Finding the best headphones for you can transform how you listen to music, podcasts and movies, bringing you excellent audio in a sleek design. However, with so many brands, features and styles to choose from, it can be tricky to figure out which are right for you. Do you want over-ear or in-ear? Is battery life your top priority or ANC? That’s why we’ve created this guide, to simplify your search for the perfect pair of headphones.
Our team of experts has been testing headphones and earbuds for over 15 years. With this experience, we know what makes a pair stand out – whether it's exceptional sound quality, superior comfort, or advanced features. Every product featured here has undergone rigorous, real-world testing, and we only recommend models we genuinely love. Our reviews are completely independent, ensuring you can trust our advice.
To put together this guide, we’ve assessed a whole range of factors, including features like AI and spatial audio, through to user-friendly apps, comfort, and overall practicality. Whether you’re exploring over-ear, on-ear, or in-ear styles, you’ll find a whole range of excellent options here. Some models also appear in our popular best wireless headphones guide. For those focused on noise cancellation, check out our best noise-cancelling headphones roundup, for budget-friendly choices, head to our best cheap headphones guide and if you only want a small, convenient in-ear design, you need our best earbuds and best noise cancelling earbuds guides.
I've reviewed over 150 audio products since becoming a tech journalist, ranging from super-budget earbuds to high-end Hi-Res Audio music players. Before joining TechRadar, I spent three years at What Hi-Fi? testing everything the world of audio had to offer; before that, I was a professional dancer. My love of music ties it all together.
Recent updates
January 2, 2025
Refreshed the introduction and added links to our best earbuds and best noise cancelling earbuds guides. Switched the Nothing Ear (a) earbuds out for the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds as our 'best mid-priced earbuds' option. Added several new picks into our 'also consider' section, including the Shure SE215. Edited our AirPods 4 entry in this section to also include links to our review and our AirPods 4 with ANC review.
The best headphones of 2025
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Below you'll find full write-ups for each of the best headphones in our list. We've tested each one extensively, so these recommendations are based on real-world experience.
The best headphones for most people
✅ You want versatile headphones that sound good: The Sony WH-1000XM4s deliver high-quality sound in a lightweight folding design that's good for travel.
✅ You want strong noise cancellation: With the volume up and the noise cancelling on, the WH-1000XM4 can block out a lot.
❌ You plan on bringing them to the gym or beach: A looser fit and lack of water-resistance should make you think twice before putting them inside your gym bag.
❌ You take tons of conference calls: While these are great for travel, their call quality isn't that strong.
Despite the fact that the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones have now been released, we still rate the WH-1000XM4 as the best pick for most people because they're now usually such good value. A combination of a permanent price drop plus regular heavy discounts during sales events means that they can usually be found for a price lower than other premium headphones, while still delivering excellent all-round performance – look for a price under $200 / £200 and you'll be happy.
They sound is weighty by well-balanced, with a warm and inviting tone. They're generous with the bass, but not overly so. The active noise cancellation is very strong too, and though it's been bettered by the Sony XM5 and Bose's latest headphones, it's great for the price if you buy at a discount.
They're bursting with features too, including Sony's DSEE Extreme upscaling for lower-quality music from sources such as Spotify, multipoint pairing for easy switching between devices, auto play/pause when you take them off, Sony's 360 Reality Audio spatial audio, and LDAC wireless support for CD-quality wire-free sound from compatible phones. It's a shame there's no aptX, but it's not a deal-breaker.
They're very comfortable thanks to a lightweight design, and wearing them for long periods is no strain at all. A 3.5mm jack means you can connect them to a wired source easily, though there's no USB-C audio input (the USB-C port is for charging only).
The 30-hour battery life is pretty typical, though is smashed by the 60 hours of the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 at #3 on the list, which also clearly beat these on sound quality when comparing the two, though as mentioned above, we still think the Sony are great value at their reduced price. That's the story for these headphones at this point: you can find something that does any individual thing better, but nothing that does so much so well as their lower price. But make sure you're paying $200/£200 or under. If Sony bumps the price back up a bit, you're best opting for the Cambridge Audio option – they'll cost the same and bring you even more modern, high-end features.
