The past 12 months have been great for audio tech and headphones. Not only have we seen the arrival of the AirPods Max and Sony WH-1000XM4, two stellar pairs of over-ear headphones, but the wireless earbuds revolution has continued apace, giving us better quality at increasingly lower prices.
What’s more, exciting new audio technologies have arrived and older ones have (finally) gained mainstream acceptance. Streaming has taken a giant leap forward, for instance, with Apple Music getting both spatial audio and lossless formats. We’ve already become accustomed to carrying around millions of songs in our pockets, but we now have the tech to really do them justice. In many ways, there’s never been a better time to be a music fan.
Best headphones overall: Sony WH-1000XM4
The Sony WH-1000XM4 delivers everything you could want from a pair of headphones, and at a lower price than its biggest over-ear rivals. It sounds even better than the preceding Sony WH-1000XM3, with highly effective active noise cancellation. Plus, its long battery life and comfortable design makes the WH-1000XM4 one pair of headphones you won’t want to take off.
Highly Recommended: Bose 700
The Bose 700 is an excellent pair of over-ear headphones in general, but where it truly excels is ANC — you won’t find better noise neutralization elsewhere.
Highly Recommended: Jabra Elite 85t
From its classy design to its commanding sound signature, the Jabra Elite 85t is a premium set of wireless earbuds through and through.
Best wireless earbuds: Jabra Elite 85t
The Jabra Elite 85t continues a line of fantastic earbuds from the Danish brand. Its relatively huge 12mm drivers can pump out some of the best sound you’ll hear from the true wireless form factor, and its active noise cancellation is equally impressive. Credit is also due to the Jabra Sound+ app, which is packed with personalization features.
Highly Recommended: Master & Dynamic MW08
Earbuds as finely-crafted as the MW08 are hard to come by, and the bass-rich sound ensures this pair of buds isn’t just a looker.
Highly Recommended: Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus
Not content with beating the Apple AirPods on audio performance and battery life, the Melomania 1 Plus is more affordable, too.
Best noise-cancelling headphones: Sony WH-1000XM4
Sony’s noise cancellation tech is both effective and customizable: the WH-1000XM4’s NC Optimizer can even measure your ear shape, so that the effect becomes tailored to you specifically. The WH-1000XM4’s battery also lasts a lot longer than many of its noise-cancelling competitors, helping to counteract the usual downside of ANC sapping the charge faster.
Highly Recommended: Bose 700
If you only want the most effective ANC on the market, nothing beats the Bose 700 for cutting out those distracting ambient sounds.
Highly Recommended: Clever Enduro ANC
The Enduro ANC is an outstanding budget option, offering both full ANC and the single best battery performance we’ve seen from a pair of headphones.
Best sports headphones: JLab Epic Air Sport ANC
It may be cheap, but the JLab Epic Air Sport ANC has serious workout/running headphone credentials. And not just design traits like the secure-fitting ear hooks or rugged water resistance, but also surprisingly refined audio and superb battery life. Even the companion app is as good as they come, offering full customization of both the EQ and the onboard touch controls.
Highly Recommended: Bose Sport Earbuds
This cheaper, sportier cousin to the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds stays secure in your ears while delivering bass-rich music to help keep you motivated.
Highly Recommended: Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro
While not a pair of sports earbuds per se, the added waterproofing and ergonomic fit of the Galaxy Buds Pro make it a good workout companion.
Best over-ear headphones: Sony WH-1000XM4
The old Sony WH-1000XM3 was already a formidable pair of over-ears, and the newest model practically perfects the formula. Sound quality, ANC, comfort and battery life are all first-rate, and the WH-1000XM4 is an ideal vessel for Sony’s immersive 360 Reality Audio format. Best of all, it’s cheaper than similarly high-specced headphones.
Highly Recommended: Cleer Enduro ANC
The Enduro ANC has emerged as one of the biggest over-ear bargains, with good sound, ANC (with an ambient mode) and world-beating battery life for under $150.
Highly Recommended: Bowers & Wilkins PX7 Carbon Edition
The stellar craftsmanship of the PX7 Carbon Edition is something to behold, and its spacious, dramatic soundstage impresses even more.
Most innovative headphones: Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro
While the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro covers the essentials well, it’s also crammed with thoughtful bonus features. These range from automatic switching between different Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets to Samsung 360 Audio, a spatial audio-esque 3D playback mode that remains exclusive to the Galaxy Buds Pro.
Highly Recommended: Earin A-3
The world’s smallest set of wireless earbuds is both charming and clever, especially in its accelerometer-enabled touch controls.
Highly Recommended: Apple AirPods Max
With its mesh headband and replaceable memory foam earcups, the AirPods Max cuts a unique figure, even before you get into its extensive feature set.
Best headphones design: Apple AirPods Max
It’s expensive, but few pairs of headphones have as luxurious a design as the Apple AirPods Max. The aluminum earcups and mesh headband provide eye-catching looks without compromising on comfort, and the Digital Crown — borrowed from the Apple Watch — works very well as an alternative to buttons or touch controls.
Highly Recommended: Master & Dynamic MW08
A handsome mix of aluminum, stainless steel and ceramic, the MW08 earbuds look as good as they sound.
Highly Recommended: Bowers & Wilkins PX7 Carbon Edition
Bowers & Wilkins gave the existing PX7 a striking all-black paint job for the Carbon Edition, though it’s the overall build quality that really stands out.
Best headphones for battery life: Cleer Enduro ANC
We got more than 50 hours of noise-cancelled playback from the Cleer Enduro ANC, an almost unbelievable feat of endurance given that active noise cancellation puts extra strain on the battery. This is more than double what you’d get from the Bose 700 or AirPods Max, even if you were frugal with them.
Highly Recommended: Urbanista Miami
Like Cleer’s cans, the Miami is a very long-lasting set of ANC headphones at an affordable price: we got nearly 47 hours in our testing.
Highly Recommended: JLab Epic Air Sport ANC
While its battery-reporting figures can be sketchy, by providing 9.5 hours of noise-cancelled playback the Epic Air Sport ANC’s performance is beyond question.
Best smart speaker for music: Google Nest Audio
As the name implies, the Google Nest Audio is more closely focused on music playback than previous Google Home and Nest devices. As such, it’s the best-sounding Nest speaker yet. Bass is punchy without lacking control, and there’s enough detail on show to give complex recordings a sense of layering and texture. You can also pair two Nest Audios together, for true stereo sound.
Highly Recommended: Sonos Roam
Sonos speakers have a deserved reputation for sonic richness, and for all its battery-powered portability, the Sonos Roam is no exception.
Highly Recommended: Amazon Echo (4th gen)
The latest Echo is Amazon’s best-sounding Alexa speaker since the Echo Studio — so naturally, it’s a solid lower-price alternative.
Best soundbar: Creative Stage V2
The Creative Stage V2 is a budget soundbar, but you won’t know just from listening to it. With a dedicated subwoofer backing up the main bar, the Stage V2 delivers crisp, clear audio that can gain some extra width through the Surround mode. It’s also particularly easy to set up and use, so makes an excellent choice for anyone upgrading from their integrated TV speakers for the first time.
Highly Recommended: JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam
The JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam is a space-saver’s best friend, using beamforming tech to simulate surround sound from a single device.
Highly Recommended: Vizio M-Series M512a-H6
If you want a true Dolby Atmos experience, the M-Series M512a-H6 has everything you need — including upfiring speakers and a pair of satellites — at a reasonable price.
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