How We Research
Updated: 2026-09-23 · 6 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a wireless, noise-cancelling, Xbox-ready headset you can wear for hours while chatting with your squad, choose Bang & Olufsen Beoplay; if you need an open-back, wired audiophile headphone for serious music listening at a desk, choose Fostex TH616.
• Bang & Olufsen Beoplay — biggest strength: a full wireless gaming package. Adaptive active noise cancellation, Dolby Atmos for Headphones virtual surround, a four-mic virtual boom-arm, touch controls and a lossless Xbox connection in one headset.
• Bang & Olufsen Beoplay — biggest trade-off: it is a closed, battery-dependent, Bluetooth-first design. Average battery life is listed at 12 hours with a 24-hour charge time, so long sessions mean planning around a cable.
• Fostex TH616 — biggest strength: pure wired audiophile construction. A 50 mm dynamic driver with a 1-tesla magnetic circuit and a "bio-dyna" diaphragm inside a carved black walnut housing, tuned for open-back sound.
• Fostex TH616 — biggest trade-off: no wireless, no noise cancellation, no microphone. It is a listen-only headphone that needs a source and a quiet room.
• Who each pick is for: Beoplay for gamers and commuters who want one wireless headset for everything; TH616 for listeners who sit down, plug in and care about timber, tone and detail.
The Beoplay Portal is built around a single idea: one headset that handles gaming, chat and music without you swapping gear. The feature list backs that up. Adaptive ANC kills background noise so you can focus on the match. Dolby Atmos for Headphones combines with the 40 mm dynamic drivers to produce a precise, spacious virtual surround image. And a virtual boom-arm made from four separate microphones, paired with Own Voice technology, keeps your voice clear in party chat without a mic arm hanging in front of your face.
Comfort gets real attention here too. The headset weighs 246 g, and the padded headband is shaped to reduce pressure while the memory foam earcups include jaw support. That is the kind of design detail that matters in hour four of a session. Controls are touch-based and app-adjustable, so muting or tweaking sound is a tap rather than a menu dive. On the connection side you get Bluetooth 5.1 with roughly 10 meters of range, a lossless 2.4 GHz path for Xbox and Windows, plus a 3.5 mm jack and a USB-A to USB-C cable in the box. Aluminum, leather and rubber in Grey Mist round out a finish that looks like a lifestyle product, not a plastic gaming toy. A three-year manufacturer warranty is listed.
Buy it if you want one wireless headset that does competitive gaming, voice chat and casual music on the couch. Skip it if you are a purist who refuses to manage a battery, or if you mostly listen to lossless music at a desk and want an open, airy stage. The 12-hour average battery life is the number to weigh honestly — it is fine for a normal evening, tight for a marathon.
The TH616 is the opposite philosophy, executed with intent. It is a wired, open-back, over-ear headphone carved from solid black walnut — a wood chosen for structural rigidity and acoustic behavior. The design story is deliberate: the openings in the housing are individually sized to avoid resonance at particular frequencies and to suppress modal vibrations, so the wood does acoustic work rather than just looking handsome. Every unit is assembled by hand in limited quantities at a Japanese factory as a 50th-anniversary model, which tells you Fostex treats this as a statement piece.
The engine is a 50 mm dynamic driver with a 1-tesla magnetic circuit, and Fostex pairs it with its "bio-dyna" diaphragm — a bio-cellulose blend engineered for low specific gravity, high Young's modulus and high internal loss. Translated out of spec-speak: deep bass, natural mids and smooth, velvety highs, with an expansive dynamic range and ultra-low distortion. Frequency response spans 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. Because it is open-back, sound leaks out and the outside world leaks in — that is the trade for the wide, natural staging open-back fans chase.
In the box you get the headphone, a 3 m detachable cable, a 1/4-inch connector and a leatherette carrying bag. Connectivity is wired only, via a 3.5 mm jack, with no noise control and no microphone. A one-year manufacturer warranty is listed. Buy it if you have a decent DAC or amp, a quiet room and a habit of sitting still and listening properly. Skip it if you game with voice chat, commute, or need anything wireless — it simply cannot do those jobs.
• Best for Xbox gaming → Bang & Olufsen Beoplay. Lossless Xbox connection, Dolby Atmos for Headphones and quick touch controls are purpose-built for it.
• Best for voice chat → Bang & Olufsen Beoplay. Four beamforming mics create a virtual boom-arm; the TH616 has no microphone at all.
• Best for noise cancellation → Bang & Olufsen Beoplay. Adaptive ANC versus none on the Fostex.
• Best for pure music listening → Fostex TH616. Open-back staging, a 50 mm driver, a 1-tesla magnet and a bio-dyna diaphragm are aimed squarely at fidelity.
• Best for long wear without charging → Fostex TH616. Wired means no battery ceiling; the Beoplay is rated around 12 hours of average life.
• Best for travel and commuting → Bang & Olufsen Beoplay. Bluetooth 5.1, ANC and a folding lifestyle design suit movement; the open-back Fostex leaks sound both ways.
• Best build story and materials → Fostex TH616. Carved black walnut, hand-assembled in limited quantities, with a 3 m detachable cable and a quarter-inch connector.
• Best all-rounder for one-device living → Bang & Olufsen Beoplay. It covers gaming, calls and music wirelessly; the Fostex covers one job exceptionally well.
In my opinion, the right pick comes down to whether you need a headset or a headphone. If your day involves Xbox, party chat, background noise and moving between rooms, I would buy the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay — its ANC, virtual surround, four-mic array and 246 g comfort make it the more useful object for most people. If your listening is a deliberate, seated ritual with a good source and a quiet room, I would buy the Fostex TH616 and accept the wire, because an open-back 50 mm walnut housing is built for exactly that moment. Two different tools, two different jobs — pick the job you actually do.
The Beoplay, clearly. It offers a lossless Xbox connection, Dolby Atmos for Headphones, adaptive ANC and a four-mic virtual boom-arm. The TH616 is a wired, open-back headphone with no mic and no gaming features.
No. It is wired only, with a 3.5 mm jack and a 3 m detachable cable plus a quarter-inch connector. There is no Bluetooth and no battery, so you will always need a source device.
Yes. It uses adaptive active noise cancellation, and it also includes Own Voice technology so you can hear yourself during chat. The Fostex TH616 has no noise control of any kind.
For home listening, I would lean toward the Fostex TH616. Its open-back design, 50 mm driver, 1-tesla magnetic circuit and bio-dyna diaphragm are aimed at detail and natural tone. Just check the current price on Amazon before deciding, since both sit in very different budget brackets.
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