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Wireless earbuds offer protection against water and dust to varying degrees but very few are recommends for wearing over particularly long periods in water. For example, if you’re looking for a set of specialist earbuds for swimming or the like, you look to earbuds (or headphones) with an IPX8 rating – which means they offer protection against submersion beyond 1m for an extended period of time (the manufacturer should state this). Currently, no IPX8 earbuds feature on our best list. Also note that the “X” relates to dustproofing so do consider earbuds with a number in that position too, as long as the “8” is on the end. Every month seems to bring new sets of earbuds with longer battery life and more compact designs. As such, we can't list everything we like. But if you're still hunting, here are some other recommendations. They do omit a couple of helpful features – active noise cancellation and control customisation – but access to an impactful graphic equaliser in the Sony Headphones Connect companion app allows you to tune audio to your tastes, which is very welcome. The WF-C500 will also prove a popular choice for those who aren’t fans of touch controls, as they use depressible buttons that take away any guesswork from controlling them. The driver is primarily responsible for converting the signal from your device into audible vibrations. It’s a loudspeaker with a voice coil, magnet, and diaphragm. Earbud drivers usually range in size from around 4 mm to 15 mm. Larger drivers are generally more potent than smaller drivers, but a larger driver doesn’t necessarily mean better sound quality. Other factors, like tuning, materials, and build quality, all impact sound performance. Sometimes, the manufacturer won’t indicate the driver size, but that’s OK. You can use other specs to help determine your earbud’s sound quality. With regards to sound quality, we found the Boo Tips to offer crisp vocals and a decent sense of brightness and clarity in the higher frequencies alongside a natural portrayal of instruments in the mid-range and a fair amount of punch. The looser fit here did impact the extension and depth of the bass, although there’s a nice sense of width to the soundstage here with a good amount of separation between voices and instruments.
Since our review, a firmware update sees the QuietComfort Earbuds 2 now support aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless The battery is pretty good, the TWS 1/ able to last for 34 hours with ANC on, which is better than the AirPods Pro 2 and WF-1000XM4. Charging is a choice of USB-C and via any Qi-enabled wireless charging pad, and with the IPX4 resistance against moisture, you can consider these as an option for runs and workouts, too. You won’t find ANC here, but that’s not expected at this price. What you do get is great battery life that punches above their weight, as during testing we found JLab’s claims of 32 hours total playtime to largely ring true. They should be good for a week’s use before you need to plug them in, an easy feat with the built-in charging cable.Such features make the Buds2 Pro our number-one choice if you’re already invested in the Galaxy ecosystem but if you don’t fall into that category, you’ll find better value elsewhere on this list.
Noise-cancelling is more important than sound quality: The WF-1000XM4s cancel noise well. But other true wireless buds (Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2) do it better.
Which wireless earbuds are best for running?
Wireless earbuds are great but, unlike wired headphones, you have to deal with the added irritant that is managing battery life. For some, this could be a dealbreaker – however, manufacturers are getting better in this department.
The ANC is also great, as demonstrated during testing where low-frequency noise was almost completely nullified, while a decent proportion of mid-range noise disappeared, with the seal of the silicone tips helping to remove high frequency sounds too. The performance isn’t as good as what you’d find on the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, but it surprised us how close the managed to get to the premium options. There are two ANC modes here – Low and High – and we’d recommend the Low setting as High can increase bass to the point where it is overbearing.
What is active noise cancellation (ANC)?
In our opinion, the best pairs are most definitely worth it. You get a clear step up as far as sound quality goes with more detail uncovered, even greater dynamics and a more overall polished performance. Many budget models don't have the same spread of features as more expensive designs and might be missing key things like active noise-cancelling. What are the best earbuds for Zoom meetings? Before we put them in place we'll also experiment with any tips provided to make sure we've got a perfect seal pre-testing, and ensure that bass performance isn't affected. Although we have dedicated testing facilities in London, Reading and Bath, the bulk of our wireless earbuds testing happens outside those facilities, whether that's on the street or in our busy office. Doing so made the top end a little harsh, although not enough that it made the Air Pops unlistenable. There’s also a Bass Boost sound mode designed for working out, and a Balanced mode for classical music and spoken word audio that we found worked well with good detail and separation.
Add to that an eight-hour battery life (plus 16hrs from the case), Multipoint Bluetooth (so you can connect to two devices simultaneously), excellent noise cancellation (they seem to remove an extra layer of midrange noise compared to their predecessors, the XM4) andIPX4-rated sweat resistance, and this is a solid offering across the board. Audio performance is also upgraded over the original Pros, with new drivers and amplifiers. During our testing, we rated the sound on offer from the Pro 2 as excellent – there’s rich audio across genres and a wide and expansive soundstage. You're looking to save money: With so many brilliant budget earbuds out there, these are perhaps an unnecessary expense. But they are a perfect 'big present'.
What are the most comfortable wireless earbuds?
Cons: ANC impacts on sound quality; might be too bassy for some; metal battery case is (relatively) hefty Bowers & Wilkins has taken its sweet time to bring a true wireless in-ear design to market, but the PI7 are worth the wait. Most important of all is the way they sound, of course - and thanks to a hybrid system of balanced armature in conjunction with a 9.2mm dynamic driver in each earbud, they sound excellent. The soundstage they create is sizeable and well defined, the tonality from the top of the frequency range to the bottom is balanced and believable, and they retrieve as much detail as a scene-of-crime investigator. In absolute terms, they’re a match for the best-sounding true wireless in-ear headphones around. Most earbuds have some volume controls and controls for music functions like play, pause, previous, and next song. If the earbuds have a microphone built-in, you’ll also have buttons for answering and rejecting calls. Some of these buttons may double as more than one function. For instance, the “play” button may double as the “answer call” button, or the “decline call” may double as the “stop” or “pause” button. If a true wireless earphone is not what you’re after, we have other lists to help in your search. They include our list of the best wireless headphones, best noise cancelling earbudsand best headphones. Best wireless earbuds at a glance
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