Right now, both Walmart and Amazon have excellent discounts for the Apple AirPods Max 2. Both retailers have knocked the AirPods Max 2 down to $399 (normally $549) ahead of Walmart Deals and Prime Day this week.

Nicely, these deals cover every colorway, so you have options. And, if you don't mind used, Amazon has the orange version for $379.

The AirPods Max 2 just launched in March of this year, and this is the first major discount we've seen for Apple's high-end over-ear headphones. In our AirPods Max 2 review, we praised the refreshed headphones for their rich, complex sound, calling it an upgrade done right.

"If you like how AirPods Pro or AirPods Max Gen 1 sound, you are in for a treat with the AirPods Max 2. Apple has taken everything from its predecessor and dialed it up to 11."

The Max 2s come with personalized spatial audio, Siri integration, Live Translation, and head gestures, making them more useful and smarter than their predecessor.

Unfortunately, especially these days, the normal $549 price tag is high. Now, that's not as much of a worry because at $399, the AirPods Max 2 outshines many of the best headphones.

There are two flaws you should know about if you're considering these headphones. They are a bit heavy weighing nearly a pound and the battery life is the same 20 hours as the previous AirPods Max headphones.

However, if those aren't a problem for you, then we highly recommend you snag a pair of AirPods Max 2 for Prime Day.

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After testing the Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO open-earbuds, I’m certain that everyone will love them. The sound quality makes them some of the best earbuds I’ve ever tested, and the open-ear design means they’re perfect for anyone needing to listen out for ambient sound around them.

Open-earbuds aren’t for everyone since noise-cancelling is a must for some, but these buds will change your mind. They’re extremely comfortable to wear for long periods of time, given their lightweight design, and the IP54 durability rating makes them a great companion for anyone sporty or who spends a lot of time outdoors in all-weather conditions. The customizable EQ settings in the companion app also meant I could make the most of my music.

My only issue is the battery life, which at 20 hours isn’t exactly competitive. It’s not a deal breaker for me, but it is something to keep in mind if you’re considering these buds. To find out more, you can keep reading this full Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO review.

Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO review: Specs

Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO review: Price & availability

The Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO open-earbuds are available to purchase from Best Buy for $179 in the U.S. and on Amazon for £129 in the U.K. The earbuds are available in three color designs, including Black, White and Sport.

They’re on the more expensive side of open-earbuds, but they also come with the best sound quality I’ve experienced in this style of bud. My favorites up until now have been the Soundcore Aeroclip earbuds, which cost $129. But I think the extra $50 is well worth it for the Amiron’s better sound.

And while the Amiron ZEROs aren’t exactly a budget option, they’re still a whole lot cheaper than the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, which cost $299. However, the Bose buds have an extra seven hours of battery life on the Beyerdynamics.

You could also look at the cheaper EarFun Clip 2 earbuds, which cost $99. They offer awesome performance and comfort. They also have a whopping 40 hours of battery life with the charging case.

Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO review: Design

There’s no denying that the Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO are good-looking earbuds. The design is completely minimalistic, unless you get the Sport colorway, which has bright orange accents — that’s sure to make you stand out. But the Black and White color options are far more subtle.

The buds hook around the cartilage of your ear like a cuff, and I much prefer this design to hook-style open-earbuds like the JLab Epic Open Sport ($114). The cuff style feels a lot more secure. I’d also recommend this style to runners rather than wrap-around headphones like the H2O Audio Tri 2 PRO ($199), especially if you have long hair like me.

With a durability rating of IP54, the Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO are protected against water splashes and dust, making them well-suited to resisting sweat during your workout or coping with unpredictable weather.

The buds also have wear detection, which I find useful as I never want to miss a second of my music, but you can switch this off in the app if you prefer.

Comfort

Since they’re lightweight at just 0.2 ounces per bud, the Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO earbuds are extremely comfortable to wear all day long. Since these are open ears, you can hear everything going on around you, so I always felt comfortable in my surroundings when out and about.

It’s worth considering that since these are open-earbuds, there’s a lot of sound leakage. My colleague Erin sits next to me in our office and said it sounded like the earbuds were actually in her ears instead of mine — sorry, Erin.

Controls

The Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO have touch controls that are customizable through the Beyerdynamic app. This is easy to do, and you can use a series of taps to skip through and play and pause songs.

I found the touch controls responsive, even when moving around, such as when I was out hiking. I usually prefer to have button controls for more deliberate touches, but the touch-sensitive controls are really great here as they quickly beep to let you know how many taps you’ve made, and therefore what function is taking place.

Connectivity

The Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO use Bluetooth 5.4. They have a connection range of 15 meters (50 feet), so I was able to walk away from my phone and move around without worrying about losing connection. The buds only support SBC and AAC codecs for wireless audio, so they have no hi-res capabilities, but the audio sounds great anyway.

You also get multipoint connectivity for pairing the buds with up to two different devices. You can control these connections in the Beyerdynamic app, and it’s very easy to set up. It made it easy to switch between my phone and laptop when working in the office.

Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO review: Sound quality

Beyerdynamic makes some of my favorite detailed listening headphones, the DT 270 Pro. Despite being open-earbuds, the Amiron ZERO are no different — they’re perfect for appreciating the finer details of your music.

The earbuds have a wide soundstage that lets me appreciate the layers of the music and take in all the instruments at once, while still hearing the ambient sound around me. I created a V-shaped custom EQ for the earbuds, as this is the way I prefer to listen to my music. This increases the bass and treble while decreasing the mids, and it's the type of default EQ setting you’ll find on most commercial headphones.

To test out the bass performance from the earbuds, I listened to Television/So Far So Good by Rex Orange County. There’s rumbling bass throughout this song, and the earbuds did a good job of keeping the lower frequencies warm and balanced throughout. I had no issues with distortion here, which can often be the case with open-earbuds.

For the mids, I listened to The Downtown Lights by The Blue Nile, as it uses a driving drum beat and bright synth sounds. The whole song was well-defined, and the guitar sounded clean throughout. The drums also stood out even though they’re very far back in the soundstage.

The treble performance of the earbuds is great, too. I listened to Soda by Nothing But Thieves, as the lead singer’s vocals are incredibly strong, but can sometimes become lost if the balance isn’t quite right. The vocals were crisp and clean, with good replication of the reverb. The detail from the whole song is impressive, and I felt like I was listening with studio headphones with the benefit of an open-ear design.

Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO review: App

As discussed, most of the Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO’s settings — like the touch controls — can be customized in the Beyerdynamic app. The app is simple but effective, putting everything you need in one place without too many bells and whistles. It’s much easier to use than rival apps from EarFun or Soundcore.

For music customization, the app has a five-band EQ where you can use EQ presets and create a custom EQ. I enjoyed using all of these settings, and it gave me a lot of different options based on what I needed from the particular track. I may have settled on my favorite V-shaped EQ for the most part, but I appreciated having the option to change it up every so often.

Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO review: Call quality

To test call quality, I called my mom while using the Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO earbuds (my standard microphone test), and her voice sounded crisp and clear. On the other end, she said I also sounded clear, and much better than I sound when I use my Apple AirPods 3.

Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO review: Battery life

When up against other open-earbuds, the battery life of the Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO looks disappointing. The earbuds have a total battery life of 20 hours with the charging case, with six hours from the earbuds on a single charge.

The EarFun Clip 2 earbuds have a whopping 40 hours of battery life, and the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds have 27 hours. Despite the disparity, I’m personally able to overlook the battery shortfall since the overall performance of the Amiron ZEROs is so impressive, and six hours is likely to be enough time for one listening session anyway.

You can see the battery percentage and remaining hours in the Beyerdynamic earbuds in the companion app. The case charges with a USB-C cable and a 10-minute charge gives two hours of listening time, which I found ideal for a quick juice-up before leaving the house.

Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO review: Verdict

The Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO open-earbuds are, for me, the ones to beat. After a year of testing open-earbuds from many different brands, these are the only ones I’ve tested with performance to match a pair of in-ear earbuds.

They have excellent sound quality with impressive detail, and the intuitive app makes using the earbuds even better. The customizable EQ settings also give complete control over your music. They’re lightweight and totally comfortable to wear for long periods of time, while the IP54 durability rating means they’re reliable come rain, shine or sweat.

Nothing’s perfect, and I do have a qualm with the Amiron ZEROs… but it’s a small one. The battery life just isn’t as strong as other open-earbuds on the market. This isn’t the end of the world, though, and it’s certainly not a dealbreaker considering how amazing the sound quality is.

Open-earbuds aren’t usually for everyone, but the Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO could and should be.

Multiple reports suggest Apple has big plans for an ecosystem of AI products, but the lack of progress with Siri AI has been an obstacle. Now that Siri AI has been unveiled, and set to roll out to iPhones later this year, progress can finally be made on those devices. That includes the long-rumored camera-equipped AirPods, which some have referred to as "AirPods Ultra."

According to a new report from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, Apple is set to release those AirPods sometime in late 2027. This means they will likely launch around the same time as the iPhone 20, which is being released to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the original iPhone's release.

The report notes that the AirPods are set to be the first wearable AI product Apple releases, and will be built around communicating with Siri AI. That includes being able to speak to the AI as normal, while also adding extra input via the AirPods' built-in cameras.

How the AirPods Ultra will work

The cameras themselves are not designed for recording video or taking photos, and are instead meant to offer Siri some visual input. The idea is that users can ask Siri about different objects or the environment, and have the AI understand what's going on without needing to look through an iPhone camera — as has been the case so far.

It's not entirely clear what kind of cameras are included, and past reports suggested that they could be infrared to enable hand gestures. However, considering Siri is supposed to be able to see things from those cameras, it's likely they're going to be pretty traditional camera lenses — albeit rather small and low-powered. If that's the case, it's going to be interesting to see how Apple stops these AirPods from being hacked or jailbroken in order to record video from your ears.

What AirPods Ultra could look like

Gurman says that these new AirPods will resemble the AirPods Pro, with the only major design difference being the presence of both the camera and status LEDs that are visible to other people. Those lights are supposed to show others whenever the AirPods are sending data to the cloud for processing.

The AI AirPods were expected to launch this year, but the issues Apple faced with Siri saw them pushed back. Don't expect them to be the only AI wearables Apple has to offer, either. Gurman has reiterated that Apple's AI glasses are supposed to launch at the end of next year too, and the rumored AI pendant will likely arrive in the near future.

The AirPods are apparently further along the development process than both of these. The earbuds are said to have reached "advanced stages of development," with Apple actively testing them alongside iPhone 20, iPhone Fold 2 and iOS 28.

This seems a little early, considering we're still around 15 months out from the 2027 iPhone launch event. But I suppose being proactive about these things ensures problems can be solved early, rather than scrambling to fix them at the last possible minute.

It's going to be a long wait before these AirPods Ultra actually arrive, even if there aren't any issues that crop up over the next several months. But, hopefully, as time goes on we'll be hearing more leaks and rumors about what Apple has in store.

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If you're a serious music fan, you likely have a pair of the best headphones sitting at home. And if you're an audiophile, you probably have some of the best studio headphones too.

I love having studio headphones on hand when I'm at home to listen to my favorite music, but I can't exactly use a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 270 Pro wired headphones when I'm hiking. I usually opt for my Apple AirPods 3, which don't give me the same crisp audio quality. Beyerdynamic seems to have noticed that there are people like me who want the benefits of studio detail and the convenience of earbuds.

But what if I were to raise you one better: open-earbuds. They are the ultimate convenience solution, but because of the added ambient awareness, the sound quality can sometimes suffer. However, after reviewing the Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO, I know I can have the best of both worlds.

Here's what I think of the earbuds after using them as my everyday earbuds for everything from commuting to hiking.

Excellent sound quality

First things first, sound quality. Although I'm a big fan of open-earbuds, I know they're not for everyone. That's because they don't have the acoustic seal you get from traditional earbuds, meaning their sound quality can suffer.

This usually results in bass that isn't as punchy and poor instrument isolation. But somehow the Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO earbuds have blown me away with some of the best sound quality of any earbuds I've tried. Seriously.

The earbuds have a wide soundstage and let me listen to all the layers of the music and take in all the instruments at once.

When I can immerse myself and enjoy the music I'm listening to, I end up focusing for longer. Give me a good playlist, and I can walk much farther than usual, so these earbuds are serving as a great source of motivation.

A winning design for hikes

Open-earbuds let in a lot of ambient sound, making them the perfect hiking companion. Staying aware of your surroundings is a must, and taking in all the natural sounds around, like the birds chirping and the swaying of the tree branches, is incredibly therapeutic.

The buds have a durability rating of IP54, meaning they can withstand water splashes from all directions and are dustproof. I have no worries about getting caught out in the rain with these buds, and I know they can cope with a little sweat too.

Battery life isn't competitive, but I'll live

The Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO are without a doubt the best open-earbuds I've tested... but the battery life lets them down. It's just not competitive.

There are other open-earbuds, such as the EarFun Clip 2, that have a whopping 40 hours of battery with the charging case, but the Amiron ZEROs have just half of that. But 20 hours of battery life isn't bad, and you can still get a lot done. The battery life didn't affect me at all, and given how awesome the sound quality is, it's something I can look past — but it's worth considering.

To find out more, you can read my full review of the Beyerdynamic Amiron ZERO earbuds.

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Often when it comes to kid-friendly devices, they’re covered in garish hues usually paired with branded images related to popular cartoons or characters. As kids get older and their tastes “mature,” the colorful look may be deemed “uncool.”

Something like the iClever Auraa is more on the cartoon side of things. If you, or your child, are big on looks, the Puro Sound Labs BT2200-Plus cans offer a premium aesthetic with ear-friendly technology.

As with the iClever headsets, kid (and teen)-friendly headphones must meet a few criteria to be worth letting your kids blast their ears with music or games. They have to have hearing protection built-in, be durable, and be comfortable to wear over long listening sessions.

With that in mind, I spent a few weeks with the Puro Sound Labs BT2200-Plus headphones to see if a premium aesthetic also brings high-end, safe sound. Plus some thoughts from a kid who thinks he’s already a teenager.

What makes headphones ear friendly?

The BT2200 Plus features an 85dB noise level cap. That cap is a constant loudness ceiling recommended by OSHA and the World Health Organization over an eight-hour period. Anything louder or longer and you risk permanent hearing damage.

Most manufacturers of kid-friendly headphones that feature caps will place the volume limit at around 85 dB. It does mean that the sound can feel muted, especially for those of us who've destroyed our ears by standing next to speakers at concerts. However, avoiding that destruction is the whole point.

Premium looks

Out of the box, Puro Labs is not kidding about giving it a more high-end look. Unlike the iClever set, which ships in a cloth bag, the Puro comes with a zip-up pleather semi-hard case. The case also has a little pocket for carrying accessories like the included 3.5mm cord, replacement earmuffs, a USB-C charging cable, and the instruction manual.

The headphones themselves are made of aluminum with comfortable leather ear cups and a squishy but sturdy headband. I wouldn’t describe the included cords as premium, but they aren’t awful.

Durability and battery life

Compared to more colorful headphones, which tend to use heavy plastic, the BT2200 is made of aluminum and feels far sturdier. After a month or more of use, there is no real wear and tear, and I believe it would take some serious errors to really damage these. This is with my son running around the house just wearing them without music.

As for battery life, Puro Labs lists the BT2200 as having 20 hours of battery life. I found that to be fairly accurate when using the Bluetooth mode, even with ANC mode on. Personally, I prefer my headphones wired, so I spent most of my listening using the included 3.5mm wire.

Sound quality

My daily drivers are a set of BeyerDynamic Custom One Pros (discontinued). When I switched to the BT2200, I found the sound a bit more muted in comparison. On my Custom One Pros, the sound is much brighter, with the treble standing out.

The BT2200 felt flat even when listening to podcasts and YouTube videos with more talking. However, it didn’t take long for my ears to adjust, and I found the BT2200 Plus fairly decent. Audio sits squarely in the middle range. You aren’t getting high trebles or deep bass, but it’s not so crushed that you’re losing the total sound stage when listening.

The important thing is that, as an ear-friendly headphone, the volume is capped at 85dB, meaning over long listening sessions, even at high volume, your or your child’s ears are more protected compared to headphones that can go higher.

What the kids are saying

I wasn’t alone in my testing. My seven-year-old son got plenty of time with the BT2200s on three different road trips and day-to-day use when playing Zoombinis on an iPad mini. He said they were good and is a big fan of headphones with 3.5mm cords that can plug into almost anything.

He also liked that they were smaller than the iClever Auraa headphones, which I interpreted as him saying they were more comfortable. He did have an ample amount of praise for the carrying case, a strange ode to Puro Sound Labs, since I don’t believe I ever saw him put the headphones back in the case or use it for anything.

That said, when given the choice in the last few months, he was more inclined to pick the BT2200 cans. Praise enough in my mind.

Verdict

Puro Labs offers both premium aesthetics while still providing ear safety with the volume cap. I’m not worried about hearing damage, and the sound is good enough.

So far, these headphones are durable and can stand up to rowdy kids and more careless teenagers. At $99, you want something that can hold up to the rigours of kid life, and these do.

Compared to other kid-friendly headphones, the price tag is higher and does reflect a more “adult” look and feel. But if you have a teen who needs some cans and you’re looking to protect their ears, BT2200 Plus is a good option.

The High End audio show is on! I've been at High End Vienna for two days now, and I've seen my fair share of wildly expensive audio gear (it's called High End for a reason), including a $3.8 million speaker system.

Personally, I prefer the more attainable audio gear. With that in mind, I've rounded up a few of my favorite products from the show, from headphones to turntables. These were either launched at the show, or are fairly new and being shown off properly for the first time. Looking for the latest and greatest in audio? I've got you covered.

1. Noble Fokus Artemis

These are without doubt my favorite headphones from this year's show. I spent some time talking to Kai, Noble Audio's Director of Marketing, who ran me through these new cans.

Building on the success of Noble's Apollo over-ears, the Fokus Artemis are designed to appeal to the general user just as much as the public. "We really wanted something that was for the people," Kai said.

The drivers have been tweaked from the Apollo. In fact, there are three in each earcup: a planar magnetic driver, a dynamic driver and a balanced armature driver, to give a much wider spread of sound.

They're super comfortable, IP52-rated, feature a replaceable battery and can be tweaked with a 5-band parametric EQ via a companion app. The EQ data is also stored on the headphones, so you can theoretically delete the app and your custom EQ will still run.

The best part is that they can utilize an automatic EQ that can compensate for hearing loss. So, if you have a hearing imbalance, the EQ will automatically adjust per side to ensure the sound is balanced. Very cool.

The Fokus Artemis will cost $899 / £799 at Noble Audio and will start shipping in July.

2. Meze Arta

Another set of cans, albeit a lot more pricey: Meze Audio has launched the ARTA, which I got to try out at High End. These things are utterly exquisite — something that applies to all Meze gear, even my "budget" Meze 105 AER.

The ARTA are open-back, planar magnetic beasts that just exude luxury with their gorgeous art nouveau design. The sound profile is exceptionally clean, with as much detail as you could ask for. They're warm, though, and aren't lacking in bass when you want it.

There are a couple of issues, however. Firstly, there's the price. Top-tier Meze gear never comes cheap, and the ARTA are no exception. You'll need a cool $6,000 to get your hands on them. These cans have a very high resistance of 225-ohms, too, making them extremely tricky to drive — so add on the price of upgrading your DAC/amp.

Stay tuned to Meze's official channels for estimated shipping timelines.

3. Kanto OBI3

Alright, this one was known about before High End, but I got to see Kanto's new budget turntable, the OBI3, and even talk to the guy who designed it!

The cheap, entry-level turntable market has plenty of options, but when you dig a little deeper, you'll find that most are all the same, kinda crappy units, reskinned, rebadged and repackaged.

Kanto set out to make its own turntable for the budget market that was built by them, not someone else. It uses an Audio Technica 3600L cartridge and costs $199, meaning newcomers to vinyl can grab a turntable and a budget speaker, like Kanto's $349 YU, for around $550. Not bad.

4. Ruark R710

"The world is crying out for CD players," said Ruark's Design Manager, Jan Paoli, during the launch of the Ruark R710 media console at High End.

British high-end (but attainable) hi-fi manufacturer Ruark has been making radios and CD players for a long time, which is rather fortuitous given the (re)rising popularity of CDs right now.

The R710 is a music console, delivering 200W of power per channel and offering a wealth of connectivity options, including wireless stmreaing via Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and Qobuz connect.

It offers hi-res streaming up to 32-bit/192kHz, features a phono stage for hooking up turntables, and is designed to be used with the new Ruark Talisman-R floor speakers — which I was treated to a demo of, and which sound utterly lovely, with a warm-but-detailed hi-fi sound.

The R710 will go on sale in September at £2,200, while the Talisman-R speakers will follow shortly afterwards in October, priced at £1,500. They'll be available in the U.S., although pricing has yet to be confirmed.

5. iFi GR2

"A Hip-Dac 3 on steroids." That's how iFi's engineers described the new iFi GR2, and it's spot on. I own an iFi Hip-Dac 3, and love it, but the GR2 is a whole different beast.

Delivering 1,513mW of power, or 2,173mW in its max power mode, the GR2 is intended to be a pocketable powerhouse for hard-to-drive headphones.

Admittedly, it probably won't power the Meze ARTA above, but otherwise there aren't many headphones it can't drive, according to the engineers.

The GR2 takes what I love about the Hip-Dac 3 — its portability and simplicity of use — beefs it up with a touch screen, and adds more power.

In addition to iFi's Xbass mode, the GR2 also has an Xspace mode, which increases the width and spaciousness of sound. It worked extremely well in the ultra-spatial "Antigravity" by Sohn.

The GR2 will cost $529, can be pre-ordered now, and is expected to start shipping in July 2026.

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The last few years have seen the resurgence of retro tech. Video cameras have been inspired by and designed after Super 8s. iPods, MP3 players and even cassette players have grown in popularity. And, best of all, wired earbuds have made a strong comeback.

More and more people are ditching wireless buds for wired ones, not just for style, but because wired earbuds — or in-ear monitors (IEMs) — deliver superior hi-res audio. Something Bluetooth can't compete with.

I, for one, am thrilled that wired earbuds are back in vogue. Thanks to wired connections, you don't lose any data (as you do over Bluetooth) so you can listen to music just the way the artist intended. And because technology has come leaps and bounds, you don't need to spend hundreds on a good pair of IEMs either — just look at the Dunu Titan X.

The Titan X cost just $39. Thirty. Nine. Dollars. Given that most of the other IEMs I've tested cost over $100, the Titan X feel like a game-changer. Having used them for a week, I've been blown away by their detailed and spacious soundstage, premium build and design, and their sheer value for money.

I never thought budget IEMs could sound so good.

All about the bass. And treble. And mids

Using wired earbuds or IEMs has its advantages, the biggest being that you don't lose data as you do over Bluetooth. This means that you can enjoy plenty of detail across frequencies, and the Dunu Titan X are up to the challenge. These IEMs are fitted with 10mm dynamic drivers and dual-magnetic circuits to cover a frequency response range of 5Hz to 40KHz.

The average human hearing ranges from 20Hz to 20KHz, so this means that the Titan X are more than capable of reproducing sound accurately.

Truth be told, the only other time I've been able to appreciate the sheer amount of detail in my favorite tunes was through the Sennheiser IE 200 — IEMs that cost $150. That alone says a lot about the Titan X as these cost just $39.

Regardless of the song I listened to — whether that was Tame Impala's psychedelic tracks, Lana Del Rey's liquid smooth vocals, or an orchestral arrangement from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — I was left gobsmacked. The Titan X's vocal capabilities are incredible as voices possess striking clarity. Bass response is powerful and controlled and it never sounds booming. Treble is vibrant without sounding too piercing.

The highs, lows and mids are all well-tuned and refined, and Dunu has really knocked it out of the park. For a detailed analysis of the sound quality, check out my full Dunu Titan X review.

Bang for your buck

I know what you're thinking, "The Dunu Titan X cost $39, surely there's something wrong with them — perhaps the build quality is shoddy." It really isn't. Unlike pricier IEMs, like the Sennheiser IE 200 or the Sony Inzone E9, the Titan X's earpieces are enclosed in high-density alloy housing which is scratch- and sweat-resistant. The gunmetal finish lends the IEMs a premium touch too.

In addition to the fantastic earpieces, the Titan X's braided cable features a 2-pin detachable design, which means you can swap the cables with ease, so the IEMs can still be used if the stock cable breaks.

The silver-plated copper cable itself sports an anti-tangle design. As someone who spent countless hours untangling wired earbuds as a teenager, you have no idea how much I appreciate this design choice.

I'll be honest: I'm usually skeptical of super-budget audio products. I've tested a couple that I dare not even think about, so I was a little apprehensive about the Titan X. They sounded too good to be true — but oh, how they have proven me wrong.

They're ridiculously comfortable. They sport a design that makes them look classy and pricier than they are. They boast insanely good sound for the price.

$39 can buy you perhaps six iced coffees in Los Angeles — bang-for-your-buck IEMs really don't get better than this.

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The Shokz OpenDots One were the first clip-on buds from the brand, which has an extensive line-up of bone conduction and earhook headphones. Clearly, the OpenDots One were a success, because Shokz has followed them up with two new clip-on models.

Of these two, the Shokz OpenDots 2 are the premium pick and the direct successor to the OpenDots One, while the Shokz OpenDots Air are a more affordable option.

I’ve been testing both the OpenDots 2 and OpenDots Air for weeks ahead of their launch, wearing them during a variety of workouts as well as in the office and when traveling.

Both are among the best workout headphones I’ve tried, and the OpenDots 2 are a step-up on the OpenDots Air for sound quality in particular, even rivaling the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds on this front.

However, the OpenDots Air are better value, as are other affordable clip-on buds like the Soundcore AeroClip.

Shokz OpenDots 2 review: price and availability

The Shokz OpenDots 2 launched on 4 June 2026 and cost $199 in the U.S. and £179 in the U.K., the same price as the OpenDots One.

They’re considerably cheaper than the best clip-on buds I’ve tested to date, the Bose Ultra Open earbuds, which are $299/£279, but there are excellent options available for less than the OpenDots 2.

One is the Shokz OpenDots Air, which launched on the same day and cost $129/£129, and there’s also the Soundcore AeroClip, which are $129/£129.

Shokz OpenDots 2 review: design and fit

The OpenDots 2 are lightweight clip-on headphones with a design that extends to sit comfortably on the side of your ear, with a speaker resting inside near the ear canal and a barrel on the outside of your ear.

Judging how tightly the headphone pinches the ear is the key to comfort and security — too tight, and you’ll feel unwelcome pressure on your ear over time, too loose, and the buds will shake loose, especially during workouts.

Shokz has nailed this balance with the OpenDots 2, in my opinion. You can barely feel the headphones in place, and they are comfortable to wear for hours on end, but I’ve also not had any problems with how securely they sit in place during runs or other workouts.

The buds are also interchangeable, so you can wear them on either ear, which makes them easier to put on.

As someone who wears glasses and a hat a lot of the time, especially when training, the clip-on design is more convenient than over-ear buds like the Shokz OpenFit Pro, which compete for space on the top of my ears.

The IP57 water resistance rating of the headphones means that although they’re not fully waterproof, they’ll handle rain and sweat easily enough — generally, I find IPX4 is enough for this with my workout buds.

This IP57 rating is a little higher than the IP55 rating on the OpenDots Air, and the OpenDots 2’s case is also IP55-rated, which is handy if you’re planning on taking it with you in a running belt or backpack, which can get sweaty.

Shokz OpenDots 2 review: controls

The OpenDots 2 use a combination of taps and squeezes for the controls, and although I’m usually a fan of physical buttons over touch panels and force sensors, I’ve found the controls on the buds have worked very well.

You can double-tap the stem that runs around the ear to play/pause, and then squeeze the top and bottom of the barrel behind the ear for other controls, including volume.

I found that the controls were easy to use, even during workouts, and you can customize the exact controls you want assigned to each tap or squeeze in the partner Shokz app.

Shokz OpenDots 2 review: sound quality and awareness

The main upgrade you get with the OpenDots 2 over the cheaper OpenDots Air is sound quality, with the pricier buds using the brand’s Bassphere 2.0 technology, which improves bass and also offers Dolby Audio.

While I didn’t find the difference in sound quality as big as the difference in price between the OpenDots 2 and Air, there is a noticeable upgrade in the bass and power of the sound on the OpenDots 2.

They have a fuller sound and are clearer at high volumes, and for open buds, I was impressed with the audio quality overall, both when working in quiet environments and when running outdoors listening to either music or podcasts.

The design doesn’t allow for quite as much awareness as the best bone conduction headphones, which leave the ears completely clear, but I could still clearly hear traffic when running by busy roads, and felt safe running on quiet country roads while using the buds, confident I’d hear any cars coming.

There is the usual downside to open headphones, which is that they were drowned out when I was traveling on noisy trains and planes, when I’d prefer to use in-ear buds with noise cancellation, and they don’t offer the level of bass you get from in-ear or over-ear designs.

For the most part, however, I found the sound on the OpenDots 2 great, and I like using them in the office more than in-ear buds, so I can still hear what’s going on around me.

You can also customize the EQ on the buds in the Shokz app, using presets that include a bass boost mode, or by using sliders to create your own custom EQ.

I mostly stuck to the standard mode for the most balanced sound profile, but occasionally found the bass boost worthwhile during runs in particular.

Shokz OpenDots 2 review: call quality

The OpenDots 2 have a dedicated bone-conduction microphone for calls, along with dual air-conduction microphones, and use AI to reduce noise to make your calls clearer.

I was told by those I called that my voice came through clearly, even if I was in a noisy environment myself, but they described my voice as tinny.

Given the extra bone-conduction mic on the OpenDots 2, which isn't on the OpenDots Air, I expected a jump in call quality, but both are similar on this front; fine, but not outstanding.

Shokz OpenDots 2 review: battery life

For small headphones, the OpenDots 2 offer impressive battery life, lasting up to 10 hours on a charge and 40 hours in total with the case, which is small and easy to pocket.

During my use, I found that the buds lived up to Shokz’s battery life estimates, even when mostly using the headphones at max volume while running outdoors.

You can also get two hours of playback from a five-minute charge, and the OpenDots 2 offer Qi-certified wireless charging, something that isn’t available on the cheaper OpenDots Air, which also only offers nine hours of battery life.

I did find the buds could sometimes not sit correctly in the case when I put them back after use quickly, so they'd stay connected to my phone and not charge. You have to be careful to seat them against the connectors correctly.

Should you buy the Shokz OpenDots 2?

I loved testing the Shokz OpenDots 2 and will continue to use them as my main running headphones in particular, and I’m happy to recommend them even ahead of the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, which sound a little better but cost a lot more.

The trouble with the OpenDots 2 is that you get nearly the same level of performance from the Shokz OpenDots Air, which are a lot more affordable, as are the Soundcore AeroClip buds, which are highly rated by my colleague Ashley Thieme.

If you plan to use the buds for everything, they’re worth the upgrade for the better sound, design and slightly longer battery life, but if you also want to use a set of in-ear buds in certain situations like traveling, I think it makes more sense to get a cheaper set of open buds like the OpenDots Air.

Shokz has launched two sets of clip-on open headphones, and while the premium Shokz OpenDots 2 might get more attention, I think it’s the cheaper Shokz OpenDots Air that stands out as the better buy of the pair.

I’ve been testing both sets of buds for three weeks ahead of their launch, using the Shokz OpenDots Air for a variety of workouts, including over 50 miles of running, as well as general use in the office and while traveling.

Both are among the best workout headphones I’ve tried, thanks to their lightweight design, comfortable fit, and impressive sound quality for open buds.

While the OpenDots 2 are an upgrade with regards to design, sound quality, and battery life, I think the OpenDots Air are almost as good on all fronts, and cost a lot less.

Shokz OpenDots Air review: price and availability

The Shokz OpenDots Air launched on 4 June 2026 alongside the OpenDots 2, with the latter being the direct replacement for the Shokz OpenDots One.

At $129/£129, the OpenDots Air are the cheaper of the new models, with the OpenDots 2 costing $199/£179.

Shokz OpenDots Air review: design and fit

The OpenDots Air are lightweight plastic headphones that clip onto the outside of your ear so a speaker rests inside your ear canal without blocking it.

They’re very slightly lighter than the OpenDots 2, but have a less premium feel without the metallic sections on the pricier buds.

I found the OpenDots Air extremely comfortable to wear for extended periods. I barely felt them on my ears, but they were also still tight enough to be secure when doing runs and other workouts.

For me, the clip-on design is more comfortable and convenient than earhook headphones like the Shokz OpenFit Pro, because the OpenDots Air don’t get in the way of glasses and hats at all.

The buds are also interchangeable, so you can wear them on either ear and the controls will switch around accordingly.

While they’re not fully waterproof, the IP54 rating on the OpenDots Air is high enough that I’d have no concerns about sweat or rain wrecking them.

The OpenDots 2 do have a higher IP57 rating and an IP54-rated case too, while the OpenDots Air’s case has no IP rating, so you might have to be careful about stashing it in sweaty running backpacks and belts.

Shokz OpenDots Air review: controls

The OpenDots Air use a combination of force sensors on the barrel of the bud that sits behind your ear and taps on the stem that wraps around your ear to control playback.

You can customize these controls to those you need most, including volume up and down and the option to activate your voice assistant, and I found they were easy to use during and outside of workouts.

In general, I prefer the reliability of a physical button on my headphones, but I had no problems tapping and squeezing the OpenDots Air with sweaty fingers during runs or other training sessions.

Shokz OpenDots Air review: sound quality and awareness

The OpenDots Air don’t benefit from all the features on the OpenDots 2 with regards to sound quality, lacking the latest Shokz Bassphere 2.0 tech and improved Dolby Audio available on the more expensive buds.

They don’t offer the depth and power of the OpenDots 2 when comparing them directly, as a result, especially when it comes to bass, but the OpenDots Air still sounds good for open headphones, and I enjoyed using them during workouts and in the office.

As with most open headphones, the OpenDots Air sound best with quieter tracks from singer-songwriters like Waxahatchee, but even when I put on my running playlist, which is packed with bass-heavy tracks to get me going, the headphones didn’t disappoint, especially when the bass boost EQ mode is activated in the partner app.

That’s one of four preset EQs, and you can also create two custom EQs. I mostly stuck to the well-balanced standard mode and turned to bass boost when listening to heavier tracks.

In loud environments, the OpenDots Air can be drowned out, and they’re not as good for traveling as in-ear headphones as a result. You also don’t get the same level of bass as you do from in-ear buds in general, but these are common issues across all open headphones, not just the OpenDots Air.

The advantage of the open design is clear when running or walking outdoors, when I could hear traffic around me, so I felt safe running on quiet country roads with the buds.

