The best wireless earbuds 2026 among all in-ear TWS models are right here, friends. In this TOP of wireless earbuds, I’ve included in-ear Bluetooth earbuds from 2026 and previous years.
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 20 Best Wireless Earbuds 2026 — Rating:
The increase in sound quality versus price looks like this:
Links to official and verified AliExpress stores where I bought all these best earbuds 2026 (we are not a store) and this is definitely not fake, are in each block below. Feel free to follow if it’s relevant.
The best wireless earbuds 2026 are earbuds that are good in sound, features, and build quality. The earbuds’ place in the ranking depends on: sound quality (50% – scores), microphone quality (12.5%), quality of noise cancellation and transparency (12.5%), controls, app, battery life, stability (12.5%), as well as comfort, design, and durability (12.5%). Learn more about how we score earbuds. These are the main parameters for choosing and a short answer to the question of which wireless earbuds are best to buy (more on the rules for choosing at the end of the ranking).
1. Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro 8.99Best Wireless Earbuds for Phones – Samsung, Android, and iPhone
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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are a super successful update to the 3 Pro. The main reason to buy: reference-quality sound, reference-quality features, and a very comfortable build quality. 3 out of 3. All of this works not only on flagship Samsung devices, but on all Android and Apple devices in general. Reference-quality transparency mode and excellent noise cancellation. Excellent microphone. They are like AirPods, but with boosted sound and for all ecosystems.
Among the drawbacks are artificial ecosystem limits for non-Samsung devices: only basic codecs with a 15% quality drop, no low-latency mode, no translator or voice assistant, no spatial audio, no Auracast, and no seamless switching between devices. There are small sound flaws in the highs. Everything else is just TOP.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 9.13 Wide soundstage, cool punchy bass, and vocals that stand out clearly from every instrument. Gorgeous detail too. The only real weakness is the treble — slightly lacking in both quality and quantity. But everything else? That’s a big plus. The soundstage alone is reference-quality. Ten out of ten.Read More.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 9.50 In quiet environments: 10 In noisy conditions: 9 Fantastic quality, it’s better than the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. It just barely missed the reference quality of Huawei.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.
. 9.25 The active noise cancellation is excellent — 9 out of 10. It’s slightly behind the AirPods Pro 3 reference. It handles street noise, laptop fan noise, and PC fans well. Transparency mode is reference-level, with a slight hint of digital processing. In our tests, battery life on basic codecs was 8-10 hours. Controls are touch-based. There’s voice control for the player and calls. The app is user-friendly and only for Android devices. Also, some features are only available on Samsung devices.More details.
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.
. 8.25 The earbuds are super comfy, and the charging case is compact. After a couple of hours, I only felt minor fatigue. The build quality is solid and reliable. But the finish is a fingerprint magnet. They come in 3 colors: gray, white, and rose gold. I personally liked the design. But some of our team didn’t. What do you think?More details.
- Top-tier sound. It’s reference-quality with the proprietary SSC UHD codec.
- It has a translator, voice assistant, and spatial audio.
- Reference-quality transparency mode. It activates when you say its name.
- The SSC UHD codec, translator, voice assistant, and spatial audio. These only work on flagship Samsung devices.
- There’s no dedicated app for Apple.
2. Technics EAH-AZ100 8.88Best wireless earbuds 2026 – with the best sound under $350
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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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.
Technics EAH-AZ100 are the best-sounding wireless earbuds among all TWS models under $350, and that’s the main reason to buy them. They take 2nd place for sound among all TWS models and 1st place for all parameters combined, in absolute terms: sound + features + build quality. This model has no critical flaws.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 9.31 On a reference level. The main plus of the sound is naturalness, soundstage, detail retrieval, and highs. The main minus of the sound is a slightly distant mid-range and, as a result, vocals. There’s also a minimal lack of bass quantity and quality.More details.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 8.00 It got better than the AZ80. In quiet conditions: 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.
. 8.08 The noise cancellation is enough to block out road noise, it’s better than average. Transparency is excellent, talking to someone will be comfortable. Battery life is excellent at 10 hours and 28 hours with the case, with LDAC + Noise Cancellation under the same conditions – 7 and 18 hours respectively. The controls are convenient, touch-based, but you need to get used to them. The app is excellent, I recommend choosing the LDAC codec and setting up the EQ in it.More details.
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, durable, and nice-looking. Comfort-wise, they feel good, with a slight sensation of earbuds in your ears. The charging case is compact. Solid build. IPx4 dust and water resistance only for the earbuds. The earbuds look nice, though nothing special.More details.
- Reference-quality sound among wireless earbuds
- Comfortable and nice build quality
- average noise cancellation
- Minor drawbacks: Slight lack of vocal intimacy. Small flaws in the app and build quality. average microphone
3. Noble Audio Fokus REX5 8.43Best wireless earbuds – #1 for sound quality
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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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.