Read our full Sony WH-1000XM4 review
The best budget headphones
✅ You want well-balanced sound: Don't like how bass-heavy or shiny in the treble cheap headphones can be? No danger of that here – they're perfectly tuned.
✅ You love a long battery life: With 50 hours of battery, these will basically always have juice when you need them.
❌ You want active noise cancellation: There's no ANC here, and the passive noise isolation isn't really notable either. Consider the 1More Sonoflow if you need this for cheap.
❌ You're hoping for really audiophile sound: The balance and sound profile is great here, but a cheap pair of wired headphones will sound notably better.
With solid audio, great battery life and Bluetooth connectivity, the Sony WH-CH520 are excellent bang for your buck. If you’re looking for on-ear headphones at this price point, you’re likely already willing to make a few sacrifices. Thankfully, most of the compromises (such as no 3.5mm port option) Sony has made with the WH-CH520 haven’t been too crucial.
The lack of active noise cancellation might be more of a problem, but it certainly isn't unfair for the price. Where the WH-CH520 really shine is a very long battery life of 50 hours and premium features like a customizable control app with DSEE and multi-point audio pairing, which makes switching between devices a breeze.
They are made out of a textured plastic, which is sturdy but admittedly not that premium feeling. Although, again, this is a minor sacrifice for the audio smarts packed inside of them, plus the trade off with such a material is that they're lightweight.
Released in February 2023, they deliver balanced sound that has plenty of detail, making them easy to listen to. Sony really has stripped back features to focus on sound with the WH-CH520, and it really shows with deeper bass and brighter highs.
For those chasing something that is substantially more sturdy or sporting a 3.5mm port, you’re unlikely to find an alternative at the same price point ($60 / £60 / AU$99) that’s also wireless, let alone boasts great battery life and sound.
Read our full Sony WH-CH520 review
The best premium headphones
✅ You don't want to think about battery life: 60 hours of longevity per charge with ANC on and 100 without is truly exceptional.
✅ You like an app with lots of options: Everything you need is here to customize your experience, including EQ settings.
❌ You want best-in-class noise cancellation: The ANC here is very good, but the Sony WH-1000XM5 and especially the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones at #7 do it better.
❌ You want light and portable: They're not big or heavy, but they don't fold up as much as they could and the accompanying case is a bit big.
Expect enjoyable and highly engaging sound from the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 headphones, which we couldn’t fault for the price during our testing. In our review, we wrote: “There’s a stack of detail, a wide-open soundstaging, vaulting dynamic potency and an engaging, lively overall attitude that will keep you coming back for more.” You can also tweak the sound via the app, where you’ll find a seven-band equaliser with several presets.
A pair of premium headphones like these will sound their absolute best with 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC file action from Qobuz or Tidal, but that doesn’t mean they won’t also do a great job at making any music you throw at them sound incredible. As we wrote in our review: “They don’t judge – give them what you’ve got, and they’ll do their best with it.” The active noise cancellation isn’t the best (look to Bose for that), but it does a good job at nixing most noises – unless you’re looking for exceptional ANC, this will suit most people.
There’s a seriously impressive 100 hours of battery life on offer here, which is incredible. Even compared to some of the best rivals. Admittedly, that’s without ANC, but with ANC on, you’ll get 60 hours, which is still as good as it gets. You’d expect premium features for a premium price and won’t be disappointed. There’s multipoint connectivity onboard, Bluetooth 5.3, six mics to handle ANC, and an app packed with everything you’ll ever need. You’ll also find aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless codec compatibility. One rather unexpected but hilarious feature is that actor Matt Berry is one of the options for your ‘audible feedback’, which, in our review, we referred to as a “stroke of genius” – seriously, name a better voice actor for this role!
