With music embedded into so many aspects of our everyday lives, it’s important to get a decent set of headphones so you can listen on the go. It’s a very personal choice if you prefer earbuds or over-the-ear headphones, and depending on what you’re prepared to spend you can pay a fortune for the best quality (yes, we’re looking at your £499 price tag Apple AirPods Max). For most people though, you don’t need to own top end headphones to be able to get something that gives you a decent sound quality.
Canyon’s Wireless Headphones BTHS-3, retailing for £24.99 but currently on offer for £19.99 on Ryman’s website, are aiming at the lower end of the market and my expectations of them were pretty low. Over the course of my life, I’ve bought countless sets of headphones at varying price points and my experience has always been that you get what you pay for. Well these headphones might change my mind. Remarkably lightweight, and foldable so they’re easy to take on the go, the Wireless Headphones BTHS-3 are surprisingly sturdy and comfortable on the ears.
Easy to set up and pair with your device – I tried them with my iPhone – you can use the headphones within minutes of getting them out of the box. Even though they are wireless, they do come with an AUX cable so you can plug them directly into a device if Bluetooth isn’t supported, or you just prefer a wired connection. You can also, of course, use them as a microphone to make calls on the go too. The left headphone features controls – an on/off switch, play and skip buttons, and volume control – so you can get the right sound (and music) without having to have your device on show all the time.
In order to really put the headphones to the test, I played a variety of music on them. Overall I was impressed. With an uptempo beat-driven track (I played Marco Mengoni’s ‘ManDarE TuTo ALL’aRIA’), the sound feels fairly rich and all-encompassing, while with something softer (like Cynthia Erivo’s ‘I’m Here’), you can hear the gentle instrumentation pretty clearly. The volume can go pretty loud too so these headphones should work for most users’ needs. The headphones also boast 15 hours of playing time from one full charge, which is better than a lot of headphones on the market.
What are the down sides? Well it’s fair to say that the sound quality isn’t the best you’ll find on the market but you wouldn’t expect it to be. At times it sounds a little bit muddy and it definitely doesn’t have the dynamic range of more expensive headphones. There’s a lack of depth, particularly on quieter songs and club bangers, that really excel on the likes of the Apple AirPods Max. That being said, the average listener likely wouldn’t really notice these things so this is more of a complaint of an audiophile. The only other thing to note is there’s no noise cancellation at all, so if blocking out background noise is a priority for you, these aren’t the right headphones for you.
If entry-level headphones are what you’re after, or something to use on your commute that isn’t going to cost the earth then the Canyon Wireless Headphones BTHS-3 will be a good choice. They’re also great for kids who are just getting into music (or those you need to keep quiet on long car journeys over the festive season). For the price point, these headphones really deliver and honestly, you can pay a lot more and not get as decent quality.
Released by: Canyon Buy ‘Canyon Wireless Headphones BTHS-3’ now