Noble Audio Fokus REX5 – the best wireless earbuds and #1 for sound quality on MyChooz. The main reason to buy: reference-quality sound in key areas: detail, naturalness, and soundstage. They sound better than the Technics EAH-AZ100, and the 5 drivers in the earbuds are not just for show. Although, you will need to tweak the sound in the EQ. Sound tuning and ear tip selection will be covered in the full review. On the downside – the noise cancellation, transparency mode, and microphone are on par with models under $100.
Overall, this model is for anyone looking for the BEST in-ear wireless earbuds and wanting uncompromisingly great sound.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 9.29 The Noble FoKus REX5 showed the highest sound level in wireless headphones I’ve ever heard. Now it’s the reference, 0.5 points better than the Technics EAH-AZ100. But it’s not the reference in all aspects. The overall picture is wide, detailed, bright, and clean, with a 3D effect. Among the strengths: reference mids, reference detail, and soundstage for wireless headphones. There are sound drawbacks, the main one being that the highs sometimes start to grate.More details.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 7.50 In quiet conditions: 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.
. 7.40 Noise cancellation suppresses light background noise, and transparency mode is minimally sufficient for comfortable communication. Headphone playback time in our tests is 4.5-7.5 hours, depending on the codec. Controls are touch-sensitive with 3 actions: pause/play, track switching, and volume. The app is straightforward: it has 2 EQs and personal sound tuning.More details.
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 For headphones, it’s important to choose the right ear pads because the main fixation in the ears relies on the ear pads. Otherwise, the headphones are comfortable, and there’s no discomfort after two hours of use. The build is metal, with no complaints about the assembly or materials. The look of the headphones is nice and neat, and the bright colors are not off-putting.More details.
- Best sound, reference-level detail among wireless headphones
- Metal body for the charging case and headphones
- 2 EQs, settings can be combined; personalized Audiodo sound tuning
- Fit relies on ear pads. You need to adjust the headphones if the ear pads don’t fit
- The headphones cool down quickly in the cold
- Average functionality
4. Apple AirPods Pro 3 8.64Best wireless earbuds for iPhone and Apple devices
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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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.
Apple AirPods Pro 3 – the best wireless earbuds for Apple devices. The main reason to buy: near-flagship sound; reference-quality microphone, active noise cancellation, transparency, and controls. The model has no critical flaws – it might not fit well, and some features only work with Apple devices.
What’s in the box:
- Apple AirPods Pro 3
- Charging case
- USB-C to Lightning cable
- Silicone ear tips (four sizes: XS, S, M, L)
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 8.50 With EQ tuning, you can push it to 9. You get excellent sound quality. It’s on par with top models from Sony, Sennheiser, Bose, and others. Its strong points are much-improved detail retrieval, soundstage, and natural timbre. The sound presentation is very similar to the Airpods Pro 2. But it’s like they made the window you’re looking through bigger and cleaned it really well. Finally, this is sound you can be proud of. It’s a huge improvement, +1.5 points, compared to the Pro 2. It’s still not at the level of Realme Buds Air 7 Pro, Huawei FreeBuds 4 Pro, or the reference-quality Technics EAH-AZ100. But it’s getting close.More details.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 9.00 In quiet environments: 10 In noisy conditions: 8 The microphone quality is simply superb; it’s a new reference. At first, I thought I accidentally recorded the sound through my iPhone. The ‘voice isolation’ feature is available. It improves voice quality in noisy environments by cutting out background sounds.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.
. 9.00 Active noise cancellation, transparency mode, and controls are all reference-quality. Battery life is up to 8 hours, and up to 24 hours with the charging case without ANC and Spatial Audio. There’s no dedicated app; all features are built into the OS. So, Android users will need to set up the earbuds using third-party apps.More details.
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.
. 8.43 The earbuds have a perfect fit. You won’t feel fatigue even after 5 hours of use. However, the design won’t suit everyone. It’s best to try them on before buying. The build quality is flawless, just like previous generations. Only the plastic scratches easily. It’s better to use a case for the charging case right away. The design is minimalistic, with nothing unnecessary.More details.
- Sound is near-flagship level — miles better than on the 2 Pro.
- Microphone — reference-quality
- Active noise cancellation and transparency mode — reference-quality
- Controls — reference-quality
- Battery life increased by 2 hours to 8h with ANC.
- The build quality is comfortable and good-looking.
- Model comfort improved, but not for everyone.
- The app and other features only work on Apple devices.
- Minor drawbacks: the charging case scratches very quickly.
5. HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4 8.52The best wireless earbuds 2026 – for sound quality 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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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.
Huawei Freebuds Pro 4 are the best wireless earbuds based on the sum of 32 test parameters on MyChooz, among all in-ear wireless models under $200. And the main reason to buy them: the balance of sound, features, and build quality, plus a reference-quality microphone. On the downside, some features only work on Huawei devices with HarmonyOS: the L2HC codec, spatial audio, translator, voice assistant, and so on.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 8.46 The earbuds have great mids and transparent vocals. Vocals and instruments sound pretty natural, without distortion or artificial timbre. Detail retrieval is good enough to enjoy live instruments. On the downside, there’s a slight lack of bass. The soundstage is also a bit narrow.More details.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 9.75 In quiet environments: 9.5 In noisy conditions: 10Overall 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.
