The best over-ear headphones of 2026, ranked by sound quality, comfort, ANC, and value. This Top 10 includes wireless and wired models tested on MyChooz over 12 years, with 50+ models tested in total.
EMMA — Experts + Methodology + MyChoozers + Algorithm.
Every model goes through identical tests; the score is calculated automatically with fixed weights — a spot in the rating cannot be bought.
Top 10 Best Over-Ear Headphones 2026 — Rating:
1. Noble Audio FoKus Apollo 9.12Best over-ear headphones for sound quality with a boom mic.
Drivers are the drivers in your headphones that are responsible for creating sound.
DD + PM + BA – means that there are several different types of drivers in these headphones.
DD – “Dynamic Driver” dynamic driver (deep bass, natural sound).
PM – “Planar Magnetic Driver” planar driver (wide soundstage and fast response).
BA – “Balanced Armature Driver” armature driver (accuracy and detail retrieval).
BC – “Bone Conduction Driver” or bone-conduction driver, which transmits vibration to the body of the headphones, transmitting sound through the bone/cartilage to the inner ear.
LDAC – high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
aptX – Qualcomm standard, good quality, low latency.
LC3/LC3plus – new Bluetooth LE Audio codecs, efficient compression.
Codecs are audio compression formats that affect sound quality and latency.
Headphone battery life is the playback time without recharging, measured in hours. Manufacturers measure without active noise cancellation (ANC), at medium volume (50-70%) and usually with the AAC codec, as these parameters affect battery consumption. Actual time may vary from 1% to 50%, depending on volume, active noise cancellation features enabled, codec (LDAC or other) and environmental conditions (cold, hot). It is important to consider not only the claimed playback time, but also the charging time and fast charging support.
Bluetooth is a wireless data transmission standard.
Support for new audio technologies.
Improved connection stability.
Reduced power consumption.
The Noble Audio FoKus Apollo are the best over-ear headphones for sound. They’re especially great for detail retrieval. The main reasons to buy them are the reference-quality sound. The earcups don’t press on your ears. LDAC latency is around 30 ms. They also have a boom mic. It has a switch to quickly turn off all the headphone mics. There aren’t any big downsides. Just consider the price. Also, the highs can be a little harsh. But you can fix that with the EQ.
The built-in microphone isn’t anything special. You can talk with it, but not in noisy places. There’s also this detachable microphone. Let’s hear how it all sounds.
- Reference-level sound
- Top-tier noise cancellation
- Comfortable fit, sturdy and reliable build quality
- Minimally usable transparency mode
- Fabric finish collects dust and fine debris
The final sound score is calculated using this formula:
Frequency balance + Detail retrieval + Soundstage + Natural timbre / 4 = Final Sound Score.
. 9.66 The headphones offer the best sound in terms of emotionality and analyticity. The bass is deep and unburdened, the mids are open with minimal transparency drop. Reference soundstage, naturalness, and detail retrieval. Positioning does not shift with instruments appearing or fading. The sound lacks noticeable artificiality and grain, and detail retrieval is sufficient to hear minor artifacts in the recording. Cons include highs lacking softness, and excessive percussion in a track getting fatiguing.Read more.
Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 8.64 Active noise cancellation suppresses up to about 50% of noise, while transparency mode is minimally suited for conversation. Button controls with basic playback and call management. The companion app is user-friendly, featuring a 10-band EQ and personal sound tuning.Read more.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 8.50 The ear cups do not press on the ears, and minor fatigue becomes noticeable by the 3rd-4th hour of use. Build quality is defect-free, and materials are premium grade. The headphones look good, I liked them.Read more.
2. Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless 9.09Best wireless over-ear headphones — in sound and features
Drivers are the drivers in your headphones that are responsible for creating sound.
DD + PM + BA – means that there are several different types of drivers in these headphones.
DD – “Dynamic Driver” dynamic driver (deep bass, natural sound).
PM – “Planar Magnetic Driver” planar driver (wide soundstage and fast response).
BA – “Balanced Armature Driver” armature driver (accuracy and detail retrieval).
BC – “Bone Conduction Driver” or bone-conduction driver, which transmits vibration to the body of the headphones, transmitting sound through the bone/cartilage to the inner ear.
LDAC – high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
aptX – Qualcomm standard, good quality, low latency.
LC3/LC3plus – new Bluetooth LE Audio codecs, efficient compression.
Codecs are audio compression formats that affect sound quality and latency.
Headphone battery life is the playback time without recharging, measured in hours. Manufacturers measure without active noise cancellation (ANC), at medium volume (50-70%) and usually with the AAC codec, as these parameters affect battery consumption. Actual time may vary from 1% to 50%, depending on volume, active noise cancellation features enabled, codec (LDAC or other) and environmental conditions (cold, hot). It is important to consider not only the claimed playback time, but also the charging time and fast charging support.
Bluetooth is a wireless data transmission standard.
Support for new audio technologies.
Improved connection stability.
Reduced power consumption.
Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless are the best wireless over-ear headphones with three main reasons to buy: the best sound under $300, top-tier noise cancellation, and a solid, reliable build. With aptX HD and aptX Adaptive codecs, the sound improvement is only 10-15%, since the audio system already delivers maximum performance on its own. On the downside — the earcup clamping force is above average, so after 1-2 hours of use you’ll need to take a break.
- Best sound under $300
- Top-tier noise cancellation and reference-level transparency.
- Detailed microphone
- Sturdy and reliable build
- Ear cups press too firmly
The final sound score is calculated using this formula:
Frequency balance + Detail retrieval + Soundstage + Natural timbre / 4 = Final Sound Score.
. 9.55 These headphones deliver the best sound quality of any over-ear model under $300. You get a pleasing bass-heavy sound with an intimate mid-range and moderately bright highs. The soundstage is spacious and full-bodied, completely free of artificial timbre or noticeable grain. Detail retrieval is sharp enough to catch micro-details. A few minor drawbacks include a slight excess in the bass, a shortfall in the highs, and a touch less transparency.Read more.
Microphone – We assess speech transmission quality by testing the microphone in two main scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment – This involves recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment – This means recording outdoors near a six-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 9.25 In quiet conditions: 9.5 In noisy conditions: 9 These headphones feature 4 microphones, with 2 in each ear cup. Voice on recordings sounds detailed. In noisy environments, quality drops a bit while staying clear.Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 8.83 Active noise cancellation is top-tier and leaves sound quality untouched. The transparency mode comes close to reference-quality. Up to 60 hours of battery life will easily carry you through a week of active listening. Controls are hybrid and mostly gesture-based on the right ear cup. Navigation feels convenient, though it takes a couple of days to get the hang of it. The app is useful: you can turn on the aptX codec on Android, tweak the EQ, and adjust the ambient mode.Read more.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 8.33 Build quality feels sturdy and reliable, though the finish picks up fingerprints rather easily. The clamping force is above average, which is fine for 1 to 2 hours of use before you feel the need to take a break. The headphones look good and come in 5 colors.Read more.
3. Bowers & Wilkins PX8 S2 8.41Large over-ear Bluetooth headphones – stylish and with bright tuning.
Drivers are the drivers in your headphones that are responsible for creating sound.
DD + PM + BA – means that there are several different types of drivers in these headphones.
DD – “Dynamic Driver” dynamic driver (deep bass, natural sound).
PM – “Planar Magnetic Driver” planar driver (wide soundstage and fast response).
BA – “Balanced Armature Driver” armature driver (accuracy and detail retrieval).
BC – “Bone Conduction Driver” or bone-conduction driver, which transmits vibration to the body of the headphones, transmitting sound through the bone/cartilage to the inner ear.
LDAC – high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
aptX – Qualcomm standard, good quality, low latency.
LC3/LC3plus – new Bluetooth LE Audio codecs, efficient compression.
Codecs are audio compression formats that affect sound quality and latency.
Headphone battery life is the playback time without recharging, measured in hours. Manufacturers measure without active noise cancellation (ANC), at medium volume (50-70%) and usually with the AAC codec, as these parameters affect battery consumption. Actual time may vary from 1% to 50%, depending on volume, active noise cancellation features enabled, codec (LDAC or other) and environmental conditions (cold, hot). It is important to consider not only the claimed playback time, but also the charging time and fast charging support.
Bluetooth is a wireless data transmission standard.
Support for new audio technologies.
Improved connection stability.
Reduced power consumption.
Bowers & Wilkins PX8 S2 are large over-ear Bluetooth headphones. They have deep bass and bright tuning. The main reasons to buy them are the top-tier sound. It’s detailed and natural. They also feature premium quality materials. Plus, the build quality is durable and reliable. This model has no critical flaws.
- Top-tier sound — detailed and natural
- Premium quality materials
- Sturdy and reliable build
- Transparency mode and microphone noise cancellation above average.
The final sound score is calculated using this formula:
Frequency balance + Detail retrieval + Soundstage + Natural timbre / 4 = Final Sound Score.
. 8.67 High-frequency with a cold tint. Bass is accurate and detailed, and instruments are distinguishable by timbre. High-frequency instruments are clear, just harsh and quickly fatiguing — this is the most significant flaw in the sound. Furthermore, the soundstage felt insufficiently spacious. Mids are pleasant — the sound is open, and the vocalist sings right in front of you, with a minimal lack of transparency. There is no noticeable artificiality or grain in the sound.Read more.
Microphone – We assess speech transmission quality by testing the microphone in two main scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment – This involves recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment – This means recording outdoors near a six-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 7.75 In quiet conditions: 8.5 In noisy conditions: 7Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 7.98 Noise cancellation suppresses up to about 40% of noise. In transparency mode, you can chat, although surroundings are slightly muffled. Button controls for basic player navigation and call management. In the proprietary app, the only useful features are a 5-band EQ and linking music streaming services.Read more.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 8.40 The headphones feature medium clamp force on the ear cups, and you will want to take a break after roughly 2-3 hours of use. Premium quality materials — leather and metal, no complaints about the build. The headphones look nice, with 2 colors to choose from.Read more.
