We’ve tested more than 375 pairs of headphones for this guide. That’s a lot to cover, so we focus below on the newest and most high-profile competitors. However, if you’re curious about a specific model, we’ve archived many of our previous testing notes in a spreadsheet.Over- or on-ear headphones1More SonoFlow: This pair is our former budget headphones pick. The noise cancellation is effective, but it was bested by that of the Soundcore Space One headphones. The sound quality is pleasant and adjustable, and the design is lightweight and comfortable, though not as sturdy-feeling as the Space One. The 50-hour battery life with ANC on (70 hours with it off) is impressive for a model in any price range. However, the ANC does not work in wired mode, so if you’re on a plane that requires a wired connection to the in-flight entertainment system, you’ll have to either go without ANC or pick up a Bluetooth transmitter.Beats Studio Pro: For every positive, this pair has an equally disappointing downside. The noise cancellation and hear-through modes sound great, but neither is adjustable. It’s easy to use the larger physical buttons, but the power/ANC toggle button is inexplicably small. The foam earpads are soft but not replaceable. Android users get a dual-device connection feature; Apple users do not. There are three EQ settings, but they’re only accessible when listening via USB-C. But most importantly, the sound quality is dramatically impacted by use of the spatial audio: When it’s turned on, the lower bass is emphasized, and higher-pitched sounds have an artificial sharpness. With spatial audio off, the bass is notably diminished.Beyerdynamic Aventho 100: This on-ear set has a sleek, luxurious look. The build quality is substantial, with replaceable earcups, metal accents, and super-squishy, comfortable padding. In our tests, the app-adjustable sound provided plenty of bass and clear highs that weren’t shushing or piercing. The set’s 40 hours of battery life and its quick-charge feature ensure that you won’t need to worry about your listening time. The ANC is sufficient for airplane noise, and we found that the microphone quality was clear and capable of handling a bit of wind, although it wasn’t as effective in reducing nearby voices. The side tone had an odd, “talking in an empty hallway” quality. The physical controls are easy to use, but they are small, so it might take a little practice for you to get accustomed to activating them by feel.Bose QuietComfort Headphones: These are good headphones, but they aren’t remarkable enough to justify their original $350 price. The build is lightweight with squishy earpads that should accommodate many glasses arms. The physical controls are easy to use by feel. Music sounded good in our tests, albeit slightly bass-forward out of the box. Although the Bose app provides an EQ feature, it’s too simplistic to be useful. The ANC is not as effective as the rest of the current Bose line can deliver. In fact, at the highest intensity, these headphones reduced less noise in the airplane band than our budget pick. We do love that Bose includes a cable with a three-button remote and mic, a rare old-school nicety.Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2: This set is beautifully constructed, with a solid metal chassis and leather accents that befit the high price. In our tests, this pair reproduced low notes down to 20 Hz with clear pitch and no distortion; so, if you’re a bass lover, you’ll really enjoy the sound. However, purists may find the low frequencies to be too forward, and despite our attempts to mitigate this with the EQ options in the app, we were unable to find a balance that didn’t make the highs sound sibilant and piercing. The physical controls are small but easy to use, and the microphone quality was clear and effective at mitigating background and wind noise. The ANC, while good enough to be useful, was not as effective as that of our picks. And this set lacks bonus features, other than the ability to reassign the multifunction button to activate your digital assistant or toggle the ANC on and off. Overall, while these are very good headphones, we don’t think most people should pay $800 for beautiful design but basic performance.CMF by Nothing Headphone Pro: This affordable pair has swappable earpads in fun colors, but sadly the compliments end there. The EQ controls in the app are clumsy, and the ANC is middling. In our tests, bass notes vibrated or were unnaturally resonant, and high frequencies sounded coarse and sizzling. The transparency mode sounded as though the headphones had a small hole cut in them; some sounds were muffled, and others were clear.EarFun Tune Pro: The ANC was decently effective, but the hear-through mode elicited a faint