. 8.52 This is a strong point for the model and the manufacturer in general. The active noise cancellation and transparency mode are sufficient for daily use. In our tests, playback time was up to 6.5 hours, considering the codec. The touch controls are convenient, with taps, swipes, and head gestures. The app isn’t overloaded with unnecessary features. However, on Android, you have to install the app manually after downloading it from the Huawei website.More details.
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.
. 8.67 The earbuds have a comfortable fit. There’s no noticeable discomfort. No complaints about the build quality or materials. Only the earbud bodies are fingerprint magnets. Scratches on the charging case show up after a week of use. The earbuds look good. But the gold plating and brand name look a bit excessive. You can choose from 3 colors.More details.
- Top-tier sound
- Reference-quality microphone
- Top-tier controls
- The proprietary L2HC codec, translator, assistant, and other features only work on HarmonyOS devices
- Not critical: the soundstage lacks width, the highs have grain in some spots
6. ANKER SoundCore Liberty 5 Pro 8.51best wireless earbuds for functionality
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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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.
In the SoundCore Liberty 5 Pro, the main focus is on features that match reference-quality ones for each parameter. Overall, the model stands out as a leader, right behind the Liberty 5 Pro Max. So, if features are your priority, the Liberty 5 Pro or 5 Pro Max will suit you. The sound isn’t bad, it just doesn’t stand out. It’s comfortable background sound for everyday listening. The improvement compared to the Liberty 4 Pro is minimal, and the results of the 3 Pro are not achievable at all.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 8.25 Traditionally with an emphasis on bass, though the amount of low frequencies is less compared to previous generations. Out of the box, the sound isn’t boring or harsh. It’s a comfortable background sound for everyday listening. Moderately detailed and natural. And pulling the score down are the lack of clarity and the soundstage. It’s like coming to a concert and listening to the performance from backstage or sitting in the very last side seats. Ordinary sound without critical flaws, moderately pleasant and melodic, especially with EQ tuning. Liberty 5 Pro – they land in the silver league MyChooz.More details.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 9.75 In quiet conditions: 9.5 In noisy conditions: 10 In quiet conditions, the voice is detailed and clear, with minimal distortion. In noisy conditions with a vacuum cleaner running in the background, the voice sounds unnatural, more processed. However, background noise is isolated, and speech remains clear.More details.
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.
. 9.19 The headphones’ strong point and, by all parameters, minimally inferior to reference models. The only drawback is the app using up to 1.9 GB of RAM, averaging 1.5 GB. This is a lot; for comparison, the Noble headphones app uses about 110 MB.More details.
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 Solid, with no visible defects, on par with the previous generation. The headphones have less gloss and fingerprints are minimally visible, the case screen gets dirty more easily. The headphones are comfortable and don’t press, they fit snugly in the ears. The case and headphones look good, I liked the design.More details.
- Comfortable balanced sound.
- Reference-quality functionality.
- Comfortable fit.
- The sound is minimally better than the previous generation.
- The app uses up to 1.9 GB of RAM.
7. OnePlus Buds 4 8.47Best wireless earbuds with bassy sound – new for 2025
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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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.
OnePlus Buds 4 are the best wireless earbuds with bassy sound in 2026. The main reason to buy them: top-tier bassy sound right out of the box, which doesn’t need EQ tuning. In terms of sound, they’re slightly behind Realme Buds Air 7 Pro, but they make up for the sound difference with features and build quality. This model has no critical flaws. LHDC 5.0 codec support and a source on a Snapdragon mobile platform are desirable. Because the sound is noticeably worse on MediaTek.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 8.58 They emphasize pleasant bass and highs. The sound is top-notch. It’s natural enough, without noticeable artificial timbre or grainy treble. There’s enough detail to pick out instrument textures. This is true even in dynamic tracks with complex arrangements. The soundstage is spacious. Vocals and instruments are well-separated. On the downside, the abundant bass fills the soundstage too much. It reduces clarity in the mids. There’s also a slight lack of detail and texture in the sound.More details.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 8.50 In quiet environments: 9 In noisy conditions: 8 There are no changes from the OnePlus Buds 3 version. It’s the same as in the Oppo Enco Free 4. I did an additional wind test (the 3rd one). Someone requested it in a comment.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.
. 8.33 Active noise cancellation (ANC) does a good job of suppressing background noise, and you can chat using the transparency mode. In our tests, the earbuds’ playback time reached up to 11 hours, and up to 56 hours with the charging case, depending on the codec. The controls are touch-sensitive, with 5 actions for each earbud, including swipes. The proprietary app is handy and free of unnecessary features; it includes a translator for 22 languages for OnePlus phones.More details.