4. Sony WH-1000XM5 8.14Best wireless over-ear headphones with noise cancellation 2026
Drivers are the drivers in your headphones that are responsible for creating sound.
DD + PM + BA – means that there are several different types of drivers in these headphones.
DD – “Dynamic Driver” dynamic driver (deep bass, natural sound).
PM – “Planar Magnetic Driver” planar driver (wide soundstage and fast response).
BA – “Balanced Armature Driver” armature driver (accuracy and detail retrieval).
BC – “Bone Conduction Driver” or bone-conduction driver, which transmits vibration to the body of the headphones, transmitting sound through the bone/cartilage to the inner ear.
LDAC – high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
aptX – Qualcomm standard, good quality, low latency.
LC3/LC3plus – new Bluetooth LE Audio codecs, efficient compression.
Codecs are audio compression formats that affect sound quality and latency.
Headphone battery life is the playback time without recharging, measured in hours. Manufacturers measure without active noise cancellation (ANC), at medium volume (50-70%) and usually with the AAC codec, as these parameters affect battery consumption. Actual time may vary from 1% to 50%, depending on volume, active noise cancellation features enabled, codec (LDAC or other) and environmental conditions (cold, hot). It is important to consider not only the claimed playback time, but also the charging time and fast charging support.
Bluetooth is a wireless data transmission standard.
Support for new audio technologies.
Improved connection stability.
Reduced power consumption.
Sony WH-1000XM5 are the best wireless over-ear headphones with noise cancellation in their class. Main reason to buy: best-in-class noise cancellation and transparency mode, signature bass-forward sound, a detailed microphone, and a comfortable fit. With the LDAC codec you get up to 15% better audio quality. One drawback: the hinges can’t handle heavy use and tend to break.
- Reference-quality noise cancellation and transparency.
- Signature low-frequency sound
- Detailed microphone and comfortable fit
- Best automatic EQ tuning
- Fragile hinges
- Fingerprint-attracting coating
The final sound score is calculated using this formula:
Frequency balance + Detail retrieval + Soundstage + Natural timbre / 4 = Final Sound Score.
. 8.13 The headphones feature a low-frequency, all-encompassing sound signature typical of the headphone series. The main pluses of the sound are the soundstage, natural timbre, and detail retrieval. There is no artificiality or grain, and there is clear instrument and spatial effect separation. The main downside of the sound is the lows. There is a slight excess in quantity, giving the sound a bassy tint, and bass-heavy tracks sound a bit boomy. Plus, the vocals lack transparency.Read more.
Microphone – We assess speech transmission quality by testing the microphone in two main scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment – This involves recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment – This means recording outdoors near a six-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 7.00 In quiet conditions: 8 In noisy conditions: 6 The headphones feature 8 microphones, though only 4 are used for calls. In quiet environments, the recording is detailed, the first words are muted, and faint clicking sounds can be heard. In noisy environments, the recording quality is noticeably worse, but you can still make out the words.Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 8.53 Active noise cancellation and transparency are of reference-quality. Playback time in our tests is 33 hours, against the claimed 30. Controls are a mix, mostly using touch gestures on the earcup. There is a companion app with awkward navigation and a convenient EQ.Read more.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 7.60 The headphones are comfortable, the earcups apply minimal pressure to the ears, and you’ll want to take a break after about 2 hours. No complaints about build and materials. Only the coating is a fingerprint magnet and requires daily care. The weak spot in the design is the hinges, with frequent breakages at the earcup swivel point. The headphones look good, choice of 5 colors.Read more.
5. Sony WH-1000XM6 8.11Solid large Bluetooth headphones — Sony's latest model
Drivers are the drivers in your headphones that are responsible for creating sound.
DD + PM + BA – means that there are several different types of drivers in these headphones.
DD – “Dynamic Driver” dynamic driver (deep bass, natural sound).
PM – “Planar Magnetic Driver” planar driver (wide soundstage and fast response).
BA – “Balanced Armature Driver” armature driver (accuracy and detail retrieval).
BC – “Bone Conduction Driver” or bone-conduction driver, which transmits vibration to the body of the headphones, transmitting sound through the bone/cartilage to the inner ear.
LDAC – high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
aptX – Qualcomm standard, good quality, low latency.
LC3/LC3plus – new Bluetooth LE Audio codecs, efficient compression.
Codecs are audio compression formats that affect sound quality and latency.
Headphone battery life is the playback time without recharging, measured in hours. Manufacturers measure without active noise cancellation (ANC), at medium volume (50-70%) and usually with the AAC codec, as these parameters affect battery consumption. Actual time may vary from 1% to 50%, depending on volume, active noise cancellation features enabled, codec (LDAC or other) and environmental conditions (cold, hot). It is important to consider not only the claimed playback time, but also the charging time and fast charging support.
Bluetooth is a wireless data transmission standard.
Support for new audio technologies.
Improved connection stability.
Reduced power consumption.
Sony WH-1000XM6 are solid large Bluetooth headphones and the newest model in the series. Main reason to buy: best-in-class noise cancellation and transparency, punchy low-end sound, and the handy “Find My Equalizer” feature that gets your sound dialed in within a couple of taps. LDAC adds 10-12% to overall audio quality. Drawbacks: the ear cups press against your ears and discomfort sets in within the first few minutes; the hinges aren’t built to last and need to be handled with care.
- Reference-level noise cancellation and transparency
- Detailed microphone
- Low-frequency sound without excessive bass
- Earcups press against the ears
- Hinges require careful handling
- Lack of detail retrieval
The final sound score is calculated using this formula:
Frequency balance + Detail retrieval + Soundstage + Natural timbre / 4 = Final Sound Score.
. 8.48 Low-frequency sound, similar in signature to the WH-1000XM4. Vocals sound close, timbres of low and high-frequency instruments are distinguishable. Soundstage processing is mostly in width, with no noticeable artificiality or distortion. Comfortable sound without significant downsides. There is only a slight excess of bass, a lack of transparency in the mids, and a shortage of brightness. Although even this can be fixed in the built-in equalizer in a “couple” of clicks.Read more.
Microphone – We assess speech transmission quality by testing the microphone in two main scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment – This involves recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment – This means recording outdoors near a six-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 7.40 In quiet conditions: 7.8 In noisy conditions: 7Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 8.68 The headphones feature reference-level active noise cancellation and transparency among over-ear models. Battery life in the series remains unchanged – 30-40 hours with noise cancellation enabled. Controls are mostly touch-based for music and calls. The companion app is useful, though the multi-level menu structure is awkward, and with the “find your EQ” feature it’s easier to tune the sound out of 4-5 options of different tonality. The signal is stable at distances up to 10 m using the LDAC codec at the Quality bitrate setting.Read more.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 6.33 Awkward, the headphone clamping force is stronger than the previous generation. My maximum time in the headphones is an hour, then I need to take a break. No complaints about build and materials. The weak spot of the headphones is the hinges, which break under heavy use. Design is nice and neat. Choice of 3 colors.Read more.
6. Nothing Headphone (1) 8.22Nothing's big over-ear headphones
Drivers are the drivers in your headphones that are responsible for creating sound.
DD + PM + BA – means that there are several different types of drivers in these headphones.
DD – “Dynamic Driver” dynamic driver (deep bass, natural sound).
PM – “Planar Magnetic Driver” planar driver (wide soundstage and fast response).
BA – “Balanced Armature Driver” armature driver (accuracy and detail retrieval).
BC – “Bone Conduction Driver” or bone-conduction driver, which transmits vibration to the body of the headphones, transmitting sound through the bone/cartilage to the inner ear.
LDAC – high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
aptX – Qualcomm standard, good quality, low latency.
LC3/LC3plus – new Bluetooth LE Audio codecs, efficient compression.
Codecs are audio compression formats that affect sound quality and latency.
Headphone battery life is the playback time without recharging, measured in hours. Manufacturers measure without active noise cancellation (ANC), at medium volume (50-70%) and usually with the AAC codec, as these parameters affect battery consumption. Actual time may vary from 1% to 50%, depending on volume, active noise cancellation features enabled, codec (LDAC or other) and environmental conditions (cold, hot). It is important to consider not only the claimed playback time, but also the charging time and fast charging support.
Bluetooth is a wireless data transmission standard.
Support for new audio technologies.
Improved connection stability.
Reduced power consumption.
The Nothing Headphone (1) are Nothing’s big over-ear headphones. The main reasons to buy them are the cool design, reference-quality controls, detailed microphone, and top-tier active noise cancellation that rivals leaders like Sony and Bose. With the LDAC codec, you get a 10-15% boost in sound quality. The downsides are average comfort and the need for EQ adjustment. That’s because out of the box, the sound is on par with models under $100.
- Good and even sound with EQ
- Microphone – top-tier
- Active noise cancellation and transparency mode are top-tier.
- Controls and app – top-tier!
- Battery life – top-tier!
- Build – beautiful with nuances.
- The sound requires EQ tuning, out of the box it’s at the level of sub-$100 models.
- Minor flaws: the bass adjustment feature in the app didn’t work.
The final sound score is calculated using this formula:
Frequency balance + Detail retrieval + Soundstage + Natural timbre / 4 = Final Sound Score.