I also prefer using open buds in the office a lot of the time because you can stay aware of those around you, though there are certainly times when it feels better to use in-ear buds with noise cancellation to really block out the world.

Shokz OpenDots Air review: call quality

The OpenDots Air doesn’t have the extra bone-conduction mic you get on the OpenDots 2, which is there to improve call quality, but still sounded similarly good during calls during my testing.

I was described as ‘tinny’ by those I called, but they praised the overall clarity and volume of my voice in calls, and had no trouble understanding me.

Shokz OpenDots Air review: battery life

The OpenDots Air lasts nine hours on a charge, and with the case, you get 36 hours of use in total. A handy quick-charge feature nets you two hours of playback from five minutes of charging.

These numbers are pretty good for such small buds, and I found that the OpenDots Air lived up to their listed stats in my testing.

The OpenDots 2 have slightly longer battery life at nine hours (40 hours with the case), and offer wireless charging as another small upgrade on the OpenDots Air.

Should you buy the Shokz OpenDots Air?

The OpenDots Air are excellent open headphones and surpassed my expectations for both regular and workout use.

They are a minor downgrade on the OpenDots 2 in several ways, the most important being sound quality, but the savings you make mean they’re the better buy in my opinion, because the OpenDots Air still impressed me with their fit and sound.

Other good clip-on options include the Soundcore AeroClip at a similar price, or the budget-friendly EarFun Clip, and there’s also the Shokz OpenFit Air for those who prefer an earhook design, and the Shokz OpenRun if you’d rather use bone conduction buds.

If you’re all in on clip-on headphones, it’s worth upgrading to the OpenDots 2, or even the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, which offer the best sound I’ve come across with clip-on buds, but the OpenDots Air would be my pick of the trio for their balance of performance and price.

The JBL Live 780NC are a huge improvement upon their predecessor, the 770NC. Now, they’re good enough to be some of the best headphones under $250. With punchy, rich bass that no longer overpowers the rest of the track and a huge array of customizable features, I’m really impressed.

So why not a 5-star review? Well, a couple of things: one, with a price increase of $50 over the predecessor, the competition is much stiffer. Two, unfortunately, like the previous model, they can feel a little clampy after a few hours’ wear.

But I still love the Live 780NC. They’re exciting, modern, and most importantly, fun. I love the fact that they come in unabashed, free-spirit orange rather than the sad muted tones we expect with headphones these days. Want to find out if they might be the headphones for you? Keep reading this JBL Live 780NC review.

JBL Live 780NC review: Specs

JBL Live 780NC review: Price & availability

The JBL Live 780NC are $249 from Amazon U.S. and £169 from Amazon U.K. This is a price increase of $50 from the Live 770NC (or a £10 increase in the U.K.), which is disappointing to see. $249 places the Live 780NC firmly in the “upper midrange” category rather than the “midrange” placement of the previous model.

There have been some upgrades to (somewhat) justify this price hike, namely the introduction of LDAC and a 30-hour battery life increase.

Even so, at $250, there’s stiff competition. You’ve got the Bose QuietComfort (not Ultra) headphones at $349, the Soundcore Space One Pro at $199, and the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 at $239 — so the JBLs have a lot to prove. Why wouldn’t you save money for the bona-fide-incredible Soundcores or spend a bit more for big-name Bose?

These days, you can even get the Sony WH-1000XM5 for around $250 on sale, which is dangerously cheap for such premium headphones. I might suggest getting them if you catch them on sale — they’re a couple of years old at this point, but are still great. I’ve also tested the super-budget Soundcore Space 2 and CMF Headphone Pro (both $99), which offer similar performance to the JBLs but at a much lower price.

JBL Live 780NC review: Design

Like their predecessor, the Live 780NC look pretty striking. As you can see from the images, I tested the gorgeous orange shade, but these fashion-oriented headphones come in: green, orange, purple, black, blue, champagne, and white.

There’s no IP rating, but this is pretty standard for over-ear headphones. The only headphones I’ve tested with IP ratings are the IP52 Nothing Headphone (a) ($159) and the IPX2 CMF Headphone Pro. To get an IP54 rating, you’ll need to splash out mega bucks on the $1,200 Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95.

Unfortunately, the JBL’s carry case is still a flimsy little bag, which is annoying. If that’s a dealbreaker for you, you might have to spend a little extra to get a hardshell case.

Comfort

At just 9.2 ounces, the Live 780NC are comfortable enough. I wouldn’t go so far as to claim they’re noticeably more comfortable than others, but I was able to wear them for a couple of hours without needing a break. After a while, the headband feels quite heavy and the ear cups can become clampy, but not as uncomfortable as the Nothing Headphone (a).

The most comfortable headphones I’ve ever tested are the Bose QuietComfort/Bose QuietComfort Ultra ($459), but the Soundcore Space 2 are also supremely comfy for a budget option.

Controls

Thankfully, JBL opted for button controls instead of the egregious touch controls I’ve seen on other newly released over-ears (looking at you, Bose, Sony, Sennheiser). You can play/pause by tapping the right ear cup, but for the most part, it’s a button-control system.

These controls are wonderfully easy to use: there’s a volume button on the left earcup, a Bluetooth/off button on the right, and an ANC toggle. That’s it. Hallelujah!

Connectivity

Another notch on the Live 780NC’s belt: Bluetooth 6.0. I know, new headphones releasing with the most recent Bluetooth version shouldn’t be this surprising, but after Apple released the AirPods Max 2 with Bluetooth 5.3, we can’t take any chances anymore. Bluetooth 6.0 provides a longer range and improved reliability: in reality, I was able to get out of my apartment and down the stairs before the headphones disconnected.

Setting up multipoint was super easy, too. After connecting to my iPhone 16 Pro, I only had to hold down the Bluetooth button and the headphones automatically popped up in my laptop settings.

JBL Live 780NC review: Sound quality

I was so impressed with the sound quality on the Live 780NC. I tested the previous version, Live 770NC, which sound great — if you love bass. But the Live 780NC are a much more well-rounded pair of headphones, with clarity in the low-end, melodic vocals, and, while a touch muted, a clean treble.

To test sound quality, I listened to a variety of genres on Qobuz, our best music streaming service for audiophiles, but I’ll just discuss three examples here.

First, I played ‘Save Me’ by Muse on my iPhone. As iPhones don’t have LDAC, I was only able to listen to this in standard AAC. Even so, the vocals were pronounced, with delicate, balanced structure over the arpeggiated guitar instrumental. I could even hear scratchiness at the back of the vocals, showing a fantastic level of detail.

For the next test, I listened with LDAC on my Samsung Galaxy S25+. I listened to ‘Baiana’ by Nia Archives, a jungle track with sibilant percussion and deep bass. This song sounded remarkably clear. The bass, although heavy, was never cluttered or muddy, and the vocals were handled with skill. I was really impressed.

Although these are predominantly wireless headphones, they do come with a USB-C-to-3.5mm cable, so it’s only fair I checked out wired performance, too. I listened to ‘A&W’ by Lana Del Rey, a pop track with Del Rey’s iconic deep, vintage-tinged voice and a mixture of electronic and acoustic instruments. I could hear every vibration of the acoustic guitar, every layer of vocal, but I did want a touch more expansiveness.

Even so, for $250, this performance is fantastic. I love when an ‘updated’ headphone is actually an improvement. The Live 770NC were mostly bass, but the Live 780NC are bass, mids, and detail. Top work, JBL.

JBL Live 780NC review: ANC

ANC is fine — nothing to write home about, but nothing disappointing either. When I was walking around the city, I could still hear some high-frequency sounds like passing conversations and squeaky brakes, but the headphones are pretty good at neutralizing lower frequencies.

When I was testing the Live 780NC at home, I could hear my air fryer (but it is a relatively loud air fryer) and myself typing.

Of course, if you want industry-leading ANC, it’s gotta be the Bose QuietComfort. But for $250, the Live 780NC aren’t half bad.

JBL Live 780NC review: Call quality

I tested the Live 780NC’s call quality on work calls. My colleagues reported that my voice was clear and free from interference, but my AirPods Max 2 sounded much better — you would hope for $549!

I do love that you can customize ‘VoiceAware’ — this controls how much you can hear yourself speaking during calls. This is one of the things I love, as I often worry I’m shouting when I’m out and about. You can also do this on the $399 Sennheiser Momentum 5 and the $449 Sony WH-1000XM6, so the Live 780NC are in good company here.

JBL Live 780NC review: App

As with other headphones by JBL, the Live 780NC use the JBL Headphones app. This is not the same as the speaker app, JBL Portable.

JBL Headphones is fairly standard, as far as companion apps go. There’s a range of features like customizable EQ, ‘Relax Mode’ (white noise, ocean sounds, forest noise, etc), Auracast, and completely customizable touch controls.

As with other JBL headphones, you also get PersoniFi, which is a gamified personalized audio feature. You listen to a series of tones and the app generates an EQ based on your hearing level — here are my results. This actually made my music sound more immersive.

I never had any connectivity hiccups or update headaches — the JBL Headphones app just knew what it was doing.

JBL Live 780NC review: Battery

And, finally, onto one of the most impressive features of the Live 780NC: the battery. These headphones have a whopping 80 hours of battery (ANC off). With ANC on, you still get 50 hours.

This is miles ahead of the premium crowd: AirPods Max 2 play for just 20 hours, and the QuietComfort Ultra and WH-1000XM6 up to 30. The best battery life I’ve ever experienced is the Nothing Headphone (a)’s 135 hours — but 80 hours is still good.

I listened for 8 hours and the battery dropped to 90%.

JBL Live 780NC review: Verdict

I’m really impressed with the JBL Live 780NC. While I liked the Live 770NC, they weren’t perfect — but the successor is a major improvement. Sound is now more balanced across the frequency range, and, although you’ll find a more expansive sound profile in pricier headphones, it’s a much more immersive experience.

Although at $249, the Live 780NC are a little more expensive than I’d like, you still get a fantastic performance for the price. I just think there’s too much competition at $250 — $199 would have made this a 4.5-star review, without a doubt.

But if you want that lively, fun, colorful design, then I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with the Live 780NC. They last for days and days, they sound great, and they also look super cool.

There’s no better way to listen to your favorite tunes than through a pair of wired earbuds — or IEMs, if you want best-in-class sound and detail. If you’re an audiophile on a budget, I’ve got good news for you: I’ve just tested a pair of super budget IEMs that delivers incredible sound quality. Not only are the Dunu Titan X built extremely well thanks to their metal housing, they’re comfy for all-day listening too.

As for the sound, it’s 10/10 from me. Meaty bass without sounding booming, vibrant treble that doesn’t overpower the rest of the soundstage, and a detailed midrange, the Titan X will have you appreciating your favorite artists in newfound ways. While there are no in-line controls and eartip replacement is finicky, neither of those are massive dealbreakers.

To find out if these are the best wired headphones for you, read my full Dunu Titan X review.

Dunu Titan X review: Specs

Dunu Titan X review: Price & availability

IEMs, or in-ear monitors, don’t always come cheap, and the Dunu Titan X has carved itself a niche here. Priced at just $39 for the 3.5mm version or $44 for the USB-C with mic model, it’s one of the cheapest ways to stream hi-res audio. It’s available in just one color only: gray.

The Titan X are priced similarly to the Sennheiser CX 80U ($39) and the Final VR500 ($44) but those are wired earbuds and don’t call themselves IEMs. See, IEMs are the premium, high-performance subset of wired buds, so the Titan X compete with the likes of the Sennheiser IE 200 ($149) and the Sony Inzone E9 ($149) but as you can see, these IEMs are far pricier than Dunu’s offering.

Dunu Titan X review: Design

For the price, I wasn’t expecting the Dunu Titan X to be built this well and look so premium. Unlike the pricier Sennheiser IE 200 and the Sony Inzone E9, the Titan X don’t utilize plastic in their construction. They feature a high-density alloy housing with a gunmetal finish, and Dunu claims that this makes the IEMs scratch- and sweat-resistant. Having used the Titan X extensively, I can confirm that they’re indeed built very well — and the gunmetal finish is nothing short of stunning.

Just like the Sennheiser IE 200, the Titan X’s braided cable features a 2-pin detachable design, which means you can swap the cables with ease — handy for making the IEMs last as long as possible. Speaking of, the silver-plated copper cable has a tangle-free design which means that you don’t need to worry about untangling the IEMs every time you take them out of your pocket.

Weatherproofing

IEMs and wired earbuds are rarely waterproof, and the same applies to the Titan X. They don’t have an IP rating so I’d be reluctant to use them in the pouring rain. This isn’t unique to the Titan X — the Sennheiser IE 200, the Sony Inzone E9 and the Sennheiser CX 80U aren’t weatherproof either. You may want to consider a pair of the best wireless earbuds for that.

Comfort

Having worn the Titan X for four straight hours, I can confidently say that they’re very comfortable. Like I mentioned earlier, the Titan X feature alloy housing, and the metal build makes them heavier than the Sennheiser IE 200. Each earbud weighs 0.45oz, which is substantially more than the IE 200 (0.14oz each). While that feels like a lot when the IEMs are in your hands, you realize the Titan X have fantastic weight distribution when you put them in your ears. The cable wraps around each individual ear too to help with that.

Included in the box are six pairs of silicone eartips of different sizes: three of these are designed for vocal clarity while the others are for extra bass, according to Dunu. This is down to how airtight the seal is, and I’ll discuss this in the sound quality section shortly. All you need to know is that the eartips themselves are quite comfortable, and depending on the size you pick, they sit snugly in your ears.

But one of the most annoying things about the Titan X is the eartip replacement. It took me 30 minutes to try and get a pair of eartips onto the earpieces. And I failed. I then asked my colleague to try and she got the eartip on one earpiece and struggled with the other, before I somehow managed to put it on.

Controls

Similar to other IEMs, like the Sennheiser IE 200 and the Sony Inzone E9, the Titan X don’t feature any in-line buttons to control playback. You’ll need to use your smartphone, laptop or other audio source to adjust the volume and play/pause music. The Sennheiser CX 80U feature in-line controls if that’s a priority for you.

Connectivity

Unlike wireless earbuds which feature either Bluetooth or 2.4GHz connectivity, the Titan X IEMs can be used wired-only. You can get either the 3.5mm model, or the USB-C version. All you need to do is plug the jack into your phone or laptop and you’re good to go. No need for any apps or finicky Bluetooth pairing — simply plug and play. If you're going to be mainly streaming from a smartphone or USB-C device, the USB option is the one to get.

Dunu Titan X review: Sound quality

The Dunu Titan X are well-endowed IEMs, featuring 10mm dynamic drivers and dual-magnetic circuits to cover a frequency response range of 5Hz to 40KHz (compared to 6Hz-20KHz on the Sennheiser IE 200). This means that the Titan X cover the entirety of the human hearing spectrum (20Hz-20KHz) and reproduce most sound accurately.

To test the IEMs, I plugged them into my MacBook Air M2 and listened to my favorite testing tracks on Qobuz, the best music streaming service for hi-res audio, starting with ‘Radio’ by Lana Del Rey. The first thing I noticed as soon as I hit play was that the Titan X provided fantastic noise isolation even without featuring ANC. I couldn’t hear anything or anyone else, and I felt fully immersed.

The Titan X’s vocal capabilities are incredible, as Lana’s voice emerged with striking clarity. Her subtle vibrato and layered harmonies were rendered with impressive precision, and the song sounded more expansive and spacious than it does on most wireless earbuds.

To test the bass, I listened to ‘Elephant’ by Tame Impala. The Titan X showcased just how satisfying a well-tuned bass response can be. The track’s iconic fuzzy bass riff hit me with impressive weight and texture, as well as solid low-end impact. The IEMs delivered a thick, gritty growl that felt powerful without becoming bloated. I also appreciate how well the Titan X captured the bassline’s distortion: they preserved its raw energy as well as excellent definition between notes.

The Titan X handles treble beautifully too, ensuring that it never pierces through the rest of the soundstage without making it feel too dim. In Of Monsters and Men’s ‘Mountain Sound,’ the bright acoustic guitars shimmered through the Titan X, and the crisp percussion cut through the mix with vibrance. I noticed that the Titan X lent plenty of air to the track, which allowed high-pitched cymbal strikes and the tambourine to breathe without sounding fatiguing.

Overall, the Titan X are outstanding IEMs for detailed listening, and for those who want to enjoy their favorite artists to the fullest.

Listen along to my review with the Dunu Titan X testing playlist:

Dunu Titan X review: Gaming performance

Alongside being excellent for listening to music, the Dunu Titan X are fit for gaming too, especially FPS titles where you want to be able to pinpoint footsteps with precision. If you get the 3.5mm model, you should be able to plug the IEMs right into, say, your PS5’s or Xbox Series X’s controller, and your computer of course.

I played some Cyberpunk 2077 to see how the Titan X performed, and they didn’t let me down. I was able to pinpoint footsteps with precision, even when enemies were behind doors and I couldn’t see them. This helped me adjust my strategy accordingly, and I was able to infiltrate the gang’s base with ease. I also appreciated how the Titan X brought the techno soundtrack to life, as I could headbang to the OST while riding my bike through the streets of Night City.

Of course, if you want gaming-specific IEMs, I’d recommend the Sony Inzone E9 — but the Titan X suffice if you want a pair of earbuds that do it all.

Dunu Titan X review: Call quality

Whether you can answer calls with the Dunu Titan X depends entirely on the model you get. The USB-C version comes with an in-line mic. Unfortunately, I tested the 3.5mm model which doesn’t feature a mic, so I couldn’t test the IEMs’ call quality.

Dunu Titan X review: Verdict

Great sound doesn't have to come with a premium price tag, and the Dunu Titan X prove just that. For less than $40, these budget-friendly IEMs deliver an audio experience that rivals products costing several times more, such as the Sennheiser IE 200 and the Sony Inzone E9. They combine impressive detail with controlled but powerful bass, as well as clear mids in a package that feels pricier than it is.

While the lack of in-line controls may be disappointing for some, and the finicky eartip replacement may prove frustrating at times, neither should stop you from getting the Titan X. Given that these IEMs cost just $39, they’re perfect for audiophiles on a budget. If you’re looking for an affordable entry point into the world of IEMs, few are better than the Titan X.

We've all been there. You're on a bus, train or other mode of public transportation, and you're consistently being disturbed by someone watching things on their phone — out loud, without using headphones or earbuds. When the 2026 FIFA World Cup starts in a couple of weeks, you'll see — hear, rather — people watching games out loud on their phones. Don't be that guy. No one likes that guy.

I, for one, know that I'll be using my phone to either catch up on games or watch them live, and there's an easy way to ensure you aren't disturbing anyone's peace, and that's by using a pair of the best headphones. I test headphones day in and day out, so for your convenience, I've shortlisted my favorite cans — all of which will arrive well in time for the first kick-off.

Whether you've got a budget of $100 or you're willing to spend nearly $500, there's a pair of headphones for everyone. The ones I've picked all feature highly effective ANC to make you feel immersed; clear vocals so that you can hear the commentary properly, and powerful bass so that you can feel the crowd rumbling and chanting in your chest.

Under $100

Under $200

Under $300

Under $400

Under $500

Under $600

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• My doctor banned me from earbuds so I got these Marshall headphones instead — and I’m surprised I didn’t do it sooner

I owe Apple an apology. When the AirPods Max 2 came out after a six-year wait, I thought, "Big deal, they're just another pair of headphones."

Then, my colleague, Erin, awarded the headphones a whopping 4.5-star rating in her full review, and even called them "the best headphones [she'd] ever used." Her article even went viral on Reddit with users disagreeing — and I'm here to disagree with all those commenters.

I admit I was wrong in dismissing them when they first came out, and I'm eating my words now.

Seamless Apple ecosystem integration, well-balanced and fine-tuned sound, and unmatched comfort make the AirPods Max 2 well worth their $500 sticker price. The AirPods Max 2 make listening to music extremely fun thanks to their energetic and immersive sound, which I'll talk about in detail shortly. Would I recommend them to everyone? Well, read on to find out.

Don't judge a book by its cover

I'm sure I won't be the first person ever to say this: the Apple AirPods Max 2 look really bulky and large. I'm used to more sleek-looking headphones, like the Marshall Monitor III that I've been rocking for over a year. The AirPods Max 2 feel very heavy too, at 13.6 ounces, when they aren't sitting on your head and are sitting in their smart case instead.

Because of how heavy they felt in my hands, I was skeptical about how comfortable they'd really be. Never judge a book by its cover, I guess, because the AirPods Max 2 are ridiculously comfortable. The mesh headband does a lot of the heavy lifting here by relieving the pressure you might otherwise feel on the top of your head. As I type this, I've been wearing the AirPods Max 2 for about six hours, and I have no complaints.

The AirPods Max 2 are also quite aesthetically pleasing. The headphones ooze class and luxury. I'm aware that the design remains largely unchanged over the original AirPods Max, but that doesn't bother me much. There's room for improvement, but the AirPods Max 2 still offer world-class design.

The sound is *chef's kiss*

The Apple AirPods Max 2's sound profile, straight out of the box, is immersive, energetic and expansive. Powerful bass that doesn't boom, crisp treble that doesn't pierce through the rest of the soundstage, and a refined midrange brings your favorite tracks to life — the AirPods Max 2 have got it all.

I put on 'Choker' by Twenty One Pilots and could instantly feel the anxious groove baked into the track.

What I love about listening to this song through the AirPods Max 2 is the emphasis on the bassline. It doesn't hit hard the way some bass-forward cans do, but it has room to breathe and it feels controlled. Each note plucked on Tyler Joseph's bass sounds clear and textured, and provides a fantastic drive to the song.

Next up, I listened to 'Lutt Le Gaya' from the Bollywood movie "Dhurandhar," and through the AirPods Max 2, I had newfound appreciation for the Punjabi-pop track. The vocals won me over as the headphones emphasized the vocals' rich, liquid smoothness, and I could feel the words swirling around me rather than just in my ears. The headphones also struck a great balance between the folk-style vocals and polished electronic production underneath, and the midrange and treble had plenty of energy to them.

Regardless of the song I listened to, whether that was Tame Impala's psychedelic 'Let It Happen' or Of Monsters and Men's soft 'From Finner,' the AirPods Max 2 delivered.

Are the AirPods Max 2 for YOU?

By now, you know where I stand on the Apple AirPods Max 2. But does it makes sense to buy the AirPods Max 2 if you're not deep into Apple's vast ecosystem? Not really.

Sure, I own a MacBook Pro M1 and I use a MacBook Air M2 for work. But I also use a Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, and I've used Android phones for a few years now. Are the AirPods Max 2 perfect for someone like me? No, because I listen to music mostly on my phone, and the AirPods Max 2 would be wasted on me.

If I owned an iPhone, or should the day finally come when I decide to go full Apple, I'll be happily buying the AirPods Max 2. But until then, I'll stick to platform-agnostic cans like the Marshall Milton ANC.

Still, coming from someone who loves Marshall, Bose and Sony, the AirPods Max 2 are actually great headphones. You have to try them to believe it.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple AirPods Max 2 review: ‘Everything from its predecessor dialed up to 11’
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• I've been testing the new Marshall Milton ANC for 3 weeks — they fix my biggest gripe with on-ear headphones, and are the new gold standard

The Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless have a lot to live up to. We loved the previous model, Momentum 4, back in 2023. Sennheiser’s newest premium wireless headphones face stiff competition: the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2, the AirPods Max 2, the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Sony 1000X The ColleXion, the Dali IO-8… the list could go on and on.

So why the Momentum 5, when you could get any of these alternatives and (probably) have just as much fun? Honestly, the Sennheisers offer much more bang for your buck. You get 57 hours of battery, reigning supreme over the AirPods Max 2’s measly 20 hours and the Sony XM6’s 30 hours — and it’s replaceable. Yes, you can replace your headphone’s battery with just a screwdriver. While you’d get better sound quality with the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2, AirPods Max 2, or Sony WH-1000XM6, you are saving up to $400.

But is this enough to make the Sennheiser Momentum 5 the best headphones you can buy? I’m not giving the answer away that easily — to find out, you’ll have to keep reading this Sennheiser Momentum 5 review.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless review: Specs

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless review: Price & availability

The Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless will launch on June 16th at $399/£329. This makes them remarkably affordable for their performance — you’d be paying $549 for the AirPods Max 2, $459 for the XM6, and $449 for the QuietComfort Ultra 2.

Even so, there has been a $50 increase from the Momentum 4’s MSRP of $349. Although I hate to see unjust price increases, the 4 were released way back in 2022… so here I think it’s acceptable. Things are just more expensive now — even if Apple did manage to keep 2026’s AirPods Max 2 the same launch price as 2020’s AirPods Max.

Of course, this is still a decent chunk of moolah if you’re on a budget. In that case, I’d recommend checking out Sennheiser’s more affordable line, the Accentum Wireless, which will set you back just $189 (often discounted to $98).

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless review: Design

The Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless are the perfect example of the adage, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” To some, they might be frightfully plain-looking and, dare I say, ugly. But to others, they might be simple, functional, and, consequently, gorgeous.

I fall more into the first camp. Don’t get me wrong, the Momentum 5 aren’t hideous. They are straightforward. Effective. To the point. No frills. But… I don’t know. I wish they had a little more oomph. Looks-wise, my favorite cans are the AirPods Max 2. The anodized aluminum cups and mesh headband just have that je ne sais quoi that I look for in a pair of headphones. But, unfortunately, the brown fabric headband of the Momentum 5 looks like my carpet. And I just can’t see past that.

I’m not a huge fan of the appearance of the Bose QC Ultra 2, Sony XM6, or the Dali IO-8, either. I do like the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95 and the B&W Px8 S2, but nowhere near as much as I like the Max 2.

I do, however, love the hard-shell carry case. It feels premium and protective and the zip runs smoothly.

There’s no IP rating, but that’s fairly standard for over-ears. The AirPods Max 2, Sony XM6, Bose QC Ultra are all IP-less, too.

Comfort

When it comes to weight, at 10.2 ounces, the Momentum 5 are firmly middleweight over-ears. They’re 3 ounces lighter than the heifers of the premium over-ear pack, the AirPods Max 2, but 2 ounces heavier than the Sony XM6 and Bose QC Ultra 2. I wore the Momentum 5 for 7 hours without feeling the need to take them off.

The ear cups are deliciously comfortable, and there’s a decent foam padding between the drivers and my head. This makes the headphones feel more premium, which makes me want to forgive the carpet-looking headband fabric.

Controls

Personally, I loathe touch controls on over-ear headphones. I can never get them right, and I will always lean towards cans that utilize good old-fashioned buttons. I actually ended up turning them off because they were so annoying.

Weirdly, the volume control seems to affect a hidden volume dial — when I increased or decreased using the on-cup control, it didn’t affect the volume of my output device. I got a “Volume max” announcement through the headphones, but both my laptop volume and Qobuz volume were less than middle.

Strange, but you can, of course, still just adjust the volume using the output device.

Connectivity

Right now, the Momentum 5 use Bluetooth 5.4, but Sennheiser has confirmed it will update to Bluetooth 6.0 via a future firmware release. Even so, the pair I tested use Bluetooth 5.4, so that’s all I can discuss at this time.

I am pretty disappointed to see such a big release come with a 3-year-old Bluetooth version out of the box, but it’s nowhere near as bad as Apple releasing the $549 earlier this year with a 5-year-old Bluetooth version (5.3).

In reality, I was able to get out of my apartment and out the front door before the headphones disconnected, which is about as much range as you'll realistically need from a set of headphones.

Of course, there’s multipoint connectivity, which was straightforward to set up and completely headache-free.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless review: Sound quality

On the whole, the Momentum 5 sound great. However, I don’t think they’re perfect. I tested using Qobuz, our best music streaming service for audiophiles, on both wireless and wired playback.

Using my Sound Personalized EQ, I listened to ‘thank u, next’ by Ariana Grande. Although the bass and most of the lead vocals sounded smooth, rich, and intense — like the best chocolate, come to think of it — the treble suffered from some pitchiness. The headphones couldn’t replicate the treble without distortion. This was most distracting in the layered backing vocals and the super high notes towards the end of the track. This was also present while listening with the 3.5mm aux cable, which was disappointing.

I listened to other Ariana Grande tracks — ‘yes, and?’, ‘God is a woman’ — this distortion issue wasn’t as noticeable, but it was still there. I suppose there’s something in Ariana’s voice that the Momentum 5 just don’t like. Sorry, Miss Grande, I guess.

When listening with a wired connection, I played ‘My Moon My Man’ by Feist, an indie rock track with high-pitched female vocals, pianos, and guitars. This song didn’t suffer from the same distracting pitchiness in the treble as ‘thank u, next’, so that problem was an anomaly.

‘Hexagons’ by Muse and ‘Docket ft. Bully’ by Blondshell and Bully both sounded good — but not amazing. Vocals in both of these tracks were the stars of the show. ‘Rock’ EQ made the guitars sound a little underwater. I created a ‘U’-shaped EQ, my trusty favorite, which fixed a lot of the lackluster or muddy issues — but resulted in a little crackling at the top of the treble.

Honestly, electronic music sounded the best — ‘What You Want’ by Angele, Fcukers, and Justice, and ‘Damaged Goods’ by Confidence Man both had balanced bass, detailed, expansive mids, and insistent synths that the Momentum 5 really handled excellently.

Even after hours and hours of listening and testing, I’m still conflicted about the sound. On the one hand, it’s great. It’s faithful, detailed (you can hear all the instruments separately and softer, high-frequency sounds like backing vocals and string vibrations), and the bass is some of the cleanest I’ve ever heard.

However… that treble distortion. It’s not consistent, and it’s not overly egregious. But it’s there. If you use a lower-treble EQ, it’s gone — but then you miss out on some details.

Music sounds best with Dolby Atmos and ANC off, and with a U-shaped EQ. With these settings, I truly enjoyed listening to the Momentum 5.

If you’re accustomed to Bluetooth lifestyle headphones in the $100-300 price bracket, I don’t think you’d be disappointed by the Momentum 5s at all. But if you’re looking for the best of the best sound, I’m not entirely convinced it’s here.

The Momentum 5 sound better than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2, but weaker than the Sony WH-1000XM6 and AirPods Max 2. If you’re serious about saving that $50/$150, then you’ll get on fine with the Momentum 5.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless review: ANC

It breaks my heart to tell you this, but ANC is pretty poor. It’s not all bad, though: I like that you can adjust ANC to the percentage — I was able to put transparency at 100%, 71%, 36%, 12%, so on and so forth. You get the picture. I could even turn ANC off completely, which made the sound quality much better.

But when I was walking around the city, I could hear everything. I could hear rumbling engines of traffic, I could hear people talking, I could hear buskers, I could hear my own footsteps. I was really disappointed by this.

If you want seriously good ANC headphones, the Momentum 5 are not it. I would recommend Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2, Bose QuietComfort Gen 2, the Sony XM6, or, if you can afford it, Apple AirPods Max 2.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless review: Call quality

I tested the Sennheiser Momentum 5 on work calls. My colleagues reported that my voice sounded warm and rich without being too deep, and they couldn’t hear environmental noise from around me, like sirens or the test track I played in the background.

I love that you can adjust the transparency during calls. This is the one thing I feel would really benefit all headphones — I love being able to hear myself talk when I’m on a call.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless review: App

As with other headphones under Sennheiser’s belt, the Momentum 5 are compatible with Sennheiser Smart Control Plus. This app is well laid out, easy to navigate, and has a ton of options.

You can turn ANC off, customize its strength, or switch on anti-wind mode. On top of that, you can activate Dolby Atmos, customize an 8-band EQ, or choose from eight presets, set up Sound Personalization, activate Sound Zones, and turn off touch controls.

Sound Personalization is like JBL’s PersoniFi (JBL Live 770NC) or Soundcore’s HearID (Soundcore Space One Pro). It was a little glitchy — I had to restart a couple of times, as when I clicked ‘back’ the sound stopped working entirely — but got it working in the end. You have to deactivate Sound Personalization to use Dolby Atmos.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless review: Battery

One of the best aspects of the Momentum 5 is the battery life. These headphones have a whopping 57-hour battery life — with ANC on. I listened for 16 hours, and the battery life went down to 90%. Half of this was with wired, which doesn’t seem to drain battery, but the 57-hour rated life checks out.

This is miles ahead of the rest of the premium can crowd — Apple is limping behind with 20 hours for the AirPods Max 2, then you’ve got Sony and Bose with around 30 hours each (although Bose goes down to 23 with ‘Immersive Audio’ enabled). Sennheiser’s leading the charge here, and I greatly appreciate that.

You can also replace the battery with just a screwdriver. Remove the left earcup, then you only need a screwdriver to get to the battery. This is fantastic, and I think every brand should adopt this.

Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless review: Verdict

There are many, many things to like about the Sennheiser Momentum 5, but they’re not perfect, and I’m not going to pretend they are. The best features are, of course, the replaceable battery and whopping 57-hour battery life. There’s also exceptionally clean, clear bass, a balanced midrange, and great instrument separation. However, the treble can distort in some genres — sorry to Miss Ariana Grande — and the ANC is pretty poor.

But, at just $399, these are — regrettably — pretty affordable for premium headphones. You’d be paying $50 extra for Sony or Bose equivalents, $150 extra for Apple’s, and $400 more for Bowers & Wilkins’ flagships. So are you willing to get disappointing ANC to save that moolah? Perhaps. Perhaps.

If you prioritise serious comfort, replaceable batteries, love bassy music, and never listen to Ariana Grande, then you wouldn’t be disappointed by the Sennheiser Momentum 5. Not sure if it was worth the 4-year wait? Why don’t you give them a try?

In case you missed it, the other week Sony dropped its $649 1000X THE COLLEXION headphones. But don’t worry, I’ll spare you the shouty caps and just refer to them as “1000X The Collexion” or simply “1000X” from now on.

An upgrade to the still fairly recent Sony WH1000-XM6, the 1000X have stolen the XM6’s accolade of being Sony’s flagship over-ears. And naturally, that demands a premium in price. The 1000X will set you back $649. So, some dollars indeed.

Sony sent us a few pairs to try out, and I’ve gotta say, they’re fairly impressive. As it happens, though, when the 1000X landed on my desk, I had at hand my daily drivers — which I think are the Sony headphones’ closest competitors: the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2.

Naturally, then, I did a little back-to-back test to see which came out on top. Here’s what happened.

But first, a note on price

Now, some important context before we start: there’s a $150 delta between these two sets of cans, with the Px8 S2 costing $799 at Amazon. The Px8 S2 don’t drop by much in sales events either, although you can grab a set used (Like New) from Amazon for $686. The Sony 1000X The Collexion come in $150 cheaper at $649.