whooshing sound that we hadn’t encountered in other headphones. We didn’t find the airy noise to be overly annoying, but people who are sensitive to such droning sounds should keep that in mind. The initial audio quality was bass-forward in a way that could obscure portions of male vocals, but otherwise the Tune Pro sounded quite good. The highs weren’t sibilant or hissing, and the balance was adjustable in the app. The microphone quality sounded clear and crisp, though compressed, and it reduced a good amount of background noise; the narrowing of our vocal tone was especially pronounced when the Tune Pro’s software was reducing that background noise, though. This set is usually priced around $70, but we’ve seen coupons available that bring the cost even lower, so if the Soundcore Space One is out of your budget, and you don’t mind a less-authentic hear-through mode, the Tune Pro is a decent midrange set of headphones without many bells and whistles.EarFun Wave Life: The Wave Life has surprisingly effective ANC and passive isolation for a set that is frequently on sale for $45. In our tests, the sound was also solid, with highs thatweren’t coarse. The balance was somewhat bass-forward out of the box, but the low end wasn’t blobby or smeared. Plus, you can adjust the sound in the EarFun app. However, the overall sense of musical depth and space wasn’t as good as what we heard on more expensive pairs. The microphone worked just fine in quiet settings, but it could pick up some background noise and couldn’t handle wind well, so this isn’t a set for taking calls outside. The physical controls handle everything you might expect and are customizable in the app. The build quality feels a little inexpensive, and a bag or case is not included. But considering the affordable price, this is a solid set of no-frills headphones.Edifier ES850NB: This set is equipped with high-quality drivers and finely adjustable EQ. However, the app’s EQ interface may be daunting to novices, and in our tests the high frequencies sounded icy no matter the adjustment. The ANC is middle-of-the-road in efficacy, and while the build is sturdy, the headphones have a snug clamping force that could be uncomfortable for people with larger heads.Final UX3000SV: While this set offers physical controls, the English version of the control app is still under construction, so this pair lacks customization. The ANC is effective, but only in a narrow low-frequency range. We found that the sound was bass-forward; low notes had pitch and avoided taking on a resonant, booming quality, but they were still quite loud in the mix. The highs were crisp and slightly boosted, which (depending on your taste) could sound either pleasantly or unnaturally detailed. The microphones sounded clear on calls in a quiet room and performed a very mild reduction of background noise, but they struggled with wind.Nothing Headphone 1: This is an all-around solid set of headphones. The sound quality in our tests was excellent (especially after we did a bit of fussing in the EQ), the ANC is above-average, and the headphones look cool, in a Stormtrooper-chic kind of way. Although the physical controls are limited in the customization options they offer, they function without the hiccups that commonly afflict touch controls. The microphones sounded slightly distant on our calls, but they handled a light breeze and some background noise. The headphones are IP52-rated, too. But the felt case will pick up lint and animal hair like crazy. If you’re fond of the aesthetic, this set is a good choice — just be sure to add a lint roller to your cart.One Odio Focus A6: The A6 is lightweight and affordable, but this pair isn’t a winner sonically, since it produced booming bass, veiled-sounding mids, and coarse highs in our tests. The ANC was mild and restricted to a narrow range, and the hear-through mode sounded muffled.Sennheiser Accentum Plus: This pair has smaller earcups that feel refreshingly streamlined, but they might be a touch too small for folks with larger ears. Out of the box the sound is quite nice, with an extra bass bump that is most noticeable with hip-hop and rap tunes. There’s also extra intensity in the highs that could be perceived as either added detail or sibilance, depending on your ears. If you want to EQ the sound, you’ll need to create an account in the app and take an unusual sound-preference test that asks how loud you like drums or strings. There’s no option to use faders to fine-tune the sound yourself. The active noise cancellation isn’t as effective as what our picks deliver, and the microphone quality makes you sound compressed, like you’re on an old-school landline.Skullcandy Aviator 900 ANC: This nostalgically designed set features numerous physical