. 7.33 Roughly this result is what I expected. You can hear that the headphones are capable of playing, that there is potential. But the sound was tuned a bit incorrectly. I hope the default EQ gets fixed via firmware updates. In this model, EQ tuning is simply a must. Which we will handle shortly. It is not difficult, you do it once and forget it.The main plus of the sound is naturalness and responsiveness to EQ. If the EQ did not fix the situation, this model would be an underdog. With tuning, you can safely add +1 point out of 10 to the final score. The main downside of the sound is that EVERYTHING lacks just a little bit. Bass, mids, highs. Because of which a lot is lost in detail retrieval, plus the soundstage is a bit pushed back. This is sound behind a wall in the next room. And you want it to be right in front of you.
Read more.
Microphone – We assess speech transmission quality by testing the microphone in two main scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment – This involves recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment – This means recording outdoors near a six-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 8.50 In quiet conditions: 10 In noisy conditions: 7 In noisy conditions, it handles not ideally, but well.Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 9.17 Top-tier noise cancellation, made it into the TOP 5 among all models. Transparency mode is also excellent, allowing you to freely talk to a companion without taking off the headphones. Battery life is excellent, up to 54 hours of playback with the LDAC codec and up to 80 hours with the AAC codec. Controls are very convenient, reference-quality, and moreover they are physical, button-based, and feature a wheel. The app is also reference-quality, with a convenient equalizer.Read more.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 9.00 Comfortable, you can wear them for 2-3 hours without discomfort, and build quality is also great, even though the coating is a fingerprint magnet. The design is unique, but in person they look MUCH better than in photos.Read more.
7. Marshall Monitor III ANC 7.82Headphones for large ears, large size – bright style, soft sound, good microphone
Drivers are the drivers in your headphones that are responsible for creating sound.
DD + PM + BA – means that there are several different types of drivers in these headphones.
DD – “Dynamic Driver” dynamic driver (deep bass, natural sound).
PM – “Planar Magnetic Driver” planar driver (wide soundstage and fast response).
BA – “Balanced Armature Driver” armature driver (accuracy and detail retrieval).
BC – “Bone Conduction Driver” or bone-conduction driver, which transmits vibration to the body of the headphones, transmitting sound through the bone/cartilage to the inner ear.
LDAC – high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
aptX – Qualcomm standard, good quality, low latency.
LC3/LC3plus – new Bluetooth LE Audio codecs, efficient compression.
Codecs are audio compression formats that affect sound quality and latency.
Headphone battery life is the playback time without recharging, measured in hours. Manufacturers measure without active noise cancellation (ANC), at medium volume (50-70%) and usually with the AAC codec, as these parameters affect battery consumption. Actual time may vary from 1% to 50%, depending on volume, active noise cancellation features enabled, codec (LDAC or other) and environmental conditions (cold, hot). It is important to consider not only the claimed playback time, but also the charging time and fast charging support.
Bluetooth is a wireless data transmission standard.
Support for new audio technologies.
Improved connection stability.
Reduced power consumption.
Marshall Monitor III ANC – these are large headphones for large ears with a signature design. The main reasons to buy them are the excellent fit – the earcups don’t press on your ears – clean sound without overpowering bass, and a foldable design that fits into a large pocket. On the downside: they only have basic audio codecs, weak noise cancellation, and a useless app and controls.
- You get a clean and bright sound devoid of bloated bass.
- The comfortable fit lets you wear them for 5 to 6 hours without fatigue.
- Recognizable design
- No high-quality codecs
- Active noise cancellation successfully blocks light background noise.
- Useless app
The final sound score is calculated using this formula:
Frequency balance + Detail retrieval + Soundstage + Natural timbre / 4 = Final Sound Score.
. 7.60 The sound is balanced with an emphasis on mids and highs. You get a clean and bright profile backed by moderate bass, making these better suited for rock, vocal, and instrumental tracks. The spacious soundstage concentrates most of its detail in width. While you won’t notice much artificial timbre, some graininess slips through occasionally. Detail retrieval is the weak spot here, and the headphones noticeably lack a low-compression codec.Read more.
Microphone – We assess speech transmission quality by testing the microphone in two main scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment – This involves recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment – This means recording outdoors near a six-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 8.40 In quiet conditions: 8.8 In noisy conditions: 8Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 7.68 Active noise cancellation only subdues light background noise, while Transparency Mode feels comfortable. You get control over music, volume, calls, and ambient modes, though you can’t remap the core functions. Useful app features include spatial audio and power-saving settings.Read more.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 8.60 These offer the most comfortable fit among over-ear headphones. Weighing 250 g, the soft ear pads exert no pressure on your ears, leaving no hint of fatigue after 5 hours of use. The build feels sturdy and compact, folding up to fit into a large jacket pocket, and I really liked the signature, recognizable design.Read more.
8. 1MORE Sonoflow Pro HQ51 7.69Best over-ear headphones under $100 — 100-hour battery, LDAC, solid ANC
Drivers are the drivers in your headphones that are responsible for creating sound.
DD + PM + BA – means that there are several different types of drivers in these headphones.
DD – “Dynamic Driver” dynamic driver (deep bass, natural sound).
PM – “Planar Magnetic Driver” planar driver (wide soundstage and fast response).
BA – “Balanced Armature Driver” armature driver (accuracy and detail retrieval).
BC – “Bone Conduction Driver” or bone-conduction driver, which transmits vibration to the body of the headphones, transmitting sound through the bone/cartilage to the inner ear.
LDAC – high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
aptX – Qualcomm standard, good quality, low latency.
LC3/LC3plus – new Bluetooth LE Audio codecs, efficient compression.
Codecs are audio compression formats that affect sound quality and latency.
Headphone battery life is the playback time without recharging, measured in hours. Manufacturers measure without active noise cancellation (ANC), at medium volume (50-70%) and usually with the AAC codec, as these parameters affect battery consumption. Actual time may vary from 1% to 50%, depending on volume, active noise cancellation features enabled, codec (LDAC or other) and environmental conditions (cold, hot). It is important to consider not only the claimed playback time, but also the charging time and fast charging support.
Bluetooth is a wireless data transmission standard.
Support for new audio technologies.
Improved connection stability.
Reduced power consumption.
1MORE Sonoflow Pro HQ51 are the best over-ear headphones under $100. Main reason to buy: best sound and noise cancellation in the sub-$100 class, a massive 100-hour battery life, a secure fit that works even for running. The LDAC codec doesn’t noticeably improve audio quality. No dust or water resistance.
- Best sound under $100
- Best noise cancellation under $100
- Long battery life up to 100 h.
- Holds securely on the head – suitable for running
- Wired audio only via 2.5/3.5 mm jack.
- No dust and water resistance.
- Minor cons: outdated app design, LDAC bitrate does not noticeably impact quality
The final sound score is calculated using this formula:
Frequency balance + Detail retrieval + Soundstage + Natural timbre / 4 = Final Sound Score.
. 7.28 Leaning toward the low end. Bass is powerful, punchy, and moderately textured. There is a slight mid-range setback, and a veil sits between you and the vocalist. Treble can sometimes feel lacking, but nothing critical. Frequency balance-wise, the model is pleasant, though I recommend tuning the EQ in the companion app to boost the mids and highs, and dial back the bass to taste. The main highlight of the sound, in my view, is that you feel depth and space. It is a 3D image, wide and deep. The sound is not boring and very engaging; you just want to keep listening to your favorite music.Read more.
Microphone – We assess speech transmission quality by testing the microphone in two main scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment – This involves recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment – This means recording outdoors near a six-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 7.20 In quiet conditions: 7.4 In noisy conditions: 7Read more.
Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 7.83 Good-quality microphone. ANC is not top-tier like Bose or Sony, but it deserves a 7.8 out of 10. It suppresses lows well, mids slightly worse, and highs even worse. Transparency scores a 7. Not super, but you won’t need to take off the headphones to talk. Battery life is 100 hours. No wireless charging. Controls are convenient, though button-based and requiring some getting used to. That actually pleased me, since touch controls on budget gear are often just bad. The layout is as follows. In the companion app, you can tweak the EQ, enable the LDAC codec for Android, and turn on low latency mode for gaming.Read more.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 8.50 The earbuds are comfortable, lasting 1-2 hours without discomfort. Available in 5 colors. Matte plastic. Decent build, with no obvious defects found during a month of testing. The design is styled after older Sony models, which is an acquired taste, but nothing off-putting.Read more.
9. Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT2 6.32Studio headphones gone wireless — flat sound, rock-solid build, no ANC
Drivers are the drivers in your headphones that are responsible for creating sound.
DD + PM + BA – means that there are several different types of drivers in these headphones.
DD – “Dynamic Driver” dynamic driver (deep bass, natural sound).
PM – “Planar Magnetic Driver” planar driver (wide soundstage and fast response).
BA – “Balanced Armature Driver” armature driver (accuracy and detail retrieval).
BC – “Bone Conduction Driver” or bone-conduction driver, which transmits vibration to the body of the headphones, transmitting sound through the bone/cartilage to the inner ear.
LDAC – high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
aptX – Qualcomm standard, good quality, low latency.
LC3/LC3plus – new Bluetooth LE Audio codecs, efficient compression.
Codecs are audio compression formats that affect sound quality and latency.
Headphone battery life is the playback time without recharging, measured in hours. Manufacturers measure without active noise cancellation (ANC), at medium volume (50-70%) and usually with the AAC codec, as these parameters affect battery consumption. Actual time may vary from 1% to 50%, depending on volume, active noise cancellation features enabled, codec (LDAC or other) and environmental conditions (cold, hot). It is important to consider not only the claimed playback time, but also the charging time and fast charging support.
Bluetooth is a wireless data transmission standard.
Support for new audio technologies.
Improved connection stability.
Reduced power consumption.