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 Your ears won’t get tired with the included ear tips, even after 2-3 hours. The build quality is solid and reliable. The earbuds look good with their matte finish. But the design isn’t new. So the initial excitement fades after a couple of weeks.More details.
- Top-tier bass sound without needing to tune the EQ.
- Comfortable fit.
- You get better sound with the golden hearing profile.
- Minor drawbacks: The translator only works on OnePlus phones.
- LHDC 5.0 codec support would be nice.
- The sound is worse on MediaTek devices compared to Snapdragon.
8. Realme Buds Air 7 Pro 8.47Best budget wireless earbuds for SOUND 2025 — 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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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.
Realme Buds Air 7 Pro – the best budget wireless earbuds for sound. The main reason to buy: THE BEST sound among TWS under $300, there is live and synchronized translation without being tied to the phone manufacturer. Among the drawbacks: the large construction of the earbud and the model may not fit, many complaints about the earbuds’ reliability in our social networks. Although the model is №1 in popularity among users of our social networks.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 9.00 With LHDC 5.0 codec, these are on par with models up to $300. The earbuds have an optimal frequency balance. You get a spacious soundstage with good width and depth. The sound is detailed and natural enough. Early batches of the Chinese version had too much treble. The global version doesn’t have this issue.More details.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 8.00 In quiet environments: 9 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.
. 7.75 ANC and transparency are average. Battery life in our tests is up to 10 hours, considering the codec. Touch controls handle basic player and call functions. The app is convenient. It has an EQ, personal sound tuning, and a translator.More details.
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.
. 8.20 The earbuds fit well. You can use them for 2-3 hours without discomfort. Build quality and materials are solid. They look good; I liked the design. There are 4 colors to choose from.More details.
- Best sound in TWS under $300
- Live and simultaneous translation
- Reference-level battery life
- Users complain about reliability.
- Average noise cancellation and transparency.
9. Nothing Ear ( 3 ) 2025 8.44Beautiful wireless earbuds for your phone – with a microphone in the charging case
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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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.
Nothing Ear ( 3 ) 2025 are beautiful wireless earbuds with top-tier build quality and features. The main reason to buy: top-tier sound, and it’s important to update the firmware. Out of the box, the frequency balance is good, and there’s a directional microphone in the charging case for talking in noisy places. On the downside, the noise cancellation and transparency are average.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 8.38 The main plus for the sound is the mids and natural timbre. Vocals are intimate and clear. The sound is slightly unnatural, but it’s also free of artificial timbre. Plus, the bass is good and detailed.The main downside for the sound is the bright highs. This kind of sound is fatiguing, especially on tracks with lots of percussion. So, it’s important to update the firmware. The sound balance is nicer in the update.
More details.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 8.80 In quiet conditions: 8.6 In noisy conditions: 9 In quiet conditions, the balance fluctuates a bit. Noise cancellation removes background noise. Still, your voice is easy to understand. In noisy conditions, voice isolation is excellent, and noise is completely blocked. Sometimes the voice sounds a bit muffled, but it’s not hard to understand what’s being said.More details.
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.
. 8.28 ANC and transparency mode are minimally suitable for use — this is the earbuds’ weakest point. Battery life in our tests is up to 9.5 hours, and up to 38 hours with the charging case, considering the codec. They have convenient pinch controls on the earbud stem and a reference-quality app for ease of use and features.More details.
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.
. 8.83 The earbuds are comfortable, but ear fatigue starts after 2 hours. The build quality is strong and reliable, with no assembly defects. The look is great and stands out from competitors.More details.
- Top-tier sound
- Detailed microphone with excellent voice isolation
- Reference-quality app
- Average active noise cancellation and transparency
- Bright tuning before the firmware update
- Overpriced on some marketplaces
10. Realme Buds Air 8 Pro 8.31Top earbuds with 3-device connection
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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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 main reason to buy: top-tier sound with the AAC codec, triple multipoint, a top-tier microphone, translator, and built-in voice assistant. The main reason not to buy: the LHDC codec might not work before the earbuds are released, the glossy inserts are fingerprint magnets, and the sound is worse than the previous generation.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 8.25 Realme Buds Air 8 Pro are good earbuds. This is true if you look at them alone. Do not compare them to the Realme Buds Air line. I liked the sound. The 8 Pro sounds worse than the 7 Pro. It scores 0.67 points lower out of 10. This is if you see it as a follow-up model. I tested the latest firmware 1.1.0.85. I used the LHDC 5.0 codec. The 8 Pro is worse in 4 out of 6 areas. Two areas are equal. The main drops are in mids, detail, and soundstage. Each drops by 1 point. Highs lack 0.5 points in quantity. Bass and natural timbre are equal to the 7 Pro.The sound difference is big. This is true when you compare them side by side. If you listen to the 8 Pro alone, the sound is great. You will enjoy it. No big flaws appear. But if you start comparing, it is clear. The 7 Pro is better in the first 10 seconds. If I put both models on a table, I would pick the 7 Pro. I would not hesitate. The soundstage is wider. Vocals are closer and clearer. There is more detail. The 7 Pro feels like a new model. The 8 Pro feels like last year’s model.