buttons, toggles, and dials that are fun to use. We found that the fit was comfortable, and the hear-through mode sounded quite natural. Call quality was clear, and the microphones did a reasonable job of managing background noise and light wind. Unfortunately, the sound was marred by bloated bass and somewhat piercing highs that we couldn’t fully resolve with any of the EQ presets or the five manual faders in the app. The ANC was mild, and the side tone on calls sounded muffled. If this pair were to cost under $200, we might be able to overlook the flaws, but at the original $300 asking price, we wanted better.Sony WH-1000XM5: This set has great passive noise isolation to block out voices around you, but we found that its ANC wasn’t as effective as that of the newer WH-1000XM6. This pair also lacks voice activation, has smaller buttons, and doesn’t fold up as compactly as the WH-1000XM6.Earbuds1More Q20: This inexpensive set had confusing controls and barely any noise cancellation.1More Q21: In our tests, the ANC performance was average, music sounded dull and flat, and the microphones created a garbled mess when we had any noise around us.AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation: If you can’t stand the feeling of sealed earbuds and want some noise cancellation, this pair is the only option out there. For everyone else, we think you can get better performance from our picks. Read more of our thoughts.Audio-Technica ATH-CKS30TW+: The ANC was mild, and the sound was flawed in our tests. With the bass boost turned off, hip-hop songs sounded distorted. When it was on, the sound was muddled. Both the earbuds and the case are smaller than average, which is nice. But the earbuds’ wingless design likely won’t be a good fit for small ears, nor will they stay put for workouts.Baseus Inspire XP1: This set has the tuning of Bose earbuds, but the quality of the drivers (and thus the sound quality) isn’t on a par with that of Bose earbuds. Neither is the ANC performance, which is just average. The microphones can handle a light breeze, but they may give your voice a raspy quality even in a quiet room.Beats Powerbeats Pro 2: If you’re looking specifically for Apple-friendy workout earbuds, this pair is a pricey but solid choice. The earbuds hook over the ears and feel very secure during workouts, and this set has a built-in heart-rate monitor that works well. The battery life of eight to 10 hours is good, and we liked how these earbuds sounded. But from a noise-cancelling perspective, the ANC in this pair isn’t as effective as that of the similarly priced AirPods Pro 2 or the Sony WF-1000XM5 — though the Beats’s sealed design passively blocks higher-frequency sounds better than the vented AirPods. If you’d like to read more about how this pair compares to other workout earbuds, check out our guide to the best workout earbuds and headphones.Beats Studio Buds +: The upgraded version of the Studio Buds, this pair offers better battery life (nine hours), Android customization, and noise cancellation compared with the original — and a stylishly transparent shell. But the core earbud design remains the same. This is a solid pair of earbuds overall and shares a lot of iOS-friendly features with the Beats Fit Pro set, but we like the Fit Pro earbuds better because they’re more secure in the ears, they still offer better noise cancellation, and their button design is more ergonomic.Bose QuietComfort Earbuds: This pair is large, so the majority of our panelists found them uncomfortable. Plus, the noise cancellation didn’t measure as well as that of our budget earbud pair.Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen): This pair is a slight improvement over the first-generation set. The ANC continues to be superlative at reducing airplane noise, and Bose has addressed the call-quality problems of the original. However, the earbuds remain very large, so people with medium or small ears will likely feel uncomfortable or fatigued when wearing these earbuds for several hours. The $300 price tag is really only worth it for people with large or pressure-tolerant ears who prioritize noise cancellation.CMF Buds Pro 2: The charging case doubles as a remote control for the earbuds, performing most of the actions you’d normally access through the tap controls. It’s nifty, but your phone can provide the same service. In our tests, this set had middling ANC and a design that could be difficult for people with small ears (due to the shape) or large ears (due to the size of the included tips) to get a proper fit. The sound was quite nice, though it leaned toward being bass-forward. The app provides customization for the earbuds and case control, but it was buggy.Creative Zen Air SXFI: This set has several commendable