My point here is to see whether — if you can afford to drop big bucks into headphones to begin with — it’s worth stretching that extra bit further to the pricier cans (spoiler alert… I think it is). For the target demographic, I'd say it's reasonable to assume an extra $150 shouldn't be a huge issue.

Sound quality: a close-run thing

Admittedly, both of these headphones sound fantastic. I went into my back-to-back sound tests thinking the Px8 S2 would wipe the floor with the Sonys, but it wasn’t a total wash out. The 1000X are marketed by Sony as offering a much more refined and spacious sound than the WH1000-XM6 — which are tuned more in line with what the mass market wants: bass.

That said, I still find the 1000X a little too warm in their tuning — for my tastes anyway. Now, I actually enjoyed this in songs where bass isn’t the overriding element to begin with — Metallica’s Seek & Destroy, for example, where the added power on Lars’ kick drum complements the drive and energy of the song.

Listen along to my testing playlist on Qobuz using the widget below.

Elsewhere, I still found softer percussion, shimmering effects and vocals often felt a little buried by the 1000X bass, especially in low-heavy electronica like Burn Water’s super-subby, atmospheric Ikigai. At least via the Standard EQ preset. This wasn’t a huge problem — Sony’s app has a wide range of preset EQs and a custom EQ. I really liked the Clear EQ setting, which controlled the bass a little better, for my tastes at least. But I had to play around a fair bit with EQ on a regular basis (a lot of people like doing this, but I find it distracting).

By contrast, I haven’t really ever needed to play around with the Bowers & Wilkins EQ. These cans just sound so clean and neutral out of the box, with so much fidelity everywhere you listen. Bass is better controlled, with plenty of detail in the treble, giving really bassy songs like Ikigai much more clarity by allowing the soft, ethereal backing vocals and effects the space they need. There’s bags of mid-range definition, too, which added so much crunch to the distorted riffs on Seek & Destroy.

Of note is that the 1000X use 30mm dynamic drivers. Size isn’t everything, of course, but I noticed perceptible distortion on some of the louder sub booms in Ikigai. The Px8 S2 suffered no distortion in the same areas, likely thanks to the larger 40mm drivers.

Both headphones are rather spacious for closed backs, but the Px8 S2 definitely have the edge, sounding noticeably cleaner, brighter and more open than the more intimate-feeling 1000X. Chris Stapleton’s Death Row was pleasingly dynamic on the Bowers & Wilkins, the bluesy guitar licks and Chris’ reverby vocals getting a little closer to the acoustic-esque experience of listening to the track through my Audeze LCD5-S open backs (although, obviously, the LCD5-S are in a different league, space-wise).

To supposedly help with that, the 1000X have a 360 upmix mode. I was excited to try this out, but unfortunately found it borderline unlistenable. I mean, it sorta works: Mk.Gee’s über spatial Dream Police was a perfect candidate, and the extra reverb and echoing made for a live-recording-esque kinda effect. But the sound was incredibly compressed, with a bucket load of audible noise.

An especially noticeable difference between the two is the Px8 S2’s greater detail at low volumes. We discussed this in our Px8 S2 review, so it was on my radar, but I hadn’t grasped the full extent until listening to them in earnest. Even at around 30% volume, the B&Ws retain an incredibly impressive amount of low-end texture and high/mid clarity. By contrast, I had to keep the 1000X at around 70% for a similar sound. Better for your ears, better for battery life, and better for the long term health of the drivers I guess.

Flawless ANC on both

Both the 1000X and Px8 S2 have fantastic ANC. In fact, it’s very hard to draw a verdict here. They both do a better job than my $1,200 Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95. Using the 1000X in the office, they cut virtually everything, including road noise from the open window next to my desk.

All I can say is that the Px8 S2 ANC is probably the best I’ve tested. Perhaps the strongest test was on the flight home from my honeymoon a couple of weeks ago. The seat in front hosted a screaming toddler, flanked by two dismayed parents, open-mouthed between kicks to the face. On the opposing aisle sat the similarly-unparented and only-slightly-older brother, listening to some mindlessly cheerful kids TV at full blast through his iPad speakers. In the midst of the chaos, a flight attendant fought desperately through the ruckus to ensure seatbelts were on — somehow, if the parents’ entitled faces were anything to go by, this was all her fault.

Tiny arms flailed. Dried fruit snacks flew. Someone probably lost an incisor. A flight attendant questioned her life choices by flying Ryanair. Many passengers did the same. Nightmare fuel, usually. But not with the Px8 S2.

Back in the sixth circle of hell — or the row behind the chaos — my wife looked aghast at me laughing maniacally. ‘How can you laugh through this?’ was the subtext. It was the poetry of watching all that happen in mime only, soundtracked instead by the screaming cacophony of Songs For The Deaf’s opener. “You can’t even hear it!”

No matter how loud the hellspawn in front decided to be, nor how long through the flight it decided to be so, I was alright. The Px8 S2’s ANC would drown out everything. And it did.

Everyday comforts

A lot has been said online about the supreme comfort of the 1000X, and I agree… for the most part. They feel like a premium set of cans, and if I’d bought them, I wouldn’t feel shortchanged in the build quality department.

Again, though, the Bowers & Wilkins have the edge. They go beyond premium to feel luxurious. After around an hour of wearing the Sonys, my ears started to feel a little toasty. The Px8 S2 use a more breathable material, as I wore them for most of a seven-hour train journey through Norway with no issues whatsoever.

Both sets of cans are a pain in the butt to carry around, though, as they don’t fold and use bulky carry cases instead. The Sony’s case is markedly thinner at least, so that’s the set I’d pick if portability were my biggest concern. Which it isn’t.

Battery life is another win for the Px8 S2, which offer up to 30 hours. After my seven-hour Norwegian train journey, they’d dropped to 83%, which tallies to our full battery test when we reviewed them. Battery life on the 1000X is just 24 hours. Admittedly, this is only an issue if you’re travelling away from power for any elongated period of time — not really a thing nowadays with the ubiquity of portable power banks.

Frustrating connectivity

I touched on apps a little earlier when talking about EQ, but there’s more to be said on this. Sony’s app is great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s fundamental to the operation of the headphones, and that really grates on me. You seemingly can’t even connect to the 1000X without the companion app, which feels extremely restrictive — especially for a product you’ve paid $649 for.

When you do try to connect, the Sony companion app acts like a typical Sony companion app: janky as all hell. It took me 16 minutes to get the headphones to connect. 16 minutes. To hook up over Bluetooth.

I love that with the Px8 S2, the app is essentially optional. You don’t need to download it in order to get the headphones working, and the driver tuning and default EQ are so good out the box that I rarely, if ever, need to open the app for tweaks.

The Px8 S2 also have USB-C and 3.5mm connectivity, as opposed to only 3.5mm on the Sonys. That means, if you want to play wired from your phone with the 1000X, you’re stuck using the technically subpar phone DAC. Will it make a noticeable difference? Probably not. But I like knowing that I’m bypassing my smartphone DAC altogether and using the Px8 S2’s internal conversion over USB-C, getting the best I can out of the cans when using my phone.

Still, if you’re concerned, you could always invest in a portable DAC/amp, like the FiiO KA13 ($65). Or my go-to portable DAC, the iFi hipdac 3 ($199).

The final word

So which would I buy out of the two? If you hadn’t already guessed, it’s the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2. Look, the Sony 1000X THE COLLEXION are decent headphones. But when you start pricing cans in the ultra-premium range, you’re gonna have to start mixing it with the big boys. And the 1000X can’t quite mix it with the chief.

If you don’t have the extra $150, I doubt you’ll be disappointed by the 1000X. They look great, sound great, and feel great on your head. It’s just that the Px8 S2 do, well, just about everything better.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple AirPods Max 2 vs Sony 1000X The Collexion
• I tested Soundcore’s newest premium flagship earbuds — and they’re coming for the AirPods Pro 3’s crown
• I’m ditching my over-ear headphones for these Sony earbuds to beat the heat this summer — and they offer Bose-like sound for a lot less

The Grell OAE2 open-back headphones are an audiophile’s dream, but you have to be willing to drop $600. And I think that's worth it for some of the best headphones in the studio game.

They offer extremely detailed sound with a wide soundstage that gives the individual instruments room to be heard with complete clarity. And this clarity is prevalent across all frequency ranges. I was especially impressed by the performance at the lower end, with bassy tracks sounding very clean.

The headphones are also extremely comfortable to wear, so they are perfect for long listening sessions, and all components are replaceable. This means that if anything does go wrong with the headphones, you can just switch the parts rather than buying a new pair.

To find out more, you can keep reading this full Grell OAE2 review.

Grell OAE2 review: Specs

Grell OAE2 review: Price & availability

The Grell OAE2 headphones are available for $599 in the U.S. and £499 in the U.K. directly from the Grell Audio online store, making them a little cheaper than the (also fantastic) HEDDphone D1 ($799). This is expensive, but that’s the price that comes with premium open-back headphones, where prices can run into four figures for cans like the Final D800 DC ($4,299), Meze Audio Elite ($3,999) and Audeze LCD5-S ($4,500). In that light, the OAE2 sit in the mid-range open-back category.

But there are very few who can sling that amount of money on some detailed listening headphones, and so, something like the Meze Audio 105 AER ($369) could be a better fit. These headphones still offer fantastic clarity with awesome instrument separation.

For something on the budget side, if this is the first pair of audiophile headphones you’re looking into, the FiiO JT3 open-back headphones could be the right fit for just $69. These have an expansive yet complex soundscape, but suffer from a little pinching in the high treble.

Grell OAE2 review: Design

I think I looked a little funny while wearing the Grell OAE2 headphones because the headband is so wide to accommodate the large earcups. The headphones have a ‘circum-aural ear coupling’, which simply means that they are over-ear headphones. These are open-back headphones, and the open grate design on the back makes them look très chic.

The open-back design delivers more expansive sound, the trade-offs being noise leakage in and out of the cans; no noise cancellation; and relative fragility versus closed-back headphones (open-backs won’t survive a stint in the rain).

Thankfully, all components of the headphones are replaceable and recyclable. Included with the headphones is a booklet with all of the numbers for the parts of the headphones you may need to order, so keep this handy for future reference. You can also purchase replacement headband and ear cup cushions from the Grell online store.

Comfort

The headband is adjustable and padded, so it’s very comfortable to wear for extended periods of listening. It took a bit of pushing and pulling to adjust the headband to the level I wanted it, but when I decided on the positioning, it was very secure.

Both the headband and the earcups are covered with velour, and are very soft, but they can become warm quite quickly compared to traditional faux leather-covered cups. Since you’ll have studio cans on for a lot longer, you want something that comes relatively lightweight, and the Grells tick that box at 13.3 ounces, especially when compared to the FiiO JT3, which weigh 27.2 ounces.

Controls

There are no onboard controls for the Grell OEA2 headphones. Any adjustments to volume, skipping tracks, and playing or pausing need to be done on your listening device. This wasn’t an issue, though, as since they are wired cans, my device was always 1.8m away from me.

Connectivity

The Grell OEA2 are wired headphones, and have connection ports for a 2.5mm jack on the bottom of the left and right earcups. Only one of these ports needs to be used at a time. It’s great to have the choice, as you can choose the side that doesn’t get in the way of your movements.

The headphones come with a 2.5mm jack to 3.5mm wire with a thread for a 3.5mm to 6.3mm adaptor, and a 2.5mm jack to 4.4mm jack wire. It’s great to have the options come with the headphones. These wires and leads can be stored out of the way in the included hard shell carry case.

Grell OAE2 review: Sound quality

To test the sound quality of the Grell OAE2, I listened on my phone and streamed my music using Qobuz. I streamed all songs I listened to in 24-bit. They have a maximum power draw of 500mW, so they're very easy to drive and can be used without a DAC or amp — playing perfectly well from your phone or computer, for example.

I was blown away by the detail in the sound quality of the Grell OAE2 headphones. Since they’re open back, you get that signature spacious sound, and the drivers deliver crisp response across the frequency range.

The Grell OAE2 use Grell's front-mounted drivers, which fire sound at your ears from a frontal direction to simulate listening to a live performance and maximizes detail in in the mids and highs, according to Grell. As open-back headphones, any internal sound reflection is also minimized, and as I listened, I could hear how much wider and more spacious it made the soundstage, especially in the complex tracks like Hypersonic Missiles. This gave a much better sound quality than the closed-back FiiO FT13 ($329), which suffer from harsh sounds in the treble.

To test out the bass performance of the headphones, I listened to Go by The Chemical Brothers. This song has a monotonous bass line that drives the song throughout. I could feel the low rumbles of the sub-bass movement, and each layer of bass was tight, incredibly clear and free from muddiness.

Next, I tested the mid-range. For this, I used the song Hypersonic Missiles by Sam Fender. The song is carried by electric guitar riffs and rich vocals, and the studio headphones did an excellent job of bringing out details I had never experienced before. The vocals stood out throughout the entire song and weren’t engulfed by the powerful and punchy electric guitars. The clarity of the drums was also impressive — real studio-level results.

Finally, I listened to It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You) by the 1975 — a high-energy track with a lot going on — to hear how the headphones handled treble. The cymbals came through and weren’t pitchy at all. Shimmery sound effects performed well too, and despite the amount of high-frequency elements in the song, everything remained bright and clear.

Grell OAE2 review: Verdict

The Grell OAE2 headphones are a masterclass in studio sound. The headphones are comfortable to wear for long periods of time, and that’s a great thing because I could quite literally listen with them all day long. The sound is extremely detailed, and there’s complete clarity across all frequency ranges, even in the sub-bass.

All components of the headphones are replaceable, so you don’t have to buy new headphones if any parts become worn out, so you’ll have these cans for a very, very long time. But the headphones are on the expensive side, so you have to be sure about the studio cans as an investment.

That said, I think this is a worthwhile investment, especially for anyone who loves to appreciate the detail in their favorite tracks.

Over a year ago, I ditched in-ear buds for over-ear headphones and didn't look back. You'll usually find me with my trusty Marshall Monitor III headphones around my neck, or sitting atop my head while I jam to my favorite tunes. While I love my headphones, I'm no stranger to itchy ears from sweating, and due to the very nature of over-ear cans, they can be tricky to wear for long periods of time during the summer.

The solution is a simple one, of course: get a pair of in-ear buds. In-ear buds don't sit around your ears, like over-ear headphones do, so they don't feel suffocating during the year's hottest months. And you don't need to spend big bucks to get a decent pair — which is why I'm opting for the Sony WF-C710N.

I tested the WF-C710N back in April 2025, and to date, they remain some of the best wireless earbuds I've ever tested. They're lightweight and ridiculously comfortable, and their see-through Glass Blue design is nothing short of delicious. Meaty bass, crisp treble, refined mids, and with highly effective ANC — these earbuds have got it all. And the best part? They're $170 cheaper than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2. It's time to upgrade your life for less with the WF-C710N.

Like you aren't even wearing them

Having tested and used many earbuds in my time, I believe that the true hallmark of a good pair is when you don't even realize they're in your ears. I should be able to go about my day without feeling earbuds digging into my ear canal. By that standard, then, the Sony WF-C710N are simply excellent.

Each earbud weighs just 0.18oz which is practically nothing. In my ears, they fit snugly and never once have they fallen out, even when I've been walking briskly or headbanging. There have been times where I've forgotten that the WF-C710N are in my ears, and that says everything you need to know about their comfort level.

In addition to that, the WF-C710N are sure to turn heads because they look stunning. Available in white, black and blue, I'd personally recommend the third option. You can see the wires and hardware on the see-through Glass Blue model, and this sets the earbuds apart from any others on the market right now.

They sound amazing

I would never recommend a pair of earbuds unless they sounded downright fantastic — yes, even if it's very comfortable and good-looking. The Sony WF-C710N have that covered, with their 5mm drivers delivering powerful bass and vibrant treble. Thanks to Sony's trademarked Digital Sound Enhancement Engine technology, sound is reproduced as close to the original recording as possible.

Through the WF-C710N, the distorted bass in 070 Shake's 'Elephant' and the reverberating bassline in Twenty One Pilots' 'No Chances' sound fantastic. It's powerful enough that you can you feel the music in your skull but not so booming that it overpowers the rest of the soundstage.

Treble is crisp but not overzealous, so you can clearly hear the high-pitched coins in Pink Floyd's 'Money' but that sound doesn't pierce through the soundscape or undermines the other instruments.

For a pair of in-ear buds, the WF-C710N provide an excellent, immersive listening experience. Combine that with the highly effective ANC that goes toe-to-toe with Bose, and you've got a winning formula. The ANC is so good that you can't hear the kettle boiling or the TV indoors, and the noise of a bus rattling while you're traveling is also muted. You're getting bang for your buck here.

In the summer, you need a pair of earbuds that enable your ears to breathe — and while headphones are great, they clamp down on your earlobes, leading to some discomfort, especially during heatwaves. Conversely, when it gets colder, over-ear cans are a great choice, because they can double as earmuffs and provide some warmth to your ears when temperatures drop.

What do you think? Do you swap between over-ear headphones (or on-ears) and in-ear buds depending on the weather? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

More from Tom's Guide

• Sony WF-C710N review
• Do you need to spend $449 on the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen when you can get the new Marshall Milton ANC for $229? I tested both and I’m very surprised
• Not all on-ear headphones are uncomfortable: I’ve been using the new Marshall Milton ANC for 3 weeks and they’re ridiculously comfortable and offer outstanding sound too

Sony's had something up its sleeve for weeks, and that something is finally here. Ever since paparazzi photos of an actor donning suspicious new headphones leaked, the audio world's been holding its breath — but hold your breath no more. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the XM line, the Japanese everything-brand is releasing its first uber-premium over-ear headphone: 1000X The ColleXion.

1000X The ColleXion is less aimed at the Bose QuietComfort (not Ultra) crowd and the JBL Tour One M3 Pro crowd, and more at the AirPods Max 2, Bowers and Wilkins Px8 S2 crowd. But how do these "premium" headphones actually compare to said competition?

To find out how 1000X The ColleXion really fares against the AirPods Max 2, I put the two flagship cans through a series of tests. Lock in, because it's about to move up a gear. Will the Sony 1000X The ColleXion or the AirPods Max 2 win?

Sony 1000X The ColleXion vs Apple AirPods Max 2: Specs compared

Sony 1000X The ColleXion vs Apple AirPods Max 2: Price

The Sony 1000X The ColleXion are an eye-watering $659 at their May 2026 launch, while the AirPods Max 2 launched in April 2026 for $549.

You're paying $110 extra for The ColleXion — and the AirPods Max 2 were already outrageously expensive. I'm not too sure what this extra $100 is getting you — sure, The ColleXion look nice and are much more premium than the WH-1000XM6, but still, $650 is a bit of a stretch.

Winner: AirPods Max 2

Sony 1000X The ColleXion vs Apple AirPods Max 2: Design

Right, so the AirPods Max 2 and the 1000X The ColleXion both serve a similar (unfortunate) purpose: being a fashion statement. Headphones should have one job — playing music — but Apple and Sony seem to be trying to make over-ears something you wear for the sole purpose of wearing them.

They have both kind of... succeeded, though? The AirPods Max 2 and ColleXion both look gorgeous, with aluminum and stainless steel finishes that scream premium. I suppose, if you're paying $550-$650 for headphones, you'd expect them to look good. Personally, I still think the AirPods Max 2 look better, but I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so it's fine if you disagree there.

The AirPods Max 2 have much more intuitive controls — no tapping randomly on the ear cups — but The ColleXion now have a Spatial Upmixer button, so you can cycle through music upmix and cinema upmix without the Sony Headphones app. I personally did not enjoy how the Spatial Upmixer made my music super tinny, so I never used this.

However, while the AirPods Max 2 win in terms of design and controls, The ColleXion win in terms of carry case. The AirPods Max 2 have no case worth talking about, but The ColleXion have a pretty awesome hard shell mini handbag case. Not only does this protect the headphones, it also looks pretty stylish. As a result, I'd say this round is a draw.

Winner: Draw.

Sony 1000X The ColleXion vs Apple AirPods Max 2: Sound quality

Both the 1000XX The ColleXion and the AirPods Max 2 sound divine. If you like expansive, melodic headphones capable of delicately balancing rich bass and subtle detail, you'll like both the Sony and Apple offerings.

To accurately compare the sound, I listened to both The ColleXion and the AirPods Max 2 as my daily drivers, playing every genre under the sun (including podcasts and YouTube videos). I listened to everything on Qobuz, the best music streaming service for audiophiles.

'Neverender' by Justice & Tame Impala is an electronic track with an intense synth-heavy instrumental and infectious metallic percussion. Neither the ColleXion nor the AirPods Max 2 lost any detail, and the vocals had unbeatable clarity, even during heavier sections.

When I played a heavier rock track, 'RIDING WITH MY GIRLS' by Die Spitz, the ColleXion handled the crunchy bass and metal-tinged guitars well. I wanted a touch more depth to the percussion — the cymbals kind of faded into the background — but in general, the ColleXion performed well.

When I listened with the AirPods Max 2, the details were louder and pulled forward, including the cymbals and crunchy guitar effects. Neither headphones managed to make the bass sound particularly excellent, but the AirPods Max 2 created a livelier soundscape.

Of course, I also had to test with LDAC, Sony's proprietary hi-res Bluetooth codec. 'Parachute' by Hayley Williams is a voice-led guitar track with heavy, almost over-processed bass and emotive vocals. Williams' voice sounded particularly incredible with LDAC enabled.

With the AirPods Max 2, 'Parachute' sounded clear, detailed, and had vibrant bass. Williams' voice was, again, front and center, weaving confidently between the over-processed bass and percussion.

The AirPods Max 2 just beat The ColleXion here — the ColleXion handle higher frequencies really well, but the bass was a bit too unrefined.

Both the AirPods Max 2 and the Sony 1000X The ColleXion have wired playback — USB-C and 3.5mm aux, respectively — which provides similarly lossless performances. Naturally, the AirPods Max 2 sound best via Apple Music and USB-C, and the Sonys sound best via Qobuz and 3.5mm wired.

Overall, both headphones sound great, and I'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed with either. The AirPods just take this round due to the more balanced bass response, though, as The ColleXion's bass can verge on unrefined in heavier genres.

Winner: Apple AirPods Max 2

Sony 1000X The ColleXion vs Apple AirPods Max 2: ANC

Both the AirPods Max 2 and The ColleXion have fantastic ANC, but the Sonys are the better performers here. During tests, I couldn't hear anything through the The ColleXion, not even high-frequency noises that often leak through even the strongest ANC, but I could hear things like clacking keyboards and chest-vibrating construction noises when listening to the AirPods Max 2.

For everyday use, though, you would get on just fine with either. I predominantly use my AirPods Max 2 and the ANC is everything I could need.

Winner: Sony 1000X The ColleXion

Sony 1000X The ColleXion vs Apple AirPods Max 2: Call quality

I've said it before (and I'm sure I'll say it again), but we've reached a point in the Bluetooth headphone life cycle where pretty much every single flagship over-ears will provide you crystal-clear sound.

I have only good things to say about the AirPods Max 2 and Sony 1000X The ColleXion's call quality. Both headphones have crystal-clear audio, no fuzziness or hissing in sibilant words. Both headphones reduce ambient noise wonderfully, so I have no reservations about recommending either headphones for calls in loud or quiet environments.

Winner: Draw.

Sony 1000X The ColleXion vs Apple AirPods Max 2: Battery

The battery life is my biggest qualm with the AirPods Max 2. I can't quite believe Apple released headphones with a 20-hour battery life in 2026, but here we are. While The ColleXion have a 24-hour battery, this still isn't particularly impressive, either.

It's better, don't get me wrong — I'll take everything I can get as long as it's better than the AirPods Max 2 — but when the Sony WH-1000XM6 have a 30-hour battery life for $200 cheaper, this is a huge miss from Sony.

Of course, the Sonys win by default, but really, there are no winners here.

Winner: Sony 1000X The ColleXion

Sony 1000X The ColleXion vs Apple AirPods Max 2: Verdict

Both the AirPods Max 2 and the Sony 1000X The ColleXion received 85 points, making this versus a draw. You won't be disappointed by either the AirPods Max 2 or The ColleXion.

It's near impossible to choose between these two headphones. Both ooze style, have premium sound quality, and an array of impressive features (although I disliked Sony's Spatial Upmixer, you might love it). Both earn their place as some of the most premium, best wireless headphones money can buy.

I would personally choose the Apple AirPods Max 2, but The ColleXion still have a lot going for them: Want lighter cans, don't mind a more unrefined bass, and love Sony's impeccable ANC? Go for the 1000X The ColleXion. If you value metal construction, vivacious sound, and don't mind a poorer battery life, the AirPods will treat you right.

Sony 1000X The ColleXion vs Apple AirPods Max 2: Ratings scorecard

In the increasingly oversaturated wireless earbud market, it’s becoming harder and harder to be noticed. But you know what, Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max? I’m noticing you. Are Soundcore’s newest flagship earbuds some of the best earbuds money can buy?

If you value modern, AI features, great sound quality, and impressive battery life (better than Apple, Sony, and Bose, by the way), then yeah. Totally. The only downside is the appearance — of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I’m not sure who these buds are designed for. If Soundcore is serious about competing with Apple, the earbuds need to look better. It’s as simple as that.

But isn’t it about what’s on the inside? And in this case, the inside boasts fantastic, Galaxy Buds 4 Pro-rivaling bassy sound and impressive proprietary AI functionality. Could these be the earbuds for you? To find out, keep reading this Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max review.

Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max review: Specs

Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max review: Price & availability

The Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max are $229 from Amazon U.S. and £199 from Amazon U.K.. The Liberty 5 Pro Max released at the same time as the Liberty 5 Pro, which are the same earbuds, but with a different case. If you want the AI notetaking case, get the $229 Pro Max. Just want great earbuds? Get the $179 Libert 5 Pro instead.

2025’s Soundcore Liberty 5 launched at $129 from Amazon, so we’ve got a price increase of 77% here.

There are, thankfully, a few technological improvements that somewhat justify this price tag. The Liberty 5 Pro and Pro Max come with Anker’s proprietary AI chip, which powers live translation and AI notetaking. Think of it like this: the Liberty 5 Pro Max are the AirPods Pro 3 to the Liberty 5’s AirPods 4.

When you’ve got flagship native ecosystem earbuds that only cost $249 — the AirPods Pro 3 and the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro — and “big name” premium brands that are only $70 more — Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Gen 2 and Sony WF-1000XM6 — the Soundcores have a lot to live up to.

Thankfully, the Liberty 5 Pro Max share a lot of flagship features with these big-name buds, which I’ll get into now. If you want a premium feel for $20 less, they could be a great option.

Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max review: Design

Unlike the Soundcore Liberty 4 Pro, which features an AirPods-esque stem design, the Liberty 5 Pro Max have adopted Bose’s pebble-ish design. Say goodbye to the stem, the Pro series is more like a little nugget in your ear.

Whether you like this or not will depend on your preferences. Personally, I’m much more of a stem earbud person, so I was a little disappointed when I opened my new earbuds. However, I know pebble shapes are popular, so I’m sure you’ll get along fine if you’re a pebble preferer.

The buds themselves come in black or blue — I tested black/gray — and are quite plasticky. There’s a nice shiny Soundcore logo, but I’m not sure… something about the design feels quite budget to me — not acceptable at this price point. I’d like to see the design looking more ‘AirPods or Sony WF-series adjacent’ in the future, if Soundcore wants to compete with (and price near) the big guns.

I have weirdly small ears, and I had to use the XXS ear tip. While this ear tip (the smallest option) fit well in my ear canal, the size of the earbud nozzle pressed down on my cartilage during use. I could only wear them for around two hours before my ears started aching — so I’d bear this in mind if you’re one of the small-eared folk too.

Controls

The controls are mostly customizable in the Soundcore app. I adjusted all the playback controls to my liking, but the call controls are set. Weirdly, you need to double-press to accept a call and long-press to reject — I’m not sure why this wasn’t a single tap for accepting and a double for rejecting, but hey.

I don’t really get on with pebble earbud touch controls — I much prefer the versatility of a stem design — but, again, if you’re used to pebble-type buds, the Liberty 5 Pro Max will be exactly what you’re accustomed to.

Connectivity

Connectivity on the Liberty 5 Pro Max is awesome. I never had to cycle through my Bluetooth settings. Every time I opened the earbuds, they automatically connected to my two devices and switched between those devices seamlessly.

The Liberty 5 Pro Max feature Bluetooth 6.1, which is the newest version with the highest reliability and longest range. I never experienced sound glitching or cutting out, and I was able to get all the way out of my apartment and onto the road outside before the earbuds disconnected.

Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max review: Sound quality

The Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max sound pro and max in every way. To test sound quality, I listened to a variety of genres on Qobuz, our best music streaming service for audiophiles, but I’ll discuss a few standouts here.

‘Video Games’ by Lana Del Rey is built over Del Rey’s glamorous, Hollywood starlet vocals and a heady string section. The harp notes were clear and melodious and the soft piano chords rounded everything out delicately. Atop the soft instrumental, Del Rey’s vocals took front and center, but there was a little overprocessing in the final chorus — albeit also present when I listened with the AirPods Pro 3.

Another decadent, layered track is ‘Bliss’ by Muse, with foundations of arpeggiated synths, raw guitars, and strong bass. The vocals weren’t overpowered by this rich soundscape, and the synths twisted and spiralled across the heavy guitars with ease. This song sounded awesome.

I switched up the genre to electronic for the third and final test: ‘Getaway’ by Fcukers. This trip-hop-tinged track has a cello sample throughout — I could feel the vibrations of the string in my ears. The electronic breakdown and breathy vocals slightly obscured this cello note, but not enough to detract from the overall experience.

The sound quality is equal to that of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro — confidently bassy, rich, and immersive. If you like detail, I’d recommend the AirPods Pro 3, but overall, I was extremely impressed by this sound quality.

Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max review: ANC

ANC is really impressive. I would say it’s the same as the AirPods Pro 3, and only narrowly upstaged by the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Gen 2.

I tested the ANC both in the office and out and about in the city. I couldn’t hear myself typing in the office, and in the city, all car noises and general chatter was completely silent. Conveniently, I walked past some builders jackhammering the pavement and I couldn’t hear much.

Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max review: App

As with everything under Soundcore’s belt, the Liberty 5 Pro Max use the Soundcore app. This app is super easy to navigate and well laid out.

There are tons of features stuffed into the app, but my favorite is HearID. This is kind of like a gamified EQ “this or that” — you listen to a variety of clips and choose which sounds best. Then, the app generates an EQ that suits your tastes. Remarkably, it generated me a super bass-heavy EQ, which is not what I would’ve picked for myself.

While this is fun, the audio clips in the game itself are quite compressed, so don’t have the best sound quality, which might have caused a discrepancy between my personal EQ preferences and the generated EQ. I did turn the EQ off after a few listens, but this is great for beginners who might not know what they like.

AI Features

One of the selling points of the Liberty 5 Pro Max is the AI functionality. These earbuds actually have an Anker-designed AI chip — the first ever.

Personally, I never ever use any AI in my earbuds or headphones. I have AirPods Max 2, and I can count on one hand the number of times I used any of the AI features — and those were all for the review.

Of course, I tested all the AI features in the Liberty 5 Pro Max. Strangely, I had to connect to the charging case independently of the buds. When taking notes via the AI notetaker, the charging case (“the box” as referred to in the app) records the content, not the buds. You also have to be connected to the app to do this.

After finishing the recording, I transcribed the report. This took around one minute for a five-minute recording.

The transcription correctly identified different speakers, better than the Viaim RecDot which couldn’t differentiate between male and female speakers, but struggled when the speakers talked over one another. The ‘Intelligent Summary’ took four minutes to generate from the same five-minute recording.

For meetings with defined speakers, this would be great, but I’m not sure how it would handle a chaotic boardroom.

Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max review: Call quality

To test the call quality of the Liberty 5 Pro Max, I called my boyfriend, who has listened to every single pair of earbuds I’ve reviewed thus far, so he’s kind of a control test at this point. He said I sounded the same as my AirPods Pro 2.

To test the “noise-reducing AI algorithm” I played a city noise track at max volume — about 65dB, which is a loud conversation. He couldn’t hear this at all, so I’d say the Liberty 5 Pro Max have excellent ambient noise reduction. If you’re often calling in loud environments, these earbuds would be perfect.

Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max review: Battery

The Liberty 5 Pro Max have a huge 50-hour battery life (ANC off) — but this drops to 28 hours with ANC on. Still, this battery life beats the AirPods Pro 3, Sony WF-1000XM6, and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2’s 24 hours, but can’t compete with Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 4 Pro’s 30 hours.

Even so, I’d much rather see 28 hours than 24 hours, so I’ll take every hour I can get. I listened to the Liberty 5 Pro Max — with ANC on max, fiddling with all the settings — for 8 hours, and the battery dropped to 80%, so that 28 hours checks out.

Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max review: Verdict

The Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max are fantastic earbuds. If you want rich sound, strong ANC, and interesting AI features, they’ll definitely suit your tastes. So why not a 4.5-star or a 5-star rating, if they’re that good? It’s all in the design. The only thing holding these earbuds back is their appearance. If Soundcore seriously wants to compete with the big, big names — Bose, Apple, Samsung, Sony — the design needs to feel more premium. Right now, the plasticky nozzle and the weirdly shiny exterior just scream “I’m budget but I’m trying not to be — and I’m $229”.

With a little finesse in the design (and more comfortable for more types of ears), these earbuds would be well on their way to butting heads with the likes of Apple and Bose. But if you happen to like how they look (from all the pictures in this review), then, of course, they’ll be right for you.

I love the sound, I love the ANC, I love the call quality, and I love the battery life. For those who value these features above all else, of course the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max will do the trick.

It's no secret that Bose is the unbeaten king of noise-canceling headphones. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen are incredible, boasting a plethora of outstanding features, including best-in-class ANC, supreme comfort levels, and great battery life. But it's also no secret that these headphones are very expensive, priced at $449 / £449, and not everyone can afford them.

But just because you're on a budget doesn't mean you can't have nice things — and British manufacturer Marshall has just shaken up the ANC scene with its brand new Marshall Milton ANC on-ear cans. I know what you'll say to that: a) they're on-ears and not over-ears like the QuietComfort Ultra, and b) how can any brand even conceivably think of dethroning Bose as the ANC king?

To that, I have a few retorts: a) they're on-ears but they're great on-ears, b) the Milton ANC weren't created to dethrone Bose, and a bonus c) they're half the price of the QuietComfort Ultra and for $229 / £179, they're simply fantastic. I've been testing the Milton ANC for three weeks and I've been using the QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen for a week. If you can't afford Bose's offering, Marshall's offers bang for your buck. Here's why.

