see if the L600 can keep up with the rest of the devices from Sony.
Sony always emphasizes their product comfort and design, so is the case with the L600. Despite being fully plastic, is the plastic we are used to seeing on Sony devices. A top-quality plastic that contributes both to their lightweight and comfortability.
In general, the L600 wireless headphones sits nicely and is very pleasant on your head, the ear cups will rest gently on your ears and even after hours of usage, the L600 will keep providing comfort.
These headphones for movies for sure are feature-packed, something that Sony does too well. It contains a theater mode to ensure an authentic cinematic experience, with the help and the combination of Sony’s Virtual Phones technology which basically is a virtual sound field.
You will also enjoy crystal clear surround sound with its Dolby Audio 7.1 and a wireless range of up to 98.43 ft.
As for the sound quality, Sony was heavily focused on making the L600 solely for TV, you can listen to music to them for sure but I’d advise looking for something else.
These wireless headphones provide 5 sound modes when watching movies: neutral, movie, game, sport, and Voice. Combining the modes and Sony’s surround sound, I don’t doubt that you will feel like being there in the movie when the action happens.
Battery life is quite decent, the L600 provides an appealing 17 hours longevity. Definitely a great pair of surround sound headphones that are great for watching movies & TV shows.
Pros:
- Feature Packed
- Good Comfort
- Great charging base
- Surround sound
- 17 Hour Battery Life
Cons:
- A little more expensive than it should be.
- No firmware updates.
Finding the Right Headphones for watching Movies
If you don’t like any of the headphones for movies above, to compromise for not being helpful, I’ll list 3 Key factors that you need to consider when buying wireless headphones for watching movies.
- Sound Quality
- Comfort
- Wired or Wireless
Sound Quality
When buying headphones for movies, first of all sound quality is key, you want a pair of wireless headphones that can provide good quality on all frequencies to range so you don’t miss any tone at all, especially movie dialogues, effects, etc.
If they have a surround-sound system, they will prove really useful in the cinematic aspect, good bass also is crucial and lastly, noise isolation, if you keep hearing background noises it will surely ruin the movie. If you’re on a budget, you can get a pair of noise cancelling headphones under $50 to enjoy your movies.
Comfort
Right beside the sound quality, comes comfort. Most of the options I picked are comfortable and durable, so you won’t feel uneasy while watching movies.
Remember you will be wearing them for at least 3 hours, the ear cups should be well cushioned along with the headband, and at the same time, they should be adjustable.
Headphones for movies or watching tv need to be comfortable, sweat-proof, and have breathable earcups, so you can have comfortable movie watching sessions.
Wired or Wireless
Before you jump in and grab the first headphones that look good to you, make sure you know if you want wired or wireless headphones.
Since it will play a big role in both factors I just mentioned above.
A wired pair of headphones might provide better sound quality but will keep you chained, while wireless headphones are the opposite.
For more information, check out my article regarding wired vs. wireless headphones!
Final Words
I tried to cover wireless headphones for TV that will suit all users and all needs from headphones with a transmitter to earbuds.
If you are a fan of movies, please do yourself a favor and get a pair of nice headphones that are feature-packed, with features like ANC so you don’t get disturbed and watch the movie as it should be watched.
Anyway, I hope I proved to be helpful and you guys managed to pull something out of this article.
Further Reading
Throughout this article, I mentioned different things and I mentioned wireless headphones as well, which work with Bluetooth! In order to find out Bluetooth headphones, you can check out the ones with the 5.2 version of Bluetooth. I also mentioned earbuds, and I would like to introduce to you some earbuds made in the USA.
Also, worth mentioning are transcription headphones in case you need a pair!
Composer & Audio Engineer
I’m a composer and audio engineer crafting sonic magic. Combining my skills in rhythm, harmony, and sound synthesis to create the ultimate auditory experience.