attributes, but it also exhibited a few flaws in our testing. The ANC was effective on airplane noise, and music sounded quite good, especially when we found the right EQ preset for our tastes. The microphones sounded clear on calls, and the build quality felt substantial for a pair under $100. However, the hear-through mode sounded unnatural, and the earbuds are chunky at the top, which could make it difficult for people with smaller or sensitive ears to get a good fit. In a competitive category, those minor flaws were enough to keep this pair from being a pick, but if the flaws aren’t dealbreakers for you, the SXFI set is worth considering.Dell Pro Plus Earbuds EB525: If you need a pair that’s Microsoft Open Office Certified in order to meet a workplace requirement, the EB525 set ticks that box, but we found its performance to be subpar for the price. The ANC was below average, high frequencies sounded coarse, and the squeeze/swipe controls were fussy. The USB-C dongle, which enables you to connect to PCs without Bluetooth pairing, is nice, but we prefer the JLab Epic Edition for that. The microphones do a decent job of reducing background noise, but the noise-reducing filter can make your voice sound like you’re underwater.JLab Epic Edition: These earbuds come with a USB-C Bluetooth transmitter that can store neatly inside the charging case. This pair’s adjustable ANC is effective, and the microphone sounds super clear on calls, even in wind. The sound is fantastic, especially the “Knowles signature” EQ setting. The earbuds offer nine hours of battery life, IP55 water and dust resistance, and a two-year warranty. We would make this pair a pick if the earbuds were more friendly to small ears, but sadly they’re a touch chunky with no additional stabilization.JLab Go Pods ANC: Considering that this set is priced under $30, it performs surprisingly well. The ANC is effective enough to be helpful on a plane. In our tests, the sound was pleasant, but male vocals sounded slightly muffled due to a bass boost that’s too wide. With customization, the touch controls can provide the full suite of headphone actions. The small charging case has a built-in USB-C cable, and the earbuds are rated IP55 for water and sweat resistance. Downsides include a lack of sidetone on calls, touch controls that don’t have a beep to indicate activation, and microphones that give your voice a compressed quality. Also, the build feels plasticky.JLab JBuds Pods ANC: The adjustable ANC was slightly above average in our tests, but this pair produced blurry, muffled low frequencies and strident highs that we could not fix in the app-based EQ. We also found that the microphone’s compression made our voices sound oddly robotic.Noble FoKus Amadeus: This set sounded fantastic, with crisp, delicate, detailed highs and a wide soundstage supported by lows that extend down to 20 Hz without thudding, rattling, or distorting. The app has a responsive EQ interface that enables meaningful adjustment. However, the earbud chassis is very thick and heavy, so even though Noble includes six sets of tips, people with medium or small ears may struggle to get a fit secure enough to keep the earbuds in place for long periods. The ANC was only moderately effective over a narrow band of frequencies, but the passive isolation was quite good. The controls are fussy; the hold function will turn off the earbuds if you press it for a second too long.Nothing Ear A: This is the most affordable earbud pair in Nothing’s Ear line. The ANC is above average and offers three levels of intensity, as well as an adaptive mode that adjusts to the noise in your surroundings. In our tests, we found the sound to be a bit hyped out of the box — it was not unpleasant, and you have a few ways to adjust it in the app if you wish. The earbuds have a water- and dust-resistance rating of IP54, and the case has an IPX2 rating. Technically, this set offers the full suite of controls if you change the gesture settings in the app, but in our testing the assigned controls often failed to activate. In our tests, the microphones sounded very compressed, especially in noisy environments; you’ll be understood, but your voice won’t sound like yourself.Nothing Ear: The Ear is the midlevel earbud set from Nothing, with wireless charging and a better IP55 rating for the case. The earbuds use ceramic drivers, and out of the box this pair sounded slightly better than the Nothing Ear A in our tests, with a bit more depth to the sound, better restraint and clarity in the bass, and highs that were less harsh and icy. This was the only Nothing pair we tested that didn’t have issues with the controls’ acting buggy when we tried to customize them. The ANC was above average, but the microphones sounded