Hi, Nikita here! This isn't going to be a traditional face-off like the others you may have seen on Tom's Guide, such as my Marshall Milton ANC vs Monitor III. It would be unfair to make direct comparisons between the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen and the Milton ANC as both vastly differ when it comes to price, so it would be crown just one a winner. Think of this article as more of buying advice instead.

A few tricks up Marshall's sleeve

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen are excellent, but one of the areas they struggle in is battery life. The OG Ultra offered just 24 hours of playback time, but their successor kicks it up a notch to 30 hours... but that's still not class-leading. Meanwhile, one of the things Marshall has historically nailed with its consumer-first headphones (like the Monitor III) is battery life — and the Milton ANC are no different.

Offering 50 hours of battery life with ANC on and 80 hours with ANC off, the Milton ANC blow the QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen out of the water. It's not even close, really. Sure, you get better ANC with the latter, but if it's more juice you're after, the Milton ANC are worth the trade-off.

But it isn't a massive trade-off either, which brings me to the Milton ANC's key selling point: these are Marshall's first-ever on-ear cans to feature ANC, and they've knocked it out of the park. I've tested a few on-ear headphones now, and the Milton ANC offer the most effective noise cancellation of them all.

Sounds indoors, like the kettle boiling or the clickity clackity of mechanical keyboards, are muted to ensure you feel immersed in your music. Outdoors, the ANC is alright — the sound of cars zooming past makes it through but it isn't too jarring.

I won't lie: using the QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen outdoors blew me away as I couldn't hear anything, and they made me feel like I was in a room so quiet I could hear a pin drop. But I wouldn't hear that pin drop because the headphones would cancel out the noise. The Milton ANC can't compete with that, and they don't need to. For half the price of the QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen, you're still getting pretty solid ANC, and the best on-ears have to offer at the time of writing.

Take control

I've spent a fair bit of time using the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen. I've found them extremely comfortable, and the plush ear cushions make my ears feel like they're resting on clouds. The design, though unchanged from the OG headphones, is pretty enough to look at, but the thing that bothers me most? The controls.

This might be a hot take but I think we need to get rid of touch controls on all headphones. They work fine on earbuds — the ones I've tested, at least — but I've never been a fan of them on headphones. The QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen's touch slider to adjust the volume sticks out like a sore thumb, and I've found its placement frustrating and ability to register my commands finicky, at best.

Turns out, I'm not the only one here at Tom's Guide who has struggled with the touch controls on the QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen. Our Buying Guide Editor, Tammy, mentioned them in her review of the headphones, and Senior Reviews Writer, Erin, easily gave the win to the AirPods Max 2 when it came to the two headphones' controls.

So, what's better than a strange mix of physical and touch controls that leaves users frustrated? Full physical controls, just like on the Marshall Milton ANC. There are two buttons that control everything on the Milton ANC: a joystick-like power button that can be used to adjust volume and change tracks, and a customizable 'M' button that can be personalized to enable Spatial Audio, change EQ, or enable/disable ANC.

And simplicity works. The controls are easy to understand and don't give you much to complain about. Not to mention, that brass power button looks drool-worthy. The Milton ANC's design, in general, looks classier and more premium than the QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen, but that's just my opinion.

Music to my ears

What surprised me most about using the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen and the Marshall Milton ANC to listen to music back-to-back was how similar their tuning is. Both headphones offer deep, rich, bass-first sound profiles, which may not be everyone's cup of tea — and if they aren't, both headphones come with user-friendly apps to customize the EQ.

Personally, I love bass-first tuning because that's the aspect of the soundstage I enjoy the most, so both the Milton ANC and the QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen impressed me straight out of the box. 'Let It Happen' by Tame Impala sounds glorious through both pairs, but when it comes to spatial audio, I think the Milton ANC's Soundstage creates more of an immersive listening experience. The QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen's spatial audio is good but it does so at the cost of bass which sounds muted. The Milton ANC's, on the other hand, keeps the bass thumping while making the track sound wider.

'FA9LA' by Flipperachi sounds excellent through both headphones too, with great emphasis on the pounding bass without making the treble sound too shrill or piercing. Vocals? Crystal clear, with each word discernible and not bleeding into the next.

One of the biggest advantages of using the QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen is that because the ANC is mindblowing, it makes you feel truly immersed in your music. The ANC on the Milton ANC is good, like I said earlier, but doesn't come close, and that has an impact on your listening experience. Swings and roundabouts.

Looking ahead...

So, should you buy the Marshall Milton ANC or the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen? I wish I could say that there's a straightforward "yes" or "no" to that question but there isn't. Question is, how much are you willing to spend? If you've got a budget of over $450, money is no object, or you want to get peerless ANC, the QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen are a no-brainer.

But if you can't loosen the purse strings to that extent, the Milton ANC are great value for money. They cost $229, so almost half the price of the QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen, but they don't compromise on features that matter most to 90% of users. Here at Tom's Guide, our job is to help you upgrade your life for less, and when it comes to getting premium features and audio at a non-premium price, you can't go wrong with the Milton ANC.

More from Tom's Guide

• Not all on-ear headphones are uncomfortable: I’ve been using the new Marshall Milton ANC for 3 weeks and they’re ridiculously comfortable and offer outstanding sound too
• I’ve been testing the Marshall Milton ANC on-ears vs Marshall Monitor III over-ears — and it’s closer than you think
• I've been testing the new Marshall Milton ANC for 3 weeks — they fix my biggest gripe with on-ear headphones, and are the new gold standard

Marshall has just added the new Milton ANC to its lineup of audio gear and headphones, and these on-ear cans are nothing short of a triumph. As someone who prefers over-ear headphones, these feel like a game-changer, and they're the most comfortable on-ears I've used so far.

But before I started using the Milton ANC, I'd been using the Monitor III over-ears for over a year. This got me thinking, "Do I like the Milton ANC better than the Monitor III?" The answer, unfortunately, isn't a simple "yes" or "no."

To answer this question, I listened to music on both headphones back to back, and compared all their other features. They share some similarities, yes, but is one pair better than the other? And should you spend more nearly $120 more on the Monitor III? Let's find out together.

Marshall Milton ANC vs Marshall Monitor III: Specs

Marshall Milton ANC vs Marshall Monitor III: Price

One of the key differences between the Marshall Milton ANC and the Marshall Monitor III is the price. The Milton ANC sit between the flagship Monitor III and the Major V on-ear headphones, and they cost $229 / £179. These are mid-range headphones that offer some premium features at a non-premium price.

The Monitor III, on the other hand, cost a lot more. They have a retail price of $349 / £299 but given that they've been around since September 2024, you can frequently find them discounted for around $250 — especially during sales events. It remains to be seen what kind of discounts the Milton ANC will get once the headphones have lived a little.

Given their price, the Monitor III are priced similarly to (or even less than) other flagship active noise-canceling headphones from the likes of Bose and Sony. Also given their higher price point, they offer more features than the Milton ANC — but if you're on a budget, the Milton ANC are the way to go. If you can loosen the purse strings, the Monitor III are a no-brainer. This round is a tie.

Winner: Tie

Marshall Milton ANC vs Marshall Monitor III: Design

The next biggest difference between the Marshall Milton ANC and the Marshall Monitor III is the design. The Monitor III are over-ear headphones while the Milton ANC are on-ear cans. We'll talk about the Milton ANC first, as they're newer. They feature square earcups with soft memory foam cushions, and they sit on your ears rather than around them (as is the nature of on-ears).

If you're skeptical about how comfortable on-ears are, I'm here to tell you that as a fellow (and former) skeptic, I think the Milton ANC are the most comfortable on-ear headphones on the market. They don't clamp down on your ears too much, and the earcups themselves are quite spacious — so there's plenty of room for all ear sizes. The only issue is that people with cartilage piercings may find them uncomfortable.

That's where the Monitor III come in. These over-ear headphones are comfortable for all types of ears, and even for those who have several piercings. Because they sit around your ears, they don't press down on piercings. Ear cushions, again, are very comfortable, as is the suspended headband. They're heavier than the Milton ANC, though, as they weigh 8.8oz while the Milton ANC weigh 7.06oz.

Controls on both headphones are nearly identical as both feature a customizable 'M' button and a joystick-like power button for adjusting volume and playback. The buttons give lovely tactile feedback when pressed — kinda like on a guitar amp. Neither headphones' controls give you anything to complain about.

The Milton ANC borrow styling cues from the Monitor III too, which is why they're covered in black with brass accents. Given that the Monitor III did it first, and they're ever-so slightly more comfortable than the Milton ANC, the over-ears get the win in this round.

Winner: Marshall Monitor III

Marshall Milton ANC vs Marshall Monitor III: Features & connectivity

Even though the Marshall Monitor III are the British brand's flagship headphones, the Marshall Milton ANC pack the latest Bluetooth 6.0. They also feature support for LDAC and LC3, while the Monitor III utilize Bluetooth 5.3 with SBC and AAC. Multipoint connectivity is at play here, as both sets of cans can connect to two devices at once. Both headphones can be used wired too, thanks to USB-C ports on each.

In addition to this, the Milton ANC become Marshall's first headphones to carry Apple Find My support (along with Google Find Hub). This is a fantastic addition for Apple and Google Pixel owners alike as they can keep track of their headphones at all times.

One thing the Monitor III pack that the Milton ANC don't is wear detection — but honestly, I've never been a fan of wear detection on headphones as I've always found it to be finicky. I'd take Apple Find My and Google Find Hub over wear detection any day. To my surprise (and perhaps yours), the Milton ANC win the features & connectivity battle.

Winner: Marshall Milton ANC

Marshall Milton ANC vs Marshall Monitor III: Sound quality

What good are a pair of headphones if they aren't brilliant for music? Whether you get the Marshall Milton ANC or the Marshall Monitor III, you'll be getting powerful sound regardless — take the word of someone who's been listening to the same songs back to back on both pairs.

The first thing you need to know is that both sets of cans use the same 32mm dynamic drivers but cover different frequency response ranges. The Monitor III cover 20Hz-20KHz while the Milton ANC cover 20Hz-40KHz — so the entirety of the human hearing spectrum and then some.

Both headphones are tuned differently too. The Monitor III have a well-balanced sound while the Milton ANC are more bass-heavy straight out of the box, so it depends on what you like. I don't mind either of the headphones' default Marshall Sound EQ, but if you want to make adjustments to the equalizer, the companion app (Marshall Bluetooth) is very user-friendly.

To compare the headphones, I listened to the same three tracks first on the Milton ANC and then on the Monitor III. I used my Milton ANC testing playlist on Qobuz.

First up, 'Everybody Scream' by Florence + The Machine. Both pairs of headphones handled this witchy track exceptionally well. The Milton ANC put the bass first and it reverberated through the track, while the Monitor III offered a balanced sound profile. Vocals, through both, sounded beautiful, and the treble was never shrill or piercing. I'd say the Monitor III make the track sound more snappy and capture Florence's vibrato better, but the Milton ANC did a respectable job too.

I then listened to 'Elephant' by 070 Shake. Personally, I preferred the Milton ANC's sound profile for this track. Thanks to its bass-forward tuning, I felt immersed in the synthesized, wobbly bassline, and it felt like there was a better balance between the thumping bass and distorted vocals. The Monitor III, on the other hand, made the track sound more clinical which is better for those into detailed listening.

The final song I played was 'Let It Happen' by Tame Impala, and I listened to it to test the Soundstage spatial audio. Soundstage debuted on the Monitor III back in September 2024, and now, Marshall has equipped the cheaper Milton ANC with it too. Soundstage, essentially, moves the sound into a virtual room so it feels like the track is swirling around your head, which is incredible for an immersive listening session.

On both the Milton ANC and the Monitor III, Soundstage works very well. I set the virtual room to 'large' via the app while using both headphones, and it made me feel like I was at a Tame Impala concert. The soaring synths had plenty of height through both headphones. The Milton ANC, again, emphasized the bass but not too much. What I like, though, is that the Monitor III made the song sound wider and more expansive, which makes sense given their price point.

Sound quality was a close call, but the Monitor III take it. The Milton ANC offer excellent sound for the price, but the Monitor III are just a bit better and more well-rounded overall.

Winner: Marshall Monitor III

Marshall Milton ANC vs Marshall Monitor III: ANC

For ANC to be effective, there needs to be a good seal around your ears — or in your ears, if you prefer in-ear buds. It's for that reason that the Marshall Monitor III win this round. Don't get me wrong: the Marshall Milton ANC boast effective ANC, and I even slept through an entire flight without being disturbed. But because they're on-ears, breaks in ANC are to be expected and that's not their fault: it's the nature of on-ears.

By on-ear standards, the ANC is great. By general standards, the Monitor III offer better.

The Monitor III create a great seal around your ears and provide a decent level of passive noise cancelation too. Indoors, I can't hear anything, not even the sound of my very loud mechanical keyboard. Outdoors, I can hear cars going by but not to the point that they disturb my peace or break my immersion when I'm jamming to Green Day.

Winner: Marshall Monitor III

Marshall Milton ANC vs Marshall Monitor III: Call quality

Unfortunately for the Marshall Milton ANC, this round goes to Marshall Monitor III straight off the bat. The Milton ANC's call quality can be described as middling at best as they made me sound scratchy and tinny on the phone. When I spoke with my colleagues on a Google Meet team call, they instantly noted, "You don't sound as good as your other headphones."

The other headphones in question? The Monitor III. I've been told by my partner and many other people I've spoken to on the phone and team calls that I sound warm and true-to-life through the Monitor III. It's disappointing that the Milton ANC don't make me sound as good but it is what it is.

Winner: Marshall Monitor III

Marshall Milton ANC vs Marshall Monitor III: Battery life

I'll be upfront here: it's an uphill battle for any pair of headphones to upstage the Marshall Monitor III when it comes to battery life. These headphones pack monster battery life as they can last up to 100 hours with ANC off or 70 hours with ANC on.

But this doesn't mean that the Marshall Milton ANC have poor battery life — on the contrary, they're long-lasting too. The Milton ANC can last up to 80 hours with ANC off or 50 hours with ANC on. That's quite a big drop compared to the Monitor III, yes, but remember that there's a substantial price difference between the two.

The Milton ANC have an ace up their sleeve though: they feature a consumer-replaceable battery which can be accessed by twisting off the left earcup. This isn't particularly groundbreaking, though, as all Marshall is doing is abiding by E.U. regulations — but at least you can replace the battery yourself now in case it goes kaput.

I'd say the Monitor III win this round by a narrow margin, but rest assured that even though you're spending lesser on the Milton ANC, you're still getting long playback time.

Winner: Marshall Monitor III

Marshall Milton ANC vs Marshall Monitor III: Verdict

When I first held the Marshall Milton ANC in my hands three weeks ago, I thought, "They're on-ears, how good can they really be?" Turns out, very, very good. They're excellent on-ear headphones and are ridiculously comfortable. I've never been happier to be proven wrong.

And truth be told, I'm surprised how close the competition was between the Monitor III and the Milton ANC. As you'll soon see in the ratings scorecard below, the Milton ANC come very close to the Monitor III — which is commendable given that they cost $120 less than the brand's flagship cans.

This face-off ends with the Monitor III earning 93/100 points, followed very closely by the Milton ANC earning 86/100 points. The Monitor III are the superior headphones, yes, but the Milton ANC are a home run for Marshall, too, and they've shaken up the on-ears realm in the best way possible.

Marshall Milton ANC vs Marshall Monitor III: Ratings scorecard

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• I've been testing the new Marshall Milton ANC for 3 weeks — they fix my biggest gripe with on-ear headphones, and are the new gold standard
• Marshall Monitor III review: When heritage meets sonic prowess
• My doctor banned me from earbuds so I got these Marshall headphones instead — and I’m surprised I didn’t do it sooner

While earbuds are good, I much prefer the comfort level offered by over-ear cans and I don't go anywhere without my trusty Marshall Monitor III. I've been using them for over a year and not a day goes by that I don't listen to my favorite tunes through them.

But over-ear and in-ear aren't your only options. There are also on-ear headphones.

Despite having just as much padding as over-ears, I'm usually not a huge fan of on-ear headphones — but the Marshall Milton ANC are changing my mind. For the last three weeks, I've been using these on-ears exclusively, and I'm in love with them.

The Milton ANC are the most comfortable on-ear headphones I've used, and on top of that, they boast outstanding sound quality and 80 hours of battery life. I awarded them a 4.5-star rating in my Marshall Milton ANC review, and for good reason too.

Here's why I love them.

The gold standard for on-ear comfort

One of the things that usually stops me from recommending on-ear headphones is that they sit on your ears rather than around them, and can clamp a little too much. This, in turn, makes your ears hurt over time, and can make them too hot.

The Marshall Milton ANC fix this problem by employing spacious ear cushions made of soft memory foam. I've run out of reasons to not recommend on-ears now.

I've worn the Milton ANC a lot. I've worn them in a pressurized cabin on a flight. I've worn them on the bus to and from work. At my desk. At home. Everywhere. The longest I wore them for was nine hours straight, and not once did my ears hurt or feel like they were sweaty or too hot. Imagine my surprise at that! Of course, I had to adjust the height every now and then to ensure maximum comfort, but I do this with over-ears too, so it didn't feel out of the ordinary.

Alongside the soft ear cushions, the Milton ANC uses a cushioned headband that relieves pressure you'd otherwise feel on the top of your head. The headphones weigh next to nothing too, at 7.06 ounces, so you don't feel weighed down by them.

After the Marshall Monitor III, the Milton ANC are the most comfortable headphones I've tested — and easily the most comfy on-ears.

Wait, what about the sound quality?

I would never recommend spending any amount of money on a pair of headphones if they don't make music sound fantastic and luckily, the Marshall Milton ANC do just that. These headphones pack 32mm dynamic driver and are tuned to deliver a bass-forward sound straight out of the box. This doesn't mean that they sacrifice treble and mids — on the contrary, everything sounds harmonious, but all I'm saying is that you may want to tinker with the EQ in the app if the bass is a bit much for you.

In tracks like 'Elephant' by 070 Shake and 'Cracker Drool' by Goat Girl, the bass sounded exceptional. The distorted, wobbly bassline in the former engulfed me and I felt immersed, while the driving bassline in the latter gave the track a great backbone with plenty of low-end impact. As for vocals, 'Everybody Scream' by Florence + The Machine sounded phenomenal, with Florence's all-encompassing vocals balancing beautifully against the chanting chorus.

Soundstage spatial audio on the Monitor III is one of my favorite features and I'm thrilled to see it make an appearance on the cheaper Milton ANC. Soundstage essentially creates a virtual room of sound which can be customized on a scale of 'small' to 'large.' Its prowess became apparent when I listened to 'Let It Happen' by Tame Impala. The synths sounded like they were swirling around my head, and I felt like I was at a concert.

Premium features, not-so-premium price

The Marshall Milton ANC sit between the flagship Monitor III over-ears and the popular Major V on-ears, and they borrow features from both sets of cans. You're getting a bunch of premium features at a mid-range price point. For instance, the Milton ANC borrow styling cues (black with brass accents) from the Monitor III, as well as Soundstage spatial audio, Adaptive Loudness, and ANC. They inherit the Major V's on-ear design but make it more comfortable, as I mentioned earlier.

They also feature long battery life: The Major V are rated for 100 hours but because of the addition of ANC to the Milton ANC, the latter are rated for 80 hours without ANC or 50 hours with ANC enabled.

Unlike the Major V and the Monitor III, the Milton ANC feature consumer-replaceable batteries, so all you need to do is twist off the left earcup and et voilà.

So, how much will all those goodies set you back by? The Milton ANC have a retail price of $229 / £179, so they're a fair bit cheaper than the Monitor III. If you don't want to spend $349 on the Monitor III, then the Milton ANC are a no-brainer — as long as you're okay with the on-ear design, of course.

Admittedly, I still prefer the Monitor III's sound profile, longer battery life, and better ANC. But it's nice to have a competent pair of on-ears that I can swap to if I wish to. They set a new gold standard for on-ear headphones (and mid-range cans in general).

Check out my Marshall Milton ANC vs Marshall Monitor III face-off to see which headphones are right for you!

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• I've been testing the new Marshall Milton ANC for 3 weeks — they fix my biggest gripe with on-ear headphones, and are the new gold standard
• I’ve been testing the Marshall Milton ANC on-ears vs Marshall Monitor III over-ears — and it’s closer than you think
• Best headphones in 2026

There are premium headphones, and then there’s the Sony 1000X “The Collexion” (yes, spelled with an X.) Pronounced “Collection,” this $650 remix of the popular Sony WH-1000XM6 is Sony’s 10-year anniversary victory lap for the XM series, aimed at style-conscious buyers who view tech as a seamless extension of their wardrobe.

But these aren’t just XM6s wearing a nicer coat. Sony upgraded the drivers with rigid carbon components that deliver a wider, richer soundstage with the kind of depth I actually wished the regular XM6 had from day one.

The thing is, that might not be enough to convince people this glow-up is worth paying substantially more than the standard XM6 when it comes to buying the best headphones. The Collexion comes with some weird compromises, such as a shorter battery life and no changes to active noise cancellation performance.

Sony is making a pretty bold pitch here: luxury materials, fashion-forward design and elevated sound without tipping fully into the four-figure territory occupied by ultra-premium audiophile brands. We’re talking stainless steel, vegan leather, and a finish that feels more designer accessory than commuter headphones.

And if Apple could make AirPods Max a status symbol, who’s to say Sony can’t do the same? I spent time with Sony’s most fashion-forward headphones yet to find out in my full Sony 1000X The Collection review.

Sony 1000X The Collexion: Specs

Sony 1000X The Collexion review: Price and availability

• $649/£550
• Cost $200 more than WH-1000XM6
• 10-year anniversary of Sony’s XM products

The Sony 1000X The Collexion costs $649 / £550 and was released on May 19, 2026, to celebrate a decade of Sony's XM lineage. The headphones are available now at major retailers like Amazon, as well as directly through Sony’s website.

Price-wise, these cans land squarely between the Apple AirPods Max 2 ($549 / £499) and the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 ($799 / £629) in a territory not occupied by many other headphone models currently.

And because these are explicitly positioned as a luxury tier above the flagship line rather than a direct replacement for the $449 WH-1000XM6, don't expect to see them heavily discounted during standard holiday sales events anytime soon. They are expensive by any traditional consumer metric, but they occupy a specific high-end ecosystem tailored for buyers willing to pay extra for some aesthetic clout.

Sony 1000X The Collexion review: Design

• It’s in the materials: Sony has stripped out the lightweight, utilitarian plastic of the standard XM6 in favor of a striking, premium metal-and-leather aesthetic.
• Case or clutch?: Rather than a cheap tech pouch, the included carrying case looks and feels like a minimalist designer handbag.
• Heft vs. comfort: The shift to luxury materials introduces an external wireframe structure that alters the headphones' overall weight, but a wider headband does provide superior comfort.

While the Sony WH-1000XM6 built its reputation as a lightweight plastic tech product, The Collexion swaps plastic for solid stainless steel arms, buttons and inputs, plus supple vegan leather wrapping the earcups and headband. Sony even hid the “Left” and “Right” markings inside the earcups to keep the design seamless.

I tested the platinum finish, which accentuates the contrast of premium materials, though there’s also a sophisticated black option with shimmering color-matched metal. Either way, these felt genuinely luxurious to sport around New York City.

They don’t fold inward, but they do swivel flat into a redesigned carrying case that looks more like a minimalist designer bag than a typical tech pouch. It’s a bit chunky, but the reinforced shell makes carrying around $650 headphones feel a lot safer. (Between us, I loved toting it around.)

Sony 1000X The Collexion review: Comfort

On my head, The Collexion felt calibrated for comfort, with the weight balanced on a headband that’s 10% wider and 40% thicker than the standard XM6. Sony also shaved 5mm of thickness off the earcups compared to the XM6, while the earpads feel plush and padded.

But its ultra-premium materials introduce a literal physical weight: 11.3 ounces vs. 9 ounces for the plastic XM6. AirPods Max 2 tip the scales at 13.6 ounces, and since I’ve been using those lately, The Collexion actually felt like a bit of a welcome reprieve.

Sony WH-1000X The Collexion review: Controls

These headphones combine a highly responsive right-earcup touch panel with tactile physical buttons. Swiping for volume and track skipping works flawlessly. Best of all, The Collexion is equipped with a new dedicated hardware feature: a physical Spatial Upmixer button. On the standard XM6, toggling immersive 3D audio required app diving and was only available for Cinema Mode. Here, a simple physical press instantly toggles spatial audio for music, movies, or mobile gaming.

The headphones also feature snappy wear detection, instantly pausing your media the moment you lift an earcup to speak to someone and resuming it seamlessly when placed back on your head. You could always tap and hold on the right earcup to pause and initiate transparency mode, too.

Sony 1000X The Collexion review: Connectivity

In terms of connectivity, The Collexion is future-proofed with Bluetooth 6.0 (an upgrade over the standard XM6’s Bluetooth 5.3), multi-point connectivity, and a USB-C port for charging and a 3.5mm jack for wired listening.

Sony 1000X The Collexion review: Sound quality

• Unidirectional carbon driver: Sony introduced a brand-new, 30mm unidirectional carbon driver designed for wider frequency handling.
• Beefed-up circuitry: The internal circuit board features thicker copper foil layers for a cleaner audio signal.
• Top-tier processing and codecs: Powered by Sony’s new V3 processor, these headphones get DSEE Ultimate AI upscaling alongside LDAC, AAC, and SBC codec support.

The Sony 1000X The Collexion delivers the exact sound quality upgrade I originally wished the standard XM6 would’ve introduced over the WH-1000XM5. At the heart of this upgrade is a brand-new, rigid 30mm unidirectional carbon driver, paired with a beefed-up internal circuit board sporting copper foil layers 1.5 times thicker than the XM6.

For software processing, it steps up to DSEE Ultimate, Sony's highest-grade AI audio engine, and supports high-resolution LDAC alongside standard AAC and SBC codecs. You also get a fully customizable EQ via the Sony Headphones Connect app if you want to tweak the sound.

Listening to ‘bury a friend’ by Billie Eilish the sub-bass sounded cleaner and more controlled than the XM6. The track’s pulsing low-end hits with serious depth and punch, but never overwhelms the rest of the mix or introduces distortion, even at higher volumes.

For mids and instrument separation, I switched to ‘Dreams’ by Fleetwood Mac. The vocals, bassline and percussion all felt beautifully distinct, with a warmth and clarity that gave the song room to breathe without sounding crowded.

Then I tested treble and soundstage with ‘Kyoto’ by Phoebe Bridgers. The brass, acoustic textures and layered vocals sounded crisp and airy without teetering on sharp.

Sony 1000X The Collexion review: ANC

• Identical ANC: The active noise cancellation hardware and processing are completely identical to the standard XM6.
• Great, not legendary: It excels at cutting out lower-frequency environmental hums, it stops short of class-leading.

The active noise cancellation on The Collexion is excellent, but it’s exactly the same ANC you get on the cheaper Sony WH-1000XM6. Sony used the same microphones and processing here, which makes the lack of an upgrade feel noticeable at $650.

In testing, the headphones did a great job muting low-frequency noise like a loud studio AC unit and the constant rumble of New York City traffic. But sharper sounds still cut through more than they do on the Bose QuietComfort Ultra, which still delivers the strongest isolation I’ve tested.

Sony 1000 The Collexion review: Call quality

• Familiar mic system: The Collexion uses the exact same microphone hardware and noise processing found on the standard Sony WH-1000XM6.
• Excellent voice isolation: With 12 beamforming microphones, the headphones do a fantastic job separating your voice from surrounding noise.
• Clear real-world performance: Calls sounded rich, warm and consistently clean, even while walking through loud New York City streets.

The call quality on The Collexion is excellent, even if it uses the exact same microphone system as the XM6. With 12 beamforming microphones and strong onboard noise processing, these headphones do a fantastic job isolating your voice from chaotic surroundings.

I spent days taking calls while walking through New York City, and everyone I spoke to commented on how clear and natural my voice sounded. Vocals came through rich and warm without the thin, crackly quality some wireless headsets produce around wind or traffic. As a certified yapper who also cares about my style, I thrived with The Collexion as a wearable accessory.

Sony 1000X The Collexion review: Battery life

• Noticeable downgrade: Battery life drops to 24 hours with ANC on, down from the 30 hours offered by the cheaper Sony WH-1000XM6.
• Fast charging helps: A quick 5-minute USB-C charge delivers around 1.5 hours of listening time.

Battery life is easily one of the strangest compromises on The Collexion. Sony rates these headphones for 24 hours with ANC enabled, which is enough for a full workday or long-haul flight, but noticeably worse than the standard XM6 which lasts up to 30 hours.

In my testing, Sony’s numbers were accurate almost down to the hour. The headphones died right around 24 hours of use with ANC running continuously. Thankfully, the fast charging is excellent. Five minutes plugged in gave me roughly 90 minutes of playback, which made topping them off far less annoying day to day.

Sony 1000X The Collexion review: Verdict

The Sony 1000X 'The Collexion' is a niche, luxury statement piece that successfully bridges the gap between mainstream tech and high-end fashion. It delivers an incredibly premium experience with some weird compromises, but the style element is undeniable.

If you view headphones as a core part of your outfit, it is a luxury flex that happens to sound incredible. The designer handbag-style case is, in my opinion, a spectacular touch, and the upgraded rigid carbon drivers deliver the spacious, pristine soundstage I always wanted from the standard XM6.

On the downside, paying a $200 premium forces you into a frustrating battery life drop down to 24 hours and active noise cancellation that offers zero upgrade over the more sensibly-priced base model.

So maybe The Collexion isn't the practical choice for everyone, but hey, style rarely is.

Premium isn't new territory for Sony. The impressive build quality has made the 1000X series stand out from the crowd, becoming a top choice for listeners in the audio world. Today, the company announced a jump into the world of luxury audio with The 1000X ColleXion headphones.

The new headphones are Sony's take on refined luxury, with an uber sleek look that's totally eye-catching. The headphones were first leaked when Damson Idris, star of "F1: The Movie" was spotted wearing them out in public, and speculations have been swirling about the headphones' capabilities ever since.

They still have the distinct Sony headphone look and take inspiration from the WH-1000XM6 headphones, but it's clear that the quality has been upped here. But at what cost? Well, it's a big one, so hold onto your hats as we get into everything you need to know about the 1000X The ColleXion headphones launch.

How much do they cost?

As you can imagine, since these are luxury headphones, they come with a luxury price point. The new 1000X The Collection headphones are available to purchase for $649 /£550 / AU$999 from the Sony Online store.

In the U.S. and U.K., they're even pricier than the Apple AirPods Max 2, which cost $549 / £499, though in Australia, they're priced identically at AU$999.

Since Sony is a premium audio brand, their regular gear isn't exactly budget; its previous release, the WH-1000XM6 headphones, cost $399 / £379 / AU$649.

What do they look like?

The design of the new 1000X The ColleXion headphones clearly takes heavy inspiration from the WH-1000XM6 headphones, which were released last year. But there are some minor changes, which primarily include the materials used.

First, the headphones are available in Platinum or Black. This is a very basic color range, but we have previously seen Sony release more colors of headphones at a later date, so could it be something we see here? For example, the company is also launching a new Sandstone colorway for the WH-1000XM6 headphones today.

The headband of the new ColleXion headphones is metal with padding underneath. The earcups have also had a design change and are now covered in faux leather, but keep the same distinctive Sony shape. However, the earcup of the new headphones is a slimmer 40.1mm, compared to the XM6 earcups, which are 45.4mm.

Audio upgrades

The 1000X The ColleXion headphones see the introduction of DSEE Ultimate. Previously, only standard DSEE has been available in Sony's audio gear, and this technology rebuilds compressed music files. The Ultimate version uses AI technology to upscale the sampling rate (resolution) and bit depth (dynamic range), restoring any lost detail.

The ColleXion headphones also have Hi-Res wireless and LDAC audio codecs. The sound has also been optimized with Walkman technology, using more advanced internal components.

ColleXion has three modes of 360 Upmix for stereo music, cinema and gaming. This aims to give a more immersive experience across the listening modes.

General performance

1000X The ColleXion features 12 microphones (six on each earcup) and an Adaptive NC Optimizer seen in the WH-1000XM6 for noise cancelling that adapts to the environment around you. They also allow background music options with the Sound Connect app, which is one of my favorite features to use on the WF-1000XM6 earbuds.

With 24 hours of battery life with noise cancelling turned on and 32 hours with it turned off, the ColleXion headphones can support all-day listening. This is a significant reduction from what we see in the XM6 headphones, which support 30 hours with ANC and 40 hours with ANC turned off. But with that said, it's still more than enough to get you through the longest flights.

What do you think? Is it worth the upgrade to the premium model, or will you be sticking with the 1000X release from last year? Let us know in the comments.

Don't forget to check out our full Sony 1000X ColleXion review.

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The Marshall Milton ANC are the best on-ear headphones you can buy right now, period. The storied British brand bridges the gap between its flagship Monitor III over-ears and popular Major V on-ears by borrowing styling cues from both while adding a bunch of handy features to a supremely comfortable package. These are the ideal headphones for those who want premium features at a not-so-premium price.

Thanks to their 32mm drivers, the Milton ANC boast spacious, dynamic sound which is further bolstered by a highly effective spatial audio mode called Soundstage, which they borrow from the Monitor III. With 80 hours of battery life and effective ANC to boot, these headphones offer fantastic value for money. Throw the elegant design, straightforward controls, and a user-friendly app into the mix, and you’ve got yourself a winning combination.

So, are these the best headphones for you? To find out, you’ll have to read my full Marshall Milton ANC review.

Marshall Milton ANC review: Specs

Marshall Milton ANC review: Price & availability

Announced on 19 May 2026, the Marshall Milton ANC bridge the gap between the Marshall Monitor III ($349) and the Marshall Major V ($149), borrowing and blending the best of the brand’s over-ear and on-ear cans. With shipping expected at the end of May 2026, the Milton ANC will have a retail price of $229 / £179, and will be available to buy in Black.

The Milton ANC are $120 cheaper than the Monitor III, and $80 pricier than the Major V, so they’re a pair of mid-range on-ears. They’re the same price as the Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 ($229), and they sit between the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 ($279) and the Beats Solo 4 ($199).

While they’re more expensive than the Major V, they’re well worth the investment if you want ANC and features like Soundstage, which the Milton ANC borrow from the Monitor III. And spoiler alert: they’re also the most comfortable on-ears I’ve had the pleasure of using or reviewing.

Marshall Milton ANC review: Design

Marshall knows how to make a good-looking product, and the Marshall Milton ANC carry that minimalist-but-classy legacy. While the Marshall Major V featured a black body with white accents, the Milton ANC borrows the brass accents from the Monitor III. The Black model looks gorgeous, with the same textured leather surface on my trusty Monitor III.

