Finding the best earbuds for you can be a challenge. There are so many different styles that it's easy to get confused. Do you want super high quality? Do you want true wireless earbuds? There are plusses and minuses in each category. That's why we've laid out our favorite earbuds for you.
What to Look For in Earbuds
Earbuds come in various styles, brands, and types and come in prices ranging from less than five bucks to several hundred dollars. With so many options at prices all over the map, how do you decide which earbuds to buy?
Aside from the cost, factors such as design, battery life, charging, audio quality, noise-canceling, controls, range, water resistance, and compatibility may all play a role when choosing the best earbuds for you. We break down everything you need to know in this earbuds-buying guide.
Battery Life
Battery life on wireless headphones is crucial. Many true wireless headphones have two battery life ratings—battery life on a single charge and the combined battery life in the charging case (if applicable). It's important to note both factors and decide if the headphones' performance will meet your requirements in a single session and over the long term.
Connectivity
How your headphones connect to your music player is crucial to your experience. If you want a wired connection, ensure your music player has a headphone jack. If you want a wireless connection, ensure the range is good, and the codecs your music player supports are the same as those in the headphones. Only one of them has to match in that regard.
Fit
Pay attention to comments on how the earbuds fit. Some earbuds go into the ear canal, others rest on your earlobes, and others combine both scenarios. The shape of your ears will largely determine your comfort with a given set of headphones.
Type
Earphones vs. Earbuds
Earbuds sit outside the ear canal while you gently insert earphones (or in-ear headphones) into your ear canal. Despite this difference, some brands will market earphones as earbuds or “in-ear earbuds.” Although you may see earphones labeled as earbuds, there’s a clear distinction in the design of the two. Earphones usually fit more securely in the ears, and they may produce better audio quality, while earbuds are easier to clean and may offer benefits in terms of durability.
Wired Earbuds
Wired earbuds have a cord you plug into your phone or device. The other end of the cord will have some connector, like a 3.5 mm audio jack or a lightning cable that plugs into your device.
Wired earbuds offer several benefits over their wireless competitors, including a lower price point, better audio quality, compatibility benefits, and the ability to operate without a battery. On the other hand, wired earbuds have the drawback of dealing with cords that can tangle and leave you tethered to your device. You can’t set your device down and walk away from your phone while listening to wired earbuds like you can with a good pair of wireless earbuds.
True Wireless Earbuds
Bluetooth is the most common wireless technology for earbuds, and Bluetooth earbuds and in-ear headphones come in different styles. You can find neckband-style earphones with a thick band around the back of the neck and wires connecting to each in-ear headphone or earbud. You can also find earbuds that connect with a thin wire, but they connect to your device via Bluetooth. The neckband style is popular among runners and gym-goers because the band or wire can help promote additional stability. Also, many users say they don’t notice the thin connector wire once they get used to it.
Although these neckband-style earphones and earbuds are wireless, they don’t connect to your device with a wire; they’re not truly wireless earbuds. True wireless earbuds have no external wires, and you get a separate earbud for each ear.
You have a few style options when finding a pair of true wireless earbuds. If you like the bud and stem look, you can find several true wireless earbuds similar to AirPods, where they have a small bud that sits in the ear and then a stem that hangs down and may include a microphone. If you like more subtle earbuds, you can use a smaller design. If stability is your top priority, and you don’t want to worry about your buds falling out of your ears, you may want to go with an over-the-ear design. Although the over-the-ear design is more familiar with in-ear headphones, you can also find earbuds in this design.
True Wireless Earbuds vs. Bluetooth Headsets
Wireless earbuds come in a pair and are optimized for sound quality and music playback. Bluetooth headsets are optimized for conversation and often come as a single earpiece that goes in one ear. Also, a Bluetooth headset will always have a microphone, while earbuds may or may not have a microphone (though more and more earbuds also include inline microphones).
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Sound Quality
You’ll see a few specifications to help determine sound quality when shopping for earbuds.
Driver Size
The driver is primarily responsible for converting the signal from your device into audible vibrations. It’s a loudspeaker with a voice coil, magnet, and diaphragm. Earbud drivers usually range in size from around 4 mm to 15 mm. Larger drivers are generally more potent than smaller drivers, but a larger driver doesn’t necessarily mean better sound quality. Other factors, like tuning, materials, and build quality, all impact sound performance. Sometimes, the manufacturer won’t indicate the driver size, but that’s OK. You can use other specs to help determine your earbud’s sound quality.
Sound Mode
The sound mode will say something like “mono” or, most often, “stereo.” The stereo sound mode has a right and a left sound channel, giving the audio depth. Mono means it only has a single channel, so you hear the same sounds in each ear. If a pair of headphones has a “surround sound” mode, it has several channels (5.1 or 7.1), so you can hear several layers of sound and even more dimension than stereo sound.
Frequency Response
Frequency response measures the earbuds’ ability to reproduce high and low tones. Sub-bass and bass frequencies are between 20 and 250 Hz, while higher tones are in the kHz ranges.
Impedance
Impedance measures resistance and lower numbers are generally better because the earbuds require less power and amplification to produce a clean sound. You’ll usually see an impedance number of around 16 ohms for earbuds. It may go higher for headphones.