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT2 are wireless over-ear headphones with a studio-flat sound signature. Main reason to buy: reference-grade tuning loved by sound engineers, tank-like build quality, and a wired mode that rivals dedicated studio monitors. No active noise cancellation, and the ear pads get hot after an hour.
- Sound close to monitor quality.
- Solid and reliable construction.
- Unusual design.
- The signal is stable with an audio latency of up to 50 ms.
- Average sound quality.
- No noise cancellation and transparency.
- Uncomfortable fit.
The final sound score is calculated using this formula:
Frequency balance + Detail retrieval + Soundstage + Natural timbre / 4 = Final Sound Score.
. 7.21 Flat, close to monitoring-grade without excessive balance shifts: moderate bass, transparent mid-range, and bright highs. The soundstage is spacious with imaging mainly across the width. The sound is natural without noticeable artificial timbre, with minimal grain. Detail retrieval is slightly lacking, though using the LDAC codec yields about a 10% improvement.Read more.
Microphone – We assess speech transmission quality by testing the microphone in two main scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment – This involves recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment – This means recording outdoors near a six-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 6.50 In quiet conditions: 8 In noisy conditions: 5Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 5.42 No active noise cancellation or transparency mode. Basic media and call controls. Battery life up to 50 hours. In the app, you can adjust volume levels and balance, but using the equalizer drops the sample rate to 48 kHz when using the LDAC codec.Read more.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 7.67 Uncomfortable because there’s no room inside the ear pads, so the cups press right against your ears. Build quality is solid and dependable, featuring sturdy plastic reminiscent of older eras when manufacturers didn’t skimp on materials. The look isn’t flashy, though the design helps the headphones stand out against Chinese competitors. They come in 4 colors.Read more.
10. Sony WH-1000XM4 7.91Popular over-ear headphones for music – Sony's best-selling model (A Legend)
Drivers are the drivers in your headphones that are responsible for creating sound.
DD + PM + BA – means that there are several different types of drivers in these headphones.
DD – “Dynamic Driver” dynamic driver (deep bass, natural sound).
PM – “Planar Magnetic Driver” planar driver (wide soundstage and fast response).
BA – “Balanced Armature Driver” armature driver (accuracy and detail retrieval).
BC – “Bone Conduction Driver” or bone-conduction driver, which transmits vibration to the body of the headphones, transmitting sound through the bone/cartilage to the inner ear.
LDAC – high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
aptX – Qualcomm standard, good quality, low latency.
LC3/LC3plus – new Bluetooth LE Audio codecs, efficient compression.
Codecs are audio compression formats that affect sound quality and latency.
Headphone battery life is the playback time without recharging, measured in hours. Manufacturers measure without active noise cancellation (ANC), at medium volume (50-70%) and usually with the AAC codec, as these parameters affect battery consumption. Actual time may vary from 1% to 50%, depending on volume, active noise cancellation features enabled, codec (LDAC or other) and environmental conditions (cold, hot). It is important to consider not only the claimed playback time, but also the charging time and fast charging support.
Bluetooth is a wireless data transmission standard.
Support for new audio technologies.
Improved connection stability.
Reduced power consumption.
The Sony WH-1000XM4 are popular over-ear headphones for music. They are a true legend among Sony’s full-size headphones. Even though the XM5 and XM6 are out, the XM4 model is still relevant and in demand among Sony fans. For their $235 price, you get quality low-end sound and top-tier noise cancellation. For this money, these are the best over-ear headphones.
The final sound score is calculated using this formula:
Frequency balance + Detail retrieval + Soundstage + Natural timbre / 4 = Final Sound Score.
. 7.08 The presentation is dark with an emphasis on low frequencies and smoothed-out highs. The mid-range is rich and engaging, and the vocals are highlighted. The bass is soft, but it lacks punch. The highs lack brightness and transparency. The soundstage is quite wide, but flat. Best suited for electronic music, hip-hop, and pop music.Read more.
Frequency balance: This refers to how sound energy is distributed across the entire audible range, from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. It’s not just about covering the full spectrum, but about achieving the right proportions so that the lows, mids, and highs work together harmoniously, without clashing or obscuring important details.
The ideal balance means the bass provides a solid foundation, the mids deliver clear and present vocals, and the highs add sparkle and detail. Frequency balance skew occurs when one or two of these main ranges are either overemphasized or noticeably lacking compared to the others.
. 7.33 Biased toward the bass, with a flat mid-range and smoothed-out highs.Low frequencies, or bass (20 Hz – 250 Hz), form the foundation of music, giving sound depth, weight, and a rhythmic basis.
The ideal balance results in clear, powerful, and well-rounded sound. An **excess** of low frequencies, however, makes music sound muddy and boomy, masks vocals, and quickly fatigues the listener, leading to indistinct overall sound. Conversely, a **shortage** makes music sound thin, weak, and empty, robbing it of warmth and rhythmic foundation, which in turn causes harshness in the mids and highs.
. 7 Significantly emphasized. The bass is rendered decently, but it lacks punch, impact, and speed. It feels more soft than springy. Good for electronic music, but live instruments like the upright bass lack naturalness, while other instruments develop a “bass halo”.The midrange (250 Hz to 4 kHz) is where most musical elements live, and it’s crucial for hearing main melodies, vocals, and instruments.
Too many mids, especially in the upper range, make sound harsh, intrusive, and fatiguing fast. The mix can sound shouty or “boxy.” Conversely, a shortage of mids results in a hollow, recessed sound where vocals and main instruments lose their presence and seem distant, draining the music of energy and overall clarity.
. 8 Rendered well. The mid-range is rich, also tending towards soft rather than bright. This is the strongest aspect of the sound profile. Vocals are noticeably highlighted and sound quite natural. Overall, the mid-range is engaging.Highs, or treble (4 kHz – 20 kHz) – these frequencies are responsible for brightness, sparkle, detail, and that sense of ‘air’ in a music mix. This range helps you pick out the finest details, like string overtones, cymbal shimmer, and sibilant sounds in vocals.
An optimal balance makes music sound lively, clean, and open. Too much, however, leads to unnecessary harshness, causes sibilance (overly loud ‘s’ sounds), and makes cymbals sound unpleasantly ‘grainy’ or metallic, quickly fatiguing your ears. Too little, and the entire mix sounds dull, muffled, and ‘closed-in’ (veiled). The sound loses its detail and openness, feeling like you’re listening through a thick filter that robs the music of clarity.
. 7 Smoothed out near the upper edge of the range, but not choked off. The highs are not muddy, but they lack brightness and transparency. On the plus side, there is no grain or harshness.Detail retrieval – this describes how clearly and distinctly you can hear the tiniest sounds in a mix, like reverb, overtones, quiet instruments, texture, and subtle percussion sounds (such as light hi-hat taps).
Ideal detail retrieval – all subtle sounds are audible, just as they would be at a live performance.Lack: The sound is dull, muted, and veiled, as if you’re listening through a layer of fabric. The musical picture lacks depth, instruments sound flat, and subtle nuances get lost.Excess: The sound becomes unnaturally sharp, aggressive, and glassy. This can manifest as an overemphasis on sibilant sounds and background noise. This kind of sound quickly becomes fatiguing, often due to too much treble above 6 kHz.
. 7 Details are lost in the highs and lows, but not to a degree where you miss a lot.Naturalness— how authentic and realistic the sound is. It indicates how accurately the sound of voices and musical instruments is reproduced.
Best naturalness – the sound is clean, warm, and lively, without artificial coloration or extraneous noises.
Excess – an excessive amount of distracting sounds like sighs, mechanical noises, rustles, etc.
Lack – the sound feels artificial, colored, or plastic. You lose timbre recognition (instruments don’t sound like they do in real life), and the sound becomes flat and fatiguing due to incorrect equalization or excessive compression.
Soundstage, or stage, refers to the perceived three-dimensional space where instruments and vocals in a musical piece are placed. It’s a virtual soundscape that sound engineers craft during mixing. The stage encompasses width (left-to-right placement), depth (a sense of distance), and height (the feeling of instruments being above or below the horizontal plane).
The best soundstage makes music feel immersive and realistic, letting you pinpoint each element in space—whether it’s to your left or right, closer or further away, or above or below your head. A lack of it results in a monolithic sound, as if everything is coming from a single point, making it difficult to discern the position of each instrument. An excess of it, on the other hand, can make instruments and vocals sound overly distant, causing the musical composition to lose its coherence.
. 7 The soundstage is quite wide for its segment. It is flat, but the vocals are pushed forward, creating a slight sense of depth. Instrument separation is good, and nothing gets congested into a muddy mess.Microphone – We assess speech transmission quality by testing the microphone in two main scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment – This involves recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment – This means recording outdoors near a six-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 8.00 Quiet 8 Noisy 7 The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones perform well as a headset. If you are taking calls indoors, callers will hear you without any issues. Outdoors, ambient noise will be audible to them, but your voice will remain distinct against that background everywhere except in the loudest places. Voice transmission is good, but slightly worse than you would expect from a flagship. An extra plus is that you can turn on transparency mode during a call to hear your surroundings and your own voice.Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 9 Thoughtful touch controls with a minimum of accidental touches. Convenient proprietary Sony Headphones app. Reliable Bluetooth connection. Good active noise cancellation (ANC) on par with mid-range models around $200. Battery life up to 30 hours with ANC. Good microphone voice transmission.Read more.
Controls — how easily and reliably the headphones respond to your presses and gestures for pausing, adjusting volume, switching tracks, changing modes, and activating your voice assistant. Good controls feel intuitive, work without fail, and avoid accidental inputs; bad controls will miss commands, lag, or simply ignore your gestures.