The Milton ANC weigh just 7.06 ounces, which feels like nothing. They’re lighter than the 7.4-ounce Beyerdynamic Aventho 100, the 11.6-ounce Cambridge Audio Melomania P100, and the 8.8-ounce Marshall Monitor III. They’re a little heavier than the 6.6-ounce Marshall Major V, but this is an acceptable trade-off if you value added tech, like ANC.

For easy transport, the Milton ANC can be folded inwards to make them more compact, and Marshall happily includes a cloth carry case to protect them.

Weatherproofing

It’s very uncommon for on-ear or even over-ear headphones to have IP ratings and more often than not, they’re not waterproof or dustproof. The Milton ANC are no different so be careful using them in harsh weather conditions. I’ve worn them in light rain and they’ve been unscathed — but of course, don’t wear them when it’s pouring down. If you want certified waterproofing, the Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 are IP53-rated while the Nothing Headphone (a) ($199) are IP52-rated.

Comfort

I’m a big fan of over-ear headphones, which is why I use my Marshall Monitor III nearly every day. I’ve always been at odds with on-ear cans, and even when I reviewed the Beyerdynamic Aventho 100, I wasn’t a fan of their design. That’s because on-ear headphones sit on your ears instead of around them, and that can lead to your ears overheating or sweating, and even feeling suffocated.

But the Milton ANC have just changed that. The ear cushions are made of memory foam and TPU which is a durable material known for its high elasticity and flexibility. Compared to the Major V, the Milton ANC’s cushions are more spacious so they’re more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. They don’t clamp down on your ears and your ears don’t feel too sweaty either. Having worn the Milton ANC for over nine straight hours, I can confidently say that they’re the comfiest on-ear headphones I’ve tried.

Also aiding the Milton ANC’s comfort factor is the cushioned headband which helps relieve some pressure you’d otherwise feel on the top of your head. The height is highly adjustable too to suit different head sizes. As with most headphones, over-ears and on-ears, comfort level will naturally be subjective but for me, the Milton ANC feel perfect. If you have cartilage piercings, you may want to adjust the height to ensure the earcups aren’t pushing down on them.

Controls

It couldn’t be easier to control the Milton ANC as the headphones feature just two buttons. There’s a customizable ‘M’ button on the left earcup, and a moveable button on the right earcup. The ‘M’ button’s behavior can be customized via the app (more on that soon), while the joystick enables you to adjust the volume and play/pause your music. I much prefer this stripped-back yet effective control scheme than the one on the Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 — and it’s something different, like the paddle controls on the Nothing Headphone (a).

Connectivity

The Milton ANC utilize Bluetooth 6.0 with support for AAC, SBC, LC3 and LDAC codecs. There’s no aptX Lossless, though, which the Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 feature.

They also feature multipoint connectivity and can simultaneously be connected to two devices — this worked flawlessly with my MacBook Air M2 and Google Pixel 10 Pro XL. Thanks to Google Fast Pair, my smartphone was quick to recognize the Milton ANC as soon as I put them into pairing, and I was listening to music within milliseconds.

Also, the Milton ANC introduce Apple Find My (like on the first-party Apple AirPods Max 2) and Google Find Hub support, something that hasn’t previously been seen on Marshall’s headphones. You can now track your headphones’ location, something forgetful users especially will appreciate.

Marshall Milton ANC review: Sound quality

The Marshall Milton ANC are fitted with 32mm dynamic drivers and cover a frequency response range of 20Hz to 40KHz — so the entirety of the human hearing spectrum and then some. Without any EQ adjustments and straight out of the box, the Milton ANC feature a noticeably bass-heavy sound which I absolutely love, but you may want to make some alterations in the app if you like (more on that soon). Still, music through the Milton ANC sounds warm and nuanced, and very spacious.

To test the Milton ANC, I listened to my favorite tracks on Qobuz, the best music streaming service for hi-res audio, with LDAC enabled on my Google Pixel 10 Pro XL. I kicked things off with ‘Everybody Scream’ by Florence + the Machine to test the headphones’ vocal capabilities, and the Milton ANC excelled here. As Florence’s vocals transitioned from operatic to belted, the headphones captured the angsty and all-encompassing texture very well. The Milton ANC’s snappy character shone here, as there was a fantastic balance between her primary vocals and the chanting chorus. Florence’s high-pitched vocals never pierced through the soundstage either.

Next up, ‘Elephant’ by 070 Shake, which I used to test the bass response and treble. Because the Milton ANC has a bass-first tuning, I was instantly immersed in the synthesized, wobbly bassline. Shake’s vocals sounded scratchy, just as the artist intended, and because the headphones feel so spacious, there was plenty of air and room for me to appreciate the delicate balance between the distorted vocals and thumping bass. The drums’ hi-hats sounded detailed too, showcasing the bright treble, and never too shrill or overzealous.

The Milton ANC borrow the Marshall Monitor III’s Soundstage feature, which is essentially spatial audio. Enabling it basically moves the sound into a virtual room (which can be customized on a scale of ‘small’ to ‘large’), and makes you feel like you’re at the heart of the track. There was no better track to test this than ‘Let it Happen’ by Tame Impala. With the Soundstage’s virtual room set to ‘large,’ the track had plenty of room to breathe, and the soaring synths felt like they were coming from the corners of a massive warehouse. This gave the track a bit of height, like I was listening to it through a pair of open-back cans.

Overall, the Milton ANC don’t give you much to complain about when it comes to sound quality. They sound warm, nuanced, detailed, and are great for most genres.

Listen along to my review with the Marshall Milton ANC testing playlist:

Marshall Milton ANC review: App

Similar to the brand’s other headphones, the Marshall Milton ANC are customizable through the Marshall Bluetooth app, available for free on iOS and Android. The app sports a clean, user-friendly interface which doesn’t feel overwhelming and doesn’t have any intrusive pop-ups either.

From within the app, you can customize the equalizer or select a preset, remap the ‘M’ button to swap between EQs or toggle Soundstage (amongst other functions), and update the headphones’ firmware. No complaints here.

Marshall Milton ANC review: ANC

One of the key differences between the Marshall Milton ANC and the Marshall Major V is that the former feature active noise cancellation — and as on-ears go, it’s very effective. The spacious earcups bolster the degree of noise isolation. Indoors, I wasn’t able to hear the kettle boiling or the sound of my loud mechanical keyboard. Outdoors, the noise of cars zooming past crept in a bit — but that’s to be expected with on-ears. I even used the headphones on a plane and I couldn’t hear a thing — and they helped me sleep through the flight!

The Milton ANC also borrow Adaptive ANC from the Marshall Monitor III, and when enabled, the headphones adjust the level of ANC depending on the loudness of the environment. This worked as intended in my testing. There’s a transparency mode too which enables you to hear your surroundings while listening to music, and I used this when speaking to my coworkers as it meant I didn’t have to take the headphones off.

Marshall Milton ANC review: Call quality

The Marshall Milton ANC are excellent, yes, but my biggest gripe with them is the fact that the call quality is disappointing. It isn’t the worst I’ve tried, but it’s far from the best. On a Google Meet team call, my colleagues noted that I “didn’t sound as good as my other headphones” — the other headphones being the Marshall Monitor III. I recorded myself and listened back to it, and I noticed that my voice sounds scratchy and not true-to-life.

However, the Milton ANC boasts good wind reduction. I called my partner while standing outside on a very windy day, and she said she couldn’t hear the wind buffeting, and my voice was loud and clear. If you want well-rounded call quality, I’d recommend the Beyerdynamic Aventho 100, the Nothing Headphone (a) or, if you can stretch your budget, the Monitor III.

Marshall Milton ANC review: Battery life

On top of everything, the Marshall Milton ANC boast long battery life. Marshall says that on a single charge, the headphones can last 80 hours with ANC off and 50 hours with ANC on. I’ve been using the Milton ANC extensively so I’ve conducted both battery tests. With ANC on and volume set to 50%, I was able to get just over 50 hours of playback time, and with ANC off, that jumped up to 81 hours, matching up to Marshall’s claims.

The Milton ANC also feature replaceable batteries, so all you need to do is twist off the left earcup to replace the battery pack.

These headphones are a little better than their main competition: the Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 are rated for 60 hours with ANC off or 40 hours with ANC enabled. The Cambridge Audio Melomania P100, though, are the best for super long battery life as they can last up to 100 hours — but of course, they’re over-ear cans and cost a little more than the Milton ANC.

Marshall Milton ANC review: Verdict

The Marshall Milton ANC are the best of both worlds. They combine the premium styling and feature set of the flagship Monitor III with the lighter, more compact appeal of the Major V — and they’re the most comfortable on-ear headphones I’ve tried so far. They deliver impressive value for listeners who want effective ANC, immersive sound, and exceptional comfort without breaking the bank.

Sound quality and Soundstage spatial audio are particular highlights, as the bass-forward tuning gives music warmth and energy without sounding fatiguing. Detail isn’t sacrificed either, and Soundstage is an outstanding feature for anyone who wants to feel immersed in their tunes.

While call quality isn’t the best, it’s a minor drawback in the grand scheme of things. At the end of the day, with their stylish design, thoughtful features and standout comfort, the Milton ANC are the best on-ear headphones you can buy today.

If you type "wired earbuds" into the search bar on Amazon or any other seller, you'll get hundreds if not thousands of options. In an age where wired earbuds are making a comeback — because they're "fashionable" but also enable you to stream hi-res audio — you're spoiled for choice. But the vast majority you'll find are probably pure junk.

Here at Tom's Guide, it's our mission to upgrade your life for less, so if you're on the hunt for wired buds, you've come to the right place. I listen to music a lot, and I put earbuds and headphones through their paces to answer the question: are they worth their asking price?

While wireless earbuds are convenient, you lose data over Bluetooth, but this isn't a problem when you use wired earbuds. You get more detail, better treble, and powerful bass that doesn't sound booming — with a good pair of wired buds, that is. I've handpicked my favorite wired earbuds that offer bang for your buck under $50, $100 and $150, just for you.

Under $50

Under $100

Under $150

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JBL just announced its latest line of premium earbuds — the Live Buds 4, Live Beam 4, and Live Flex 4. These earbuds are all the same flagship earbuds with premium sound, strong ANC, AI-enhanced call quality, and sleek design.

But this doesn't really set them apart from AirPods Pro 3, Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, Sony WF-1000XM6, and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2. All those bigger-name earbuds do all that, too. So what makes the JBL Live series special? What sets it apart from the oversaturated earbud market?

The design. While AirPods Pro 3 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are stem earbuds with a silicone tip, the AirPods 4 and Galaxy Buds 4 have no silicone tip — but also fewer features. The Sony XM6 and Bose QC Ultra 2 are stemless pebble earbuds, and you can't get them in any other style.

The Live 4 series isn't available yet, but it should launch any day now for an estimated MSRP of $199.

JBL said "Enough!" — and changed the game

Now, you can get flagship earbuds in whichever style you want. Want the best features but no silicone ear tip? Get the JBL Live Flex 4. These earbuds have the same hardware as the Beam 4 and Buds 4, but they don't have the silicone ear tips.

Previously, if you didn't want the silicone ear tip, you'd need to get the non-flagship model, like the AirPods 4 or Samsung Galaxy Buds 4. This means you'd miss out on "Pro"-level sound and smart features. For example, the AirPods Pro 3 can take your heart rate and live translate into the buds themselves — but AirPods 4 can't do this.

Of course, the Buds and Beam styles will inherently have better ANC than Flex. This is the nature of silicone ear tips — they create a seal that blocks sound waves. Without this, you won't be able to get that snug fit.

But all is not lost! A JBL representative confirmed to me that Flex have a different ANC algorithm from the Buds and Beam, which strengthens the noise-blocking signals to keep your music front and center, even in noisy environments.

I'm watching you, Sony, Apple, Bose, Samsung...

If JBL can do it, why can't Apple, Bose, Sony, and Samsung? Why must silicone-tip haters be forced to buy the cheaper line and miss out on premium features? Why must pebble earbud haters be forced to buy AirPods Pro 3 instead of Sony WFXM6?

Now that JBL's created the same line of earbuds with mostly the same specs, I'm waiting for everyone else to do it. Take a look at the specs below — you can really see how the entire line has the same features.

Of course, there are natural differences in battery life. This is because the Buds have less space for battery, and the Flex have a stronger ANC algorithm due to the lack of a silicone seal. But everything else? Identical.

Now that JBL has changed the game, I want to see it everywhere. AirPods Pro 4 with pebble, stem, and stem + silicone tip. This level of versatility and choice is the future, and I want to live it now.

On top of all of this, you also get a touchscreen charging case that lets you choose ANC modes, EQs, skip tracks (while playing music), and check battery (without needing to connect to your phone). I'm so excited to try these earbuds out and review them.

Which kind of earbuds do you like? Personally, I'm a stem + silicone tip person. I have super small ears, so pebbles are a no-no for me, and I like the tight ANC seal.

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JBL's newest premium headphones, the Tour One M3, have broken my brain. Not because they're terrible — quite the opposite. Because they come with the one thing I wish all the best Bluetooth headphones would include: a USB-C transmitter (alongside Bluetooth, of course).

With a transmitter, I'm never fumbling for a Bluetooth connection or unpairing on one device and pairing on another. All I have to do to change my output device is literally move the transmitter. As it has a USB-C connector, I can switch from my work MacBook to my iPhone 16 Pro to my personal laptop in literally seconds. And... it doesn't stop there. In theory, you can connect these headphones to anything that has a USB-C port — Bluetooth or not.

On a long-haul flight, and don't want to use the airline's nasty headphones to watch your movie? USB-C port. Want to hear the TV in my headphones? USB-C port (as long as your TV has one, of course). I wish all audio brands would take heed and do a JBL.

Sony, Bose, Apple, I'm watching you

The USB-C dongle is such an easy addition, I don't understand why other brands don't make it more of a "thing". We reviewed the AKG N9 Hybrid last year and loved them — especially the USB-C dongle for 2.4GHz listening.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will know that AKG is owned by the same parent company as JBL — Harman — so I'm not surprised that AKG and JBL are leading the pack here. If one audio brand can do it, and do it well, why wouldn't the sister brand do it too?

With the dongle, forget switching between devices in your Bluetooth menu. Just plug and play, and you've got music all day long. Of course, this still transmits over Bluetooth, so you'd need Bluetooth switched on and your headphones topped up with battery, but this removes any connectivity headaches.

There's even a 3.5mm jack!

Yes, that's right — the Tour One M3's transmitter has a 3.5mm aux port so you can connect your headphones to literally any analog output device with an aux. Think: your record player, your PC — as long as it has a 3.5mm port, you can connect the transmitter, which will then relay the sound to your headphones.

But it's not just for the Tour One M3

Even though the transmitter comes with the Tour One M3, you can actually use it with any AuraCast headphones or devices. AuraCast is another wireless technology that connects devices from the same source. So, in theory, you could link it up with your JBL Flip 7, JBL Charge 6, JBL Xtreme 5, JBL Go 5... the list goes on. If it's a recent JBL release, it'll have AuraCast — and you'll be playing from any source into any device in no time.

What do you think about JBL's new smart transmitter? Would you use it, or do you think it's a gimmick? Let me know in the comments.

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If you're bored with the AirPods Pro 3, JBL has just announced three alternatives that could sway you. JBL has launched its newest line of premium earbuds: the Live 4 series. The Live Buds 4, Live Beam 4, and Live Flex 4 boast JBL Smart OS 3.0, new and improved Personi-Fi, a Smart Charging Case and more colors — which I'll talk about later. JBL has also stuffed four mics with AI noise-reducing algorithms for crystal-clear calls.

Unlike other brands, JBL makes the same earbud in different wearing styles. "Buds" are Sony WF-1000XM6 bean-type, "Beam" are similar to AirPods Pro 3-competitor with silicone ear tips, and the "Flex" style is like the tipless AirPods 4. Now, you don't have to compromise premium features or sound if you don't like silicone ear tips, unlike Apple and Samsung's earbuds.

All styles of the Live 4 — Buds, Beam, and Flex — are available in black, blue, silver, and sand. The Beam (stem and silicone tip) and Flex (stem but no tip) are also available in green, purple, and orange.

We haven't got confirmed U.S. pricing yet, but going off previous models, I'd estimate the Live 4 line will be around $199. Take a look at all the announced features below.

The feature I'm most excited for? The Smart Charging Case

The Smart Charging Case is the feature I'm most excited about. Even though the Smart Charging Case screen was seen on the Live 3 series, it still feels truly new and innovative. I hope this design element comes to other earbuds in time. One of my biggest gripes with the AirPods Pro 3 and Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro is that you can't adjust any settings without a phone.

With the JBL Smart Charging Case, we can now see battery life at a glance — without needing to pair to any device — control EQ, ANC, and skip songs. Of course, you'll need to be connected to your smartphone to use any of the audio-related features.

Although this isn't a new feature for the Tune 4 series, I'm glad to see it return improved. You can now add backgrounds to the screen or customize it with an original photo.

I will say I think the screen could look a little more modern. As it stands, it looks like something from five years ago. On future versions, a more glass-like appearance and sharper text will make the Live a must-have.

Stay tuned for our JBL Live 4 Series review

Of course, it's not just the case that I'm excited for. With Smart OS. 3.0, the Live 4 series have improved Personi-Fi. Personi-Fi is JBL's personalized hearing EQ. I've used this on previous models like the JBL Live 770NC, and I seriously love it. Personalized EQs are one of my favorite things to play around with when I get new headphones — they literally change your music to suit your tastes.

I won't be able to comment on things like sound quality, mic quality, and comfort until I've given the Live 4 series a fair test. I should be reviewing all three of the new earbuds soon, so keep your eyes peeled for our comprehensive review landing shortly.

What do you think about the new Live Buds 4, Live Beam 4, and Live Flex 4? Will you be grabbing a pair? In which color? I'd choose orange!

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The long-rumored AirPods Ultra may already be in the later stages of development, meaning their release might be sooner than we initially thought. According to sources speaking to Bloomberg, development has now entered a phase featuring prototypes with "near-final design and capabilities."

Sources say that testers within Apple are actively using prototypes of the new AirPods, as part of what's known as design validation testing (DVT). This is the final stage of the development phase, and once complete Apple will start a production validation test (PVT). That's when the sample units of the final design are built, ahead of full-scale mass production.

What we know about AirPods Ultra

The AirPods Ultra will reportedly have a design that's siimilar to the AirPods Pro 3 but with a number of important enhancements. For one, these AirPods are supposed to be built around Siri and AI, offering the kind of AI-enhanced hardware we've started seeing from the likes of Meta and others.

The AirPods Ultra aren't designed for taking photos or shooting video; they're designed to help Siri see the world and are only capable of capturing "visual information in low resolution." Potential AirPods Ultra features include:

• A version of Visual Intelligence: that lets you ask Siri questions based on your surroundings. The example cited includes looking at the contents of your fridge and suggesting dinner options based on the ingredients within.
• Visual reminders: The AirPods Ultra can remind you about tasks or activities based on what it sees around you, such as picking something up at the store when you see it on the shelf.
• Enhanced turn-by-turn directions: The AirPods Ultra use external landmarks to help you navigate through unfamiliar areas with voice prompts ties to what the earbuds see.
• Built -in LED: Bloomberg's report mentions a small LED light that indicates whenever the AirPods Ultra are recording and communicating with the cloud. This would be a privacy feature.

Sadly, while early rumors suggested these cameras would offer gesture controls, this claim has been shot down multiple times. According to Mark Gurman, the technology to fit gesture controls into a pair of AirPods doesn't exist yet

It's all up to Siri

The big question is when will the AirPods Ultra will actually launch? According to Bloomberg, Apple had hoped to put the AirPods on sale during the first half of this year, but the launch was postponed due to the high-profile delays to Siri's AI-overhaul.

Reports tell us similar delays have affected Apple's HomePad smart display, which was built on the assumption that Siri would be ready in time. Sadly, the emphasis on AI was so encompassing that releasing the display without Siri 2.0 wasn't worth it. No doubt the rumored AI glasses and camera pendant are similarly affected by this.

Siri is expected to debut in September, powered by Google Gemini, alongside iOS 27 and iPhone 18 Pro. But so far, that hasn't been confirmed by Apple, and likely won't be until WWDC 2026 at the earliest. Still, even if the Siri upgrade does arrive by the end of the year, there's no telling Apple will start rushing out AI-centric devices to capitalize on that. Given the issues it's had upgrading Siri, Apple may want to give the AI the time it needs to adjust to widespread daily use by the general public.

But, assuming the development process is as far along as this report claims, we could be seeing the AirPods Ultra arrive pretty soon. It may just be down to what Apple does with Siri.

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The Viaim RecDot are some interesting earbuds. Are they the best earbuds in the world? It completely depends on what you’re looking for. If you want an AI assistant — a la Plaud NotePin — then maybe. But if you want something that can compete with AirPods Pro 3 or Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, then… no.

As the RecDot are angled as an AI assistant-meets-earbuds device, I’m in two minds. The AI features are plentiful, and they work most of the time. However, the companion app struggled to differentiate between speakers, and the claims that you can record without an app fall flat when you have to transcribe via the app. Even so, I enjoyed the mind-map and summaries generated in the Viaim app — native Apple and Samsung Galaxy buds can’t do this.

But in 2026, the majority of flagship earbuds — AirPods Pro 3 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro included — can transcribe, live translate, and record calls directly into your phone… so why wouldn’t you just do that? On top of the AI functionality, AirPods Pro 3 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro sound miles better than the Viaim RecDot.

Could these underdog AI native earbuds still be for you? Keep reading to find out the full story in this Viaim RecDot review.

Viaim RecDot review: Specs

Viaim RecDot review: Price & availability

The Viaim RecDot are $209 from Amazon U.S.. They do not seem to be available in the U.K. except on second-hand sites like eBay.

At this price point, there’s not much room for error. As you can get flagship earbuds — Apple AirPods Pro 3, Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro — for just $40 more (less during sale periods), I’m not sure why you wouldn’t simply buy the native software version. Personally, I would buy AirPods if I had an iPhone, and Galaxy Buds if I had a Samsung phone.

The RecDot are laden with impressive AI features like live translation, direct call recording and transcription, and can even act as a dictaphone for interviews. However… so can AirPods and Galaxy Buds. I can understand the need for these features if you’re often calling clients or colleagues and need a transcription, but, again, flagship Apple/Samsung buds can do this.

I’ll discuss more about the AI features and sound quality below, but I think the $209 MSRP is a real shot in the foot. If you want similar performance for even cheaper, I’d recommend the $99 EarFun Air Pro 4+, which have live translation, or the $69 CMF Buds 2 Pro, which have ChatGPT integration.

Viaim RecDot review: Design

Considering the price of $209, I was a little disappointed by the design of the RecDot. They’re very plasticky and look more like EarFun Air Pro 4+ than AirPods Pro 3. I wish the plastic nozzle and stem were more matte.

Comfort

I love that the RecDot come with four sizes of ear tips. I went for size small, but you can choose from XS-L. After selecting my ear tips, I then did an ear fit test, which sends a series of frequencies through the buds and seems to analyze your ear’s response.

Although I have very small ears, I was able to listen for hours without my ears aching. I’d recommend these for other small-eared folk without hesitation.

Controls

As these are stem earbuds, all the touch controls are done via the stem, exactly the same as AirPods Pro 3 and Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. I found these easy to master — pinch for pause, long press for call recording — and it’s easy to adjust said controls in the Viaim app.

Connectivity

I was surprised to find these earbuds had Bluetooth 5.2, as they were only released in 2025. EarFun released the Air Pro 4+ with Bluetooth 6.0 at around the same time, so in the future, I’d like to see Viaim release its earbuds with the newest version for futureproofing.

I had some trouble reconnecting the RecDot after periods of use on my second device. I had to ‘Forget’ and re-pair the earbuds with my phone after using them with my laptop and vice versa — despite setting up dual device connectivity.

Viaim RecDot review: Sound quality

To test sound quality, I listened to music on Qobuz, our best music streaming service for audiophiles. The RecDot are great in some genres, and quite mediocre in others. If you listen to heavier genres, you might want to skip these $209 earbuds.

First, I listened to ‘Body’ by Estrons, a rock track with immersive, gritty guitars and powerful female vocals. However, the instrumental sections were muddy and cluttered rather than grungey. The heavy section towards the end of the track felt squashed and flattened, steamrollered into something bland and ineffective.

I switched genre to soul for ‘TARDIS (hardest)’ by Greentea Peng. This song sounded much better, with drifting bass and melodic, twinkling keys dappling the background of the track. While the percussion sounded a little tinny, overall, this genre sounded far superior.

Last, I switched to pop/acoustic for ‘Solar Power’ by Lorde. This song is built over Lorde’s layered vocals and gentle, sunsoaked acoustic guitars. At the start of the song, the guitars sounded surprisingly clear, and I could hear the fingers moving on the strings. But the bass was a little stuck, trapped in one earbud, and didn’t provide much depth. Towards the end of the song, more instruments came in, which was detrimental to the overall performance. The vocals were pushed back and the percussion a little tinny.

The RecDot perform much better in sparser, more acoustic genres like dub, acoustic, singer/songwriter, or ambient electronic. If you mostly listen to these genres, I’d say these are a great option. However, if, like me, you’re a rock lover, you might want to skip these for the detail-focused EarFun Air Pro 4+ or bass-heavy CMF Buds Pro 2.

Viaim RecDot review: ANC

ANC on the RecDot is good, but it’s not better than AirPods Pro 3 or Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. I played a city noise track at 65dB, which I could hear through the music. When I tested them side-by-side with my AirPods Pro 3, I couldn’t hear the noise track at all.

While I think RecDot would cut it for everyday use, if you’re on airplanes or the like often, I think you’d be better off with the aforementioned options.

Viaim RecDot review: Call quality

I’ll discuss actual AI call recording features in the ‘App’ section below, but I’ll mention microphone quality here. To test call quality, I phoned my boyfriend, who has listened to every pair of earbuds I’ve reviewed so far, so he’s the perfect lab rat.

He said my voice sounded mostly clear, albeit a little fuzzy in some sibilant words. He couldn’t hear any ambient noise from my end of the call.

Viaim RecDot review: App

The Viaim RecDot boast a plethora of AI features, however you need the Viaim app to take advantage of said features. When I recorded calls and voice notes, the transcription was generated into the Viaim app. Recording calls was beyond easy — I just held down the stem until I heard “Recording start” and the recording was automatically viewable in the Viaim app.

While Viaim claims you can record directly into the earbuds, this is a little more nebulous than I first expected. While you can record using the earbuds/charging case, you do have to transcribe into the app… so you do need the Viaim app to take full advantage of these features.

You get 600 free minutes a month, and here are a few screenshots of what the transcription looks like.

Unfortunately, the transcription was unable to discern between the two speakers — despite one being female and one male — and transcribed laughter and “um” as Chinese characters.

Despite these AI hiccups, as you can see, the app is well laid out and easy to navigate. While these AI features are nice to have if you find yourself often needing to record calls or voice notes, they’re not exactly groundbreaking; it might take an extra step or two but it’s possible with both the Samsung earbuds (you have to configure the long-press button to voice record) and on the AirPods Pro 3 (you can record FaceTime Audio calls natively).

You can also live translate using Samsung and Apple’s flagship earbuds. While the live translation on both the RecDot, Samsung, and Apple models is laggy and imperfect, I found the RecDot’s summaries to be useful if you have a long conversation with someone. Sometimes these summaries were a little off-piste and struggled to differentiate between questions and statements, but overall, it worked better than Apple and Samsung’s native apps.

Viaim RecDot review: Battery

The RecDot buds last for 9 hours on a single charge, and 36 hours when paired with the charging case.

I listened to them for 8 hours and the overall battery went down to 80%, so that math checks out. This is a pretty great battery life given all the processing and listening that's happening.

By comparison, the AirPods Pro 3 last for a measly 24 hours, while the Samsung Galaxy Buds don't fare much better at 30 hours. Still, there are budget options like the EarFun Air Pro 4+ and CMF Buds 2 Pro last for 46 and 43 hours, respectively, so it's not a clean sweep.

Viaim RecDot review: Verdict

If you want AI earbuds capable of transcribing in various formats and can record calls in the earbuds themselves, the Viaim RecDot are a great investment. However, they don’t really do anything you can’t do with AirPods Pro 3 or the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro and an AI-enabled smartphone.

Unfortunately, the Viaim RecDot are so focused on being “game-changing” AI-powered earbuds that they’ve lost sight of their purpose: to be earbuds. With a $209 MSRP, there’s very little room for error — muddy bass in the most common genres and confused transcriptions are rookie errors, and $209 isn’t a rookie price tag.

If the price was $150, I’d be able to recommend these earbuds for the smart features and middling sound. But at $209, you can get flagship sound and equally as impressive smart features for just $40 extra, which makes me a little reticent.

When you can get 90% of the same performance with the $99 EarFun Air Pro 4+ — AI translation, and recording with third-party apps — and 99% of the same performance with Apple or Samsung’s flagship earbuds, I just can’t recommend the RecDot for everyone. If you need recording-capable earbuds more than you care for sound or value, you might get on great with the Viaim RecDot. But for most people, I’d get the EarFun Air Pro 4+ — at least then you have excellent sound and AI features.

When you're trying to tune out the world around you, AirPods are great. The ANC in the AirPods Pro 3 is some of the best around and the sound quality on pretty much every AirPods model is superb.

However, they're not the perfect workout partner, especially if you want to hear your surroundings while at the gym or running along the side of the road. That's where open earbuds like the new EarFun Clip 2 come in.

The latest model in EarFun's line of open earbuds is a little more expensive than the originals, but they come with some cool new features. Here's what it's like to use them, and why I'm replacing the AirPods in my gym bag in 2026.

Why are they so great for working out?

For me, staying aware of my surroundings when I'm working out is essential.

Whether I'm on a run and need to listen to the traffic around me or I'm being mindful of those around me in the gym, open earbuds are a way for me to enjoy my music and still be connected with the world around me.

That's exactly what open earbuds like the EarFun Clip 2 and their predecessors, the EarFun Clip, offer.

Besides being designed to let some ambient audio in, the EarFun Clip 2 earbuds also have a durability rating of IP55, which means that sweat and rain won't affect their performance.

What's new with the Clip 2

While I still really like the original EarFun Clip, the EarFun Clip 2 has brought some serious upgrades to an already decent pair of earbuds. Both earbuds have the C-shaped clip design to sit comfortably on your ear for extended periods of time, but the new buds offer a bit more in the tech department.

They have an extra 10 hours of total battery life with the charging case, which is a win if you're like me and forget to charge your buds before heading out the door. They also offer wireless charging.

Audio compatibility has seen an improvement too, with hi-res codecs now compatible for an improved listening experience. That said, the new buds struggle a little with bass performance, but this isn't an issue with the originals.

The Clip 2 also offer real-time AI translation, which is a great addition for anyone who travels a lot. Not only will you be able to stay aware of your surroundings but you'll be able to understand what people are saying around you, too.

Will you need to upgrade?

Both the Clip 2 and their predecessors are great, which means upgrading will be a case of personal preference. If features like real-time translation and hi-res codec compatibility are things you care about, then you should get the Clip 2s.

That said, the original EarFun Clip model is still a good option. They do everything I need from a pair of open-earbuds, just without the bells and whistles. And, let's be honest, if you want really advanced features, AirPods are still the frontrunners.

To get more information about the features of these earbuds, you can read my full EarFun Cilp2 review.

More from Tom's Guide

• I've been testing this new open-earbud upgrade from EarFun — and they're an instant win for gym goers
• I tested the EarFun's open-ear buds for a week — and they've changed the way I listen to music when working out
• I test headphones for a living — here's my top 3 open earbuds of 2025

Have you heard of "deinfluencing"? It's a popular social media trend where content creators advise their followers against buying overhyped or unnecessary products in a bid to combat excessive consumerism. My job, as a reviews writer, oftentimes feels like that.

I don't believe overconsumption is a good thing for us or the planet, and it's okay to not want the latest tech that everyone keeps talking about. See? Deinfluencing.

Today, I'm here to deinfluence you and tell you that you don't need two separate pairs of headphones for music and gaming. Historically, gaming headsets haven't been particularly great for audiophile listening because of how they're tuned, but I feel like that's changing — and leading the charge is the Sony Inzone H6 Air. It's one of the best gaming headsets as well as one of the best audiophile headphones I've ever tested, period.

I could go on all day about why the H6 Airs are wonderful gaming cans, but I want to talk about the audio quality instead, and tell you that this is the only set of cans you need. That's because the H6 Airs, unlike many other gaming-first headsets, have an ace up their sleeves: they use studio-grade drivers.

If you're an audiophile and a gamer, there is no better headset.

Open-backs > Everything else

The term "open-backs" is generally associated with regular, music-first headphones. Though Sony has a few open-back headphones under its belt, the Inzone H6 Air is the giant's first-ever open-back gaming headset (and it's nothing short of a triumph). Open-backs are usually more comfortable than closed-back headphones, such as the Fractal Design Scape gaming headset, or the Bose QuietComfort Ultra cans.

It's not that closed-back headphones are uncomfortable per se, all I'm saying is that open-backs are much airier and lighter than closed-backs. If you want a listening experience that's free of fatigue, open-backs are the way to go.

Rear air pressure buildup is extremely common on sealed cans because there's nowhere for the air to go (hence, the holes). The H6 Airs, like many open-backs, allow air to pass through the earcups (the holes, remember?), which reduces fatigue and eliminates sweat buildup, enabling you to wear the headphones for hours on end.

Also adding to their wearability is the fact that they weigh just 7.01oz — they're ridiculously lightweight. The suspended headband helps reduce pressure you’d otherwise feel on the top of their head. Finally, the H6 Air use light nylon ear cushions that nestle your ears like two clouds loosely hugging them.

I've tested the, extensively — for gaming and listening to music — and the longest I've gone wearing them has been nine hours straight. Whether you plan on gaming with them or listening to several albums back-to-back, the H6 Air has you covered.

Studio-grade drivers for audiophile sound

It's a good thing that Sony went wired with the H6 Air: Wired headphones are generally better than their wireless counterparts because there's no loss of information and compression occurring over Bluetooth. They transmit uncompressed audio data, leading to high-fidelity sound. Combine that with studio-grade drivers and you've got a winning formula — Sony does, at least.

The H6 Airs are fitted with 40mm Open-Back Dynamic which you'll also find in the Sony MDR-MV1 studio monitoring headphones. Naturally, as they're gaming cans, these drivers in the H6 Air have been re-tuned for gaming with enhanced bass. But they're still phenomenal for music.

You can read all about the gaming performance in the full review, so I'll discuss music quality instead. Hit play on the playlist below to listening along to my testing songs while you read my analysis.