More details.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 9.50 In quiet conditions: 9 In noisy conditions: 10 The microphone is better than the 7 Pro. It works great in noisy places.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.
. 8.60 ANC suppresses light background noise. Transparency mode works like top models at first. But it gets much worse after 5 seconds. In our tests, battery life was 11.5 hours. It was 48 hours with the charging case. Controls are touch-based. Each earbud has 3 actions. You can also swipe to change volume. The app has sound and control settings. These include dynamic audio and a golden sound profile.More details.
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.
. 8.00 The build is comfortable. The basic ear tips fit well. I felt no discomfort after a couple of hours. The build has no flaws. The materials look and feel good. Only the fingerprint magnet glossy finish spoils it. They made a mirror-like surface. It gets smudged just by thinking about it. You have to wipe it every time. I liked how the earbuds and case look. You can choose white or black.More details.
- Top-tier and engaging sound
- Live and real-time translation, voice assistant
- Connect to three devices at once
- LHDC codec does not work
- Glossy finish gets dirty fast
11. OnePlus Buds Pro 3 8.27Best wireless earbuds in 2024 – a famous 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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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.
OnePlus Buds Pro 3 are the best wireless earbuds of 2024. After the OnePlus Buds 4 came out, buying these Pro 3 makes no sense because the 4th version sounds better. And the score, adjusted for sound, for the Pro 3 is 8.5/10, which is still very good considering the $120 price. However, I added this model to the ranking so you can understand the place of one of my favorite models, which you often asked about and which I recommended to many. And the OnePlus Buds Pro 4, which we all waited for this year, never came out, let’s see what they show in 2026.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 8.43 Moderately low-frequency sound. Bright, with a slightly recessed midrange, and most importantly with the right frequency balance. The kind where you pick the right ear tips, put them in and just enjoy your favorite music. The EQ has solid presets — I recommend trying the “clarity” preset. Sound is detailed, natural in timbre, and with a wide soundstage.Read More.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 8.40 In quiet conditions: 8.8 In noisy conditions: 8 The manufacturer claims: the AI Clear Call algorithm protects calls from wind and background noise thanks to three built-in microphones and a wind-noise-resistant design. Surprisingly, it works.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.
. 8.05 Noise cancellation suppresses light background noise, transparency mode is poor and not suitable for use. Battery life up to 10 hours and 43 hours with the case. Touch controls with standard actions for calls and player. The app is convenient 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 earbuds are comfortable, just make sure to pick the right ear tips. Build is solid and reliable. I liked the look of both the earbuds and the case. Available in 2 colors: black and white.Read More.
- Top-tier sound among TWS
- Not demanding of mobile platform — Snapdragon or MTK
- Full support for LHDC 3.0 audio codec
- Poor transparency mode
- OnePlus Buds 4 exists — better and cheaper
12. Huawei Freebuds 5 Pro 8.21Wireless earbuds with a reference-quality microphone, top features, and good sound
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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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 main reason to buy: good and not off-putting sound, reference-quality microphone, comfortable controls. Good noise cancellation and a top-tier transparency mode. Downsides: sound is above average, and most features are tied to the proprietary HarmonyOS firmware – translator, voice recorder, voice assistant, etc.</p>
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 7.21 The Huawei FreeBuds 5 Pro lacks bass and highs, and the mids are distant, but each of these issues is not critical. Listening to music is generally nice, and you only notice sound flaws when you compare them directly to the 4 Pro or reference-quality headphones like the Technics EAH-AZ100 or Noble FoKus Rex 5. The strong point of this model is that nothing in the sound bothers you, but nothing really grabs you either. For $200, you expect a first-league level (9-10 points), or at least a second-league level (8-9). But here we get a third bronze league (7-8 points), which is the level of models costing $50-100. If this model cost $50 — I would buy two, but more for the features than for the sound. But $150-200… No, thank you. And yes, after the Huawei FreeBuds 4 Pro, this is sadly a step backward in sound.More details.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 9.75 Quiet 9.5 Noisy 10 The microphone quality hasn’t changed at all; it’s top-level.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.
. 9.13 Noise cancellation is at a good level, it’s become a little better compared to the 4 Pro. The transparency mode has improved by 1 point, conversations are comfortable. Battery life has increased to 9 hours of playback and up to 38 hours with the charging case. The controls are reference-quality, touch-sensitive plus pinch. The app is good; in it, I recommend selecting the LDAC codec and setting up the EQ as I did.More details.
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.
. 9.33 The model is comfortable, 2-3 hours without discomfort, durability is great. The design is peculiar, the charging case now looks like the OnePlus Buds 3 Pro and is worse in my opinion than the 4 Pro. The headphones themselves look a bit nicer and more compact.More details.
- Nothing in the sound is off-putting.
- Reference-quality microphone.
- Good noise cancellation and an excellent transparency mode.
