Best Wireless Earbuds: Amazing true wireless sound

If you’re after the absolute best audio quality, then the bearer of that standard is the WF-1000XM5.

The bass performance isn’t as powerful or as fun as the WF-1000XM4, but the latest flagship model is more detailed and clearer. The midrange has a better sense of finer detail, especially with voices, and the high frequencies are sharper, clearer and more detailed.

The noise-cancelling performance is an improvement on the WF-1000XM4, able to suppress voices and general noise better than its predecessor for a much more quiet performance. The transparency mode is clear and detailed, although we find the WF-1000XM4 is slightly clearer to our ears.

And while we’d say that the QuietComfort Earbuds II bests it in terms of noise-cancellation, though in the Sony’s favour is that it cancels noises with a more natural tone.

Battery life is the same as the WF-1000XM4, with 8 hours per earbuds and 24 in total with the charging case. However, the design is smaller and lighter, making for a more favourable and comfortable fit, and with the introduction of an extra small ear-tip size, there’s more room to fit a wider range of ears.

Wireless performance is good in both AAC and LDAC playback modes, and the WF-1000XM5 is bundled with an array features that make these earphones one of the most, if not the most, smartest pair of wireless earbuds on the market, although a good alternative would be the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4.

Call quality is decent but can be a little odd, leaking in background noise whenever we spoke but silent when we weren’t. It’s not as good as the AirPods Pro 2 for call performance.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Sony WF-1000XM5

The WF-C500 are Sony’s cheapest true wireless and in our opinion they’re among its best efforts as long as you keep your expectations grounded.

That’s probably best felt with the audio performance. You shouldn’t expect the type of the sound from the WF-1000XM5 but Sony has nonetheless tuned WF-C500 to produce a clear and lively sound.

There’s plenty of detail in the mid- to high frequency range, and good separation between voices and instruments in the tracks we listened to, but where the 5.8mm drivers struggle is in reproducing low frequencies. We found that bass often fell flat so if you do like your bass, perhaps consider a slightly more expensive pair such as the JBL Live Pro 2.

Build quality makes use of plastic materials but we found them comfortable to wear, and with an IPX4 rating they’re protected against some sweat and water, they could be used for a run or at the gym.

Battery life is 10 hours from a charge and 20 hours overall with fast-charging support. There’s no ANC support included here, so there’s not much of a barrier between what you’re hearing and the sounds of what’s around you. Bluetooth 5 covers SBC and AAC streaming, and there is support for Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format that’s supported by the likes of Amazon Music.

They’re not perfect, but few wireless earbuds at this price are. If you’re after a bargain buy, the WF-C500 offer plenty of value. They have been replaced by the WF-C510, which we’ll be reviewing soon.

Reviewer: Henry St Leger
Full Review: Sony WF-C500

Bowers & Wilkins have tried to crack the true wireless market with varying success. We liked its original, but it came with a number of issues. The Pi7 S2 solved some issues but struggled to offer the performance we would have liked. With the Pi8, B&W delivers its best true wireless.

They sound absolutely cracking. Loud and energetic, warm but detailed, the Pi8 bring a high level of fidelity to music that we haven’t heard from other true wireless pairs. Vocals sound natural and true, the soundstage is big and wide, with highs described clearly and bass reaching down low.

The noise-cancellation is solid though not as strong as the Bose, Sony, Jabra and Sennheiser pairs. It is better than previous B&W true wireless in clearing away noise, but it’s more reliant on a good fit and volume levels in getting rid of noise.

The wireless performance is excellent with barely any blips in busy areas, while there’s also the retransmission case where you plug the case into an analogue source (a 3.5mm jack) and have the audio wirelessly relayed to the earphones without any latency. It works fantastically.

Call quality isn’t as good as we’d hoped, both indoors and outdoors, with a performance that isn’t the clearest.

The Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 won’t be for everyone considering the price, but for those who want to indulge in luxury, they’re the best premium true wireless earbuds.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Bowers & Wilkins Pi8

Spatial Audio is becoming more prominent on headphones and music streaming services, but we can’t say that we’ve heard a good implementation of the feature on true wireless headphones. Well until the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2.

The first pair was a good attempt but whenever we switched to the spatial audio there was always a reduction in detail and clarity. With the Elite 10 Gen 2 we find there isn’t that shortfall in clarity, the presentation retains similarly good levels of detail when we’re listening to Dolby Atmos content. Compared to Bose and even Sony true wireless, we find the Jabra to be the best attempt at creating a sense of spatial audio without compromise.

These earphones are a step up from the Elite 10 model in other areas. The noise-cancellation is stronger, suppressing everyday sounds with more confidence to the point where it puts in a similar performance as the Bose QC Ultra Earbuds.