The first thing I noticed while listening to ‘First Light’ by Lana Del Rey was the expansiveness of the H6 Air. It felt like I was standing in the middle of a crowded room at a gig, and my body was engulfed in the orchestral production.

The H6 Air feature spatial audio, and the headphones created a fantastic 3D effect in the 007 theme. Lana's "Will you? Will you?" whispers felt like they were positioned at different depths, and like they were swirling around my head instead of through detached left and right channels.

At the time of writing the review, I was obsessed with ‘Black Water’ by Poets of the Fall, and the song sounded the most beautiful it ever has through these headphones. The opening acoustic guitar carried startling clarity, with the zip of fingers sliding from note to note without sounding too harsh or distorted. The headphones never once got overwhelmed — whether that was when all the other instruments kicked in, or Marko Saaresto hit the highest note.

Despite being open-back, tight basslines are the H6 Air's specialty too. Airy high frequencies and accurate bass in 'No Chances' by Twenty One Pilots made me love the track even more. The bassline through the H6 Air reverberates in a way that you can feel it in your chest, and the subtle drop in notes felt apparent.

Lastly, 'Money' by Pink Floyd was another great testing track for the H6 Air, with the clinks of coins balancing well against the blues-based, driving riff played in an unusual 7/4 time signature.

One headset for two purposes

The Sony Inzone H6 Air have quickly become some of my favorite headphones, for gaming and listening to music. They're spacious and expansive, and they're extremely comfortable — perhaps the most comfortable over-ears I've tested so far. Being able to plug them into any device and console you own is a massive advantage, and the wired design means you're getting high-fidelity audio at all times.

You may still want a pair of wireless headphones for when you're traveling, and of course, open-backs doesn't boast the best active noise cancellation due to the limitations posed by their design. But if you want one pair of wired headphones for both gaming and careful listening, I can't think of a better option.

More from Tom's Guide

• The Sony Inzone H6 Air is a compelling case to ditch wireless cans and use open-backs for gaming — here’s my honest verdict
• I tested the JBL Go 5 vs JBL Go 4 budget Bluetooth speakers — and there’s a clear winner under $60
• Move over, Sonos — this Marshall soundbar is now my favorite for small spaces

I don’t know how it’s possible, but FiiO just keeps making some of the best headphones I’ve ever had the pleasure of putting on my ears. How? How does this unassuming (not to mention budget) brand keep hitting it out of the park?

At just $199/£104, the JT7 are some of the cheapest open-back planar magnetic headphones I’ve ever seen — but there’s no way you’d be able to tell. The headphones handle every note with skill, whether that’s the energetic, clean bass, melodic, mellifluous treble, or the vivacious midrange. Everything sounds fun.

If you want to bring joy into your home listening sessions without breaking the bank, I recommend the Fiio JT7 wholeheartedly. For the full story, keep reading this FiiO JT7 review.

FiiO JT7 review: Specs

FiiO JT7 review: Price & availability

The FiiO JT7 are $119 on Amazon U.S. and $129 on HiFi Go. In the U.K., you’re looking at £104 on Amazon U.K., and £96 on HiFi Go.

This makes them the cheapest open-back planar headphones I’ve ever tested. I won’t go as far to say they’re the cheapest open-back planar headphones on the market, because I can’t say for certain, but they are the cheapest I’ve personally seen — so take from that what you will.

I’ve also tested the FiiO JT3 ($69) and FT13 ($329), which are two other “stepping-stone” options for new audiophiles. The JT3 are mind-blowingly affordable — and good — while the FT13 are more suited for those with a little more dough to spare. However, neither of these options are open-back.

You could also check out the highly recommended Philips SHP9500 ($99), which don’t have planar magnetic drivers but do have an open-back design, or the Sennheiser HD599 ($151), which are widely regarded as some of the best cheap open-back headphones available.

FiiO JT7 review: Design

Considering the JT7 are just $119, I was surprised by the high-quality build. Of course, you’re looking at a predominantly plastic construction, but you can’t expect all-metal for this price.

The ear cups are soft, with a pliable yet dense, almost memory-foam-like feeling, and there’s a pleasant-enough velvet padding on the metal headband.

I will say that the drivers are covered by a thin mesh, stockings-like material, which was a little disappointing. But, alas, these headphones are just $119! The lady doth complain too much.

Comfort

At 11.2 ounces, they’re a little heavy and uncomfortable to wear for longer periods. If you have a sensitive head, I’d recommend the 8.4-ounce Sennheiser HD650S.

The aforementioned FiiO JT3 have a goofy-looking but functional weight-bearing metal headband, which, again, I’d recommend if you have a sensitive head — it’ makes them more comfortable than the JT7 over longer periods. Sure, the JT3 are closed-backs, but they still sound awesome for just $70.

The JT7 ear cups are extremely pleasant to wear. I didn’t feel my ears getting hot, they didn’t rub my skin, and the overall softness made me feel like my ears were being embraced. One last note: I have quite a small head, and even on the smallest fit setting, the cups slid a little too far down my face. This likely won’t be an issue for people with normal head sizes.

Controls

As the JT7 are analog headphones, don’t expect the type of touch controls you’d find on the Sony WH-1000XM6 ($549) or Bose QuietComfort Ultra ($449). Controls are basic… in that there are none. You’ll need to control playback via your DAC or playback device.

Connectivity

I’m sensing a theme here, but, as the JT7 are analog headphones, the only connectivity type is wired. The headphones come with a 3.5mm cable, a 4.4mm cable, and a 6.35mm (¼ inch) jack.

Obviously, all you have to do to get set up is connect the headphones to your output device, whether that be a DAC or your phone/computer. I used the JT7 with my MacBook Air M2 and the FiiO K11 DAC.

FiiO JT7 review: Sound quality

Now, let’s get into the good stuff. To test the JT7, I listened to music via Qobuz, our best music streaming service for audiophiles.

As the JT7 are open-back headphones, if you go into them expecting Bluetooth/lifestyle audio quality, you will be both confused and disappointed. The drivers are exposed to the air, and therefore offer a widened soundscape, letting external noise leak in for a naturalistic “live” sound. This is a feature, not a bug.

As soon as I put the JT7 on my head, all I thought was, “Darn, these are fun.” The bass response is energetic and fierce, without overpowering the melodic treble and nimble mids. Instrument separation and expansiveness is one of the JT7’s standouts: every instrument is layered deftly, even subtle effects like plucking guitars or breaths are clear and vibrant. Everything sounded fantastic.

I played ‘I’ll Stick Around’ by Foo Fighters, from Mr. Grohl’s first LP in 1995. As this record is more of a home-recording-type album than a studio album, it has a natural grit and fuzz to it that came through really well in the JT7s. Grohl’s vocals leapt from growls to croons, and the grungey guitar ripped through the hazy soundstage, tying in the energetic percussion and the roaring voice. It sounded utterly phenomenal.

Next I played ‘Girl Feels Good’ by FKA Twigs, an electronic pop track with a Millennium-inspired grooving bassline and spiraling plucky synths. FKA Twigs’s vocals were clear and atmospheric, with gentle echo effects drifting across the soundscape. I heard some vibrating synth sound effects I’d never noticed before — and I’ve listened to this track hundreds of times.

‘Marrow’ by St Vincent is an avant-garde, sparse track built over Annie Clark’s soft vocals and discordant, grubby guitars. The song starts with pulsing, heartbeat-like synths — and I could literally feel the beats in my ears. As soon as the mucky guitar came in, these gentle synths were overpowered, but the song still sounded good, just a little less clear. Of course, you can’t expect perfection from $119 headphones, but this was the first (and only) moment I found myself disappointed by the sonic performance.

FiiO JT7 review: Verdict

Despite being a little too large for my head, I did not want to take the JT7 off. Every track sounded immersive, expansive, vivacious, alive. If you want to grin from ear to ear while listening to music, you have to try out the JT7.

Of course, there’s not quite as much clarity or width as you might get on, say, the Sennheiser HD560S, but these FiiO cans are literally $119. At half the price of the Sennheisers, however, the JT7 offers over double the performance.

For audiophiles on a budget, or wannabe audiophiles looking for their first pair of open-ears, you won’t be disappointed by the JT7. I know I wasn’t.

The OneOdio Studio Max 2 headphones promise zero lag over wireless listening, boast an impressive 120-hour battery life and offer a wide range of connectivity options, but fail to deliver in the most important department: sound quality.

While testing them, I noticed instances where the pitch of a song was changed — which is not what you went looking for when looking for production quality headphones — and the size of the earcups is very bulky, making them feel uncomfortable after long periods of wear.

For all those reasons, I wouldn’t say these are the best headphones for musicians or for everyday use, but if you’re looking for something with diverse connectivity options and a secure hard case, you can keep reading this full OneOdio Studio Max 2 review.

OneOdio Studio Max 2 review: Specs

OneOdio Studio Max 2 review: Price & availability

The OneOdio Studio Max 2 headphones are available at Amazon for $189 in the U.S. and at £179 at Amazon U.K.. These headphones are created with musicians in mind for production and, as such, are more focused on the details behind the music. But you can get better studio headphones for the money.

The Beyerdynamics DT 270 Pro headphones are $159, for instance, and provide a crystal-clear sound across a wide range of genres and instruments. They are also incredibly lightweight compared to the OneOdio cans, which I think makes them more accessible when moving from instrument to instrument.

Moving into an even cheaper realm, the Rode NTH-50 headphones are just $109 and have an impressive audio performance for their price point. The drawback there is that they’re uncomfortable because of their on-ear design.

Overall, I’d stick with the Beyerdynamic for better sound at a lower price point.

OneOdio Studio Max 2 review: Design

The OneOdio Studio Max 2s are closed-back, over-ear headphones with a sleek look. They feel sturdy and are pretty flexible, with 180-degree swivel earcups that fold in for easy storage and a headband that can be widened and flexed back into place. The length of the headband is also adjustable, and the red stitching on the leather makes it pop.

The headphones come with a protective hard shell case, which securely holds the headphones and wires. But keep in mind that this case is bulky and will take up a lot of space in your bag.

Included with the headphones is a transmitter, a 3.9-foot 3.5mm jack straight cable, a 9.8-foot 3.5 mm to 6.35mm jack coiled cable, and a 3.3-foot USB-C charging cable. Since most studio headphones are wired, running out of juice isn’t really an issue. But if you want to move around, wires are cumbersome, so a wireless solution is nice to have.

Comfort

Unfortunately, the design isn’t flawless: These are some of the bulkiest cans I’ve ever put on my head. In all honesty, I felt a little silly wearing them. They are over-ear headphones, but because of their size, they also cover most of my face. I couldn’t wear them for long periods as they just got a little uncomfortable because of all the thick padding pressing on my face.

Controls

The controls are very easy to get to grips with, however. All of the buttons and switches are housed on the underside of the left earcup and are very easy to reach. You can toggle between Bluetooth mode and ultra-low latency with a switch. The Power button sits in the middle of the volume buttons.

Connectivity

There are a lot of connectivity options with these headphones, which, at first, can seem a little daunting because the carry case is literally filled with wires and adaptors. Admittedly, when using the headphones and switching between wired setups and the Bluetooth mode, I did find this pretty cumbersome.

The headphones can be used wirelessly with Bluetooth 6.0 with a range of 32 feet (the previous version, the OneOdio Studio Max 1, had 65 feet) or 2.4GHz, and wired with 6.35mm and 3.5mm with different length wires.

It’s great to have the freedom of going wireless with the transmitter, it’s just not something I necessarily think is essential — wired is cool and standard for studio musicians anyway.

OneOdio Studio Max 2 review: Sound quality

To test the sound quality of the OneOdio Studio Max 2 headphones, I picked songs that have a lot of detail and clear layers. I also tried out all of the different connectivity options to see if there’s a big difference — and spoiler, there is.

First, I tested the Bluetooth with LDAC by listening to Potion by Djo, a detailed acoustic track. Transitions on the guitar sounded very smooth and clear. However, for studio headphones, I crave a little more detail, like being able to hear breathiness in the vocals and reverb of guitar strings, as I can when listening to this track with the Beyerdynamics DT 270 Pro.

Next, I listened with the standard Bluetooth connection. I chose to listen to Bags by Clairo, but while there was a little extra detail than when listening with commercial headphones, it verged on muddy. The pitch of the track was also higher than it should be.

I then listened via a 3.5mm cable. I listened to I Don’t Care by Icona Pop and Charli XCX. The headphones cope well with bass, and it felt very forceful, but the vocals felt overcrowded and lost.

Finally, I used the headphones with my guitar-and-amplifier setup. This gave me a solid idea of how instruments are replicated before any production. This sounded good, but suffered from some slight fuzz. Overall, it gave me a good replication of the sound.

If you’re a home musician just starting in music production and want a quiet solution when you’re practicing, these headphones will do the job. But for anyone more serious or wanting to double up with normal listening, the Beyerdynamic DT 270 Pros are the way forward.

OneOdio Studio Max 2 review: App

The OneOdio Studio Max 2 headphones are compatible with the OneOdio mobile app. This app, which can be downloaded for free for iOS and Android devices, is very easy to navigate and offers EQ customization. You can make your own EQ or choose from the following preset options: Music, Monitoring, and Bass.

Having spent time with all three, I felt Music mode was filled with static and sounded very distant. In Bass mode, I still experienced static, but it brought everything a little closer to studio-quality sound. Monitoring mode sounds the best and makes it feel like I was encapsulated by sound, but it’s still not enough to elevate the Studio Max 2 to the level of its competitors.

While the app isn’t my favorite, it’s worth noting that since other studio headphones are wired, they don’t have this kind of connectivity option. Is that reason alone to buy the Studio Max 2? Probably not, but it doesn’t hurt, either.

OneOdio Studio Max 2 review: Battery life

Thankfully, the OneOdio Studio Max 2 headphones have a near-unbeatable battery life of 120 hours. That’s right, we’re talking days of battery life. They take two-and-a-half hours to juice up, but with fast charging, nine hours of playtime takes just five minutes.

I used the headphones for 10 hours over two days, and the battery only decreased by 10%. If we extrapolate that data, they drain a little faster than the rated 120 hours OneOdio claims, but I may have been listening louder than the OneOdio testing team.

OneOdio Studio Max 2 review: Verdict

The OneOdio Studio Max 2 has impressive battery life and offers users a wide range of connectivity options, making them more versatile than analog wired studio headphones. The flexible design also makes them easy to store and carry around.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to recommend these headphones based on sound quality alone. Most genres suffer from static and muddy sound, where more complex tracks completely lose their way. Although they can fold away neatly, the headphones are rather large, and become uncomfortable after long periods of wear.

If you value the quality of your audio, you should look towards options from brands like Beyerdynamic and Rode. You’ll save some money and your ears will thank you for it.

The Fitnexa SomniPods are taking on the sleep headphone market by stuffing as much as possible into two tiny earbuds. This is your one stop sleep tracker, audio library, calorie counter and personalized AI coach.

That’s a lot, and a lesser earbud might be overwhelmed. But at the core of the Fitnexa is a solid design that impresses as both a sleep aid and headphones. Plus, the integrated AI wellness coaches add an exciting layer of hands-on self-improvement to an otherwise standard sleep tracker... if you pay to subscribe, that is.

Some necessary compromises hold the Fitnexa back from taking on its biggest competitors (the Soundcore Sleep A30, namely.) I might expect better sound for the price and the cluttered app meant it took me more days than I'd like to admit to figure out basic functions like the alarm.

However, the Fitnexa SomniPods certainly pack in enough features to take on the best sleep headphones we've tested. Learn more in my full Fitnexa SomniPods 3 Sleep Earbuds review below.

• Fitnexa SomniPods 3 at Fitnexa for $189.99

Fitnexa SomniPods 3 Review: Specs

Fitnexa SomniPods 3 Review: Price & Availability

• Currently $189.99 and only available from Fitnexa
• Similar price to competitors Ozlo and Soundcore
• AI Coach and advanced health tools require a subscription at $49.99 per year

The Fitnexa SomniPods 3 cost $189.99 at Fitnexa US. They are shipped to Canada, Europe and Australia — but you'll have to convert the currency yourself.

That puts them in the same price bracket as the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds — undoubtedly the SomniPods closest competitor — which typically retail at $199.99. Although the Soundcore earbuds have the benefit of being completely subscription free.

While Fitnexa does offer a variety of features for free (including sleep tracking), a subscription opens you up to the AI Coach and the full-range of health tracking features, but adds another $49.99 per year.

As the SomniPods 3 only came onto the market in November 2025, I'm twiddling my thumbs waiting to see what discounts we can expect. If it's anything like the Soundcore sales, I predict you'll need to wait for Black Friday for the biggest discounts.

Fitnexa SomniPods 3 Review: Design & Comfort

• Comfortable for side sleeping and back sleeping
• Hard body can cause some soreness
• IPX4 waterproofing

Beige and compact, the Fitnexa SomniPods are designed to fit snugly in your ears and get lost easily in your sheets. Thankfully there's a 'find my earbuds' function, or this whole thing would have been a bust from night one.

But the compact design serves an important purpose: comfort. Unlike your standard wireless earbuds, the SomniPods are almost flat, so they won't dig painfully into your ear as soon as your head hits the pillow.

It’s this super thin design that contributes most to the comfort of the SomniPods because while the included silicon ear wings offer some padding, the shell of the earbud itself is hard. Lying on my side, it took some maneuvering to get my ear, earbud and pillow playing nice and I'd often wake up to some soreness. That's not unusual in a sleep earbud — the Soundcore has a similar problem for side sleepers — but it's worth noting.

Back sleepers, however, are golden. And if you’re traveling or working, the lightweight SomniPods are comfortable to wear for extended time periods.

However, I’d be remiss not to mention the experience of my colleague, Frances Daniels. She’s been testing the SomniPods as well and has yet to start the morning with them still in her ears. Maybe she just has freakish ear canals but as she wears the Loop Quiet 2 ear plugs regularly and they manage to stay in during the night, I think the problem lies elsewhere.

We've experienced this problem with both the Soundcore Sleep A30 and Soundcore Sleep A20 too, so it's not an isolated Fitnexa issue.

Fitnexa SomniPods 3 Review: Controls & App

• Touch controls can be customized
• But require a firm hand to work
• App is packed-full but not the most user-friendly

The Fitnexa SomniPods use touch controls, which can be customized in the app. It's a fairly standard set-up; the hardest part is actually finding the function in the user interface.

The tap controls aren’t particularly sensitive and require a firm hand before they take notice — I use the JLab Go Pods day-to-day and they're much more responsive. However, the upside is that it's hard to errantly change settings in the night, a problem we noticed from time to time while testing the Soundcore A30s.

The app isn’t the most user-intuitive, which I attribute to Fitnexa trying to do so much with it. As well as sleep sounds, ANC and sleep tracking, you can monitor fitness goals, log meals and speak to an AI helper (more on that later.) As a result, some useful features get buried. It took me far too long to find the alarm setting, for example, despite being a basic addition.

Fitnexa SomniPods 3 Review: ANC & PNC

• Decent ANC and PNC
• Masks low-level noise and muffles more disruptive sounds

Active noise cancelation is expected nowadays from a sleep earbud at this price point and the SomniPods deliver with built-in ANC.

Overall, the quality is decent — the ANC alone blocked my ticking clock and the traffic passing by my open window. And while I don’t share a bedroom, I did give the ANC a whirl while my mom enjoyed a post-Sunday lunch nap (she really took one for the team) and it successfully muffled her snores.

Best of all, the SomniPods completely masked the sound of my neighbor’s son hitting a basketball against the side of the house over and over and over, something which had me close to pulling my hair out.

The Fitnexa SomniPods can’t beat the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds when it comes to ANC, but should put up a good fight against the Soundcore Sleep A30s. Once you have the ANC running and some white noise hissing, the rest of the world does almost disappear. Yes, even the basketballs.

The PNC (passive noise canceling) itself is good and with just the earbuds in, sounds were muffled but not blocked. If you are just after PNC with no bells and whistles, the SomniPods are outclassed by a pair of silicone Loop Quiet 2 earbuds.

Fitnexa SomniPods 3 Review: Sleep features

• Impressive sleep library and integrated ANC help sleep
• Sleep tracker captures the basics well
• AI Coach offers personalized advice for a subscription fee

The combination of ANC and side sleeper comfort alone makes the SomniPods strong contenders for our guide to the top-rated sleep headphones and that's just the start of the dedicated sleep features.

First, you have access to a range of sleep sounds in the app, plus some basic sounds stored local to the earbuds. The local sounds are pretty uninspired and loop regularly, so if you have the battery life, go for the app.

I've been using the brown noise to pretend I'm sitting in first class, jetting off around the world (you can't judge another person's happy place), and I've been impressed with how quickly I drop off. And so is my AI coach, FYI.

Other features like integrated alarms and wind-down notifications add to the day-to-day usefulness of the SomniPods, even though these features are fairly standard among sleep trackers.

Wellness tracking

Integrated wellness tracking is the first of SomniPods big features, bar audio, and it goes hand-in-hand with the AI tools, which I'll dive into next. The app covers the basics I'd expect from any of the best sleep trackers: time to sleep sleep, time to wake, and sleep cycles.

Overall, I’ve found the SomniPods sleep tracking less accurate than my Withings Sleep Mat (although the Withings is the gold-standard here.) The timings are largely accurate but I'm not sure it's nailed my sleep stages — my Withings always tracks more deep sleep and, on a similar note, my colleague Frances found that on some nights, the SomniPods detected no REM sleep at all.

However, one metric I do like is position tracking. It’s a neat feature that trackers rarely include, but it might help identify the causes of aches and pains, or even heartburn (sleeping on your left side eases the digestion process.)

One thing to note is that it takes a moment for Fitnexa to get your sleep tracking data together, so don’t freak out when you open the app to discover you only got three hours last night. Like all of us, the SomniPods take a minute to pull themselves together in the morning.

Sleep is the most detailed and least 'hands-on' of the tracking features, but you can also log your meals, hydration and exercise. The AI meal identification is the stand-out here, although it needs some work — there's no way my brown roll racked up over 400 calories.

AI Coach

As a sleep nerd, I love getting data back from my sleep tracker but even I can admit the numbers aren't always that useful at fighting exhaustion and sleep deprivation.

So the SomniPods offer something different. Upgrade to the subscription plan and you gain access to your own AI 'Coach.'

So how does it work? First, set a wellness goal. Next, pick your AI Coach. I opted for Hebe, a detail-orientated helper who gives you the facts, but there's also supportive Lana and pusher Evan. (Although having chatted to them all, there's not a huge personality difference.)

Once the app starts collecting data, you can mine your coach for personal advice. Expect detailed feedback mixed in with reflections from your sleep tracker and actionable advice — Hebe noted my lack of deep sleep might be behind my afternoon slump and recommended some energy boosting exercises.

You’ll get better responses the more you use every aspect of the app, which can be a bit of a time drag. Hebe is often concerned by my lack of hydration, but I’ve simply forgotten to log my drinks. This means I waste some of my precious chat credits being told to drink water (AI credits are limited per day, so avoid chit-chatting.)

I am admittedly wary of relying on an AI coach for sleep advice. If you do think a lack of sleep is impacting your day-to-day life, I'd recommend speaking to a healthcare professional (sorry, Hebe.)

Fitnexa SomniPods 3 Review: Sound Quality

• Decent audio quality for everyday listening
• Expect some tinniness
• Sleep sounds perform best

The SomniPods have decent audio quality… for a pair of sleep earbuds. That’s an important distinction because for $189.99, you might get your hopes up that this can rival some of the best wireless earbuds.

Not so, but the SomniPods do offer good overall sound quality for everyday listening. The layered clarity of Berghain by Rosalía was largely maintained but the oomph of those high notes was let down slightly by a lingering hiss and some tinniness. You also won’t get a particularly complex listening experience — leave that to the AirPods Pro 3.

However, if you’re looking to simplify your tech, the SomniPods are useful as all-round earbuds. Particularly as there’s an equalizer on the app, offering some control over your listening experience. Pre-set options are built-in but you can also tinker to create something to your liking.

The sound quality is best when listening to traditional sleep sounds. The white noise is perfectly drone-y and the brown noise is that soothing hum of rumbling along in your private jet. On that note, songs with a strong bass are delivered with heft through the SomniPods. I took Down By The Water by PJ Harvey for a spin and got happily lost in its sneering, scuzzy repetition.

Audiobooks are also crisp and clear, and if you do cycle through the sleep noises Fitnexa has to offer, I can attest that the dolphin sounds are spot on and super weird to fall asleep to.

Fitnexa SomniPods 3 Review: Call quality

• Can make and receive calls
• Microphone is fine but not best for day-to-day

Being able to make and receive calls is another string to the all-round usefulness of the SomniPods, even if the call quality is distinctly average. You’ll sound tinny to the person you talk to and, in response, they’ll come across a little thin. However, the vocals are clean and there was no issue with background noise during my brief calls.

All-in-all, it’s a useful addition to the Fitnexa SomniPods and helps it stand out against competitors such as the Ozlo Sleepbuds, which can’t take calls.

Fitnexa SomniPods 3 Review: Battery life

• 12 hour playback time with ANC off
• Only 6.5 hour playback time with ANC on
• Charges quickly in the case and holds 48 hours altogether

There's really two stories to the battery life of the SomniPods: with and without ANC.

Without ANC you have a playback time of roughly 12 hours, which is more than enough to get you through the night (you should be sleeping around 7 to 9 hours.) I never quite knocked out 12 hours in one go but after around six hours at my desk, the battery had dropped by 50%.

When you turn the ANC on, however, the overall playback drops to just 6.5 hours. That's not enough for a full night and means you have to be careful with your ANC use, lest your sleep tracker packs in around the early hours. After an hour of ANC paired with brown noise, I was down to around five hours of charge.

To help preserve the battery life, make sure to turn on the Sleep Detect feature. This spots when you've fallen asleep and turns ANC off accordingly (the Soundcore A30s have a similar feature.)

The SomniPods also offer timers for almost everything, so you can set your sounds going for as long or as little. By ensuring your music / audiobook / white noise only plays for a set amount of time, you can save some battery life for when it's needed, and not waste energy piping in brown noise when you're already asleep.

The ANC battery life isn't necessarily a flaw — the Soundcore A30 and Ozlo have similar issues — and by the time the buds die, you're asleep. However, if you wake up in the night, you often won't have enough juice to get yourself back to sleep.

Thankfully, the buds charge quickly; after 30 minutes, the case had jumped to around four hours battery life (from completely dead) and it took less than two hours to be back to 100%. Plus, the case holds roughly two days of power, meaning you don't have to charge the earbuds every morning.

Fitnexa SomniPods 3 Review: Verdict

Fitnexa attempts a lot with the SomniPods and for the most part, this is a solid pair of sleep headphones. The combination of good ANC with a decent audio means if unwelcome noises are keeping you up, you can enjoy a more peaceful night with the SomniPods.

However, the strongest feature is the AI Coach, which is primarily for subscribers. The advice is both helpful and actionable, and because it draws from your own sleep tracking data, it goes beyond the usual AI sleep routines.

It is a case of 'you get what you put in' and to make the most of the features, you'll need to log your food, drink and exercise regime. This is a bit of a time suck, but it might be worth it to avoid my AI Coach telling me to drink another glass of water, especially as chat credits are limited.

If you aren't interested in the AI upgrade, however, the SomniPods fall just behind the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds overall. Both are good all-rounders but the SomniPod newcomers are just pipped by the old guard when it comes to sound quality and ANC.

Still, the Fitnexa SomniPods 3 put up a good fight and at $189.99, I would consider them a decent investment — you get a lot for your money, even though you might question if you need it all.

• Read more: QuietOn 4 Sleep Earbuds review

As reports of the demise of the Apple Vision Pro began circulating in the last two days, conflicting stories have popped up over what the leftovers will contribute to other Apple devices.

In a social media post, Mark Gurman pushed back on rumored gesture controls on Apple Glasses and reiterated that Apple is developing new AirPods that will feature cameras meant "for Siri." It harkens back to reports from March when Gurman said Apple has a set of "AirPods Ultra" in the works.

Rumors about a version of AirPods featuring infrared cameras first popped up in July 2024 from supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. At the time, Kuo said the cameras would detect environmental changes and possibly enable "in-air gesture control to enhance human-device interaction."

Gurman, on the other hand, doesn't believe the technology for camera-based gesture controls exists. "The technology to do this reliably with a single camera, no neural band and no eye-scanning doesn’t exist today as far as I know," he said in a different post.

He's previously reported that the cameras would work by "feed[ing] visual intelligence data to Siri." In essence, this would be similar to how the camera is used in the Face ID system on iPhones.

Another link in the Ultra chain

In recent weeks, several rumors have suggested Apple is pursuing "Ultra" branding across several of its most popular devices. Currently, Apple sells one Ultra-branded device, its Apple Watch Ultra 3.

Later this year, alongside the AirPods Ultra, we could also get the foldable iPhone, rumored to be labeled the iPhone Ultra, and the long-rumored touchscreen MacBook Ultra.

All of these Ultra models would supersede the Pro moniker that currently denotes Apple's highest-end devices. Though we have been hearing rumors about an alleged iPhone Ultra for years now, usually centered on rebranding the Pro Max.

Regarding all three devices, we likely won't see them debut until September at the earliest, when Apple holds its annual iPhone event. The AirPods would probably be announced then as well.

The MacBook Ultra will most likely launch in the usual October window when Apple typically debuts its MacBook Pros. If not in October, then possibly in early 2027, as Apple did with the M5 Pro and Ultra versions this year.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple has reportedly 'stopped work on the Vision Pro' — here's what we know
• iPhone Fold will reportedly have 'four selling points' — here's how it will stand out
• I wore an Apple Watch and a Garmin for the London Marathon: Here’s which came out on top

The EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds are an impressively comfortable option for gym-goers who want ambient awareness on a budget. They’re a solid contender for the best workout earbuds, with some cool additional features over the previous model of the earbuds, like real-time translation and decent sound quality for a wide range of genres.

Although they are generally good for music listening, they struggle in the bass department, which could put off some users. The app is also very basic, and I find the lack of wear detection annoying.

To save money, you could opt for the previous model of the buds, but to find out more about what the new buds can do, you can keep reading this full EarFun Clip 2 review.

EarFun Clip 2 review: Specs

EarFun Clip 2 review: Price & availability

The EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds are available at Amazon U.S. for $99 and at Amazon U.K. for £89. For sub-$100/£100 earbuds, they offer awesome performance. They’re a little cheaper than my firm favorites, the Soundcore Aeroclips, which cost $129, but if you want some more color choices than just black, then I’d recommend springing for the Aeroclips.

The previous model of these earbuds, the EarFun Clips, cost $69. If you’d rather save $30, and/or you’re not sure whether open-earbuds are your thing, then I would recommend going for the original model. The original Clips also have a much better bass performance, although you don’t get the new sleek look or the AI-powered translation.

The Earfun Clip 2 open-earbuds have very impressive battery life at 40 hours, and blow big-name brands like Bose out of the water. The $299 Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, for instance, only have 27 hours of battery life.

EarFun Clip 2 review: Design

• Lack of wear detection
• Only one color choice
• Slight movement during HIIT

The EarFun Clip 2 are open-earbuds that clip around the cartilage of your ear. This is my favorite style of open-earbuds to use, as I think they look better than hook-style open-earbuds like the JLab Epic Open Sport ($114).

The EarFun Clip 2 earbuds are only available in black, but they look sleek and understated when worn, so I don’t mind the limited color range. They feel well-built and a lot lighter to wear than the previous EarFun Clip model. The bridge of the cuff also feels a lot more malleable on the new buds, making them easier to put on and take off.

With the charging case, the buds measure 2.8 x 1.9 x 1.1 inches, so they’re a very convenient size to carry around in your pocket or just throw in your bag. They have a weatherproofing rating of IP55, which means they are protected from water splashes in all directions and can be used in some light rain without suffering any damage.

Comfort

The EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds are very comfortable to wear for longer periods of time. I felt slight movement when doing HIIT workouts, and the up and down motion of running made them move around. But I knew they were secure and wouldn’t fall out since the outer flex ring fits quite tightly. There’s not much pressure where they touch the ear, and the back of the bud where the battery sits isn’t too heavy.

Controls

The EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds use button controls that sit at the top of the back section of the buds. I like having button controls on workout earbuds, as the controls feel more deliberate. You can change the volume, play, pause and skip across tracks with a series of taps that can be customized in the app. However, there’s no wear detection, which I found annoying as my music kept playing when I took them out. Admittedly, this is often skipped on budget-friendly earbuds. The CMF Buds 2 Plus are a sub-$80 option with wear detection, but they have drawbacks in audio quality.

Connectivity

The EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds use Bluetooth 6.0 and are compatible with LDAC streaming codecs if you have an Android phone and the correct streaming service subscription. The buds also have multipoint connectivity to switch between devices easily. I don’t use this feature much when using open earbuds, as I primarily use them for working out, where I only have my phone with me. But it was still great to be able to connect them to my work laptop and switch quickly between devices.

EarFun Clip 2 review: Sound quality

• Poor bass performance
• Generally good sound
• Struggles with complex tracks

Upon first listening, I was generally impressed with the sound quality of the EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds. They’re great earbuds for listening to a wide range of genres, but have weaknesses in certain areas, such as bass performance and more complex tracks with many layers.

With that said, since these are open-earbuds, you shouldn’t expect perfect sound since they lose some of the sound by design. There are plenty of equalizers to choose from in the app, but the original sound profile is the one I think works best with these buds.

I first listened to Homewrecker by Sombr for the driving bass throughout the track. The bass was staticky from the get-go, which was disappointing, so any lovers of drum and bass while hitting new PBs at the gym will want to steer clear of these buds. The bass performance on the original EarFun Clip model is far better.

Next up, I listened to She’s American by The 1975 to test out the mids performance of the earbuds. This track is a funky, electronic pop song, and the electric guitar stood out to me as a driving force here. It was punchy and clean without anything falling flat.

Finally, to test out the treble and vocals, I listened to Meet Me in the Woods by Lord Huron. This is a bright acoustic track full of pretty harmonies. It’s very complex and has a lot of different layers, which seemed to confuse the earbuds as the harmonies got lost and the soundstage felt very narrow. That said, I still enjoyed the music, and I don’t need much more than this from a pair of earbuds that are specifically for working out.

EarFun Clip 2 review: App

The EarFun app is very basic, and I don’t think the EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds benefit that much from it. With other open-earbuds, like the Soundcore Aeroclips, the app enhances the user experience and makes you feel more immersed with more control, but the EarFun app is just clunky.