. 9 The controls on the Sony WH-1000XM4 are well-designed and convenient. The entire surface of the right earcup is a touch panel, and two buttons are located on the bottom edge of the left earcup, which are easy to press with your thumb. The touch sensor has moderate sensitivity, and single taps are not used, so accidental touches are kept to a minimum. At the same time, you do not have to repeat gestures multiple times; everything works on the first try.Read more.
- Touch sensor and 2 buttons.
- Full functionality at your fingertips.
- Features smart pause.
- Voice activation is available.
- Swipe forward and back – track switching.
- Swipe up and down – volume control. Swipes with a hold also work, in which case the volume increases or decreases smoothly until you lift your finger.
- Double tap – play/pause, answer/end call.
- Cover with your palm – attention mode: the music volume drops to a minimum, and ambient sounds are piped into the headphones.
- Power. Hold for about 3 seconds to turn on/off. Hold for about 7 seconds to activate Bluetooth pairing mode. Short press to announce the battery level.
- Customizable “Custom” button. Switching modes: noise cancellation, transparency, all off. In the proprietary app, you can reassign this button to trigger the voice assistant. Hold for the calibration mode. In this mode, the headphones analyze your head shape and whether you wear glasses. I did not notice any difference in sound or noise cancellation before and after. Most likely, this is a more precise calibration of the wear-detection sensor, but I cannot say for sure. 😉
The Sony WH-1000XM4 also features a speak-to-chat function. When the wearer starts speaking, the music pauses and transparency mode is activated. The microphones pick up the voice and the feature triggers. This is useful if you need to briefly answer someone or ask a question. You do not need to take off the headphones or place your palm on the touch panel; you just need to start talking. This mode works quite correctly: it does not react to voices and sounds around you, but it always reacts to your own voice. And it does not matter whether you are speaking, mumbling something under your nose, or simply yawning out loud, the pause will trigger. This feature is more interesting than it is convenient. I did not need it during testing, but it did not get in the way either.
Smart pause also works correctly almost all the time. The sensor is located in the left earcup: as soon as you take it off your ear, the music pauses. Put it back in place, and playback resumes. As mentioned, there were a few errors. I took off the headphones, the music stopped, and I hung them around my neck (with earcups and sensor facing down) and it kept playing. Both features can be disabled in the app. Let us talk about it in more detail.
The app, which is the proprietary software you use to tweak sound, controls, noise cancellation, firmware updates, and other features. A good app is stable, well-organized, and actually lets you customize things; a bad one glitches, lacks features, or feels like it’s just there for show.
. 9 The proprietary Sony Headphones app, which also supports Sony WF-1000XM4, recently received a major update that partially changed its interface and name, but overall functionality remains the same.Read more.
Battery percentage display.
Adaptive sound control. Depending on surrounding sounds and your location, the noise cancellation or transparency level will be selected automatically.
Noise cancellation and transparency control. There are 20 levels. However, there is only one noise cancellation option. The rest are ambient sound pass-through levels. You can add voice focus.
Chat conversation. That same voice activation. The translation is not ideal, of course. 😉 You can set the time after which playback will resume if you stop talking.
EQ. There are several presets and a manual tuning option.
Codec selection. Connection quality priority is SBC. Sound quality priority is LDAC. Then in the Bluetooth settings on your phone, you can choose how LDAC operates. If LDAC is unavailable, AAC is considered the sound priority.
360 Reality Audio. Surround sound emulation. Available in certain apps and requires a subscription. The package includes a promo code for one such subscription. I would not say the effect is mind-blowing, but it is noticeable. Music does not always sound better with it.
DSEE Extreme. Proprietary real-time sound quality “enhancement” for compressed files. In my opinion, these enhancers introduce more distortion than benefit. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Turning smart pause, auto-off, and the touch panel on/off.
Custom button configuration.
Connecting to two devices. There is a catch here. In this mode (multipoint), the LDAC codec cannot be used. A disappointing limitation.
Voice prompt language selection. There are many options here, so it makes sense to customize it to your liking.
For this test, I decided to turn on and keep the Russian language. I do not recommend it. 😀 Translation pearls like “blutus” can be annoying. Though mileage may vary.
Connection stability — how well the headphones hold onto their Bluetooth signal without dropping out, lagging, or glitching in everyday situations like busy streets, public transport, or even at home with a Wi-Fi router nearby. Good stability means the audio won’t stutter when you turn your head or cut out in crowded areas. Poor stability, on the other hand, will show up as frequent dropouts, stuttering, audio-video sync issues, and problems reconnecting.
. 9 The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones maintained a reliable Bluetooth connection throughout 2 weeks of testing. There were no issues at home within a 10-meter radius. Outdoors, everything was stable regardless of which pocket the phone was in. All of this applies to the AAC codec.Read more.
- Bluetooth 5.0, SBC, AAC, and LDAC codecs.
- Reliable connection up to 10 meters.
- No audio-video desync on smartphones.
- Multipoint.
- Using LDAC results in worse connection quality and other quirks.
- Wired listening is supported.
If you turn on LDAC, the picture changes. This codec has 2 modes: sound priority and connection priority. It is selected in the connected Bluetooth devices menu (the gear icon next to the name). In sound priority, artifacts sometimes occur even when the phone is sitting right next to you on the table. Outdoors, dropouts happen often enough that you want to switch to connection priority. In that mode, the connection is almost as reliable as with AAC, but the sound quality is a bit better. There is not even any audio-video desync when watching videos.
Active noise cancellation (ANC) lets headphones use microphones and signal processing to cut out external noise like traffic, street hum, or office chatter, so you can hear your music or calls better without cranking the volume. Good ANC significantly cuts low-frequency hum from things like engines or air conditioners, barely presses on your ears, and minimally distorts the sound. Weak ANC, on the other hand, only removes some of the noise or creates an unpleasant “vacuum” effect and artifacts.
. 9 The Sony WH-1000XM4 features excellent noise cancellation. It handles low-frequency monotonous rumble and many mid-frequency noises wonderfully. On public transit, in the subway, or near a busy highway, the ANC ensures comfortable music listening everywhere. The operation of the noise cancellation system does not cause discomfort, pressure sensations, and so on.Read more.
In a direct comparison, in my experience, the noise cancellation on the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 is slightly better. It feels more comfortable and performs a bit better in the mid-range. But the difference is just a matter of nuance. These two models genuinely have the best ANC on the market.
The noise cancellation here is adaptive: it “remembers” places you frequent and adjusts the system’s operation to suit them. By and large, all this adaptability is just an automatic choice between noise cancellation and 20 transparency modes. Some of these modes are particularly interesting: many sounds are let through so you know what is happening around you, but low-frequency rumble is still suppressed. The automation works well, but you can also turn it off and activate max ANC and transparency whenever you want.
Battery life is the actual playback time you get from the earbuds and their charging case on a single charge during typical volume and usage scenarios (music, video, calls), not just the marketing numbers. Good battery life means you can easily get through a day or several without needing an outlet, and it doesn’t drop significantly with noise cancellation and high-quality codecs enabled. Poor battery life, on the other hand, requires frequent recharging and noticeably decreases when you crank up the volume.
. 9 The Sony WH-1000XM4 has long battery life, matching both the manufacturer’s claims and my tests. After 15 hours of listening with adaptive noise cancellation and an LDAC connection, the headphones discharged by about 70%. This means you will get around 20-25 hours of playback. You definitely won’t need to charge them more than once a week. Fast charging is available, along with wired listening when the battery is completely empty.Read more.
- Up to 30 h with noise cancellation on.
- Up to 38 h with it off.
- Full charge in 3 hours.
- Fast charging: 10 minutes for 5 h.
- Configurable auto-off feature.
You can check how much battery life the headphones have left by opening the app, where the charge level is displayed as a percentage. You can also press the power button and listen to the approximate figures (something like “more than 70%”). The information is also available in the “standard place” on the connected device. In the app, you can enable auto-off during inactivity to save battery. The only nuance, rather than a drawback, is that the headphones will not play music while charging.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 8.33 Stylish design, solid build quality. Foldable design. They do not look bulky on the head. Fingerprint-magnet plastic on the earcups. The headphones are available in two colors: black and platinum silver.Read more.
Comfort is how the earbuds feel during extended wear: ear pressure, fit, weight, and ventilation. A comfortable model doesn’t chafe, squeeze the ear canal or head, and doesn’t cause fatigue even after a couple of hours; an uncomfortable one quickly reminds you of itself through pain, heat, or a “plugged” feeling in the ears.
. 9 The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones can safely be called comfortable: I spent about 2.5 hours wearing them at home without any fatigue. Outdoors, there was no discomfort while commuting and walking for an hour and a half. The earcups are wide enough to accommodate any ears. There are minor doubts regarding depth: some people’s ears might touch the soft “bottom” of the earcups. But these are just assumptions, I had no such issues. The earcups are quite soft, and the headband padding is too, so they do not rub or irritate.Read more.
Clamping force is average for portable headphones: the headphones will not shift while walking, but they might during a run. The headband has a wide adjustment range. In warm weather, your ears can heat up rather quickly, but that is normal for closed-back over-ear models. Here, the earcups are ventilated better than many competitors. When folded, the headphones will fit into any backpack. The earcups also swivel, allowing the headphones to be comfortably worn around the neck with the earcups facing down.
Comfort is a subjective concept. My head and ears are more or less “average”, your mileage may vary.
Durability — how well the earbuds and charging case hold up to daily use: This includes the quality of the plastic and hinge, water resistance, wear on the ear tips, and the reliability of connectors and buttons. High durability means nothing is loose, peeling, or cracking after a year or two. Conversely, low durability means you’ll see cracks, looseness, hinge noise, or connection issues after just a couple of months.
