Proud new owner of the iPhone X or Pixel 2? Here are the best wireless headphones that will work with your phone.
While just a couple of years ago you were forced to make some serious compromises if you wanted to go wireless, these days it’s a completely different story.
Bluetooth technology has improved to allow audio to be transmitted without the same loss of quality that used to result, and batteries have improved to allow you to get several days of use out of a pair of headphones without needing to charge them.
Love them or hate them, wireless headphones are here to stay, and the removal of the headphone jack from high-profile handsets like the iPhone X and Pixel 2 pes and sizes — from sleek, workout-ready in-ear headphones to cushion-y noise-cancelling over-ear headphones — and each offer more features and better connectivity options than your old wired headphones ever could.
So what makes wireless headphones so special anyways? And how do you determine the best wireless headphones from a whole bunch of wannabes?
Easy. You try dozens of wireless headphones and stack them against one another, mono-a-mono. (Well, stereo-a-stereo in this case.)
We’ve done this countless times over the years and have since built up a bit of an ear for picking out certain tonal characteristics. With these particular set of skills and a keen eye for value we set about trying to pick out the best headphones money could buy.
So, looking to finally ditch the cord? Here are the top 10 wireless headphones, ordered by their price-to-performance ratio:
The best wireless earphones you can buy
NuForce knocked it out of the park with the BE Sport3 headphones. They’re an incredible value for a pair of wireless headphones that sound good, last all day, have a bulletproof build and incredible noise isolation. While they’re not the most dynamic or resolving headphones, NuForce shows us that the future of wireless headphones is a bright one.
Wireless noise-cancelling headphones that sound better than Bose
The Sony WH-1000XM2 are an excellent revision of an already great pair of wireless headphones: They sound great, deftly wield noise cancellation technology and cost just as much as a pair of Bose QC35s. They might have a slightly shorter battery life than some other headphones on our list, but Sony’s WH-1000XM2 outclass them all in terms of performance and feature-set.
Not only do they provide awesome noise-cancellation, but they have three neat tricks that few other wireless headphones have: One is an ambient noise mode that only lets in mid-to-high frequency tones (announcements over a loudspeaker, for instance) and another being Quick Attention mode that allows you to let in all outside noise without taking off the headphones. (The latter is perfect when giving a drink order on a plane or speaking to a coworker for a brief moment before diving back into your work.) The last trick Sony has up its sleeve is the LDAC codec. Alongside the widely adopted aptX HD standard, LDAC enables Hi-Res Audio playback using the 1000XM2.
Great-sounding and feature-packed, the Sony WH-1000XM2 are great travel companions and all-around excellent wireless headphones.
Sporty wireless headphones that will completely surprise you
If in-ear headphones aren’t your style, your next best bet is the Jabra Move Wireless. These headphones may look like a budget buy, but don’t let that fool you: this set of on ear Bluetooth headphones is nothing but an all-around stellar product. From the fun and edgy design to excellent performance, these cans come recommended for anyone interested in wireless on the cheap.
Incredible audio fidelity backed by a serious price
Although they’re a much better looking, and sounding, pair of headphones, the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless (not to be confused with the smaller, cheaper, Sennheiser Momentum On-Ear Wireless) are kept off the top spot of the list by their premium price point, which puts them out of reach of all but the most committed of music lovers.
But for those that can afford them, these are a no-holds-barred wireless headphones are oozing with positive qualities. They’re comfortable, hard-working set of headphones that will likely last for years.
Premium headphones that include industry-leading noise-cancellation
Sitting at the top our list is the Bose QC35. Bose has finally brought its fantastic noise-cancelling technology to a pair of wireless headphones and it’s done so without any of the traditional drawbacks of wireless headphones. They sound great, and their battery life is long enough for all but the longest of flights.
These wireless noise-cancelling headphones are a traveler’s best friend
If you’re a frequent traveler you’re probably all too familiar with headphones that can’t hold a charge and can’t block out sound, let alone sound very good. Let us introduce you to the Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2, one of the few headphones on the market that can do all of the above and cost less than half as much as one of the bigger names like Beats, Bose and Sony.
If we had to boil it down to its core, the BackBeat Pro 2 offers an excellent travel headphone with incredible battery life, supreme comfort, the ability to pair two device as once and, most importantly, good sound quality for the cost.
Great sound marred by fiddly controls
If you’re a fan of Sennheiser’s sound, but want noise-cancellation in addition to wireless operation then the PXC 550 headphones might be exactly what you’re looking for. They might be pricey, but these headphones sound great.
The reason we haven’t put them further up the list comes down to their controls. Although controlling the headphones with a series of swipes on the outside of the earcup feels futuristic, it’s not much help when you want to quickly skip through multiple tracks, or set the volume at a specific level.
Outside of these issues, these are a great pair of headphones that tick (almost) all the boxes.
Wireless noise-cancellation from the mid-range master
The AKG N60NC Wireless sound like a pair of headphones that should be much more expensive than they are.
At their mid-range price point the headphones offer fantastic value for money, with great sound quality and a level of noise-cancellation performance that’s on a level with the much more premium entries on this list.
Our biggest issue with these headphones is the fact that they’re on-ear rather than over-ear, meaning that we found that they got uncomfortable over longer periods.