The app allows you to create your own sound profile, which is a feature I always enjoy using on earbuds to get the best sound possible. This is especially effective on cheaper earbuds like the CMF Buds 2 Plus ($79), but the EarFun process is a lot more finicky. This one requires you to use sliders to find a beeping sound, but it wasn’t very responsive. I much prefer the sound tests that are more reaction-based, like the ones by Soundcore or Sony.

In the app, you can also make changes to the controls of the earbuds, enable low power mode, or alter playback based on your hearing health. For enhancing your music to your taste, there are also many EQ presets to choose from in the app.

The earbuds have AI-powered translation — I’m looking at you, Apple AirPods Pro 3 ($249) — which is a cool feature. To use this feature, I had to create an EarFun account — after doing this, translation is free for a limited time. I played a video on YouTube of conversational Spanish and let the earbuds listen and translate. They gave me a translation on the screen in real time, but also played back the dialogue in my ears. There’s a delay while the translation is happening, but I could also watch it being processed on my phone screen if I wanted to read ahead.

This is a very useful feature if you’re travelling and don’t speak the native language. While I think it’s a little slow to rely on solely, it’s a brilliant feature on a pair of budget buds.

EarFun Clip 2 review: Call quality

• 4 microphones
• Some ambient noise
• Decent voice replication

The EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds have pretty decent call quality. They have four microphones (two on each earbud) and offer environmental noise cancellation technology. When I called my Mom while on a walk, she could hear some of the road traffic around me, but nothing too disruptive.

This is a vast improvement from the EarFun Clip original model, which suffered from some static noise. I also did some brief sound recording to listen back to, and there were no issues with wind buffeting while outside. However, inside at my desk, while I was speaking and typing on my keyboard, I could hear the tapping of my fingers on the keys. That said, my voice sounded good.

EarFun Clip 2 review: Battery life

• 40 hours with the charging case
• 11 hours in the earbuds
• 10 minutes of charging gives 2.5 hours of listening

The EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds have a total battery life of 40 hours. This is a lot more than you get with the clip-style Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, which have a total battery life of 27 hours. But, if you’re listening with LDAC, then the listening time of the EarFun Clip 2 buds is reduced to a total of 22 hours — still impressive.

Previously, the original model of the EarFun Clip had 40 hours of battery life, so there’s no vast improvement. However, the sound quality is far superior, so the total battery life staying so high is no mean feat.

Alone, the buds have 11 hours of battery life, so they’re a great choice if you want to head out for the day but don’t want the charging case taking up space in your pocket or bag. The case can be charged via USB-C or wireless charging, and 10 minutes of charging time gives two and a half hours of playback, thanks to fast charging.

EarFun Clip 2 review: Verdict

The EarFun Clip 2 open-earbuds are impressive, budget-friendly open-earbuds that offer comfort and awareness while listening to music. They have an impressive 40 hours of battery life and are generally good for listening to most music genres. They offer good, reliable call quality, and the AI-powered real-time translation feature is a cool addition to see on budget buds — and works well with the open-ear design.

Unfortunately, there are some small issues with playback, like poor bass performance and struggles with complex songs, but I wouldn’t expect much more from open-earbuds, given the nature of their design. I find the lack of wear detection pretty annoying too, as I like my music to stop when I take the earbuds out. Overall, these are decent budget-friendly earbuds that are perfect for the gym.

The Soundcore Space 2 have some big boots to fill. Their predecessor, the Soundcore Space One, were some of the best cheap headphones we’ve ever tested thanks to the impressive ANC and surprisingly premium sound quality. So how do the new Soundcore Space 2 hold up?

Well, if you’re expecting that same faithful, rich, and wide soundscape, you’ll be relieved to hear that Space 2’s got it. Sure, you would probably get better sound quality with the midrange Bose or Sony options, but you wouldn’t get the same premium features found on the Space 2. For just $129, you get access to a personalized sound profile, live translation (with the Soundcore app), and impressive ANC. The Space 2 perfectly bridge that gap between “premium features” and “budget price”.

Want to find out if the Soundcore Space 2 are truly some of the best headphones on the market right now? You know you want to keep reading this Soundcore Space 2 review.

Soundcore Space 2 review: Specs

Soundcore Space 2 review: Price & availability

The Soundcore Space 2 are $129 from Amazon U.S. and £129 from Amazon U.K. This makes them some of the cheapest headphones you can get in 2026; the CMF Headphone Pro ($99) are the only high-quality recent release that beats this price.

For an extra $70, there’s the Soundcore Space One Pro ($199), my go-to recommendation for midrange headphones, and for $50 less, you might want to check out the JLab JBuds Lux ANC ($79).

The previous model, Soundcore Space One, were $99 at launch, so you’re paying $30 extra for the newer version. However, you get a range of new features like nap mode and live translation (which you have to pay for).

Soundcore Space 2 review: Design

As I expect from Soundcore gear, the Space 2 are flexible, comfy, and lightweight. I tested the teal pair, which would have been my choice had I bought them for myself anyway.

The Space 2 have wear detection, which I had to calibrate in the Soundcore app before it worked on the headphones, and a range of surprisingly premium features, which I’ll discuss in the ‘App’ section below.

Unfortunately, there’s no IP rating, unlike the Nothing Headphone (a), which had an impressive (for over-ears) rating of IP52, meaning you can safely wear them in the rain (for a little while).

Comfort

The Space 2 are supremely comfortable. I could wear these for hours and hours (and I did). The ear cups are beautifully cushioned, with a padded headband that didn’t feel heavy on my head at all.

They’re just as comfortable as the CMF Headphone Pro, which were equally lightweight and easy enough to wear for long listening periods. I have no qualms recommending these even to people with sensitive heads.

Controls

The Soundcore Space 2 have a range of controls, and thankfully, they’re all buttons. I’m glad Soundcore didn’t follow the Bose/Sony trend and build egregious touch controls into the headphone cups.

Entering pairing mode is super simple — just double-press the power button — and the multi-function button controls smart assistant, answering calls, and more (if you customize in the Soundcore app).

Thankfully, there’s a separate button for ANC, which means I never accidentally cycled through ANC modes while trying to adjust volume.

Connectivity

I was pleased to see that the Space 2 have multi-point connectivity. This was super easy to set up — I didn’t even need to adjust it manually in the app — and both my phone and laptop stayed connected. The headphones even switched automatically between devices.

The Space 2 use Bluetooth 6.1, which is great to see. Samsung also released its new earbuds — Galaxy Buds 4 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro — with Bluetooth 6.1 earlier in the year. I’m flabbergasted how Soundcore is capable of releasing budget headphones with the newest Bluetooth version in 2026, but only a month earlier, Apple’s flagship AirPods Max 2 ($549) launched with only 5.3, limping far behind.

Soundcore Space 2 review: Sound quality

To test the sound quality on the Soundcore Space 2, I listened to a variety of genres on Qobuz on both my iPhone 16 Pro and using LDAC on my Samsung Galaxy S25+. I’ll discuss standouts here.

‘Busy Girl’ by Tove Lo is a disco-infused electronic track with a pulsing synth melody and rich bassline. At the start of the track, there’s a vocal section with layered glitch effects, which sounded a little fizzy through the Space 2. After this section, Tove Lo’s vocals were clear and melodic, and layered pleasantly over the top of the soundscape.

After, I played ‘Era Vulgaris (Non-LP version)’ by Queens of the Stone Age, which is a rough desert-rock track with heady, lazy guitars and deep male vocals. Josh Homme’s voice was at the centre of the song, and I could hear the backing vocals clearly. There wasn’t as much instrument separation as I’d have liked, as I couldn’t discern between bass and guitar layers easily, but for $129, I was pleased.

However, LDAC was really impressive. I played ‘YES GODDD’ by Slayyyter, which is a challenging, hyperpop-meets-NIN track, a heavy, crackling guitar and synth bassline and effected vocals. The Soundcore Space 2 handled this with confidence, the heavy bass and growling, screeching vocals clear over the instrumentation. The higher-frequency details at the top of the synth and in percussion were clear, too. Obviously, the Space 2 sound better with LDAC, so Android users are getting even more of a treat here.

The CMF Headphone Pro are much bassier (thanks to the manual bass adjuster but also feel a bit narrower. The Space 2 have more width. One isn’t better than the other — it’s just up to your personal preference.

Soundcore Space 2 review: ANC

The Soundcore Space 2 have three ANC modes: on, off, and transparency. When I was using ANC, I could still hear high-frequency office sounds over my music, like keyboards clacking and mice clicking. However, I couldn’t hear the air con.

When I was walking around the city, I couldn’t hear much traffic noise, and I was completely immersed in my music. I caught glimpses of construction drilling, but for everyday use, this ANC is stellar.

Soundcore Space 2 review: Call quality

Soundcore claims the Space 2 have three AI-powered mics. To test the call quality, I called my boyfriend, who had listened to every single pair of headphones I’ve reviewed, so he’s basically a control test at this point.

He reported that I sounded audible, but my voice was a little fuzzy at the end of words. However, he could understand everything I said, and couldn’t hear environmental noise like traffic or voices.

Soundcore Space 2 review: App

As with the Space One and Space One Pro, the Space 2 use the Soundcore app. This app is fantastic — and it has some new features! You can now use live translation, a feature present on 2025’s AirPods Pro 3, 2026’s Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, and 2026’s AirPods Max 2.

A returning feature is the HearID personalized EQ, which I loved on the Space One Pro, and I love on the Space 2. This is effectively a gamified hearing test (“Which sounds better?”) that generates you an EQ based on your ears’ ability to perceive sounds.

There’s also a white noise feature, strangely titled ‘Nap mode’. I’m curious who is wearing over-ear headphones to sleep! Something straightforward like ‘white noise’ or ‘focus mode’ would have made more sense. Odd name aside, ‘Nap mode’ is actually really pleasant — it’s just indefinite rain sounds.

Here are some screenshots from the Soundcore app so you can see for yourself.

As you can see, the features are all easily navigable, and the overall interface is user-friendly. I really enjoy using Soundcore’s app — it feels more modern than JLab’s app and EarFun’s app.

Soundcore Space 2 review: Battery

If you’re not yet impressed with the Soundcore Space 2, prepare to be. These $129 headphones boast 70 hours of playtime with ANC off, and 50 hours with ANC on. This is the same as the CMF Headphone Pro (with ANC on), ten hours longer than the JLab JBuds Lux ANC and the previous model Space One.

I listened for 8 hours and the battery dropped to 70% — I was using LDAC, ANC, testing all the features, so normal listening will probably get you longer than this.

Soundcore Space 2 review: Verdict

The Soundcore Space 2 feel like much pricier headphones. With AirPods Max 2-inspired features like live translation, impressive LDAC sound quality, and memory foam ear cups, I’d honestly recommend saving your $$$ and getting these over, say, the Sony WH-1000XM4 (on sale) or Bose QuietComfort (not Ultra).

Although you’re obviously getting better sound quality with those Bose and Sony options, if you really value premium features (live translation, for example) for as little money as possible, I’d recommend the Space 2 instead. It’s not all about the smart features, though. Casual music listeners will also get what they want from the Space 2 — a faithful, rich soundscape with surprising width and a particular emphasis on vocals. I had a wonderful time listening to these headphones.

The Space 2 are the best of all worlds: budget price, impressive sound quality, great ANC, and supreme comfort. I’d happily recommend these headphones to everyone.

I'm a firm believer that you don't need to spend a lot of money to get great audio. As someone who has tried expensive flagship earbuds from brands like Apple and Sony for day-to-day listening, I still reach for my cheaper earbuds.

Some of the best cheap wireless earbuds can be found thrown into my bag on the daily. You can even get awesome active noise cancellation without spending big bucks, with brands like CMF and Soundcore paving the way for affordable comfort.

To help you get the best sound possible on a budget, I've put together a collection of my 12 favorite cheap wireless earbuds. Whether you need something to keep you motivated at the gym or are looking for a reliable pair of buds to take on your daily commute, there are options here for everyone.

My AirPods Max 2 may be the best headphones I've ever used, but they're not perfect. If I ever try to tell you that they're 100% flawless, that's my calling card for "Help me, I've been kidnapped!"

While the AirPods Max 2 are my personal favorite headphones — I'd keep them over the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra any day — they're also a little infuriating. Shoddy battery life and 13-ounce weight aside, they are nowhere near as customizable as the aforementioned Bose and Sony options. Sony's Sound Connect app lets you adjust the EQ on a 10-band frequency, and Bose Music allows you to choose from 4 presets (and 3 sliders).

And what does Apple let you do? Basically nothing. Sure, there's a Personalized Audio mode that analyzes the shape of your head and creates a sound profile for your anatomy, but this isn't as hands-on as a custom EQ. I want to physically move sliders up and down, Apple! I want to play my inner DJ!

What you can customize on AirPods Max 2

So, Apple hasn't completely done away with sound profiles. You can 'Customize Audio', which effectively creates a sound profile for you using an Audiogram. This then adjusts tuning in line with your ears. (Tangent incoming: Why is Apple's sample song for this such a bop?)

Then, you can select 'balanced', 'vocal', or 'brightness', and adjust any of these three tuning profiles from 'slight' to 'strong'. Balanced is, you guessed it, balanced, vocal accentuates mids, and brightness increases highs. You can use any one of these three with your AirPods Max 2, AirPods Pro 3, and supported Beats headphones. I only tested this with my AirPods Max 2 and AirPods Pro 2 & 3, though.

You can actually "fake" an audiogram — users on Reddit have discovered a way to trick your phone into creating an EQ for you by making a third-party audiogram. This is great if you're happy to spend ages doing this, but it's beyond the willpower of most of us normies.

So it's not like you can't customize anything. You have a little control over brightness or balance... but that's it. Wave goodbye to the 10-band frequency control from Sony's Sound Connect app, or even Bose's 'treble', 'mid', and 'bass' adjustments (and four presets).

With AirPods, Apple knows what's best. Want some genres a little heavier? Nope! Want to highlight some vocals or detail sounds? Nope! Want bass at 0? Not sure why you would, but, surprise! It's a nope!

AirPods Max 2 sound phenomenal by default, but I'm still mad

Don't get me wrong, I'm content with how my AirPods Max 2 sound out of the box. I think there's just something in my brain that's perfectly attuned to Apple's signature sound tuning. Maybe it's because my first ever earbuds were Apple's old EarPods with my iPod Nano.

I love how the AirPods Max 2 sound. They're bright, studio-faithful and detailed, without skimping on the bass. On top of that (quite literally), the sound is beautifully expansive and high — much better than the Sony WH-1000XM6 (in my opinion). Very few sub-$600+ headphones can do width, height, bass, and detail this well. Of course, there are better audiophile(ish) headphones out there — the Dali iO-8, Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2, Bang & Olufsen H95.

But for $550 headphones, the AirPods combine premium design and premium sound in a way very few other lifestyle Bluetooth headphones manage.

So why am I still mad?

Because there's no reason for the lack of customizability. Why has Apple told us there is only one way to listen to music? Why do we have to abide by the default sound signature?

Sure, you can take a hearing test, which will adjust the sound profile depending on your ears' ability to perceive sound. But what if you can hear perfectly well, but you just prefer more studio sound? Or what if you're a basshead and you want every frequency from 20Hz-250Hz turned up to max?

Well, you wouldn't get AirPods Max 2, I suppose. Studio sound lovers would get the Cambridge Melomania P100, and bass lovers would get the Bose QuietComfort Ultra.

But I want to be able to adjust my EQ. I'm not asking for much. I'd even settle for a 6-band. Sometimes I just like to play around. I know I can adjust EQ natively in Spotify or Apple Music, but... it just doesn't hit the same.

What do you think? Are you happy without EQ control, or do you wish you could up the bass a little on your AirPods Max 2? Let me know in the comments!

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I test a lot of the best headphones here at Tom's Guide. I get my hands on everything from wired audiophile cans like Meze 99 Classics 2nd Gen, super-budget headphones like the CMF Headphone Pro, and, of course, the best wireless headphones like the AirPods Max 2, Sony WH-1000XM6, and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2.

But which of these flagship Bluetooth models would I actually buy for myself? Would it be the Bose, Sony, or Apple? Of course, each headphone is good for different things — Bose has the best ANC, Sony is the best of all worlds, and AirPods are best for Apple users — but which would I choose?

This is my opinion, not a definitive ranking. If you want more objective face-offs, check out my AirPods Max vs AirPods Max 2, AirPods Max 2 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra, or AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6. Alternatively, you can check out our reviews of the AirPods Max 2, Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2, or the Sony WH-1000XM6.

Great sound quality is my #1 must-have

When I test headphones, I analyze sound quality incredibly closely. For me, sound quality is the most important thing. ANC, comfort, and call quality are all important, but sound quality is my number one. An audio product that doesn't sound good is, in my opinion, pointless. Why would you use headphones that make music sound bad? That's their main job.

I also have a very specific sound tuning preference. I like wide, expansive soundscapes with clarity in the high frequencies and rich warmth at the low end. I don't like headphones that are too bassy, nor headphones that are too detailed (think Hi-Fi headphones like the Cambridge Melomania P100 — loads of people love, but not for me).

As a result, I don't like how Bose headphones sound. The QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 are so bassy that they're bordering on muffled. This is a recurring issue with Bose gear — the QuietComfort (not Ultra) suffer from the same issue.

The Sony XM6 and AirPods Max 2 are much more my personal sound preference. However, I enjoy listening to the AirPods Max 2 more.

Don't get me wrong, the XM6 sound good. They have fantastic clarity across the entire frequency range and don't subdue subtle details. You really feel like you're there with the music. But something feels... absent. There's not as much width as with the AirPods Max 2. The Sony XM6 sound like the AirPods Max 2 after a hike. Still fit, still entertaining, but a little sleepy.

Personally, the AirPods Max 2 suit my preference more. I'm not saying the AirPods Max 2 are the best headphones in the world, because that would be a lie. The Dali i-O8, which I personally own, sound miles better — but they're also double the price, and don't have as good ANC.

There's no one "perfect" headphone. You just need to weigh up what you deem more important. For me, sound quality is the most important, so I'd be happy to spend $100 extra on the AirPods for that more energetic sound.

Which headphones are catwalk ready?

Again, design and aesthetics are very subjective, so what I prefer might not be what you prefer, and that's fine!

I really don't think the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 look like $459 headphones. They're very plasticky and a little squeaky, and they feel like budget cans. While you're getting the best ANC in the world, the Bose aren't exactly going to win any design awards.

Similarly, I'm not a huge fan of the WH-1000XM6. They suffer from the same malady as the QC Ultra: plasticky body and cheap-looking design.

Sure, the AirPods Max 2 are heavy, but that's because they're made of anodized aluminum rather than cheap plastic. The mesh headband seriously alleviates the majority of that extra pressure. No, I wouldn't recommend the AirPods Max 2 for working out or for long-haul flights, but they're the best-looking headphones of the bunch.

Ideally, I'd like to see Apple utilize that innovation we all know it's capable of and make some metal, premium headphones that weigh less than the XM6. I know Apple can do it.

Honestly, most "features" I could take or leave

The only feature I massively care about is ANC. I am not the kind of person who gravitates towards AI assistants in my headphones — I'd actually rather that be kept as far away from me as possible. However, I have been known to utilize Siri a few times. If I'm cooking and my hands are dirty, I love being able to say "Hey Siri, pause Spotify" or "Hey Siri, transparency mode on".

It's lucky, then, that the AirPods Max 2, Bose, and Sony models can all do this. Sure, Siri with AirPods Max 2 is a little quicker, but nothing that'll have me scoffing at the Bose and Sony offerings.

However, that's not to say the WH-1000XM6 and QC Ultra Gen 2 can do everything the AirPods Max 2 can do, because that's not true. The AirPods Max 2 can live translate calls using Apple Intelligence. If you want to live translate with non-Apple headphones, you'll need to manually do this in an app.

Even so, I wouldn't pick one headphone over the other based solely on "smart" features. But the reason I'd choose the AirPods Max 2 over Sony or Bose (for me) is the seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem. I'm one of those people who is so deep in the Apple ecosystem that there's no possibility of clawing myself out.

So, it's AirPods Max 2 for me

As a result, I would keep the AirPods Max 2. Don't get me wrong, the Sony WH-1000XM6 are fantastic headphones, with an unbeatable cross-OS ecosystem. If you have some Android/Windows devices and some Apple devices, I would recommend the Sonys over the AirPods Max 2.

Similarly, if you need the best ANC and you're going to be wearing your headphones on long-haul flights or commutes, I'd go for the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2. They have superior noise cancellation and are extremely lightweight.

Don't get me started on the AirPods Max 2's battery life. 20 hours in 2026 is inexcusable, and the main drawback of the new Apple cans. If you don't want them because of this, I completely get it.

But for me, I value sound quality over Android/Windows integration, lightness, and battery. The Apple sound signature seems to be perfectly tuned for my personal preference. I love the dynamic, expansive soundscape with rich bass and clarity in the high-end. Of course, I'm in no way saying the AirPods Max 2's sound can beat premium wireless headphones like the Bang & Olufsen H95, but they're also half the price.

Which headphones would you choose? The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2, Sony WH-1000XM6, or the AirPods Max 2? Or something else entirely? Let me know in the comments!

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The CMF by Nothing Headphone Pro are the upstart British brand’s newest budget over-ears, having released last September. They’re just $99/£79, which makes them candidates for the revered title of best cheap headphones.

Many headphones try, and the vast majority fail (and fail badly). I’ve tested around 20 pairs of headphones, and, thus far, I’ve only recommended one pair of budget cans: the JLab JBuds Lux ANC.

That’s all about to change, though, baby. The CMF Headphone Pro are definitely some of the best headphones $100 will get you. With cloud-soft earcups, a surprisingly dynamic sound profile, unique yet usable controls, and smart features like ChatGPT integration, these could be my go-to budget recommendation from now on. To find out the full story, keep reading this CMF by Nothing Headphone Pro review.

CMF by Nothing Headphone Pro review: Specs

CMF by Nothing Headphone Pro review: Price & availability

As CMF is Nothing’s budget brand, you’ll be correct in assuming that the Headphone Pro are relatively cheap. You’ll find the Headphone Pro for $95-$99 on Amazon U.S. — $99 for black, $95 for white, and $98 for green.

In the U.K., the Headphone Pro are available for £79 from Amazon. This is relatively cheap for a pair of over-ear headphones — flagship cans often go for around $449-$549. I’ve tested other budget cans like the JLab JBuds Lux ANC ($79), the Soundcore Space One Pro ($199), and Nothing Headphone (a) ($199), and I usually have a tough time recommending cheap headphones.

To date, the only budget headphones I’ve ever recommended are the $79 JLab JBuds Lux ANC — but not for much longer. The CMF Headphone Pro are darn good, I can’t help but add them to my roster of “cheap headphones actually worth your money”.

CMF by Nothing Headphone Pro review: Design

Nothing consistently makes eye-catching gear, and its budget brand CMF is no different. To me, the Headphone Pro look like bubbles. They’re like little cushioned bubbles sticking to the side of my head, and I’m really not mad about it. I can’t explain why, but if you remember the Teletubbies, the Headphone Pro look like the red Teletubby’s antennae… but on the side of my head. No, it doesn’t make sense, but I love it.

If you want to mix and match colors, you can buy additional ear cups for $20. Want black headphones with green or orange ear cups? You can do it.

Comfort

The headphones themselves are comfy, but because the cups are round rather than oval, they do press on your lower cartilage after a few hours. They’re 9.6 ounces, which is a little heavier than the JLab JBuds Luxe ANC and Bose and Sony flagships, but much lighter than the Nothing Headphone (a) and AirPods Max 2.

Controls

One aspect I loved about the Nothing Headphone (a) was the unique controls. Instead of — cue shudder — touch controls, the Nothing Headphone (a) utilized a paddle and button control. I really don’t understand why audio brands keep trying to make touch controls on over-ears happen. Stop trying to make it happen! No one likes it. I’m looking at you, Sony and Bose.

Thankfully, the Headphone Pro have some snazzy button controls. On the right ear cup, there’s a mouse-wheel-esque roller that acts as the multi-function button. You can play/pause, cycle ANC modes, and answer calls using this. There’s even a ChatGPT button — I have no desire for ChatGPT in my headphones (or anywhere else for that matter) but it’s a cool feature if you gravitate towards things like that.

On the left earcup, there’s a bass slider. Let me say that again. Bass. Slider. Yes, you can literally live DJ your music. Well, not really, but it’s still cool. No fiddling around with EQs in the Nothing app (although you can do that). I was able to quieten and increase bass and treble with the slider on my headphones. This is really fun.

As you might expect from budget over-ears, the Headphone Pro don’t have any wear detection. While this is a little disappointing, it’s par for the course for budget cans. Only higher-end headphones like the AirPods Max 2, Sony WH-1000XM6, and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 have this. I’ve not yet tested budget over-ears with wear detection.

Connectivity

The CMF Headphone Pro have dual-device connection, Bluetooth, and wired 3.5mm playback. The headphones use Bluetooth 5.4, which is a more modern version of Bluetooth than the AirPods Max 2 (horrendous, I know), and offers a range of up to 800 feet. In reality, I was able to get downstairs in the office and walk over to the opposite end without disconnecting.

Obviously, sound quality is noticeably better over a wired connection, but Bluetooth still sounds good (more on that later). When you listen via the provided 3.5mm cable, the headphones switch to analog, so you’ll need to unplug them to make calls.

Weirdly, the provided cable is quite short — about 2.7 feet. This didn’t negatively impact my listening when I connected to my MacBook Air M2, but it’s worth taking into consideration if you have a particularly large desk, or your laptop is a large distance away from you. I’ll also mention that even though I tested the black Headphone Pro, I received a white cable.

CMF by Nothing Headphone Pro review: Sound quality

The Headphone Pro have three spatial audio modes in the NothingX app: ‘Concert’, ‘Cinema’ and ‘Off’. I loved concert mode. This is not Dolby Atmos. ‘Cinema mode’ does not make the music follow you like Apple’s Spatial Audio. These listening modes just expand the soundscape. I’d recommend cycling through these yourself, as different people have different sound preferences.

On top of custom EQs (five presets and a custom option), you can also make a personalized sound profile. As with Soundcore and JBL’s personalized sound, this is effectively a hearing test (“tap when you hear the tone”) that creates a custom tuning profile depending on your ear sensitivity.

Although this doesn’t hold a candle to Denon’s fantastic personalized sound profile, which actually sends soundwaves through your ear and analyzes them using microphones in the earbuds themselves, I’m still really impressed with this for just $99.

To test the sound quality on the CMF Headphone Pro, I listened using AAC on my iPhone 16 Pro, LDAC on my Samsung Galaxy S25+, and wired to my MacBook Air M2.

After turning on LDAC in the Nothing X app on my Samsung Galaxy S25+, I listened to ‘Unravelling’ by Muse, a heavy rock track with metal-inspired guitars and rolling synth riffs. The dramatic percussion pounded through the headphones with surprising clarity, and the violins were well-pronounced at the back of the soundstage. Although I couldn’t hear the backing vocals as well as I’d liked, this is admirable instrument separation and deft bass handling considering these headphones are just $99/£79.

Next, I switched to AAC on my iPhone 16 Pro — I didn’t have to manually disconnect from one phone and manually connect to the other, I just selected the headphones from my iPhone’s saved devices list — and played an electronic track, ‘Artificial Angels’ by Grimes. Grimes’ soft, breathy vocals were audible over the spiralling synth melody, and the wobbly low-end rounded everything out nicely. There was a tiny bit of muffling in the sub-bass, but nothing that put me off.

Finally, I listened via the provided 3.5mm aux connected to my MacBook Air M2. I listened on Qobuz, our best music streaming service for audiophiles, for better quality. I played ‘Eugene’ by Arlo Parks, which is an alt-R&B-meets-indie track. The plucking harp notes were like shards of sunlight dappling the rear of the soundscape, with Parks’ soft vocals husky and hazy placed front and center of the soundstage. The headphones made the percussion a touch too crisp, but this didn’t impact my overall experience.

No, obviously, the Headphone Pro can’t go head-to-head with premium cans like the Sony WH-1000XM6, but no one expects them to. For $99 headphones, the sound quality is fantastic. I’m not exaggerating when I say this, but with LDAC, I genuinely think they sound almost as good as the Bose QuietComfort (not Ultra) ($349) and so much better than the Nothing Headphone (a) ($199). I’m not sure why CMF’s gear is consistently better than Nothing’s, but I’m really not mad about it. Save your money — shop CMF.

CMF by Nothing Headphone Pro review: ANC

The ANC on the CMF Headphone Pro is surprisingly powerful. There are three ANC modes: on, transparency, and off. There are four ANC settings in ‘On’ mode: low, mid, high, and adaptive.

No, the ANC isn’t as good as the Nothing Headphone (a), but for $99, I’m mighty impressed. I could still hear glimpses of conversations around me in the office, and I could still hear traffic noise when testing around the city, but the ANC was strong enough to block out the majority of intrusive noise.

CMF by Nothing Headphone Pro review: Call quality

This brings me great displeasure, but the call quality on the CMF Heasdphone Pro isn’t great. I was so ready to give these headphones a 5-star rating. But, unfortunately, the call quality is holding them back.

I called my boyfriend, who reported that my voice sounded a bit muffled and buzzy. He said they were considerably worse than my AirPods Pro 2 (was $249, now discontinued) and my AirPods Max 2 ($549). Although he said he could still understand me, my voice wasn’t that clear.

I think you’d probably get on fine with the Headphone Pro for day-to-day tasks, but I might recommend something higher-quality for important work calls. Unfortunately, this means you’ll probably have to spend a little more.

CMF by Nothing Headphone Pro review: App

As the Headphone Pro are a Nothing product, the cans use the NothingX app. This is available on both iOS and Android: I downloaded it on my iPhone and Samsung phone with no issues.

As I’ve said many times, the NothingX app is great. You can do a whole range of things: select spatial audio mode, customize EQ, change control commands, find my headphones, and enable dual device connection.

As you can see, the NothingX app is easily navigable and straightforward, so you won’t have to spend ages getting used to its layout when setting up the Headphone Pro.

CMF by Nothing Headphone Pro review: Battery

Although not quite as impressive as their older sibling the Nothing Headphone (a)’s 135-hour battery, the CMF Headphone Pro can go for up to 100 hours. Obviously, this drops when you use ANC to around 50 hours, and drops even further when you use LDAC. Even so, this is still considerably better than other headphones on the market.

The $79 JLab JBuds Lux ANC go for 40 hours (ANC) and 70 hours (ANC off), and the $99 Soundcore Space One last for 40 hours (ANC on) and 55 hours (ANC off). The CMF Headphone Pro beat both of these.

I listened for 7 hours and the battery dropped from 70% to 30%. This is with LDAC and the highest-strength ANC enabled (and I was fiddling around with all the features the entire time, so standard listening will probably last for longer).

CMF by Nothing Headphone Pro review: Verdict

The CMF Headphone Pro are serious contenders for the best cheap headphones on the market today. Certainly, they are the best sub-$100 over-ears I’ve ever had the pleasure of placing on my noggin’.

Sure, the top of the treble can pinch in some percussive instruments and some bass was a little muffled (when turned up all the way), and the call quality leaves something to be desired, but these are sacrifices I’m willing to make for $100 headphones. I would rather have the CMF Headphone Pro than the $199 Nothing Headphone (a), and that’s saying something.

So if you want headphones that rival $349 Bose QC cans and perform better than the $199 Nothing Headphone (a), what are you waiting for? It’s gotta be the CMF Headphone Pro. I can’t quite believe how good they are.

After testing them out for a week, I’m sure that the CMF Buds 2A are some of the best cheap wireless earbuds you can get. For less than $40, you get impressive audio performance and effective ANC. The dual connection makes them great for working between your laptop and phone, too. The EQ settings add a lot to these buds.

There are only a few features that let me down. I found the lack of in-ear detection to be frustrating, especially when it’s on CMF’s other cheap earbuds, and the plasticky feel could be hard for some to overlook.

But I’d still recommend them to anyone who needs a reliable pair of earbuds for everyday listening. And who doesn’t love killer audio quality on one heck of a budget? If you’re still not convinced, keep reading this full CMF Buds 2A review to find out more.

CMF Buds 2A review: Cheat sheet

• What are they? Cheap but reliable wireless earbuds
• How much do they cost? $39 / £29
• What do we like? It’s super cheap but still gives an impressive audio performance. The amazing adaptive ANC and EQ customization also give great personalization opportunity
• What don’t we like? The lack of in-ear detection and the plasticky feel of the buds

CMF Buds 2A review: Specs

CMF Buds 2A review: Price & availability

The CMF Buds 2A are available at Amazon U.S. for $39, or at Nothing’s online U.K. store for £29. These are some of the cheapest buds offered by CMF, but frankly, you wouldn’t think so judging by the sound. I actually think they sound better than the CMF Buds 2, which cost $49, as the latter handle treble better, but the Buds 2A come with fewer features.

For a similar price of $36, you could purchase the JLab Go Pods ANC, which have better ANC and punchier treble, but the CMF Buds 2A have a much better soundstage and a much longer battery life.

The CMF Buds 2 Pro, also by Nothing, cost a little more at $69 and perform much better in the bass department. In my opinion, this is worth the extra cash because I love bass, and you get hi-res codec compatibility.

CMF Buds 2A review: Design

I’ve reviewed a few of CMF by Nothing’s earbud offerings now, and one thing stands out to me — they all look identical. Sure, there is some color variation, but if I didn’t have the device name, it would be hard to tell the different buds apart by looks alone.

I tested the CMF Buds 2A in the Orange color, but they’re also available in Dark or Light Gray. The buds come in a small box that measures 2.2 x 2.2 x 0.9 inches and weighs 1.5 ounces, an ideal size for throwing in your pocket or bag to take with you everywhere.

The earbuds measure 1.3 x 1.0 x 0.8 inches and feel extremely light when wearing, since they weigh just 0.2 ounces, but they feel quite plasticky. I can’t complain too much, though, since that plasticky feeling keeps the price tag below $40. The buds feel just as comfortable as the AirPods Pro 3 ($249).

These buds have a durability rating of IP55, meaning they can withstand light rain. However, the case only has a rating of IPX2, so it’s only protected from moisture exposure, like condensation. When I go out for a walk with the earbuds, I just leave the charging case at home to avoid the risk of the case getting damaged if it rains. Since the buds have 8 hours of playtime per charge, I have plenty of juice to get me through an outing without the case.

Controls

I controlled the CMF Buds 2A using the touch controls on the stem. These are very responsive, and I had no issues with them missing commands.

The earbuds are controlled in the same way as the Apple AirPods 4 and the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4: hold down the stem for ANC, press once for play/pause, and double-tap to skip. The commands are customizable in the Nothing X app, and this was a very easy process.