. 8 The build is solid, with nothing to complain about. All materials look wear-resistant, and I noticed no play, unrefined seams, or creaks. Although in user reviews for the Sony WH-1000XM4, you can read that the plastic starts to creak after a couple of months. During my 2 weeks of testing, this did not happen.Read more.
Share in the comments how your headphones are holding up after a few months.
Design – This covers how the earbuds look and how well-thought-out their shape is. I’m talking about how they appear in your ears, how versatile they are with different outfits, and whether they look cheap. A good design blends a neat appearance with a comfortable shape and practical touches, like non-marking plastic or a well-designed charging case. Conversely, a bad design will snag on your clothes, scratch easily, and just look out of place.
. 8 The headphones look stylish, and the design is recognizable. The main material used in the construction is matte plastic with a soft-touch coating. It is high quality and sturdy. However, it is a fingerprint magnet: smudges remain easily, but they wipe off without issue. The headband is narrow with soft padding covered in faux leather, as substitute leather is called nowadays. The main arch is plastic, but it has metal reinforcement. The earcups fold inward or flat. They are low-profile and oval. They stick out on the sides of the head, but not heavily, looking neat. The earcups are covered in faux leather and look durable.Read more.
Inside the neat Sony WH-1000XM4 box, I found: the headphones themselves, a charging cable (USB-A to USB-C), an audio cable (3.5 mm to 3.5 mm), an airplane adapter, a hard case, and documentation. The case is sturdy, fabric-covered, and features compartments for all the other accessories—a convenient solution. It is great that the audio cable has 3.5 mm mini-jacks on both ends, making it easy to find a replacement. However, the charging cable was disappointing: it is short, and for over-ear headphones, a longer one would have been more convenient.
The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones are available in two colors: black (which I tested) and platinum silver. Put simply, black-and-white classics.
11. Edifier STAX Spirit S5 7.63Best headphones for codec variety
Drivers are the drivers in your headphones that are responsible for creating sound.
DD + PM + BA – means that there are several different types of drivers in these headphones.
DD – “Dynamic Driver” dynamic driver (deep bass, natural sound).
PM – “Planar Magnetic Driver” planar driver (wide soundstage and fast response).
BA – “Balanced Armature Driver” armature driver (accuracy and detail retrieval).
BC – “Bone Conduction Driver” or bone-conduction driver, which transmits vibration to the body of the headphones, transmitting sound through the bone/cartilage to the inner ear.
LDAC – high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
aptX – Qualcomm standard, good quality, low latency.
LC3/LC3plus – new Bluetooth LE Audio codecs, efficient compression.
Codecs are audio compression formats that affect sound quality and latency.
Headphone battery life is the playback time without recharging, measured in hours. Manufacturers measure without active noise cancellation (ANC), at medium volume (50-70%) and usually with the AAC codec, as these parameters affect battery consumption. Actual time may vary from 1% to 50%, depending on volume, active noise cancellation features enabled, codec (LDAC or other) and environmental conditions (cold, hot). It is important to consider not only the claimed playback time, but also the charging time and fast charging support.
Bluetooth is a wireless data transmission standard.
Support for new audio technologies.
Improved connection stability.
Reduced power consumption.
Main reason to buy: a full set of codecs for wireless connectivity, detailed microphone, up to 80 hours of battery life, and natural planar sound. Edifier STAX Spirit S5 offer everything you need for versatile wireless use.
- The sound is precise and natural
- The microphone is great in noise and quiet
- The controls are comfortable
- The app is decent
- Battery life is 80 hours, excellent
- Build quality feels solid, with no major complaints.
- Sound has a narrow soundstage and a lack of bass
- Active noise cancellation (ANC) and transparency mode are absent; it’s passive isolation only.
- Minor downsides include no auto-pause and availability only in black.
The final sound score is calculated using this formula:
Frequency balance + Detail retrieval + Soundstage + Natural timbre / 4 = Final Sound Score.
. 7.67 The sound here is quite controversial: on one hand, everything is very good regarding naturalness, detail, mids, and highs. On the other hand, there is a critical lack of bass, even considering these are planars. And a really, really narrow soundstage. These headphones are definitely not for everyone.Read more.
Microphone – We assess speech transmission quality by testing the microphone in two main scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment – This involves recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment – This means recording outdoors near a six-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 8.50 In quiet conditions: 9 In noisy conditions: 8 The first model I encounter featuring aptX Voice. Microphone sound is genuinely good.Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 7.00 Active noise cancellation is absent, with only passive noise isolation. Transparency mode is absent. Claimed battery life is up to 80 hours. Standard button controls. The companion app features a 4-band EQ, lets you switch codecs, and select bitrates.Read more.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 8.50 The headphones are comfortable and do not cause fatigue after three hours of use. Build is solid and reliable, no complaints. The headphones look ordinary.Read more.
12. Beyerdynamic AVENTHO 300 7.54Good over-ear headphones — best overall package
Drivers are the drivers in your headphones that are responsible for creating sound.
DD + PM + BA – means that there are several different types of drivers in these headphones.
DD – “Dynamic Driver” dynamic driver (deep bass, natural sound).
PM – “Planar Magnetic Driver” planar driver (wide soundstage and fast response).
BA – “Balanced Armature Driver” armature driver (accuracy and detail retrieval).
BC – “Bone Conduction Driver” or bone-conduction driver, which transmits vibration to the body of the headphones, transmitting sound through the bone/cartilage to the inner ear.
LDAC – high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
aptX – Qualcomm standard, good quality, low latency.
LC3/LC3plus – new Bluetooth LE Audio codecs, efficient compression.
Codecs are audio compression formats that affect sound quality and latency.
Headphone battery life is the playback time without recharging, measured in hours. Manufacturers measure without active noise cancellation (ANC), at medium volume (50-70%) and usually with the AAC codec, as these parameters affect battery consumption. Actual time may vary from 1% to 50%, depending on volume, active noise cancellation features enabled, codec (LDAC or other) and environmental conditions (cold, hot). It is important to consider not only the claimed playback time, but also the charging time and fast charging support.
Bluetooth is a wireless data transmission standard.
Support for new audio technologies.
Improved connection stability.
Reduced power consumption.
Beyerdynamic AVENTHO 300 are good and reliable over-ear headphones with large ear cushions. Main reason to buy: sturdy plastic build, comfortable fit, detailed sound with natural timbre, and a full set of modern features including multipoint and app support.
- BEST build reliability among over-ear headphones
- Responds well to EQ tuning with a dozen usable presets
- Plenty of headroom, optimal volume level 70%
- Soundstage is congested — lacks volume
- Ear cups press against the ears, need a break after an hour
- Sound is a bit dry, lacks bass and clarity out of the box
- Noise cancellation is weaker than competitors like Sennheiser, Bose, and Sony
The final sound score is calculated using this formula:
Frequency balance + Detail retrieval + Soundstage + Natural timbre / 4 = Final Sound Score.
. 7.46 A bit dry, with an emphasis on the mids and highs. Low-frequency and high-frequency instruments can be distinguished, and the texture comes through. The vocalist sounds like they are sitting on a chair right in front of you, or rather shouting in your face, but with a half-closed door in the way. The sound is detailed and accurate with minimal artificiality. The weakest point of the headphones is the soundstage. There is little sense of space, as if you are listening to a performance in a small room. At the same time, imaging is present in both width and depth. The overall impression is mixed. On the one hand, the sound is engaging, but on the other, it feels congested. It feels like a massive stream of data is being fed into your ears, but your brain doesn’t have time to process all that information. With the EQ enabled, the sound is cleaner and more spacious, and the low- and high-frequency instruments sound more pronounced.Read more.
Microphone – We assess speech transmission quality by testing the microphone in two main scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment – This involves recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment – This means recording outdoors near a six-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 6.35 In quiet conditions: 7.7 In noisy conditions: 5Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 7.27 Active noise cancellation blocks roughly 30% of noise, and the transparency mode is convenient for conversations. Battery life in our tests reached 86 hours using the aptX Adaptive codec. Controls rely on a combination of buttons and touch panels, which are convenient though not customizable. The companion app is user-friendly and not overloaded with unnecessary features.Read more.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 8.17 The headphones are large and roomy. At the same time, the ear cups press against the ears and discomfort arises after 20-30 minutes, and after an hour you want to take a break. Build quality and materials are top-notch with reference-grade reliability. They look good and come in black and white.Read more.
13. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones 7.73Best over-ear headphones for noise cancellation under $300
Drivers are the drivers in your headphones that are responsible for creating sound.
DD + PM + BA – means that there are several different types of drivers in these headphones.
DD – “Dynamic Driver” dynamic driver (deep bass, natural sound).
PM – “Planar Magnetic Driver” planar driver (wide soundstage and fast response).
BA – “Balanced Armature Driver” armature driver (accuracy and detail retrieval).
BC – “Bone Conduction Driver” or bone-conduction driver, which transmits vibration to the body of the headphones, transmitting sound through the bone/cartilage to the inner ear.
LDAC – high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
aptX – Qualcomm standard, good quality, low latency.
LC3/LC3plus – new Bluetooth LE Audio codecs, efficient compression.
Codecs are audio compression formats that affect sound quality and latency.
Headphone battery life is the playback time without recharging, measured in hours. Manufacturers measure without active noise cancellation (ANC), at medium volume (50-70%) and usually with the AAC codec, as these parameters affect battery consumption. Actual time may vary from 1% to 50%, depending on volume, active noise cancellation features enabled, codec (LDAC or other) and environmental conditions (cold, hot). It is important to consider not only the claimed playback time, but also the charging time and fast charging support.
Bluetooth is a wireless data transmission standard.
Support for new audio technologies.
Improved connection stability.