- Comfortable build, nice design
- Sound is 7-8 out of 10 for the price of a 1st-tier product at $200.
- Voice assistant, translator, voice recorder, hearing protection, and other proprietary features are only available on devices with HarmonyOS.
13. Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro 8.18Best Samsung earbuds — the official Samsung SSC, SSC-UHQ
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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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 main reason to buy: top-tier sound even with the AAC codec, reference-quality transparency, and a strong, reliable build. However, it only makes sense to buy these earbuds if you have a flagship Samsung device. That way, you’ll get the top-tier SSC-UHQ codec, translator, spatial audio, and other proprietary features. There’s no point buying them for non-flagship Samsung devices, as you’ll only get the regular SSC codec, and other proprietary features won’t be available. It’s definitely not worth buying these earbuds for Android or iOS.
The main reason to buy: top-tier sound even with the AAC codec, reference-quality transparency, and a strong, reliable build. However, it only makes sense to buy these earbuds if you have a flagship Samsung device. That way, you’ll get the top-tier SSC-UHQ codec, translator, spatial audio, and other proprietary features. There’s no point buying them for non-flagship Samsung devices, as you’ll only get the regular SSC codec, and other proprietary features won’t be available. It’s definitely not worth buying these earbuds for Android or iOS.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 8.33 Detailed and engaging, just a little short on low frequencies. Frequency-wise, I’d describe the sound as moderately balanced and V-shaped. Excellent detail thanks to the dual-driver system and planar tweeter. The soundstage is wider than your head. Great timbre reproduction without distortion for both instruments and vocals. Most importantly, the drum hardware sounds natural. The kick and bass don’t boom. The earbuds offer great musical immersion. Once you put them on, you want to listen to more and more tracks; it’s not background listening. Everything flows seamlessly, and that’s an important factor.More details.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 8.00 In quiet conditions: 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.
. 8.05 The earbuds have average noise cancellation, suppressing light ambient noise. The transparency mode is reference-quality. Battery life is up to 7 hours and up to 30 hours with the case. Control is touch-based with 5 taps, offering basic playback and call management. Features in the proprietary app are only available on flagship Samsung devices; for other Android devices, there’s nothing useful.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.
. 8.00 The fit of the earbuds is comfortable, the large ear tips from the set fit well. The build is solid and reliable with IP57 dust and water resistance. Only the design is uncomfortable. The earbuds look good, standing out from the competition. Available in 2 colors.More details.
- Top-tier sound on flagship Samsung devices.
- Reference-quality transparency mode in wireless earbuds.
- Solid and reliable build quality.
- The app is not very informative. There is no app for iPhone.
- The triangular stem on the earbuds is uncomfortable.
- AI translation, Audio 360, and sound switching only work on flagship Samsung devices.
- The SSC codec with 96 kHz and 24 bits only works on flagship Samsung devices.
14. Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 8.17Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds for $299 — Balanced 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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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 True Wireless 4 are wireless Bluetooth earbuds for those who have the aptX codec on their phone and if you like balanced sound with not too much bass. The sound in the Sennheisers is natural, detailed with a solid soundstage. Snappy natural bass and bright highs, which can sometimes be a bit too much on some tracks. Good ANC, excellent transparency, a good microphone, a great app, controls, and battery life. If you’re all about balanced sound, then the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 are good wireless earbuds that you’ll enjoy.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 8.19 The best option for those looking for a balance of analytical and musical sound. Best suited for genres: classical, folk, blues, jazz, instrumentals, vocals, etc. The sound turned out top-tier, excellent, though not the absolute best. The earbuds broke into the 8+ score league. Sennheiser made steps in the right direction compared to the 3rd version. With the right ear tip selection and using the AptX Adaptive codec, you’ll get a sound you’ll truly enjoy.Read More.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 8.00 In quiet conditions: 9 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.
. 8.21 Noise cancellation mainly suppresses low-frequency noise, comfortable transparency mode. Battery life is 7.5 hours and 30 hours with the case. Touch controls with 4 actions per earbud: for player and environment control. The app is convenient, functional, and regularly updated.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.
. 8.07 The earbuds are bulky, and the bud form factor won’t suit everyone. Build quality and materials are solid — the construction is sturdy and reliable. They look good, without any particular wow factor. Available in 4 colors.Read More.
- Pleasant and engaging sound
- Solid and reliable construction
- Top-tier transparency mode
- Background noise in transparency mode and some rustling.
- Bud-style earbuds — won’t suit everyone in terms of comfort
15. Soundpeats Capsule 3 Pro Plus 8.16Best wireless earbuds under $80 – for sound openness and detail
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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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.
Soundpeats Capsule 3 Pro Plus – the best wireless earbuds under $80, their main difference from OnePlus Buds 3 is a more detailed and balanced sound, with less low-frequency emphasis. Soundpeats provide rich, detailed sound with a deep bass foundation, distinct mids, and clear highs.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 8.71 The headphones have a wide sound range with great detail. The sound grabs you right away: deep bass, expressive mids, and clear highs. You can separate main and secondary parts, and some small details are audible. It’s a wide soundstage with instruments placed in space. The sound is naturally bright, and the highs get tiring quickly.More details.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 7.50 In quiet conditions: 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.