Sensitivity
This is a measure of efficiency. It indicates how much sound the earbuds can produce with a given amount of power. If the earbuds or earphones indicate a sensitivity rating, it will often be 100 decibels or higher.
Sound Isolation
If the earbuds or earphones have sound isolating, this means they have some means of blocking outside noise. It’s a type of noise canceling. By blocking off your ear canal from other sound waves, it focuses on the sound coming from the earbud or earphone.
Active Noise Cancelling
If the earbuds have active noise canceling (ANC) technology, they produce sound waves to counteract background noise and cancel out the external sound. If noise canceling is a priority, you may want to seek out earbuds with ANC.
Bluetooth Connectivity and Codecs
When you examine the connectivity specifications for earbuds, you’ll often see information on the Bluetooth version and codec. Typical wireless earbuds will be Bluetooth versions 4.0, 4.1, 4,2, or 5.0; newer Bluetooth versions are backward compatible, and most Bluetooth earbuds will work with most phones. You’ll also want to be mindful of the Bluetooth range, which tells you how far you can travel away from your phone while wearing your earbuds and still experience a stable connection.
The codec (compression/decompression) tells you how Bluetooth is transmitted from your phone to your earbuds. It’ll say something like AAC and SBC; most earbuds will have a compatible codec for Android phones and iPhones.
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Earbud Controls
Most earbuds have some volume controls and controls for music functions like play, pause, previous, and next song. If the earbuds have a microphone built-in, you’ll also have buttons for answering and rejecting calls. Some of these buttons may double as more than one function. For instance, the “play” button may double as the “answer call” button, or the “decline call” may double as the “stop” or “pause” button.
Some earbuds have touch controls, while others have physical buttons. Many earbuds, like AirPods, are controlled by taps. Examine the controls, and see if the controls will be comfortable and easy to access.
Battery Life
Wireless earbuds typically indicate the battery capacity in milliampere hours or mAh. This formula determines a battery’s storage capacity. For example, an 80 mAh battery lasts for four hours. This means the headphones draw 20 milliamperes of power (80 mAh divided by 4 hours = 20 mA).
Wireless earbuds should take between 60 minutes and five hours to reach a full charge, and most earbuds last for between four and 12 hours on a single charge. Twelve hours or more is generally considered very good. However, you can find devices with extended battery life or devices with a charging case.
Charging Cases
If you plan on using your earbuds regularly, finding a pair with a charging case you can take with you on the go is a good idea. These cases provide two or more full charges without connecting to an outlet, so you can charge your buds away from home. You can find many earbuds, including a charging case, like Apple AirPods, Samsung Galaxy Buds, and even earbuds from several lesser-known brands.
Water Resistance
Water-resistant earbuds are particularly important for those who plan on using them outdoors or while exercising. Water resistance prevents the earbuds from getting destroyed when they come into contact with rain, sweat, or water splashes. If the earbuds are water or sweat resistant, you’ll see that feature in the product description. You should also see a water resistance rating, like IPX5, IPX6, or IPX7. The higher the number at the end, the more resistant the earbuds are to water.
A water resistance rating of IPX5 means the product can withstand sustained, low-pressure water jets. If it has a water resistance rating of IPX6, the earbuds can resist heavy-pressure sprays of water. Once you get up to IPX7 water resistance, the earbuds can be submerged in up to one meter of water for up to 30 minutes. However, because water resistance doesn’t mean waterproof, it’s probably not a good idea to go swimming with your earbuds, even if they have a water resistance rating.
Voice Assistants and Companion Apps
If you want a voice assistant available at all times, you may want to go with official Apple or Google earbuds. Many earbuds have a companion app where you can adjust the controls, enable and disable features, and even view wellness information. The Bose Connect App, for instance, lets you view your real-time heart rate.
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When picking out a pair of earbuds, keep in mind how, when, and where you’re going to be using them. If you’re going to be working out or frequently using your buds outdoors, look for features like stability, a good water resistance rating, good build quality, and good battery life. If you’re listening to music and making calls, look for the best audio quality, noise-canceling, and advanced microphone technology.
Buying the most expensive pair of earbuds doesn’t guarantee you’ll be happy with your purchase. It’s best to carefully examine the design, features, and sound quality to determine the best buds for your individual lifestyle.
FAQ
What's the difference between noise-canceling and isolation?
Isolation refers to how well the earbuds physically block out sounds around you. Tips that go into your ear canal are much better at isolation than those that rest outside your ear canal. Noise cancellation, often called Active Noice Cancellation or ANC, is when an earbud generates a tone that is the inverse of the sounds around you, thus canceling out the noise and giving you silence. Successfully removing noise usually requires a combination of both isolation and ANC.
What is an audio codec?
Before Bluetooth transmits audio to your headset,it compresses it to make it as small and fast as possible. The Bluetooth headset then decompresses the audio and plays it into your ears. A codec is the software used to do that, which includes AAC, aptX, MP3, and more.
Which is better for audio, wired, or wireless?
It depends on preference but wired will always have better audio quality. The question then is, "Will your ears be able to detect the difference?" Audio quality over Bluetooth has consistently improved over the years. That, and many smartphone manufacturers leaving off the headphone jack, have made wireless audio much more popular as of late. But at the end of the day, all other things being equal, you will always get a better signal through wired headphones.