Reduced power consumption.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are the best over-ear headphones for noise cancellation under $200. These headphones feature the best spatial audio on the market, excellent ANC that blocks virtually everything, and a warm, comfortable sound signature perfect for everyday listening.
- Best active noise cancellation under $200
- Reference-level transparency
- Top-tier wired sound
- Reference spatial audio
- EQ tuning required for best sound
- Weak microphone noise suppression
The final sound score is calculated using this formula:
Frequency balance + Detail retrieval + Soundstage + Natural timbre / 4 = Final Sound Score.
. 7.58 The sound leans heavily on bass emphasis. A lack of transparency and airiness leaves the audio somewhat muffled and insufficiently bright, yet the artist sings right in front of you as if standing close. The sound remains natural and free of glaring artificial timbre, apart from a touch of grain on the cymbals. Detail retrieval suffices to render texture, and the soundstage boasts good instrument separation and width.Read more.
Microphone – We assess speech transmission quality by testing the microphone in two main scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment – This involves recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment – This means recording outdoors near a six-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 7.00 In quiet conditions: 9 In noisy conditions: 5 Recording in quiet environments stays clear, while noisy environments see poor suppression of background noise.Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 8.13 These headphones pack top-tier active noise cancellation and transparency alongside a detailed microphone for quiet environments and weak suppression of loud noise. Battery life stretches up to 18 hours with maximum active noise cancellation enabled. Controls are convenient thanks to volume swipe gestures, and the companion app is decent enough to warrant downloading for EQ and ANC adjustments, while the connection remains stable within 10 m.Read more.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 7.50 The ear cups clamp down tightly, prompting you to take a break after an hour. Dust and water resistance isn’t stated, the build looks sturdy and reliable, and the finish acts as a fingerprint magnet that proves difficult to clean, though they are available in 5 colors.Read more.
14. Ugreen Studio Pro 7.37Best budget over-ear wireless headphones — best sound for the price
Drivers are the drivers in your headphones that are responsible for creating sound.
DD + PM + BA – means that there are several different types of drivers in these headphones.
DD – “Dynamic Driver” dynamic driver (deep bass, natural sound).
PM – “Planar Magnetic Driver” planar driver (wide soundstage and fast response).
BA – “Balanced Armature Driver” armature driver (accuracy and detail retrieval).
BC – “Bone Conduction Driver” or bone-conduction driver, which transmits vibration to the body of the headphones, transmitting sound through the bone/cartilage to the inner ear.
LDAC – high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
aptX – Qualcomm standard, good quality, low latency.
LC3/LC3plus – new Bluetooth LE Audio codecs, efficient compression.
Codecs are audio compression formats that affect sound quality and latency.
Headphone battery life is the playback time without recharging, measured in hours. Manufacturers measure without active noise cancellation (ANC), at medium volume (50-70%) and usually with the AAC codec, as these parameters affect battery consumption. Actual time may vary from 1% to 50%, depending on volume, active noise cancellation features enabled, codec (LDAC or other) and environmental conditions (cold, hot). It is important to consider not only the claimed playback time, but also the charging time and fast charging support.
Bluetooth is a wireless data transmission standard.
Support for new audio technologies.
Improved connection stability.
Reduced power consumption.
Ugreen Studio Pro are the best budget over-ear headphones, often dropping to $30-35 during AliExpress sales. Main reason to buy: surprisingly good sound quality for the price, comfortable fit, and solid battery life. A steal for anyone who wants full-size wireless headphones without breaking the bank.
- Best sound under $70-80 with EQ tuning
- Reference-level battery life – up to 120 hours of playback
- Ear cups press against the ears
- Companion app has bugs and requires manual installation
The final sound score is calculated using this formula:
Frequency balance + Detail retrieval + Soundstage + Natural timbre / 4 = Final Sound Score.
. 7.13 These headphones deliver great sound that easily tops budget models, matching your EQ adjustments. The main highlight is the detailed mid-range, offering clear vocals and instruments alongside strong detail retrieval that outperforms some models under $70. The primary sound drawback is naturalness, as the presentation feels slightly unnatural with mild artificial timbre and grain. The Ugreen Studio Pro makes the best pick for anyone seeking all-around headphones across various genres, turning this into an absolute hit among budget models under $40 given the price.Read more.
Microphone – We assess speech transmission quality by testing the microphone in two main scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment – This involves recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment – This means recording outdoors near a six-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 7.50 In quiet conditions: 8 In noisy conditions: 7Read more.
Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 7.46 The feature set is decent, highlighted most by a battery life reaching up to 120 hours, alongside functional active noise cancellation, an average microphone, and a mediocre companion app packed with flaws.Read more.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 7.83 Build and materials are solid. The ear cups just squeeze a bit.Read More.
15. UGREEN HiTune Max5c 6.87Best cheap over-ear headphones under $30
Drivers are the drivers in your headphones that are responsible for creating sound.
DD + PM + BA – means that there are several different types of drivers in these headphones.
DD – “Dynamic Driver” dynamic driver (deep bass, natural sound).
PM – “Planar Magnetic Driver” planar driver (wide soundstage and fast response).
BA – “Balanced Armature Driver” armature driver (accuracy and detail retrieval).
BC – “Bone Conduction Driver” or bone-conduction driver, which transmits vibration to the body of the headphones, transmitting sound through the bone/cartilage to the inner ear.
LDAC – high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
aptX – Qualcomm standard, good quality, low latency.
LC3/LC3plus – new Bluetooth LE Audio codecs, efficient compression.
Codecs are audio compression formats that affect sound quality and latency.
Headphone battery life is the playback time without recharging, measured in hours. Manufacturers measure without active noise cancellation (ANC), at medium volume (50-70%) and usually with the AAC codec, as these parameters affect battery consumption. Actual time may vary from 1% to 50%, depending on volume, active noise cancellation features enabled, codec (LDAC or other) and environmental conditions (cold, hot). It is important to consider not only the claimed playback time, but also the charging time and fast charging support.
Bluetooth is a wireless data transmission standard.
Support for new audio technologies.
Improved connection stability.
Reduced power consumption.
UGREEN HiTune Max5c ($23) are the best cheap over-ear headphones under $30 among all models. These budget full-size headphones offer surprisingly natural sound, decent build quality, and solid battery life — an unbeatable value at this price point.
- Best sound for $30
- Pleasant, intuitive controls
- Good battery life
- Low latency in Game Mode
- No option to change EQ preset settings
- LDAC codec activation only through the app
- Questionable Spatial Audio feature
The final sound score is calculated using this formula:
Frequency balance + Detail retrieval + Soundstage + Natural timbre / 4 = Final Sound Score.
. 7.06 You get a comfortable, tonally natural, lively sound with a bass-heavy tilt. Bass dominates, but it doesn’t get in the way of the other frequencies opening up. Mids are punchy. Highs are comfortable, though they’re the least developed. Switch to the LDAC codec or plug in via cable, and the sound reaches another level.Learn more.
Frequency balance: This refers to how sound energy is distributed across the entire audible range, from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. It’s not just about covering the full spectrum, but about achieving the right proportions so that the lows, mids, and highs work together harmoniously, without clashing or obscuring important details.
The ideal balance means the bass provides a solid foundation, the mids deliver clear and present vocals, and the highs add sparkle and detail. Frequency balance skew occurs when one or two of these main ranges are either overemphasized or noticeably lacking compared to the others.
. 6.93 The frequency response has a gentle waterfall shape with dominant lows, punchy mids, and comfortable highs. Using LDAC flattens out that slope a bit, which helps balance the entire frequency spectrum.Low frequencies, or bass (20 Hz – 250 Hz), form the foundation of music, giving sound depth, weight, and a rhythmic basis.
The ideal balance results in clear, powerful, and well-rounded sound. An **excess** of low frequencies, however, makes music sound muddy and boomy, masks vocals, and quickly fatigues the listener, leading to indistinct overall sound. Conversely, a **shortage** makes music sound thin, weak, and empty, robbing it of warmth and rhythmic foundation, which in turn causes harshness in the mids and highs.
. 6 There’s plenty of low-end, but it stays at an appropriate level so it won’t drown out other ranges and instruments. It builds an immersive, deep atmosphere that envelops you while keeping a fairly well-defined texture.The midrange (250 Hz to 4 kHz) is where most musical elements live, and it’s crucial for hearing main melodies, vocals, and instruments.
Too many mids, especially in the upper range, make sound harsh, intrusive, and fatiguing fast. The mix can sound shouty or “boxy.” Conversely, a shortage of mids results in a hollow, recessed sound where vocals and main instruments lose their presence and seem distant, draining the music of energy and overall clarity.
. 8 You’ll find slightly fewer mids than lows, but nothing gets in the way of their delivery, letting them build a balanced atmosphere alongside the other ranges. They handle stringed instruments, synths, and vocals with ease, making for a pleasant, atmospheric sound.Highs, or treble (4 kHz – 20 kHz) – these frequencies are responsible for brightness, sparkle, detail, and that sense of ‘air’ in a music mix. This range helps you pick out the finest details, like string overtones, cymbal shimmer, and sibilant sounds in vocals.
An optimal balance makes music sound lively, clean, and open. Too much, however, leads to unnecessary harshness, causes sibilance (overly loud ‘s’ sounds), and makes cymbals sound unpleasantly ‘grainy’ or metallic, quickly fatiguing your ears. Too little, and the entire mix sounds dull, muffled, and ‘closed-in’ (veiled). The sound loses its detail and openness, feeling like you’re listening through a thick filter that robs the music of clarity.
. 6.8 The treble range is the least developed here, sitting flatter than the mids and especially the lows. It hovers right at the bare minimum, so you certainly can’t complain that it’s missing. Cymbals ring just enough to keep treble-phobes happy and ensure a comfortable listen.Detail retrieval – this describes how clearly and distinctly you can hear the tiniest sounds in a mix, like reverb, overtones, quiet instruments, texture, and subtle percussion sounds (such as light hi-hat taps).
