If the HDB630 is considered (one of) the best bluetooth headphones for sound quality, and the XM6/Bose QC Ultra for ANC, what would be considered a good middleground between these options?
I am currently looking to replace my Airpods Pro 2 for an over-ear alternative. When researching my options, the common consensus seems to be that you sacrifice one quality over other. Given that I will be using them for my daily commute, I won't really be needing the highest audio quality possible. I read plenty of comments on how people were quite dissapointed by the ANC of the HDB630 for instance. My preference lies more within the ANC capabilities, but neither do I want go all out on that aswell. I just want a middleground, where you can get decent enough sound quality with decent ANC, rather than leaning hard into a specific direction.
I have listened to the XM4 and XM5 from a couple of colleagues, and even though their noise cancelling is amazing, I personally can't get over how boomy they sound. I don't consider myself a basshead in that regard, and I felt like the bass on them was overpowering every other frequency. Bit of a V-shape tuning is fine for me, though. I haven't been able to trial the Bose headphones, so I cannot say anything in terms of their sound quality.