Best over-ear headphones 2019: the best-sounding, most comfortable cans Right now there are so many great headphones on the market. You can opt for sturdy in-ear 'phones that won't budge during the most gruelling of workouts. Or wireless Bluetooth buds that look neat and discrete and can give Apple's AirPods a run for their money. cheap in ear earphones However, if you're looking for good quality sound and best-in-class performance, nothing beats the full immersion you'll get from a pair of top over-ear headphones. They also tend to be better for your ear health because you don't need to amp up the volume to get a good level of audio performance and noise-cancellation - if you go for a pair with those features, of course. The pair you go for will be down to personal preference, but if pristine audio performance matters more to you than a wireless pair of headphones or buds that are super compact, then you can't do better than the headphones we've listed below. As with most tech these days, you need to be willing to make a few trade-offs. Whether that means buying a pair of wired headphones instead of wireless ones, or losing out on features like active noise cancellation so that audio can sound as neutral and clear as possible.Before you invest in a pair of the best over-ear headphones, you'll need to consider what your priorities are. If you're looking for the best wireless headphones and best noise-cancelling headphones guides specifically, we can help you out, but don't feel bad if you're specifically looking for Hi-Fi headphones and don't mind shaving off some of the non-essential features to get it. We also have a guide specifically about Beats headphones, as well as Sony headphones. Although we like slick design, comfort and portability in our headphones, this guide will focus on sound quality above all else. There are a few wireless and noise-cancelling equipped choices in our list, but that's only because they sound great in addition to packing these new features.