notably compressed on calls.Nothing Ear 3: This is the flagship earbud pair in the Nothing line. Aside from its use of a different driver material, the main thing that differentiates this set from the others is the case, which adds a feature called “super mic” that turns it into a handheld microphone when you are on a call in a noisy area. It’s an interesting idea that works well; my voice sounded significantly clearer when I used the case as my mic. But it felt weird talking into an earbud case like a child pretending to be a TikTok influencer, and the earbuds’ microphones sounded so compressed that, even in a quiet area, the “super mic” became a necessity rather than a novelty. Also, we had the same problems with the customized controls on this pair as we did with the Nothing Ear A set.OnePlus Buds 4: In our tests, this set was stellar for phone calls in noisy locations. The noise-reducing mics did a great job of suppressing background noise and wind without rendering our words incomprehensible. The ANC was above average, and the transparency mode sounded quite natural. Sadly, music didn’t sound quite so authentic. Guitars were muffled, and vocals had a lispy quality.Poly Voyager Free 20: This set had decent low-frequency ANC in our tests, but we found the physical controls to be buggy and uncomfortable to use. Although the microphones handled a light breeze well, they struggled with higher-pitched noises like running water or the whoosh of traffic. Additionally, the firmware updates for the case need to be performed on a laptop or desktop, and the earbuds are updated via a mobile app, which makes it cumbersome to keep the set up-to-date.QCY AilyBuds Pro+: In our tests, the ANC was minimal, which isn’t entirely surprising considering the earbuds’ unsealed design. But we weren’t impressed with the sound quality, either, and the microphone sounded artificial and distant.Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro: The fit is comfortable, the case is adorably small, and the sound is flawed yet still pleasant. But the noise cancellation is significantly less successful than we’d like, and the Buds 2 Pro pair doesn’t offer dual-device connectivity. The touch controls are easy to inadvertently activate when you’re adjusting the earbuds in your ears. And the voice-activated hear-through mode isn’t as seamless as that of the Sony WF-1000XM5.Soundcore Liberty 5: Although this set has above-average ANC and a natural-sounding hear-through mode, the microphone quality sounded compressed and somewhat rough during our tests. Out of the box, the bass response was bloated; we were able to mitigate the loudness of the bass using the EQ controls in the Soundcore app, but low notes still lacked form and definition. Also, the squeeze controls caused the earbuds to move in our ears, so we were constantly readjusting the fit.Soundpeats H3: This is not a good set for people with small or medium ears, as the hard, lucite chassis is chunky; even people with larger ears may have trouble wearing them. In our tests, the ANC was average overall but useful for airplane noise. However, the hear-through mode sounded unnatural, the microphones made voices sound especially compressed (like an old landline), and the app requires you to create an account to use it.Status Pro X: This pair has intense ANC in a specific range, but very low-frequency rumbles and engine whines can bleed through. The sound is powered by three drivers. We found the mids and lows to sound quite nice in our tests, but the balanced armatures that handle the highest pitches sounded sibilant and piercing — and we couldn’t fix it using the EQ controls. The hear-though mode also struggled with the over-hyped highs, emphasizing everyday noises like keyboard clicks in a way that was distracting and potentially painful to sensitive listeners. It’s a pity, as we really appreciated the full controls and the EQ interface, which allows you to tweak existing EQ presets rather than starting from scratch.Technics AZ100: This is a decent pair of earbuds, but nothing about its performance stood out. In our tests, the ANC and passive noise isolation were good. We found the sound quality to be somewhat dull out of the box, but we were able to adjust the EQ controls to get a pleasant balance, though some people might detect a hissing quality in the highest frequencies. The microphones do a passable job of reducing background noise, but your caller may find that your voice has a cupped-hands quality. The touch-based controls were finicky at times, and the earbuds have a thick, rounded shape that may be challenging for people with smaller ears to keep in place.This article was edited by Adrienne Maxwell and Grant Clauser.
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