Things are just as positive when it comes to their design. In our review, we wrote that these headphones are “flawlessly built and finished” with a combination of memory foam and vegan leather on the earpads and a padded headband. We also found them comfortable to wear. The only minor downside is that their travel case is a bit bigger than it needs to be. But really, we’re nit-picking.
The Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 are priced at $279 / £229 / AU$479, which means they’re our top pick if your budget can stretch to the premium end of the spectrum – though it still isn't that premium compared to Sony and Bose's highest-end headphones, so they're actually good value. We awarded them five out of five stars in our review, which is a testament to how great these wonderfully-specced headphones sound and the wealth of features on offer.
Read our full Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review
The best earbuds overall
✅ Comfort and fit are important to you: These come with loads of different fitting options in the box, so you'll definitely get a secure, comfortable fit.
✅ You want all the features: Triple-point connectivity is a useful world-first, and there's LDAC, customizable ANC, wireless charging… basically everything.
❌ You need best-in-class noise cancellation: The ANC is perfectly average, but Bose's earbuds do a better job of cutting you off.
❌ You want something small and light: They fit well, but they're still heavier than options such as AirPods Pro 2, and they're not small.
The Technics EAH-AZ80 are exactly the kind of package you want from a pair of premium earbuds. Not only do they sound fantastic, they come with some of the most advanced and future-proofed tech of any buds you can buy today, including debuting the first example of triple-device multipoint Bluetooth connectivity, meaning they can be connected to three devices at once and can move seamlessly between them – which worked great in our testing.
You've got Bluetooth 5.3 which can be compatible with next-gen LE Audio, you've got LDAC for CD-quality streaming from compatible devices, you've got highly tweakable noise cancellation and ambient sound modes, a great EQ, wireless charging… basically all the latest toys.
Even more importantly, we're huge fans of their sound quality. It's so poised and eloquent, with a rich dynamic range that feels like you're getting a full and accurate reproduction of the recording. In our review, we said "it's both swift and accurate, as well as balanced and detailed. It’s not quite as energetic as really high-end earbuds, but we can hardly blame it for that – the overall detail and accuracy is a cut above almost anything else."
Technics goes above and beyond to make sure that the earbuds fit all shapes and sizes of ears, providing seven silicone, drop-shaped eartips for their so-called 'concha-fit'.
The battery life and active noise cancellation are less exemplary – both are average, so not bad at all, but not exceptional – but they will be absolutely perfect for anyone looking for excellent musical fidelity and cutting-edge tech features from their earbuds.
Read our full Technics EAH-AZ80 review
The best mid-priced earbuds
✅ You want great ANC for less: These Bose buds deliver exceptional noise-stopping power.
✅ You struggle to find buds that fit: They come with multiple tips and stability bands to ensure a comfy, stable fit.
❌ You want high-res format support: The Bose QCE support SBC and AAC codecs, and that's it. If you want high-res tunes, look elsewhere.
❌ You like using voice controls: Voice commands were disappointing, mostly because they were far too sensitive.
Several great earbuds could claim the title of ‘best mid-priced’ pick, but the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds stand out with exceptional ANC, impressive sound quality, and an incredibly comfortable design. While not exactly cheap, they offer outstanding value for their price.
Bose is renowned for its excellent ANC, and the QuietComfort Earbuds are no exception. In our review, we noted that their ANC “beats out anything else I've tried at this price – and many earbuds that cost much more.” During testing, these earbuds effectively silenced nearly all background noise. For those moments when you need awareness, the Aware mode isolates and amplifies voices while dampening other sounds.
Sound-wise, we described the experience as "warm and energetic," with a "rich and meaty bass." While these earbuds don’t deliver an extra-boosted low end, they offer nuance and perform well even at high volumes. But what we rated the most during testing was the dramatic soundstage. We wrote: “You can hear the different instruments spread around you like dishes at a tapas restaurant, and if you close your eyes you feel like you could point to where each one is.” While they lack support for advanced audio codecs, this won’t matter if you primarily stream via Spotify – but it might disappoint those using Tidal or Apple Music’s high-res offerings.
