Help with headphones

Grandad99

I like to listen to the radio during parts of the day but my wife dislikes it. Answer has been bluetooth headphones, but with these I don't hear the phone or doorbell.

Looking for recommendations for a  medium quality headphone that enables me to hear both. 

twopenny

Have you thought of just wearing one?
I can focus on the sound but still pick up on anything essential around me 

flaneurs_lobster

There are headphones with Noise Cancelling tech that allow for external sounds to be heard, called Ambient Sound Mode (also known as Transparency Mode or Aware Mode). Not sure what you mean by "medium quality" but this feature tends to be incorporated into the pricier end of the market (think £150 and up).

Alternative might be the Bone Conduction type of 'phones, which leave the ears uncovered. Tried these once, found it weird but it worked. Here's the sort of thing

https://www.audio-technica.com/en-gb/ath-cc500bt2?

Or, as @twopenny says, one earbud. Fine for speech radio but that orchestral concert will sound off.

SiliconChip

I use these, because they're not in your ears you can still hear external sounds. I bought mine from John Lewis a couple of years ago, they're currently on sale both there and direct from the manufacturers.

https://uk.shokz.com/products/openmove

On-the-coast

Does your radio have Bluetooth built in? If not you’re going to need a BT transmitter (costs 10-15£)
Then as for headphones - search for “open ear”. Look for the sort that that clip behind your ear.   I use anker aerofit pro, but I’m sure there are cheaper ones. These are so comfortable you can forget you’re wearing them and as long as your volume isn’t too high they won’t affect your hearing of your environment in the slightest. 

Bone conduction headphones (eg Shokz) give similar results but are generally more expensive and not quite as good sound quality. 

Vitor

The best fit for OP is bone-conduction headphones. These sit in front of the ear and transmit sound through the cheekbones, leaving your ears completely open. You hear the radio clearly, while normal environmental sounds come through untouched. Phone ringing, doorbell, someone speaking to you all remain audible.

SiliconChip

On-the-coast said:

Does your radio have Bluetooth built in? If not you’re going to need a BT transmitter (costs 10-15£)
Then as for headphones - search for “open ear”. Look for the sort that that clip behind your ear.   I use anker aerofit pro, but I’m sure there are cheaper ones. These are so comfortable you can forget you’re wearing them and as long as your volume isn’t too high they won’t affect your hearing of your environment in the slightest. 

Bone conduction headphones (eg Shokz) give similar results but are generally more expensive and not quite as good sound quality. 

The Anker headphones are significantly more expensive than the Shokz ones that I linked to, £130 vs £55 (both current Amazon prices). I can't comment on sound quality as I haven't tried the Anker ones, the Shokz are fine for me but I don't have very discerning hearing and I usually listen to talk (podcasts, cricket commentary, etc.) rather than music where higher quality might be of more concern.

matelodave

I've got some Soundcore q30 (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Soundcore-Cancelling-Headphones-Comfortable-Bluetooth-Blue/dp/B08Q89DN6V?th=1) which have noise cancelling and a transparency mode which works pretty well.

I did try some Shokz bone conduction phones but found them really weird. Sort of OK for speech but they vibrated when playing music. In the end you really need to try stuff out yourself to find what suits and what doesn't.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-WH-CH720N-Cancelling-Bluetooth-Headphones-Black/dp/B0BTDX26B2?th=1
These Sony headphones are also worth a try as they also have an ambient mode.

My wife has a set of these if you prefer earbuds.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-Cancelling-Lightweight-Multi-Point-Connection-Black/dp/B0BXM3ZFKC?th=1.  She can wear them nearly all day without discomfort and they have an ambient mode as well

JSmithy45AD

flaneurs_lobster said:

There are headphones with Noise Cancelling tech that allow for external sounds to be heard, called Ambient Sound Mode (also known as Transparency Mode or Aware Mode). Not sure what you mean by "medium quality" but this feature tends to be incorporated into the pricier end of the market (think £150 and up).

Alternative might be the Bone Conduction type of 'phones, which leave the ears uncovered. Tried these once, found it weird but it worked. Here's the sort of thing

https://www.audio-technica.com/en-gb/ath-cc500bt2?

Or, as @twopenny says, one earbud. Fine for speech radio but that orchestral concert will sound off.

I got the Soundcore NC headphones which do that for £60 back in April although they are sitting at £85 at the moment. Definitely recommend them.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C6KFZC9Z?th=1

On-the-coast

SiliconChip said:

On-the-coast said:

Does your radio have Bluetooth built in? If not you’re going to need a BT transmitter (costs 10-15£)
Then as for headphones - search for “open ear”. Look for the sort that that clip behind your ear.   I use anker aerofit pro, but I’m sure there are cheaper ones. These are so comfortable you can forget you’re wearing them and as long as your volume isn’t too high they won’t affect your hearing of your environment in the slightest. 

Bone conduction headphones (eg Shokz) give similar results but are generally more expensive and not quite as good sound quality. 

The Anker headphones are significantly more expensive than the Shokz ones that I linked to, £130 vs £55 (both current Amazon prices). I can't comment on sound quality as I haven't tried the Anker ones, the Shokz are fine for me but I don't have very discerning hearing and I usually listen to talk (podcasts, cricket commentary, etc.) rather than music where higher quality might be of more concern.

I have both anker and shokz (& AirPods pro3) and various others. The never ending search for audio perfection. And listening comfort.   Since I work from home mostly - and mostly on my own  I don’t need sound isolation all the time - I like to hear the doorbell ring or someone shouting for me.  I also value situational awareness when out walking or running. 

The shokz are great for spoken word, but poor ish for music - and get very “tingly” at high volumes. I’ve used them for 4 or 5 years, but they’re really a backup to the ankers and AirPods now. The AirPods can operate in “pass through mode” but are pretty expensive.   The ankers were much cheaper when I bought them (I think I got the v1 pro on a Amazon open box special for £39)
but for the OP I still think a cheap pair of open ear headphones (not necessarily the anker) is worth looking at. I’ve not seen the shokz at such a low price as that, but be aware that some shocks are now open-ear rather than bone-conduction anyway.

In the end it’s “horses for courses”.  I’ve got 5 different sets currently paired with my office phone and pc. 

BFBW

flaneurs_lobster said:

There are headphones with Noise Cancelling tech that allow for external sounds to be heard, called Ambient Sound Mode (also known as Transparency Mode or Aware Mode). Not sure what you mean by "medium quality" but this feature tends to be incorporated into the pricier end of the market (think £150 and up).

Alternative might be the Bone Conduction type of 'phones, which leave the ears uncovered. Tried these once, found it weird but it worked. Here's the sort of thing

https://www.audio-technica.com/en-gb/ath-cc500bt2?

Or, as @twopenny says, one earbud. Fine for speech radio but that orchestral concert will sound off.

I paid £10 for earbuds that have a Transparency Mode. Though I didn't buy them in the U.K. £150 is quite mad