Bowers & Wilkins PX7 Wireless Over Ear Headphones with Active Noise Cancellation - Space Grey

Product Information

Before you start browsing you should first and foremost decide which style of Bluetooth headphones you want. Our round-up of the best wireless headphones above includes several over-ear designs, which – as you might've guessed – sit over your ears, with the earcups connected by a headband. These tend to provide good physical isolation and an enveloping, spacious sound compared with in-ear designs, and more often than not throw in active noise cancellation (ANC) for good measure – though naturally they are bulkier to wear and transport and tend to cost more. Brands such as Sony, Bose, Sennheiser, Bowers & Wilkins and Apple lead the way, though with Sonos wireless headphones reportedly on the horizon, the competition isn't letting up. It's a shame there's no support for high-quality wireless audio codecs such asLDACoraptX HD, nor is there wireless charging or Bluetooth multipoint. But we don't think this is the end of the world when you consider that these classy buds ooze such sophistication in the design, sound and ANC departments. While they don’t have a fold-down design, or come with a carry case, the WH-CH720N feel surprisingly well made and offered our testers a comfortable fit, even during prolonged listening sessions. True to its Solitaire name, the T+A are gems, alone in a territory of wireless performance quality that no other pair we’ve heard can occupy. When we saw the official pictures of the XM5, we were more than a bit surprised. We wondered whether it was a wise move to give one of Sony’s biggest success stories in recent memory, the WH-1000XM4, a major redesign.But it's paid off!

Best wireless headphones 2023: Bluetooth - What Hi-Fi? Best wireless headphones 2023: Bluetooth - What Hi-Fi?

The gap still remains, though: the best wired headphones at a particular price will still sound notably better than the best wireless pair at that same price point. So if sound quality is key and you don't mind sacrificing cable-free convenience and noise cancellation to get it, wired is still the way to go. We certainly didn’t expect them to trouble the best-in-class competitors such as the Sony WF-1000XM5 and Bose QC Earbuds II (both above), but with the AirPods Pro 2 Apple has put in a good fight and come very close to the benchmark. The Pro 2 are five-star stunners that ensure Apple loyalists who want noise cancellation aren't settling for less than great. TheAirPodsand AirPods Pro earbuds have typically been one step behind the class-leading competition, particularly when it came to sound quality. They’ve been good-but-not-great wireless earbuds; lovely to use for iOS users but never quite reaching the sonic heights established by the toppairsin this crowded and popular category.That all changes with the new AirPods Pro 2. The second generation of Apple’s flagship wireless ANC earbuds introduces a more powerful processor, advancements in active noise-cancelling, a longer battery life, new features and, more importantly, much better audio performance.

Bowers and Wilkins PX Headphones connecting to Windows 10 Bowers and Wilkins PX Headphones connecting to Windows 10

Yes, the WF-C500 can be bettered for battery life (they offer 20 hours from the buds and case combined), but you’ll be hard-pushed to find a more comfortable pair. You can buy greater outright scale of sound, though you won’t encounter a more complete control app. Some alternatives are a punchier and more ‘exciting’ listen, but very few strike a more convincing sonic balance. If you’re on a very strict budget but want a decent set of over-ear wireless headphones then you won’t do better than the What Hi-Fi? Award-winning Sony WH-CH720N. Smaller and lighter than the original Bose QC Earbuds, the Earbuds II provide a comfortable fit and lots of features. Bluetooth 5.3 is a big bonus, and the Bose app allows you to alter the amount of noise-cancelling on offer via a number of customisable presets.They cost hundreds more than most people would ever dream of paying for headphones, wired or wireless, but for those who prioritise convenience and sound quality equally, and have the budget to spend big, the T+A Solitaire T nail that balance without compromise and are the most convincing wired/wireless hybrids we’ve come across. Speaking of which, one issue when using wireless headphones with a TV is lag – the delay between what you see on the screen and what you hear. This is due to latency: the time it takes the sound to travel from the source to the headphones. But Bluetooth standards and codecs have steadily improved latency and squashed most of the issues, so headphones and TVs today (and from the past few years) shouldn't have any problems. Yes, it's another Sony – which just goes to show how consistent the brand is across the headphones space. With the WF-1000XM5, Sony has managed to build on the huge success of the multi-award-winning WF-1000XM4 and produce another sensational pair of true wireless earbuds. If you have thin walls, like to watch TV when the kids are asleep, or would simply like a more involving personal listening experience that your TV's speakers can't give you, listening to TV audio through wireless headphones can be transformative. Of course, you need to make sure your TV can output audio via Bluetooth. Some Bluetooth-equipped TVs even offer their own audio delay settings, which can help you marry up picture and sound. If it doesn't, you could buy and plug in a Bluetooth transmitter dongle for it, though be weary that this could introduce lip-sync errors.