So many of Bose’s headphones have “comfort” in their name for a reason and these buds delivered a snug and sturdy fit during our testing. There are different tips to choose from, as well as stability bands. We can’t guarantee everyone will get a great fit, but there are few buds we’d say are as likely to deliver as these. In fact, we took them on an 8km run and they didn’t budge. The only thing to point out in terms of design is the case is pretty big, at least bigger than most other wireless buds we’ve tested and it’ll feel bulky in a pocket. Then again, this is hardly a big deal to say these buds are well-priced, sound great, offer solid ANC and fit incredibly well. If your budget can stretch to Bose’s mid-range price tag, these buds won’t disappoint.
Read our full Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2024 review
The best budget earbuds
✅ You want affordable buds that don't feel that way: The sound is better than it should be for such a low price, and they're well made and comfortable to wear.
✅ You like clear, treble-first sound: There's no thumping bass here, but audio is clear with textured vocals and a focus on clean treble.
❌ You want noise cancellation: One of the few sacrifices you'll have to make for a budget price here is a lack of noise cancellation – get the Nothing Ear (a) instead.
❌ Longevity is a top priority: The battery in the buds themselves is great, but with the case you'll only get one more full charge.
The Sony WF-C510 earbuds are only $59.99 / £54.99 / AU$109, which makes them budget buds in our books (especially since they'll probably drop in price by about 30% during sales events) but you wouldn’t know it from their quality audio, solid built and good battery life. They’re easily among the best low-cost earbuds we’ve ever tested.
We described the audio from the Sony WF-C510 earbuds as “punchy and high-quality” in our review. We thoroughly enjoyed listening to our favorite tracks with them and noted that Sony is clearly prioritizing clean treble here. You can tweak the experience with Sony’s equalizer, though this isn't the easiest to use. This does mean you may need to look elsewhere – and perhaps pay more – if you’re a fan of powerful bass.
There are a couple of missing features here that you’d find in pricier, mid-range earbuds. The main one is active noise cancellation, but there’s also no wear detection or low-latency mode. Then again, when you considering the asking price here, it’s hard to complain. Sacrifices need to come from somewhere, and it makes sense they’d come from features rather than sound and fit. The buds have a solid 11 hours of battery, which should see you through a long work day and most journeys. However, the case battery life is less impressive, also packing in 11 hours – so you get one full charge of the buds from it. Compared to rivals, this is a little low. We’d expect at least two full charges.
We highly rate the simple design of these Sony buds. They stay very stable in your ears. There’s a nice grippy material on the tips, which is one of the reasons they fare so well in all sorts of settings. In our review, we wrote: “I even cycled confidently with them and completed a full workout at the gym without gravity doing its thing to them.” Each bud also weighs less than 5g, which makes them comfortable and lightweight for all-day wear. The case is light and will easily fit in a pocket without feeling like you've got a lumpy thigh.
These are some of the best cheap earbuds you’ll find, and they prove that Sony isn’t just good at building the top high-end headphones, like the Sony WH-1000XM4 over-ears at the top of this list or the high-performing Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds, but can turn its hand to more affordable tech, too.
Read our full Sony WF-C510 review
The best headphones for ANC
✅ You want the best noise cancellation: That's the long and short of it. They're the best. A clear step up over anything else (except the Bose QuietComfort Headphones, which are 95% as good).
✅ You want exciting, nuanced, rich sound:
These are Bose's best-sounding headphones by a long way – they're wonderfully dynamic and detailed.
❌ You want a long battery life: The 24 hours of battery life here is pretty disappointing – not a dealbreaker, but below Sony and way below Cambridge Audio.
❌ You want Hi-Res Audio connectivity: Despite a high cost, there's no USB-C Hi-Res option, and no broad aptX or LDAC support.