. 7.52 The headphones’ weak point. Noise cancellation minimally muffles background noise, and transparency is barely enough for use. Touch controls have 4 actions for basic player and call management. The app is inconvenient, with only a 10-band EQ being useful.More details.
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.
. 7.73 The headphones fit snugly with the included ear pads in ears with large conchas. Minor fatigue emerges after a couple of hours of use. The headphones and case body feel solid, strong, and reliable. The finish is just prone to smudges and gets dirty quickly. The headphones look good; I think the gold accents are unnecessary.More details.
- Top-tier detail retrieval and soundstage width
- Deep bass
- Solid and reliable build quality
- Bright and harsh highs
- fingerprint magnet
- Mediocre features and the app
16. Noble Audio Osprey 8.15Best wireless earbuds – bassy and bright sound for Android phones
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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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.
Noble Audio Osprey is a budget-friendly alternative to the successful Noble FoKus REX5 model, costing $200 instead of $450. Both models look similar, but the Osprey has a simpler sound: 2 drivers instead of 5, no EQ curve, and no personalized sound tuning. Is there a big difference in sound? Yes. The FoKus Osprey sounds like it’s worth its full price, but it’s worse in frequency balance, detail retrieval, and soundstage. Comparing the sound of these two models is like comparing airflow through a slightly open window versus a fully open one. The Osprey’s only advantages are a more emphasized bass that isn’t pushed back, and highs that aren’t as harsh. Therefore, the Osprey is a good option for top-tier sound if you don’t have the budget for the REX5. However, its features are mid-level and implemented as an afterthought — the entire budget went to sound and build quality, with the remainder for features.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 8.83 Dynamic — the bass and percussion sound accented, but they don’t throw things off balance. An exception is tracks with a lot of percussion, like Oasis – Dont Go Away. In such tracks, you feel a “hint” of metal and minor fatigue. Also, the mids lack clarity, and you can fix this with an EQ, or you can leave it as is. The soundstage feels noticeably smaller compared to the REX5. Otherwise, the sound is spacious, detailed, and natural. Just right for thoughtful listening. The Noble Audio Osprey confidently lands in the silver league of MyChooz.More details.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 7.00 In quiet conditions: 7 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.
. 7.23 Implemented as an afterthought. On the plus side, the signal is stable and the sound doesn’t drop out with LDAC on the quality preset at a distance of 1-2 m. Active noise cancellation works if you find the right ear tips. And battery life is up to 9 hours with the AAC codec. The transparency mode isn’t great for use, the controls work only sometimes – usually when you don’t need them, and there’s nothing useful in the app.More details.
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 It feels solid and reliable in your hands, and metal is rarely found in TWS headphones. The build quality, materials, and look completely copy the REX5. The headphones look good, but they have no individuality. The headphones are comfortable, you just need to pick the right size and ear pads. Otherwise, the headphones won’t stay in your ears, or you might feel the need to adjust them.More details.
- A moderately bright sound with deep bass.
- Solid and reliable build quality.
- Stable signal with the LDAC codec.
- Average features: poor transparency mode, not much use from the app.
17. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 8.10Best wireless earbuds with noise cancellation – for sports
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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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 Earbuds — the best noise-canceling earbuds of 2025 among in-ear wireless models and a reference on mychooz.com. The main reason to buy: reference-level noise cancellation, pleasant bass sound, comfortable fit for sports, and the best spatial audio mode. With the aptX Adaptive codec, sound quality improves by up to 15%. Downsides include poor microphone noise cancellation and an inconvenient app.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 8.26 Low-frequency with a slight excess of bass and mid frequencies. The sound can be adjusted in the proprietary equalizer if desired.Read More.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 6.50 In quiet conditions: 9 In noisy conditions: 4 Each earbud has 4 microphones with noise cancellation function. In a quiet room the recording is detailed and clear. In noisy conditions voice isolation works, but the quality drops noticeably — the voice sounds muffled and compressed.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.
. 7.92 The earbuds have reference active noise cancellation, and transparency mode at reference level.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.
. 8.00 Materials and build quality without complaints. The earbud body resembles metal, and the lid is plastic. The coating is slightly prone to fingerprints. The construction is solid without complaints.Read More.
- Reference noise cancellation among TWS
- Top-tier low-frequency sound
- Best spatial audio
- Comfortable fit for running and sports
- Poor microphone noise cancellation
- Inconvenient proprietary app
- IPx4 dust and water protection. No case protection.
18. Anker SoundCore Liberty 4 Pro 8.04Wireless earbuds for Android phones — the most bass-heavy
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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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.