The sound quality isn’t as rich as the original either; clearer, more detailed, and with a sharper sense of definition. They don’t carry as much bass depth as before, but we much prefer the balance of these true wireless than we do the original.

They’re an excellent all-round true wireless, comfortable to wear, and come with a smart case that means you could plug them into airplanes and listen to the in-flight entertainment or use them with a portable gaming console. It’s disappointing that the Elite 10 Gen 2 are one of Jabra’s last true wireless earphones, but they are its best by far.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2

It’s a shame that Jabra has bowed out of the consumer headphone market, but with the Elite 8 Active Gen 2, it’s made its finest true wireless for runners and workouts.

We very much liked the Elite 8 Active model, but this pair improves on it in every major way. The earphones are smaller, which for us meant they actually fitted into the ear better. The fit was more stable, so we didn’t have to keep adjusting it mid-way like we did with the previous pair. That also led to a better noise-cancelling performance.

The ANC is stronger than before, getting rid of more sounds both in indoor and outdoor environments so you’re not distracted by what’s around you. And if you want to beaware of your environment then the HearThrough mode is clearer, more detailed, and latches onto voices better in case you want to have conversation.

The sound quality is also a step up from before. It’s not as bass heavy, with more clarity, definition and detail for a performance that’s better balanced than the Elite 8 Active. We’re not too keen on the spatial sound feature, which doesn’t sound like an advancement on what came before.

The new charging case also allows for retransmission of audio from an analogue source. So you could plug the earphones into a bike machine at the gym, and then have it wirelessly transmitted to the earbuds in similar fashion to the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 (which are £100 more expensive).

Otherwise the features remain the same as before. The Elite 8 Active Gen 2 pass the US Military Standard for ruggedised electronics (810H) and Jabra’s own HACT tests (Highly Accelerated Corrosion Testing. The Sound+ app presents the opportunity to tinker with the EQ settings in the app and customise other features.

We think these are a fabulous true wireless pair. Hence why they won our best sports headphones award for 2024.

Reviewer:Kob Monney
Full Review: Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2

Back Bay is a Boston-based audio company that’s not well known in the UK, but they’ve been pumping several good headphones and Tempo 30 are one of its best yet.

For a cheap true wireless, we found the finish to be attractive with its marble-like look that looks great in (or out) of the ear) marble-like finish that certainly looks fantastic. The fit is very snug, which made them ideal for use on our runs and workouts, their IPX7 rating makes them both waterproof and sweatproof). With six different types of ear-tips, there are plenty of choices to find the best fit to block out external noises. The nature of the ear-tips can also affect the sound of the Tempo 30 as well.

For instance the default ear-tips offer crisp, detailed tones with less bass, while swapping them out for another brings a fuller sound with more weight, which is what we preferred. The audio here is energetic and vibrant with some good detail and good sense of scale that isn’t always present for earbuds at this price. The bass extension and power of those lower-end frequencies are where the Tempo 30 shine, making for a fun listen that we think runners and those on the move a lot will enjoy .

The battery life here is also excellent, with 8 hours for each earbud, and 32 hours in total – more than double the length of the Bose Sports Earbuds, which are much more expensive. At this low price, sacrifices have to be made with no wireless or fast-charging support, and only SBC Bluetooth quality.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Back Bay Tempo 30

With the QuietComfort Earbuds II discontinued, the torch passes to the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. And they just about retain the title of best noise-cancelling earbuds. Just.

Why? Well the QC Ultra Earbuds surprisingly aren’t as suppressive as its predecessor, leaking in a little bit of noise here and there. They remain the best across a range of situations, but the gap between it and the likes of the Sony WF-1000XM5, Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 and Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 has reduced.

The QC Ultra Earbuds do an impressive job of reducing ambient noise and blocking out people’s voices, although Bose still hasn’t fixed the (minor) issue with wind noise in blustery conditions. Considering the price being asked, we’d hope it was an area Bose had improved.

The Aware mode is excellent, it makes it sound as if you weren’t wearing earphones at all. And Bose’s ActiveSense technology automatically reduces background noises when in transparency mode, so you’re not surprised by suddent noises around you.

The QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds support aptX Lossless/Snapdragon Sound to transmit higher quality audio over Bluetooth. The wireless performance is an area we found to be excellent, consistently reliable with not dropouts.

In terms of sound, it’s a similar peformance that we’ve heard from recent Bose headphones. The top end of the frequency range is bright but balanced, bass is big and punchy and vocals carry more weight too. It’s not as finely-balanced as the WF-1000XM5, but if you like your bass, the Bose is better than the Sony.