These are Bose's most exciting headphones in years, and they put the inventor of active noise cancellation right back on top of the category it created. They're in a class of their own when it comes to blocking outside sound, and we tested then on planes, trains, buses, in bustling cities, in the office, and at home – and in all cases, they silence the create was more complete than anything else we've tried (though obviously, some stuff will still leak through).
But what's so exciting is that on top of this, they also sound simply fantastic. As we said in our review: "They deliver some of the most alive, exciting, textured, finely resolved, deeply engaging music I've ever heard from a pair of wireless headphones." This sound quality comes at a premium, but we think they're easily worth the higher price over the likes of the Sony or Cambridge Audio headphones here. "The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones may not be cheap, but on the music quality alone, I think they're a great deal," our review says.
They also have some good smart features, including customizable active noise cancellation modes and multipoint connectivity, controlled from the generally intuitive Bose Music app.
It's a bit of a shame that higher-quality audio support is limited to Snapdragon Sound with compatible phones, and the 3.5mm audio cable. Several audiophile competitors (the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 in this guide, and the Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2) have USB-C audio support for serious hi-res files, and aptX for broader high-quality wireless tech (or LDAC).
The 24-hour battery life is also lower than the 30 hours that's standard for noise-cancelling headphones, and massively lower than the 60 hours for the Cambridge Audio headphones in this list. But we can forgive all these faults for the sound quality on offer here.
Read our full Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones review
The best earbuds for ANC
✅ You need elite active noise cancellation: simply the best ANC in earbuds that you can get.
✅ You love a vivacious, full-on sound: Bose has really nailed zealous sound in these buds, paticularly when using the immersive audio features alongside the ANC.
❌ You want wireless charging: you can get it, but you'll need to purchase a separate cover
❌ You like a smaller, lighter earbud: These are smaller than Bose's last offering, but it's still chunkier than average, and you do feel it in your ear.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are just the best noise-cancelling earbuds on the market now. Not necessarily the most neutral and detailed-sounding across the board, you understand, but the best if you need a bubble-of-silence background to better hear your tunes. They take everything we loved about the QuietComfort Earbuds 2 that came before them and add some major improvements, including excellent device-agnostic head-tracked immersive audio, special tweaks to the ear-tips, multipoint to two devices (following a July 2024 update) and even better ANC.
As you’d expect, the active noise cancellation (ANC) here is top notch, creating a "near cocoon of silence" that’s perfect for shutting out extraneous noise. Combine their ANC prowess with an acceptable 6 hours of battery life in the buds and 24 hours in total with the case, and they’re a solid choice.
The all-new Immersive Audio technology also offers spatial sound that adapts to your movement and works with the ANC, offering a more cinematic experience across devices – all with Snapdragon Sound Suite and aptX Adaptive support at the helm. We called them a “vigorous and engaging listen” in our review and that's what you're getting. Don't expect the most analytical, detailed or dynamically nuanced soundfield, but unless you want audiophile-grade audio, you'll be well served here.
Read our in-depth Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds review
The best headphones for sound quality
✅ You like your devices to be of a high standard: They look and feel premium, which is to be expected for their price, of course.
✅ You want clear, rich sound: We were incredibly impressed with the performance of these over-ears during our testing.
❌ You want a vegan option: Leather is used on the exterior of these headphones, which is a shame if you're don't want to buy animal products.
❌ You like to customize your listening: There are only two EQ settings for the Dali IO-8, the lack of an app will be a dealbreaker for some.
The Dali IO-8 over-ear headphones have been built to an exceptionally high standard, but they truly shine where audio quality is concerned. We genuinely couldn't pick fault with them during our testing, so it's easy to see why they're our top pick if sound is your top priority above all else.
Features-wise, these headphones are packed with most of the high-tech goodies you'd expect, including Bluetooth 5.2 with aptX Adaptive compatibility, 24bit/96kHz support and 50mm full-range drivers with 10Hz-43kHz frequency response. You'll also get a decent 30 hours of battery life with ANC on. The only thing missing is a control app, meaning you can't tweak sound profiles – then again, when they sound this good, why would you want to?