SoundCore Liberty 4 Pro – the best wireless earbuds for an Android phone with low-frequency sound. The main reason to buy: pleasant low-frequency sound, good noise cancellation and microphone in a quiet environment, a convenient charging case with a screen. Downsides: few details and naturalness in the mid-frequencies, the screen on the charging case provides little information, and in our model, the earbud battery lost 30% in a year.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 7.88 Bass-heavy with excessive fill. Bass slightly overpowers the mids and the sound lacks transparency. Highs are bright but lacking expressiveness. Detail is enough to make out primary and secondary parts. Sound is moderately natural, with some grit on the highs and boomy lows. Soundstage is slightly wider than your head with a false sense of width.Read More.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 8.00 In quiet conditions: 9.5 In noisy conditions: 6.5 In quiet conditions the SoundCore Liberty 4 Pro microphone performs perfectly. In very noisy conditions near a road, the software noise cancellation cuts out too many 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.
. 8.33 Noise cancellation works for office and street use, and transparency mode is convenient for talking with earbuds in. Battery life up to 10 hours and 40 hours with case. After 7 months of periodic testing use, earbud battery dropped to 50% — 4-6 hours with codec. Touch controls with 5 actions per earbud, environment can be adjusted via the case screen. The official app has personalized sound tuning, voice assistant and translator, not tied to the earbud manufacturer.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.
. 8.00 The earbuds are comfortable, no discomfort after three hours of use. Build quality and materials are solid, except for the lid with slight play. The earbuds look ordinary — the case looks better. Available in 4 colors.Read More.
- Pleasant low-frequency sound
- Top-tier microphone in quiet conditions
- Convenient screen in the case
- Battery capacity dropped by 30% in a year
- Lacking detail and naturalness — in mids and highs
- Case screen is not very informative
19. Sony WF-1000XM5 7.98Best wireless earbuds — for noise cancellation
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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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 WF-1000XM5 are the best wireless earbuds with noise cancellation in 2026, even though the model came out in 2023. The sound has low frequencies, slightly recessed mids, and pushed-back highs that are lacking. The main drawback of the model is that its build quality is not very comfortable.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 7.97 Low-frequency, moderately bright, full-bodied, and smooth. Lows dominate but don’t overpower mids and highs. Bass is tight, pleasant, and velvety. Vocals are easily readable without straining — everything is on the surface, natural, harmonious, pleasant. Highs are slightly lacking in quantity. Excellent detail and each instrument is clearly distinguishable. Soundstage is wider than your head, and the sound is natural without any synthetic or gritty texture.Read More.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 7.00 In quiet conditions: 8 In noisy conditions: 6 Good, same as in Sony WF-1000XM4, no differences in sound whatsoever.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.
. 8.00 Active noise cancellation at a top level, and with the right ear tips the earbuds can rival the best. Transparency mode is convenient — comfortable to chat with earbuds in. Battery life with codec in our tests up to 10 hours and 29 hours with case. Touch controls — 4 actions for left and 5 actions for right earbud. The app is functional with useful settings, but the menu is illogical and takes time to learn.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.
. 8.00 The earbuds are comfortable — a couple hours without discomfort guaranteed. It’s important to pick the right ear tips since they provide the main in-ear hold. Build quality is solid, though the coating is fingerprint-prone and scratches easily. The earbuds look good, without any particular wow factor. Available in 3 colors.Read More.
- Top-tier low-frequency sound
- Top-tier active noise cancellation and transparency
- Battery capacity unchanged in 2 years
- Without properly fitted ear tips, noise cancellation works worse
- Bud-style form factor may not suit everyone
20. Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro 7.57In-ear earbuds with noise cancellation – good for Android
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 treble 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 – treble, high quality, high speed (Sony).
SBC is the basic Bluetooth standard, low quality.
AAC – Apple standard, good quality, low latency.
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 ANC 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: top-tier active noise cancellation, a top-tier microphone in quiet conditions, and a built-in voice recorder. Downsides include sound quality just above average and inconvenient controls. The translator and increased bitrate only work on some Xiaomi phones. Also, the charging case feels like it costs $20-25.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 7.25 The earbuds have decent mids and highs, with naturalness and detail. The main drawback of the sound is the strong emphasis on low frequencies and a narrow soundstage. The sound is somewhat unnatural with a bassy tint. This is partially fixed with the EQ.More details.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 7.75 In quiet conditions: 9 In noisy conditions: 6.5Overall 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.
. 8.00 Top-tier active noise cancellation (ANC) and it’s a bit behind the reference-quality ones. The transparency mode is worse, you can talk though. Playback time in our tests is up to 8 hours and 48 minutes for the earbuds and 42 hours with the charging case. Controls have 5 actions for each earbud, done by pinching the stem — it’s uncomfortable. The app isn’t overloaded with extra features, but it has useful ones, including a voice recorder.More details.
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.
. 7.73 The earbuds are comfortable with the included ear tips. Fatigue sets in after a couple of hours. The build quality and materials of the earbuds are without complaint — only the charging case feels a bit “flimsy,” and they clearly saved money on the materials. The earbuds look good, without much excitement.