Ideal detail retrieval – all subtle sounds are audible, just as they would be at a live performance.Lack: The sound is dull, muted, and veiled, as if you’re listening through a layer of fabric. The musical picture lacks depth, instruments sound flat, and subtle nuances get lost.Excess: The sound becomes unnaturally sharp, aggressive, and glassy. This can manifest as an overemphasis on sibilant sounds and background noise. This kind of sound quickly becomes fatiguing, often due to too much treble above 6 kHz.
. 6.8 Detail retrieval is spot-on, especially for a $30 price tag. Instruments feel crisp and full, and most importantly, they sound natural. They might get a bit simplified toward the highs, but gorgeous mids and very good lows make up for it.Naturalness— how authentic and realistic the sound is. It indicates how accurately the sound of voices and musical instruments is reproduced.
Best naturalness – the sound is clean, warm, and lively, without artificial coloration or extraneous noises.
Excess – an excessive amount of distracting sounds like sighs, mechanical noises, rustles, etc.
Lack – the sound feels artificial, colored, or plastic. You lose timbre recognition (instruments don’t sound like they do in real life), and the sound becomes flat and fatiguing due to incorrect equalization or excessive compression.
Soundstage, or stage, refers to the perceived three-dimensional space where instruments and vocals in a musical piece are placed. It’s a virtual soundscape that sound engineers craft during mixing. The stage encompasses width (left-to-right placement), depth (a sense of distance), and height (the feeling of instruments being above or below the horizontal plane).
The best soundstage makes music feel immersive and realistic, letting you pinpoint each element in space—whether it’s to your left or right, closer or further away, or above or below your head. A lack of it results in a monolithic sound, as if everything is coming from a single point, making it difficult to discern the position of each instrument. An excess of it, on the other hand, can make instruments and vocals sound overly distant, causing the musical composition to lose its coherence.
. 7 The soundstage is compact, sitting right inside the head, yet it lacks hard boundaries so it expands spatially in all directions. Sounds have decent decay and don’t vanish instantly, adding to the track’s atmosphere.Microphone – We assess speech transmission quality by testing the microphone in two main scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment – This involves recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment – This means recording outdoors near a six-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 8.00 In quiet conditions: 8 In noisy conditions: 8 The microphone quality is surprisingly good, performing at a high level for both clarity and general use. You can confidently use it for extended phone calls; people will hear and understand you clearly, whether you’re on a busy street or in a quiet room.Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 6.25 ANC at 43dB matches the Sennheiser Momentum 4 pretty closely. Transparency lets you hear your surroundings even better than without headphones. Battery life hits 75 hours without ANC, and 45 hours with LDAC. Control comes via 4 keys, giving you everything you need. The UGREEN Home app works well, though it lacks custom EQ presets. Bluetooth 5.4 holds a stable connection even through 3 walls.Learn more.
Active noise cancellation (ANC) lets headphones use microphones and signal processing to cut out external noise like traffic, street hum, or office chatter, so you can hear your music or calls better without cranking the volume. Good ANC significantly cuts low-frequency hum from things like engines or air conditioners, barely presses on your ears, and minimally distorts the sound. Weak ANC, on the other hand, only removes some of the noise or creates an unpleasant “vacuum” effect and artifacts.
. 4 The strong suit of the UGREEN HiTune Max5c, combined with decent passive noise isolation from its design and 43dB ANC, means you can tune out outside noise entirely. The implementation rivals the Sennheiser Momentum 4, effectively suppressing monotonous sounds. You get 4 tuning options: Gentle, General, Ultra, and Adaptive.Transparency mode uses the earbuds’ microphones to pipe in ambient sound, letting you hear announcements, conversations, or traffic without removing them. A good implementation sounds natural and clear, without adding noise or echo, whereas a poor one makes the outside world sound flat, metallic, or unnervingly quiet.
. 5 The stellar transparency mode lets you hear your surroundings even better than without headphones. Talking with transparency turned on is quite easy and pleasant, as if only the most important sounds are highlighted.Battery life is the actual playback time you get from the earbuds and their charging case on a single charge during typical volume and usage scenarios (music, video, calls), not just the marketing numbers. Good battery life means you can easily get through a day or several without needing an outlet, and it doesn’t drop significantly with noise cancellation and high-quality codecs enabled. Poor battery life, on the other hand, requires frequent recharging and noticeably decreases when you crank up the volume.
. 7 You get 75 hours of playback without ANC, and 45 hours with LDAC. The battery capacity sits at 600 mAh. Fast charging gives you 5 hours of playback from a 5-minute charge, with a full charge taking 1.5 hours. There is no wireless charging. Over a week of testing, the battery dropped to 70%.
Controls — how easily and reliably the headphones respond to your presses and gestures for pausing, adjusting volume, switching tracks, changing modes, and activating your voice assistant. Good controls feel intuitive, work without fail, and avoid accidental inputs; bad controls will miss commands, lag, or simply ignore your gestures.
. 8 A block of 4 keys handles volume (which skips tracks when held), play/pause and call answering, and ANC/transparency. The layout scores a 9 out of 10, packing everything you need, though it takes a little time to get used to.Learn more.
Control is made easy by a block of 4 keys:
- – Volume +/- buttons that also let you skip tracks when held for 2 seconds
- The power button doubles as play/pause and call answer/reject with a short press
- The ANC/Transparency button works with a single press, and you can also configure it in the app to activate Game Mode and Spatial Audio Mode.
- The headphones lack auto-answer for calls (and I don’t think anyone uses it anyway).
- The same goes for auto-pause; the headphones lack an ear sensor, relying instead on a physical button for pausing.
The app, which is the proprietary software you use to tweak sound, controls, noise cancellation, firmware updates, and other features. A good app is stable, well-organized, and actually lets you customize things; a bad one glitches, lacks features, or feels like it’s just there for show.
. 7 UGREEN Home is available for Android and iOS. It offers ANC settings, 8 EQ presets, LDAC activation, and multipoint. It lacks custom EQ presets, offering only 8 ready-made options. The app is necessary for the full experience.Learn more.
- Battery charge status.
- Control block for noise cancellation and transparency with intensity adjustment.
- EQ preset settings for the equalizer, though unfortunately, your choices are limited to 8 presets with no option to create your own.
I used the “Classic” preset, which introduces minimal distortion, and I recommend it. - Buttons for activating game mode and spatial sound mode.
- There is an option to enable and disable “Dual link” – Multipoint, featuring a list of paired devices, this feature lets you connect the headphones to 2 devices simultaneously, though the LDAC codec is unavailable in this mode. You can configure it in the app.
- Hi-Res audio – the section where you enable the LDAC codec separately, which automatically disables Multipoint since they cannot work together
- A separate menu lets you configure the ANC button functions by assigning actions to single presses, double presses, and press-and-hold gestures.
- In the third tab, you can customize the device name, choose sound notifications in English or tones, update firmware, reset settings to default, and read the manual.
After the initial connection, the headphones defaulted to the Bass EQ profile, so the first thing I did was install the app and switch the preset to Classic. Because of that, you really can’t get by without the app, though overall the setup works well. The only downside is missing the ability to create your own custom EQ preset, which is a bit of a shame.
Connection stability — how well the headphones hold onto their Bluetooth signal without dropping out, lagging, or glitching in everyday situations like busy streets, public transport, or even at home with a Wi-Fi router nearby. Good stability means the audio won’t stutter when you turn your head or cut out in crowded areas. Poor stability, on the other hand, will show up as frequent dropouts, stuttering, audio-video sync issues, and problems reconnecting.
. 10 Bluetooth 5.4 ensures a solid connection, and the headphones maintain signal even through 3 walls. The Bluetooth version is 5.4.Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 7.33 The smart casual design makes them look more expensive than they actually are, featuring soft-touch plastic, faux leather, and an aluminum hinge. They offer a comfortable fit with a weight of roughly 250g. Available in two colors: black and white. The metal hinge is reliable, leaving nothing to break.Learn more.
Comfort is how the earbuds feel during extended wear: ear pressure, fit, weight, and ventilation. A comfortable model doesn’t chafe, squeeze the ear canal or head, and doesn’t cause fatigue even after a couple of hours; an uncomfortable one quickly reminds you of itself through pain, heat, or a “plugged” feeling in the ears.
. 8 At around 250g, the weight falls well within the comfortable range, and they can accommodate any head size. You can walk and run in them, only needing to take them off for exercises where you lie down. The ear pad size presents no issues for sealing over larger ears.Durability — how well the earbuds and charging case hold up to daily use: This includes the quality of the plastic and hinge, water resistance, wear on the ear tips, and the reliability of connectors and buttons. High durability means nothing is loose, peeling, or cracking after a year or two. Conversely, low durability means you’ll see cracks, looseness, hinge noise, or connection issues after just a couple of months.
. 7 After a few weeks of active testing, minor scuffs and scratches appeared on one of the ear cups, though they aren’t noticeable at first glance. The metal hinge dispels any remaining doubts, as there’s nothing here to break.Design – This covers how the earbuds look and how well-thought-out their shape is. I’m talking about how they appear in your ears, how versatile they are with different outfits, and whether they look cheap. A good design blends a neat appearance with a comfortable shape and practical touches, like non-marking plastic or a well-designed charging case. Conversely, a bad design will snag on your clothes, scratch easily, and just look out of place.
. 7 With a smart casual style, they look utilitarian and understated. Matte black plastic, faux leather, and an aluminum hinge combine to look more expensive than their price. Color options include black and white.