The Dali IO-8 deliver audio that we described as "detailed and expansive" in our review, stating that "no element of a recording is too fleeting to elude them." There's also wonderful richness and clarity across the whole range and a tonality we called "carefully neutral". ANC is here and it's good, but it's not best-in-class, look to Bose for that.
These headphones deliver in the looks department as well as sound, with a high level of build and finish quality. The design is also nice to look at, with perfectly circular ear cups. They're comfortable thanks to memory foam in the cups and an adjustable headband. We also like that, if you forget to charge them, you can listen to these headphones wired, too. A great option for ultimate convenience. The only drawback is leather has been used on the exterior of the cups, which means vegans should steer clear.
Of course, the Dali IO-8 are not cheap. But if high-quality sound and an equally impressive build are what you're after – and you're happy with no app and leather – they're well worth your money.
Read our full Dali IO-8 review
The best earbuds for sound
✅ Excellent sound is your top priority: These B&W buds sound fantastic and are among the best we've ever tested – that's really saying something.
✅ You want the option of wired listening: You can connect the case to a laptop or in-flight entertainment system, and the sound will beam to the buds.
❌ You want spatial audio: There's no option for this – not a problem for music purists, but a shame for movies.
❌ You'd like full controls on the buds: It's a small bugbear really, but you can't control ANC modes and volume from the buds at all times.
The Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 are a highly competent pair of buds that sound fantastic and are a joy to wear. This easily makes them our top pick for those who want the best sound from the super-convenient true wireless buds design. Bowers & Wilkins has always created audio tech that sounds phenomenal, and these latest buds are no exception.
To say that we were impressed during our testing is a massive understatement. In our review, we wrote: “No matter what genre of music I threw at them (and no matter the streaming source) it felt as if the B&W Pi8 had unpacked, weighed, opened out, examined, layered and finally presented my music with the skilled hand of a French pâtissier.” They excel in all areas, including dynamic nuance, balance, musicality and more. Audiophiles will be delighted to hear such clarity and richness from a pair of buds.
Features-wise, there’s a lot to love here, including the noise cancellation. It’s rare to find both incredible sound and ANC – sometimes solid noise cancelling comes at a price and that price is a loss of richness and clarity. In our review, we wrote: “That cocooned feeling of leaving the outside world behind kicked straight in.” This is due to B&W’s advanced tech, of course, but also thanks to the snug and stable fit of the Pi8 buds. As well as ANC, there’s a ‘Pass Through’ mode that lets you hear people talking to you. But other than that, there are no different levels of noise blocking power to choose from here, which is something Bose offers you, for example.
Another great additional feature is that the charging case can be plugged into a non-Bluetooth source, and it’ll then become a wireless audio re-transmitter in aptX Adaptive transmission up to 24-bit/96kHz quality. This makes the buds perfect for listening to movies on in-flight entertainment systems, or using with work laptops and so on.
The only thing really missing here is there are no fit tests to make sure the ear tips are right or that the noise cancellation is geared to you. There’s also no spatial audio processing, which is a bit of a shame for movie lovers in particular. These aren’t essentials by any means, but you could try the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, the LG Tone Free T90S or the AirPods Pro 2 if spatial audio is a priority.
The Pi8 buds boast an improved design over previous versions, which adds on-ear volume support (but annoyingly no ANC on or off function) and nixes connectivity issues. There are several color options to choose from, and although they’re made from plastic they do have a premium, matte look and feel to them. They have slightly better battery than the buds that came before them, but it’s not a huge improvement. You’ll get 6.5 hours from the buds and 13.5 hours more from the case with noise cancellation on. Other buds do it better, but that’s a substantial amount of time for a work day or most journeys. The Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 buds may not be cheap, but considering they deliver best-in-class audio in buds that are hard to fault in almost every conceivable way, they’re excellent value.
Read our full Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 review