The Immersive Audio feature offers a wider soundstage and more depth, but isn’t as detailed or as sharp as listening in stereo mode. The head-tracking is a neat effect, maintaining the illusion of sound following you when you move. We feel the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 are better at spatial audio with its Dolby head-tracking.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds

For Apple users, the AirPods have become the go-to choice for wireless earbuds and for the best iOS experience we’d recommend the Apple AirPods Pro 2.

They replaced the original AirPods Pro and come with a bevy of improvements. The design is still pretty much the same bar a couple of new additions. One is that the stem sensor could be used to change the volume (to mixed results in our opinion) and that there’s a new XS ear-tip size to help the AirPods Pro 2 fit a wider range of ears, which is a welcome addition.

The buds are still rated to IPX4 water resistance to ensure protection from a light drizzle or sweat, and the charging case comes with a lanyard connector to keep them on your person (though an actual lanyard is not provided). They only come in white, so they are still rather susceptible to picking up dirt and grime. We would have hoped Apple had taken cues from the AirPods Max and brought out a variety of colours.

As always the integration with Apple devices is seamless, with instant recognition across iOS and MacOS devices, and they buds can now be connected to multiple Apple devices at the same time. The noise cancelling performance is a step up from the original, which we enjoyed at the time, but the AirPods Pro 2 clear out almost all the noise when used on a tube.

Battery is better at six hours per charge but that’s still behind even some cheaper true wireless earbuds such as the JBL Live Pro 2 and the same as the Sony LinkBuds S. In total they’re capable of 30 hours with the charging case, which is fine. Charging here is taken care of by a Lightning cable and not USB-C, or you can use the slower Qi wireless charging for cable-free charging.

They also sound better than the original AirPods Pro with their new H2 chip. Bass is still rich in tone, but voices are clearer than before, detail is more audible and instruments are defined with more clarity.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full Review: Apple AirPods Pro 2

The M100 wireless earphones are, by far, Cambridge Audio’s most ambitious headphones yet, packing in all sorts of flagship features at a mid-range price of £169 / $199, well undercutting the liks of Sennheiser, Sony, and Bose.

They are Cambridge Audio’s first headphones to support ANC, and they put in a very effective performance, reducing all sorts of noises to a whisper. However, the adaptive aspect of the ANC performance could be better as we found the strength of the noise-cancellation has a tendency to go in and out for no discernible reason. The same is true of the transparency mode, which is clear enough to hear your surroundings and have a conversation with someone else.

Battery life is claimed to be 10 hours and our tests confirmed that is the case. There is aptX Adaptive Bluetooth for Android users and while the connection is strong, we did find that it could falter in busy signal areas. Call quality is very good too, the earphones make sure that your voice is priority and clarity is good. Head into the new Connect app and there’s a nice surprise as you can switch the notification voice to Toast of London’s Matt Berry.

Of course the main reason to buy any headphone is the sound quality, and the M100 boast a rich, warm bass performance that gives plenty of energy to the low frequencies. It’s a wide soundstage to listen too, with good levels of detail an clarity, though we did find the Beats Studio Buds+ to be better in this respect. One area we feel could be improved is the treble performance. While fine on its terms, it lacks a degree of insight and definition compared to other true wireless models.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Cambridge Audio Melomania M100

The JLab Go Air Pop are the cheapest wireless earbuds on this list, but even with their immensely low price in mind, they still offer some great quality.

The design is not the most stylish not, but the Go Air Pop are functional and offer a comfortable fit. During 1-2 hour stints of testing them, we found the fit to be great with no discomfort at any point. There is the choice of small, medium or large ear-tips in the box to fit a range of ears, too, and changing these proved to be nice and easy.

The fit of these buds also meant we could use them for HIIT workouts without fear of them falling out. Touch controls did prove to be fiddly, but generally speaking they’re never going to be as precise or reliable as physical buttons.

You won’t find ANC here, but that’s not expected at this price. What you do get is great battery life that punches above their weight, as during testing we found JLab’s claims of 32 hours total playtime to largely ring true. They should be good for a week’s use before you need to plug them in, an easy feat with the built-in charging cable.

Of course, the audio from a $24.99 / £19.99 pair of earbuds is not going to set the world alight, but as wallet-friendly pairs go these sound great. Their ‘Signature’ sound mode delivered a warm bass and smooth mids without any noticeable harshness until you crank the volume up.

Doing so made the top end a little harsh, although not enough that it made the Air Pops unlistenable. There’s also a Bass Boost sound mode designed for working out, and a Balanced mode for classical music and spoken word audio that we found worked well with good detail and separation.

Reviewer: Mike Sawh
Full Review: JLab Go Air Pop