I have a different problem with gale. His wall of flame is a fantastic room control spell that can do some serious damage… if only allies would STOP walking right through it!

Yup! And because of this show we have one of the greatest remix/covers of all time: https://youtu.be/ACczN6g1EXA?si=PyKHsFJeRgvzwrMx

Yeah, my blocked website list is growing everyday with websites that are literally just a 4 paragraph summary of a reddit post. 3 of the paragraphs are usually just "user ‘spezcocksucker’ says this but another person disagrees. Here’s the reddit link and 27 ads.

OK, there are many different ways to approach your current setup.

Wired vs wireless isn’t that much of an issue as you can get very affordable Bluetooth adapters for your computer.

Also the goal of what you want your headphones to do is going to come into play here as well because you may want a stationary setup vs mobile.

Then there’s the microphone requirement…

Actually rather than fill an unrelated thread with headphone advice I’m going to DM you.

Anytime!

If you want to extend the life of your XM3’s you can get some high quality upgraded cushions from “Wicked Cushions” for $30. They have a couple of different styles other than just straight black.

America’s Test Kitchen is one of the only apps I pay a subscription for. It’s pretty phenomenal. I usually try to find something from Kenji Lopez-Alt, Binging with Babish, or Claire Saffitz first but I ALWAYS know I will find something good on ATK.

YouTube recipes have gotten hit or miss for me and I blame TikTok. They have become super short without lots of relevant information. If you’re lucky they will display the ingredient quantity on screen for a second before moving on.

I recently was looking for a new recipe to try and found so many YouTube “recipes” that read like a Great British Bake Off Challenge.

Step 1: Gather ingredients Step 2: Make dough Step 3: Cook. Enjoy! Like and subscribe, check out my Patreon, TikTok, Instagram, tumbler, Etsy, Nebula, floatplane, and OnlyPans!

The general idea that I’ve seen floating around is that he is easily on the same level as Stark, Banner, Pym, and Richards but because he started hero-ing at such a young age he never got the resources such as high level education or time to develop a thesis/experiment with his ideas.

If he had those options available to him then yea, equal than or possibly better than Tony.

My brain works in racing terms so my personal analogy would be as follows:

If you took the best go cart racer rookie to have ever been seen and dropped him straight into formula 2 he would probably figure it out and rise up somewhere near the top and be good if not great. But if he then tried to jump into F1 he would probably get spanked.

But if instead he did his time in go carts, shifter carts, dallara carts, dabbled in gt series and prototypes, was mentored by racing legends and then worked through F3, this prodigy would likely blast through F2 and rise to the top of F1 as one of the greatest of all times.

Okay so this provides an interesting set of restraints as they are traveling headphones. I have yet to find what I consider the perfect traveling headphones but there are a couple I have found that come close.

The Sony WH-1000XM5 and the Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra’s

Bose has some remarkable ANC, after all that is one of the things that really established their name in the market. My main two complaints with the Bose is the sound signature isn’t always the best (IMO) and that the app can be finicky at best bordering on terribly annoying.

The Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra’s are really amazing for the ANC and their sound is improved with their new processor but if you are on an apple device you will miss out on this feature. Only devices with a snap dragon 888 or newer can take advantage.

One of the caveats is that the microphone quality is not the best I had some complaints about call quality when using the Bose.

One pro is that they collapse into a smaller form factor with a slightly better carrying case.

For the Sony XM5 I really preferred the sound signature and styling is just Chefs Kiss. They fold flat enough which makes packing them easy enough even if they aren’t as small as the Bose. I also prefer that the XM5 has a 3.5mm audio jack instead of a 2.5mm on the Bose. It feels more likely to last longer. Also because they are slightly older you can probably find a better deal.

The Sony does a remarkably good job at rejecting background noise when making phone calls and has a much wider band of frequencies captured. The Bose sounds very tiny and scratchy.

The Sony also has a longer battery life which is nice.

I know you said that outrageous good noise cancelling is key but if you are willing to compromise a little on the ANC quality the Focal Bathys have far superior sound.

The frequency curve on the mids to low end is practically flat, it does fall off the tiniest bit on the upper mids and lower highs but for me this means you get a really accurate sound reproduction that isn’t tiring and can be listened to all day long. The soundstage is really wide especially given that they are closed back.

The looks are a bit odd and they are a bit on the larger side. They still fold flat and they have a superior amount of cushion and I think the build quality is better.

Oh if you are a bass head that just wants super punchy powerful bass go for the Sony’s over the Focals. The Focals are more accurate but less present.

Lastly is my currently traveling setup. Its… non-traditional. I am using a pair of Samsung Galaxy Pro 2 buds which really fit my ear well and already have some pretty remarkable ANC. Not nearly Headphone level but still very good. Here is the non-traditional part: if I REALLY need to block out outside noise IE on a construction site or in the shop I wear the buds underneath a pair of passive cancelling earmuffs. Specifically the Peltor X5 Earmuffs.

It’s not stylish but the Earmuffs + Buds + Comply Foam tips feels like you are in a void. Barely have to touch the volume to hear your music as clear as day.

Bro… Is your buddy looking for a buddy? Seriously though this is an awesome present.