Features

Unfortunately, there’s no in-ear detection on the Buds 2A. Sure, the price is a lot cheaper than other models with in-ear detection, but it’s a feature that I don’t realize I love so much until it’s taken away from me — we always want what we can’t have. If in-ear detection is a non-negotiable for you, fear not, because the CMF Buds 2 and CMF Buds 2 Plus both come with this feature, for not much extra money.

Connectivity

The CMF Buds 2A use Bluetooth 5.4 and have a connection range of 32 feet. When indoors, I was able to move away from my phone to the other side of the house and had no issues with connection, but the range wasn’t as secure outdoors.

With the dual connection settings in the Nothing X app, I was able to connect the earbuds to my laptop and phone simultaneously. This made it very easy to toggle between listening to music and hopping on video calls.

CMF Buds 2A review: App

The CMF Buds 2A can be customized to your heart’s content using the Nothing X app. The app is very easy to navigate and gives quick access to ANC settings and connectivity options.

But I think the app is most useful for the EQ settings. That said, I much prefer using the apps from Soundcore and Earfun. They’re a little easier to use as the Nothing X app, which tries very hard to be futuristic and becomes a little unwieldy as a result — it could be overwhelming for some users.

CMF Buds 2A review: Sound quality

Despite their small price tag, the CMF Buds 2A can do an awful lot. The buds have EQ tuning from Dirac to help balance the soundstage, making them sound a lot more expensive than they are. This is different to the Dirac Opteo tuning found in the CMF Buds Pro 2.

I customized the EQ settings for the buds in the Nothing X app — you can select presets or create your own. This made fine-tuning my listening incredibly simple.

I really enjoyed listening to my music with the CMF Buds 2A earbuds. The sound is very balanced, with only a little tinniness. Listening with the Ultra Bass setting on 4 gave me the best performance, but obviously, different people have different preferences.

Firstly, I listened to I CARE by Turnstile using the Rock preset EQ. This softened the track to make all of the instruments sound more blended, but it didn’t feel like they were battling with each other. The EQ increases the treble, so it was easier to hear the hi-hats, giving a good balance across all of the instruments.

Next, I listened to Gypsy by Fleetwood Mac. The vocals were brought to the front of the track and the bass was rich; despite a touch of tinniness in the rhythm guitar, this song sounded excellent.

Finally, I listened to Fame is a Gun by Addison Rae. This track showed off the wide soundstage of the buds. However, in the more electronic parts of the song the track became muffled, even though the vocals were still standing out.

Overall, these buds perform extremely well, and well beyond their price point. I thoroughly enjoyed listening with them, and am reaching to use them far more than my Apple AirPods because of the superior sound.

CMF Buds 2A review: Call quality

The CMF Buds 2A have excellent call quality. With six microphones, the buds carried my voice incredibly well. My voice was clear, and most environmental noise was eliminated. But outside, the buds struggle slightly with wind buffeting.

Even with that minor flaw, I think these buds are a great choice if you need something cheap for taking work calls with better clarity than your phone or computer’s built-in microphone.

CMF Buds 2A review: ANC

I tested the CMF Buds 2A on my commute in London, and I found the buds perfect for this journey since they have adaptive ANC. This can be adjusted in the app or by using the touch controls. This meant I could easily block out the hustle and bustle of the wildly busy city or let ambient sound in to listen out for announcements. But since these are a cheaper model in the CMF line, they lack the customization you get with the CMF Buds 2, for example.

With the 2A buds, I wasn’t able to toggle the ANC mode. You only have the option of ANC on, Transparency, or off. But with more expensive options, you can adjust how strong the ANC is too. While other CMF buds have it, the Buds 2A don’t, but this is expected for the price.

CMF Buds 2A review: Battery life

The CMF Buds 2A have some pretty impressive battery life, with 35.5 hours when ANC is turned off, which is more than you get with the JLab Go Pods ANC (26 hours). As I mentioned earlier, without ANC, the buds themselves have 8 hours of battery. When ANC is turned on, the battery life is reduced to a total of 23 hours, and five hours in the buds. If you want more bud-only battery life with ANC, the JLab Go Pods ANC have seven and a half hours of battery life.

If battery life is one of your biggest concerns when investing in a new set of buds, but you still don’t want to break the bank, I’d recommend the CMF Buds 2 Plus, which can get up to 61.5 hours of playtime.

CMF Buds 2A review: Verdict

The CMF Buds 2A are, in my opinion, the best choice for anyone who needs a reliable set of earbuds on a budget. For just $39, the audio performance is incredibly impressive, and the Buds 2A can handle treble better than the more expensive CMF Buds 2. The ability to switch ANC from transparency mode to noise cancellation with a single tap also makes these buds a total winner.

Admittedly, I found the lack of in-ear detection frustrating, and the plasticky feel of the buds may also be off-putting for some. Even so, these are literally $39, so you win some, you lose some (but mainly win here).

The AirPods Max 2 may look identical to the previous model, but it's what inside that counts. I gave them a fantastic 4.5-star rating in my review, and I love the improved sound, ANC and upgraded features like Live Translation. In my opinion, the AirPods Max 2 are some of the best headphones you can buy.

But that got me thinking... so are the Sony WH-1000XM6, which came out last year and received a solid 4-star rating from us. So how do the AirPods Max 2 and the WH-1000XM6 compare? How do both these flagship models sound? How do they feel? How's the ANC? I tested the Apple AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6 side by side to declare a winner.

AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Specs

AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Price

The AirPods Max 2 are the same price as their predecessor: $549/£499. This makes them more expensive than most other flagship over-ears.

The Sony WH-1000XM6 were $459/£399 at launch, and you can get them from around $449 (Sony) to $458 (Amazon) now. Overall, you're saving $90/£100, which is a considerable amount of money.

Winner: Sony WH-1000XM6

AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Design

I'm not sure there are any tech brands that can beat Apple on the design front. Sony gear looks and feels good, don't get me wrong, but Apple always blows the competition out of the water.

The AirPods Max 2 are heavy, yes, which is my biggest complaint about the new cans. At a hefty 13.6 ounces, the Max 2 aren't about to let you forget you're wearing them. The mesh headband alleviates as much of the pressure as physically possible, but you cannot work out wearing these cans. They're for running errands rather than 5Ks.

However, the Max 2 look utterly divine. The metal ear cups are premium in every way, and the fabric cushions are super soft on my skin. I also have to hand it to Apple for mastering easy, intuitive controls — the 'Digital Crown' and ANC button on the right ear cup are both super easy to use.

Comparatively, the XM6 look a little lackluster. I tested the white/beige colorway, which is nice and unobtrusive, but isn't exactly winning any design awards. The ear cups are plasticky, which, of course, is how Sony managed to keep the weight down to a frankly delicate 8.8. ounces, but risks the headphones looking cheap.

The headband is padded, but still presses down on my head after a few hours of listening. So, while the XM6 are half the weight of the AirPods Max 2, you only really notice this when working out or while walking. If you're sitting at your desk or just relaxing at home, the weight difference is mostly unnoticeable.

The touch controls on the WH-1000XM6 are good. Even so, I wouldn't say Sony's controls are Apple-beating — in the search for a discreet, smooth design, one has to memorize complex hand magic to skip songs or pause.

Bring back the buttons! I promise, we won't get mad. So, while I've taken points away from Apple due to the Max 2's heft, the overall appearance and easy touch controls mean that Apple wins this round.

Winner: AirPods Max 2

AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Features and connectivity

For your $549, Apple has stuffed the AirPods Max 2 full of AirPods-Pro-esque smart tech features, such as Live Translation and more Siri integration. Whether or not you use these is up to you — I personally don't have need for AI in my headphones, but if you gravitate towards these features, great!

The XM6 have tons of useful features, too. You can activate adaptive sound control, which uses your location to switch between ANC modes — so you can turn on ANC when you reach the train station for your commute, or turn off when you arrive home. This is pretty cool.

You can also cycle through listening modes: standard, background music (mimics background music in a cafe, for example), and cinema, which upscales content to mimic Dolby Atmos.

Apple offers this with Personalized Spatial Audio, but you need to be watching a Dolby Atmos-encoded video to take advantage of it.

Of course, if you're an Apple user, you benefit from seamless integration with your AirPods Max 2. Once the headphones are linked to your Apple ID, they switch seamlessly between all your devices.

On the other hand, the Sonys require you to download the Sony Connect app to manually control dual pairing — and even then, you can only connect up to two devices simultaneously. You can, of course, add more devices in the app, but you can't connect to more than two at once.

If you've got more than two Apple products — an iPhone, MacBook, and iPad, for example — it makes more sense to get the AirPods Max 2. However, Android and Apple owners would probably get more seamless connectivity out of the Sony.

The AirPods Max 2 and WH-1000XM6 both run on Bluetooth 5.3, which is disappointing to see on brand-new/relatively new flagship headphones. Samsung launched its Galaxy Buds 4 series in February 2026 with Bluetooth 6.1, which both future-proofs and improves reliability and range.

Both the XM6 and Max 2 have great features, but I'm giving this win to the Apple as its features are more versatile.

Winner: AirPods Max 2

AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Sound quality

The AirPods Max 2 and Sony WH-1000XM6 are tuned similarly: both have a wide, expansive, detailed soundscape, with gentle-yet-confident bass, and a faithful balance across the entire frequency range. If you're used to a bass-heavy signature, for example Bose headphones, you may be put off by these.

However, I love this sound signature. I really appreciate being able to hear nuance and delicate tightrope-walking across the frequency range.

I listened to 'True Believer' by Hayley Williams, which is a piano-led track with layers of discordant keyboard riffs, choir background vocals, and powerful bass drum. The song sounded utterly divine through the XM6s, complete clarity in every frequency. I could hear all of the choral sections and delicate bass notes.

In the AirPods Max 2, the choir was handled just as delicately, with the strings driving the back-end of the soundstage being just as insistent.

I found the Sonys to be a touch narrower, with a louder bass section, but this will depend on your preference. Do you want the most expansive soundscape, or do you want a heavier bass response?

Next, I tested out both cans with an electronic track, 'If U Want my Heart' by Kettama. This song has a modulated vocal section with effusive synths and siren-synth sound effects. The XM6s handled this rich soundscape well, with depth in the vocals and instrumental.

However, the AirPods Max 2 were much more expansive, and the bass was even a little more pronounced. The vocals felt as if they were swarming around my head rather than playing into my ears.

Finally, I went for a softer, hazier track: 'Better Distractions' by Faye Webster. This bluegrass-meets-alt song is built from a lazy percussion section and wobbly slide guitar, with pianos twinkling in the right ear. This sound was immersive and wide through the AirPods Max 2, and I felt like I was in a sunsoaked bar in the Deep South.

Comparatively, the XM6 sounded much narrower again — I was longing for the same amount of width and immersion. This isn't to say the XM6 sounded bad, but different. I much prefer an expansive soundscape, so the AirPods Max 2 win this round for me.

Winner: AirPods Max 2.

AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: ANC

Both the AirPods Max 2 and the Sony WH-1000XM6 have excellent ANC. They offer the following modes: ANC on, transparency/ambient, off.

However, Bose is still the undefeated champion of ANC. The QuietComfort Ultra boast the best ANC I've ever experienced. When I was walking around the city with the Bose cans, I was effectively in my own universe. Traffic? Nothing. Sirens? No. Passers-by? Silent.

No, Apple and Sony haven't quite reached Bose's level, but that's not to say the ANC on these models is anything to sneer at.

When I was wearing the XM6 around the city, I was in near-silent conditions the entire time. The XM6 can definitely hold their own.

While the ANC on the AirPods Max 2 is considerably better than the originals, the XM6 still win here. I couldn't hear low-frequency sounds like motorbikes or buses, but some high-frequency tones still leaked through.

Winner: Sony WH-1000XM6

AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Call quality

We've reached a point in flagship headphones where nearly all have guaranteed great call quality. You won't be disappointed by either the AirPods Max 2 or the WH-1000XM6.

I really like how the XM6 make your voice audible during calls, so you can monitor your speaking volume. I wish more headphones would do this! To test the call quality, I called my boyfriend, who reported that my voice was perfectly clear.

Again, the AirPods Max 2 are better than the Max 1 — the new over-ears sound like AirPods Pro 2/3 on calls — but the XM6 still takes this crown in this round.

Winner: Sony WH-1000XM6

AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Battery life

The XM6 go for 40 hours on a single charge, 30 hours with ANC enabled. Comparatively, AirPods Max 2 will tap out at 20 hours with ANC. A 20-hour battery life is simply not good enough from a company with so many resources at its disposal.

At this point, I genuinely think 20 hours is the lowest battery life I've seen on lifestyle headphones, Apple or not. I'm giving the win to the Sonys.

Winner: Sony WH-1000XM6

AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Verdict

AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Ratings scorecard

This was almost too close to call. Sony finished with an admirable score of 83, and Apple just eeked out the win with 84.

I think most people would be happy with either the XM6 or the AirPods Max 2. While I personally prefer the AirPods' expansive, immersive, and rich soundscape, the XM6 sound great, too. It just depends on what you want: do you place immersion or detail higher on your must-haves list?

I'll be the first person to admit that the AirPods Max 2 have ho-hum battery life and are still heavy, but the sound quality makes up for it (for me). Similarly, the XM6s don't have that same expansive, energetic soundscape, and the design falls flat. I think I would buy the AirPods Max 2. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

The AirPods Max 2 are finally here after a 6-year wait versus the original model. So now that the brand-new Apple flagships are for sale, are they worth your money?

Yes and no. I reviewed the AirPods Max 2 and adored them. They will definitely be added to our best noise-cancelling headphones list, but they're not perfect. They may be my personal favorite headphones to date, but what works for me might not work for you.

So if you've been debating about splurging on the new Apple headphones, I'm here to help. I want to answer all your burning questions. Are the new AirPods Max 2 worth it? Is there enough of an improvement over the originals? What's actually different from the AirPods Max 1? I've selected my favorite features — and two reasons to skip — to help you decide.

Reasons I'd buy the AirPods Max 2

The AirPods Max 2 are a fantastic upgrade from the 2020 Max: the sound quality, ANC, and smart functions are much improved.

1: Improved sound quality

I honestly thought the AirPods Max OG had already reached the pinnacle of sound quality. Of course, there are better overall headphones for sound — I'm thinking the Dali IO-8 and the Bang & Olufsen H95 — but both of those options are well over $1,000.

But the AirPods Max 2 take everything I loved about the originals and dial it up to 11. The AirPods Max had an expansive, immersive, and, most importantly, fun soundscape. The AirPods Max 2 take that and build it out, with richer, punchier bass, and supreme clarity.

Of course, you get hi-res playback with the provided USB-C cable (which also doubles up as an on-the-go charger if your headphones run out of battery).

I'm not saying the AirPods Max 2 are the best-sounding headphones money can buy overall, but in the $400-$600 price bracket? Yeah. Totally. The AirPods Max 2 have the best sound/features/price ratio of any headphones I've tested.

2: Stronger ANC

As good as the AirPods Max OG sounded, the ANC was ho-hum. Not anymore. The ANC on the AirPods Max 2 is excellent: it obliterates traffic noise when I'm walking around the city, dampens chatter on public transport, and even softens those pesky high-frequency office sounds like keyboards clacking and mice clicking.

Sure, the ANC isn't Bose-beating yet, but it's getting closer. Plus, I'd rather have the AirPods Max than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 — the latter look, feel, and sound pretty cheap to me.

The Sony WH-1000XM6 have stronger ANC than the AirPods Max 2, too, but don't think this means the AirPods Max 2 let in all ambient sound. You'd be very wrong. It just means the competition is fierce.

3: All-new smart features

You' may have heard a lot of chatter about the AirPod Max 2''s H2 chip.

The AirPods Max had a H1 chip, meaning the "brain" of the headphones. Think of it like a chihuahua brain. It's intelligent, but it's no border collie. The H2 chip is the border collie brain. It can herd sheep. It can solve puzzles. There's just a bit more going on.

The H2 chip was also used in the AirPods Pro 2 and Pro 3, and powers all of the "smart" features you expect from the Pro line. These include Live Translation, Head Gestures, Conversation Awareness and Siri integration.

The AirPods Max 2 are like the over-ear design and sound of the OG Max had an overly smart, precocious baby with the AirPods Pro 3. You can finally get these aforementioned smart features on your AirPods Max.

So, if you've wanted translation functionality, automatic head gestures (for answering calls), and better Siri support, you might want to check out the AirPods Max 2.

Reasons I'd skip the AirPods Max 2

Although I adore the AirPods Max 2, they might not be for everyone.

1: 20-hour battery life

In 2026, 20-hour battery life really isn't excusable. I was baffled when I read the AirPods Max 2's specs, and I remain baffled. Even after almost two weeks of using the AirPods Max 2, I'm still baffled.

I'm very confused as to why Apple didn't address the number one pain point with the original model. If Apple ever makes an AirPods Max 3, the battery life better be 30 hours, minimum.

The Bose QC Ultra Gen 2 and Sony XM6 both last for 30 hours; the Sennheiser Momentum 4 last for a whopping 60 hours; Marshall's Middleton III top them all with 70 hours. And the crème de la crème: the Nothing Headphone (a)'s huge 135 hours.

If Nothing and Sennheiser can do it, why can't Apple? I completely understand if battery life is a dealbreaker, and I don't blame you if it makes you skip the Max 2 altogether.

2: Still very expensive

Yes, the AirPods Max 2 are still $549. This is considerably pricier than other big-name flagships like the $459 Sony WH-1000XM6 and the $449 Bose QuietComfort Ultra. The only "main players" that demand more of your hard-earned cash are the $799 Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 and the $1,199 Bang & Olufsen H95. You can get the Sennheiser HDB 630 for around $499 and the Sennheiser Momentum 4 for $449.

I would only recommend buying the AirPods Max 2 at a discount. Sure, they're my favorite Bluetooth headphones ever made, but that doesn't mean they're worth $549. If you can grab them for $449 or $499, you'll be getting a much better deal.

More from Tom's Guide

• I've tested a ton of earbuds in the last year — here's my top picks under $50, $70, $150 and $300
• I tested the Apple AirPods Max 2 vs the Bose QuietComfort Ultra — and I'm so impressed
• I tested the AirPods Max 2 vs AirPods Max — and there's a clear winner

You don't need to spend over $200 to get good sound quality — just look at the Bose QuietComfort and the Nothing Ear (3). These earbuds cost $179 each, and during sales events, like Black Friday, you can get them for even cheaper. Both are excellent at delivering nuanced vocals and powerful bass, and both are good at blocking out external sounds with solid ANC.

I reviewed the QuietComfort back in 2025, and now in 2026, I've finishing reviewing the Ear (3). I awarded both pairs 4-star ratings in their respective reviews. This got me thinking, "Is one better than the other?" Chances are, you're probably going to go for the QuietComfort because Bose is a household name. But I don't think you should write Nothing off so quickly.

If you're on the hunt for a fantastic pair of earbuds but don't want to spend more than $180, I'm here to make that decision easier for you. I put the QuietComfort and the Ear (3) through their paces in this face off to find out which is best value for money. Spoiler alert: it's closer than you think.

Bose QuietComfort vs Nothing Ear (3): Specs compared

Bose QuietComfort vs Nothing Ear (3): Price

Both the Bose QuietComfort and the Nothing Ear (3) cost the same in the U.S. and in the U.K. You can grab the QuietComfort for $179 at Amazon U.S. / £179 at Argos U.K., and the Ear (3) for $179 / £179 at Amazon. Since the QuietComfort have been out for longer, you can often find them for $129 / £129 during sales events. The Ear (3) are yet to receive a substantial price drop.

The QuietComfort and the Ear (3) do more than enough to justify their individual price tags, as you'll soon see throughout this comparison, so we'll call this round a tie.

Winner: Tie

Bose QuietComfort vs Nothing Ear (3): Design

The most noticeable difference between the Bose QuietComfort and the Nothing Ear (3) is the design, as they look vastly different from one another. The QuietComfort have a rounded design with rubber ‘stability bands’ that aid the earbuds' secure fit. Each bud weighs 0.29oz. An important thing to note is that the QuietComforts' look fairly bulky, even though they aren't that heavy. They protrude out of your ears, and while there isn't anything wrong with that, it might not be everyone's cup of tea.

The Ear (3), on the other hand, sport your classic drop-stem design — you know, the one you find on the likes of the Apple AirPods Pro 3. They look futuristic, keeping in line with the British brand's sci-fi design philosophy, and feature see-through plastic. They look very cool, and they're comfortable too, with each bud weighing just 0.18oz. As opposed to the QuietComfort, they look more inconspicuous as they don't bulge out.

Both pairs of earbuds are mighty comfortable, and I haven't experienced any discomfort wearing either of them. I asked my partner, who uses the QuietComforts as her daily drivers, to try the Ear (3) and she said she almost preferred them over Bose's offering.

Touch controls on both the QuietComfort and the Ear (3) are fairly straightforward but it's worth noting that while you can use voice commands on the former, they're a bit too sensitive to these, and will often trigger on their own. The Ear (3) don't suffer from this problem, winning them the crown in this round.

Winner: Nothing Ear (3)

Bose QuietComfort vs Nothing Ear (3): Features & connectivity

Both the Bose QuietComfort and the Nothing Ear (3) are chock-full of features. They both feature multipoint connectivity so you can connect them to two devices simultaneously. Each pair utilizes Bluetooth 5.4 for seamless wireless connectivity, but here's the kicker. The QuietComforts support AAC and SBC codecs but there's no aptX or lossless support. The Ear (3), on the other hand, feature LDAC, if that's something that matters deeply to you.

Other similarities between the two include effective wear detection, Google Fast Pair, Find My features, and extremely detailed and user-friendly companion apps. In terms of waterproofing and dust protection, the Ear (3) are better because they're IP54-rated as opposed to the QuietComforts being only IPX4 rated, so the latter aren't protected against dust. By a narrow margin, the Ear (3) win this round once again.

Winner: Nothing Ear (3)

Bose QuietComfort vs Nothing Ear (3): Sound quality

I'll be honest with you: I will never recommend you spending any amount of money on a pair of earbuds that doesn't make music sound like angels are singing. Thankfully, both the Bose QuietComfort and the Nothing Ear (3) warrant recommendations here as they're both outstanding. The QuietComforts have a frequency response range of 20Hz-20KHz while the Ear (3) have a range of 20Hz-40KHz — so both cover the entire spectrum of human hearing.

In terms of vocals and the upper ranges, both the QuietComforts and the Ear (3) are excellent, delivering nuanced sound packed with plenty of detail. For instance, on the QuietComforts, Mika's high notes in 'Grace Kelly' sound pleasant, controller and never so shrill that they pierce through the rest of the track. On the Ear (3), Emily Armstrong's breathy vocals and screams in 'IGYEIH' by Linkin Park sound layered and wide, with great instrumental and vocal separation.

Listening to 'No Chances' by Twenty One Pilots first on the QuietComforts and then on the Ear (3) revealed practically no differences. The mid- and sub-bass was textured and I could feel a steady, vibrating pressure in my ear canal through both earbuds. It also felt like I was engulfed by the driving bassline, which made for a thoroughly immersive listening experience.

While the Ear (3) and the QuietComforts are mostly on equal footing when it comes to sound quality, the Ear (3) have a tendency to make the treble sound a tad harsh at times. It isn't surprising as the Ear (3) utilize a 'V' equalizer curve so the treble can sound overzealous when this happens. In 070 Shake's 'Skin and Bones,' the "chkkk" sound of the hi-hats and cymbals pierced through the track. Though not unpleasant, it wasn't particularly enjoyable.

This is never the case on the QuietComforts. The QuietComforts' sound profile is well-balanced and refined throughout the frequency range. The winner is, therefore, clear. Sorry, Nothing.

Winner: Bose QuietComfort

Bose QuietComfort vs Nothing Ear (3): ANC

When it comes to active noise cancellation (ANC), there's a clear winner, and I don't think you need me to spell it out, but I'll do it anyway. The Bose QuietComfort win, easily. Look, Bose is the king of ANC and it's something we've all known for a while now. Whether I'm indoors or on a busy street outdoors, the QuietComforts block out 90% of sounds, so I can go about my day in peace.

This isn't to say the Nothing Ear (3)'s ANC is bad. It's very good, actually. Indoors, at least. With the Ear (3) in my ears, I can't hear the sound of my very loud mechanical keyboard, the kettle boiling or the doorbell ringing. This is also the case with the QuietComforts. Both pairs of earbuds create excellent seals to ensure no noise makes it through.

But the reason the QuietComforts win is because the Ear (3) aren't as effective outdoors. When I wear them outside, I can still hear cars whizzing past me, and the sound of the bus rattling. With the QuietComforts? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. The ANC is so good on the QuietComforts that it makes you feel lonely.

Winner: Bose QuietComfort

Bose QuietComfort vs Nothing Ear (3): Call quality

When it comes to call quality, both the Bose QuietComfort and the Nothing Ear (3) are excellent, as both ensure that your voice is heard loudly and clearly on the other end. Having tested both back-to-back on a call with my partner, she said that she could hear me properly through both.

But the Ear (3) have an ace up their sleeve. Their charging case features a ‘Super Mic’ dual-microphone system which you can use by holding the 'Talk' button on the case (when the earbuds are in your ears). You can then hold up the case to your mouth and speak into it, and the 'Super Mic' will cancel out 95dB of noise so that only you can be heard. In my testing, this worked exceptionally well, as my partner said she couldn't hear the public's chatter or the cars going past me.

However, is it actually an advantage? Because the QuietComfort, without their own 'Super Mic' feature, effectively cancel out ambient noise so that only you can be heard. The mic on the QuietComforts' is just as good if not better than the 'Super Mic' on the Ear (3), so we'll call this round a draw.

Winner: Tie

Bose QuietComfort vs Nothing Ear (3): Battery life

I'm not exaggerating when I say the Nothing Ear (3)'s battery life is disappointing because that's exactly what it is: subpar and underwhelming. And the Bose QuietComforts have them easily beat. With ANC enabled in my testing, the Ear (3) died after 5 hours, and they're officially rated for 5.5 with an additional 16.5 hours from the charging case.

The QuietComforts, on the other hand, comfortably lasted me nearly 9 hours, and they're officially rated for 8.5 with an additional two and a half charges from the case. The QuietComforts are far more reliable, and though Bose doesn't specify how long they can last with ANC off, we can safely assume it's a long time — the Ear (3) can last 10 hours with an additional 28 hours from the case when ANC is disabled.

Winner: Bose QuietComfort

Bose QuietComfort vs Nothing Ear (3): Verdict

There's no denying that the Nothing Ear (3) are extremely competent earbuds. I've absolutely loved testing them and I've been using them ever since I reviewed them. But are they better than the Bose QuietComfort, the undisputed kings of mid-range ANC? By a tight margin, yes.

The QuietComforts win in the sound quality, ANC and battery life departments, while they're tied with the Ear (3) in the price and call quality rounds. While the Ear (3) win in the design, features and connectivity departments, when it comes down to it, the QuietComforts simply offer more bang for your buck.

Most people care the most about sound quality and ANC, and if you're one of those folks, then the QuietComforts are easily the way to go. Still not convinced? Check out my full Bose QuietComfort review and Nothing Ear (3) review for the detail breakdown.

Bose QuietComfort vs Nothing Ear (3): Ratings scorecard

More from Tom's Guide

• Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) review: These mid-range earbuds reign supreme
• I’ve been testing the Nothing Ear (3) for a week — they look super stylish but the sound is the real star
• Best wireless earbuds in 2026

I love earbuds. Recently, I tested the Nothing Ear (3) which are the British manufacturer's latest flagships. They're some of the best mid-range earbuds — and they cost just $179. You know what else costs $179? The Apple AirPods 4 with ANC.

Having tested both the AirPods 4 and the Ear (3), I can confidently say that I would choose the latter any day as they feel better in almost every way. But are they better than the AirPods Pro 3, which cost $50 more? The answer is yes and no.

So, should you buy the $179 Ear (3) or the AirPods 4? Or should you extend your budget a bit and spend $249 on the AirPods Pro 3 instead? Let's find out.

Where the Nothing Ear (3) shine

If you want cool-looking, sci-fi-inspired earbuds, the Nothing Ear (3) are a no-brainer. Unlike Apple's AirPods which, more or less, look the same, the Ear (3) carry the British brand's trademark futuristic design. Also, unlike the AirPods 4, the Ear (3) feature excellent noise-isolating eartips, which means that they offer a good degree of passive noise cancellation when active noise cancellation isn't enabled.

Personally, I've found the Ear (3)'s and the AirPods Pro 3's comfort level to be on par with one another. Both pairs of earbuds sit snugly in my ears, and neither pair fell out when I was walking briskly or headbanging. The AirPods 4, on the other hand, don't feature any eartips as they have an "open-fit" design. This, to me, is a major con, because the earbuds keep falling out when you move your head.

Another area the Ear (3) win big in, especially compared to the AirPods 4, is their innovative charging case which is fitted with a ‘Super Mic’ dual-microphone system. This cancels out 95dB of ambient noise, ensuring that you're the only one who can be heard loud and clear. The call quality, I found, is similar to the AirPods Pro 3, which feature an acoustic mesh on their mics to reduce wind buffeting.

If you're using the AirPods Pro 3 with Apple devices and FaceTime, you also get AAC-ELD speech codec for full HD voice quality. The difference is that regardless of whether you're using the Ear (3) with Android phones or iPhones, you'll get the same superb voice clarity, which makes the Ear (3) more versatile.

Where the AirPods 4 with ANC do better

One of the biggest pros of getting the Apple AirPods 4 with ANC over the Nothing Ear (3) is that the former get considerably discounted during sales events, like Black Friday. In the past, we've seen them drop to as low as $99 at Amazon. The Ear (3) are newer which means they haven't received major price drops yet, as the lowest we've seen them drop to is $148 at Amazon.

Another key winning area for the AirPods 4 is the earbuds' integration with the rest of Apple's ecosystem. If you don't want to spend a lot of money on, say, the AirPods Pro 3, you can grab the AirPods 4 during a big sale and call it a day. They work well with your MacBook, iPad, iPhone, iMac — whatever device you prefer.

The silicone eartips of the AirPods Pro 3 and the Ear (3) might not be everyone's cup of tea either, and some might prefer the AirPods 4's airy open-fit instead. I can see why, as you avoid the pressure of traditional eartips, and they can be better for environmental awareness too.

Similar to how my colleague and senior reviews writer, Erin, noted in her AirPods 4 versus Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 and AirPods 4 versus Bose QuietComfort face-offs, I believe the AirPods 4 are good but they face just way too fierce competition from similarly priced earbuds. They're outclasses by the Ear (3) when it comes to sound quality (which I'll dive into next), ANC and comfort. If you're buying $179 earbuds at full price, the Ear (3) are the better choice.

Where the AirPods Pro 3 dominate

Last but certainly not least, let's talk about the AirPods Pro 3. These are, without a doubt, Apple's most advance earbuds and they do more than enough to justify their premium price tag — especially if you're already invested in Apple's ecosystem. They're on par with the Nothing Ear (3) when it comes to highly effective ANC and sheer comfort.

If it's long-lasting battery life you're after, the AirPods Pro 3 are the better choice as, with ANC on, they can last up to 8 hours (24 hours with charging case). Both the Ear (3) and the AirPods 4 with ANC are disappointing in this regard, as the Ear (3) last only 5.5 hours (22 hours with charging case) and the AirPods 4 last 4 hours (20 hours with charging case).

If it's full-bodied sound you're after, it's a close call between the AirPods Pro 3 and the the Ear (3). Both are well-endowed earbuds, and both deliver clean bass and refined mids and lows. The Ear (3), however, feature better low-end impact, and the sub- and mid-bass feel like they're engulfing you, especially in tracks like 'No Chances' by Twenty One Pilots and 'Money' by Pink Floyd.

This isn't to say that the bass on the AirPods Pro 3 is poor. The earbuds do well to make it sound like you're at a gig but the Ear (3) make it sound like you're standing next to a stadium subwoofer. But the AirPods Pro 3 are much better at delivering crisp, vibrant treble. The problem with the Ear (3)'s is that the treble cuts through the V curve equalizer, so hi-hats and percussion hits sound shrill, as I found in tracks like 'Skin and Bones' by 070 Shake. The AirPods Pro 3 don't suffer from this issue and offer a more balanced sound profile.

You can, of course, fix the Ear (3)'s overzealous treble via the user-friendly companion app, but if you don't want to bother with an additional app on your smartphone, the AirPods Pro 3 are the better choice — especially if you have an iOS device, but that goes without saying.

And the winner is...

Is there a clear winner between the Nothing Ear (3), the AirPods 4 with ANC, and the AirPods Pro 3? Alas, it's not that simple, as each pair of earbuds has its own pros and cons, so it really depends on what your preferences are and what you're looking for.

If you want a pair of mid-range earbuds that deliver phenomenal bass and sport a sleek design, the Ear (3) should be your choice.

But if you don't want to pay full price for the Ear (3) and want a pair of earbuds that fits right into your Apple ecosystem — and can be found on sale most of the year — then the AirPods 4 with ANC should be a no-brainer.

The AirPods Pro 3 are worth the extra $50 simply because they offer well-rounded sound, effective ANC and peerless Apple integration.

Personally, though, as an Android user but also a MacBook owner, I'd pick the Ear (3), but that's just me. Which would you go for?

More from Tom's Guide

• I’ve been testing the Nothing Ear (3) for a week — they look super stylish but the sound is the real star
• I tested the Bose QuietComfort vs Nothing Ear (3) $179 earbuds — it’s closer than you think
• Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Apple AirPods Pro 3: Which flagship earbuds win?

The AirPods Max 2 are the biggest audio release of 2026. There's no doubt about it — these Apple headphones are the headline of the year. I've been testing them for well over a week, and I'm so glad we waited almost six years for the upgraded version. It was well worth the wait.

With improved sound, super-strong ANC, and the same sleek, premium design as their predecessor, the AirPods Max 2 are well-positioned to be some of the best headphones you can get. But what about if you have an Android phone? Do the AirPods Max 2 work on something other than an iPhone?

The short answer: yes. Yes, the AirPods Max 2 do work on Android. However, the long answer has some caveats, footnotes, and asterisks, so let me get into it now.

Yes, the AirPods Max 2 work on Android

Connecting my AirPods Max 2 to my Samsung Galaxy S25+ was very easy. I held the ANC button until the light flashed white, selected the AirPods Max 2 from the devices list, and I was good to go.

I then played music on Spotify, Qobuz, and Apple Music, which was as easy as it sounds. I was able to play/pause and cycle through ANC modes with the button controls on the right ear cup.

So, yes, you can use AirPods Max 2 on an Android. It's as easy as can be. However, you don't get access to all the features.

Features you get on Android