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15 totally weird-looking headphones that we’d totally wear

Given the monstrous collection of headphones that have filtered through the DT offices over the years, we thought we’d seen it all. But we were wrong. In a testament to humanity’s insuppressible quest for individuality and creativity, the bounty of weird and wild headphone designs floating around these days is staggering.

In honor of the creative minds that have helped push the boundaries of headphone design into a whole new realm, we’ve put together this little collection to give you a taste of what’s out there. Some of these pieces are extremely cool, and are even out on the market. Others are so strange and impractical, they border on the utterly ridiculous. (See Lil’ Wayne) All of them, however, are worth a look, so we hope you’ll enjoy our tour of the world’s weirdest headphones.

Ryan Waniata
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Waniata is a multi-year veteran of the digital media industry, a lover of all things tech, audio, and TV, and a…
Yamaha’s new 3D ANC headphones take aim at the AirPods Max
Yamaha's YH-L700A 3D noise-canceling headphones.

Yamaha's latest wireless headphones, the $500 YH-L700A, appear to be priced and designed as the ultimate alternative to Apple's $549 AirPods Max. In addition to active noise cancellation (ANC) and transparency modes, the YH-L700A feature the company's version of spatial audio, which it enables via head-tracking -- the same technology that Apple uses in its AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. They're available starting today on Yamaha's website and soon from retailers like Best Buy.

Yamaha calls the spatial audio feature 3D Sound Field with head-tracking. Unlike spatial audio on the AirPods Max, which requires an Apple device like an iPhone or Apple TV 4K, plus the support of streaming apps like Apple Music, Netflix, or Disney+, Yamaha's tech is much more universal. According to the company, the headphones can convert traditional two-channel stereo into a 360-degree sound field at the push of a button. You can also choose between seven 3D sound modes depending on what you're listening to. These include Cinema, Drama, and Music Video (for video content), Audio Room and Background Music (for music), and Outdoor Live and Concert Hall modes (for performances).

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We can’t believe how cheap Bose QuietComfort headphones are right now
The Bose QuietComfort 35 II wireless headphones, in black.

When you're looking for headphone deals, there are only a few brands that really stand out among the rest, including Sony headphone deals and Bose headphone deals. If you're having trouble deciding, Dell's offer for the Bose QuietComfort 35 II may be what you've been waiting for. The wireless headphones are available with a $50 discount, bringing their price down to just $249 from their original price of $299.

The Bose QuietComfort 35 II wireless headphones offer great sound quality, whether you're listening to music, watching TV shows, or making phone calls. They also come with Bose's Acoustic Noise Canceling technology, which is activated with the flip of a switch, while also supporting Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant for voice commands. You won't have to take out your phone to control playback, request information, and access apps -- all you need is your voice and the wireless headphones' Action button.

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Here are some volume-limiting headphones your kids might actually wear
A girl wearing Happy Plugs Play headphones.

Swedish audio company Happy Plugs has a new set of Bluetooth headphones aimed at the 3- to 15-year-old crowd. And while the $80 Happy Plugs Play might be intended for kids, they look just like a set of regular adult headphones -- in fact, they bear a strong resemblance to Bose's high-end Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. And that could make all the difference when it comes to getting kids to wear them.

The Happy Plugs Play are volume-limiting, which means that their maximum volume level has been capped at 85 decibels (dB), the widely agreed-upon upper limit for safe listening. Given what we know of the long-term impact of listening to loud sounds -- known as Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) -- it's really important to ensure that children use their headphones safely. Trouble is, like most things that are safe or good for us, volume-limiting headphones for kids tend to look childish or cheap -- or both. These designs might be accepted by the very youngest children, but older kids have much more sophisticated tastes.

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