On occasion, objects you’re situated near can lead to a fuzzy connection on your bluetooth earbuds. Look out for the likes of wifi routers, magnets, microwaves, and other bluetooth devices when using your wireless earbuds.

Better noise cancellation can be found elsewhere, and some may find the fit a bit fiddly, but neither issue prevents the EAH-AZ80 getting a big thumbs up from us.

Ensure the Audio Levels Are Balanced

Despite being significantly cheaper than Sony’s flagship WF-1000XM5, the WF-C700N offer a lot of the same functionality. Crucially, they support Adaptive Sound Control via the Sony Headphones Connect app, which lets you manually adjust the active noise cancellation settings or have the buds adjust it automatically depending on where you are and what you’re doing. Sound quality is highly impressive, too. The Fit Pro have a weightier bass response than their stablemates the Studio Buds and there’s less harshness in the treble frequencies. Like most Beats headphones, the Fit Pro play particularly nicely with Apple devices. They house the company’s H1 chip and this enables a range of useful features, including shared listening with other Beats users, hands-free Siri and full spatial audio support. This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but when it comes to technology, it’s also tends to be the solve-all for nearly every electrical device that begins acting up. The best approach to restarting a device is to completely power down the electronic rather than resetting. Do this with both your wireless earbuds and whatever device you are trying to connect them to. Codecs determine how Bluetooth transmits information to your device. The SBC codec is pretty much universal across all devices and works just fine, though you’ll open up the possibility to listen to higher resolution audio with more advanced codecs such as AAC, which is favoured by Apple, or Qualcomm’s aptX, aptX HD or aptX Adaptive codecs. Bear in mind that your output device must also support the codec: iPhones don’t support aptX so even if you own the very best wireless earbuds money can buy, you won’t be able to make use of it. Can I make and receive phone and video calls? Battery life: Earbuds will always have a stated battery life, as will the case used to charge them. Between 15 and 20 hours of total listening time is around average, though your mileage will vary depending on the volume at which you play your audio. Having advanced features such as ANC active will also drain your battery faster.

Active noise cancellation: We’re seeing more and more wireless earbuds incorporating active noise cancellation technology to reduce the impact of external sound on your audio. If you want the most immersive listening experience, ANC should be high on your priority list. Comfort is subjective, but rest assured that our reviewers have worn the buds being tested for hours at a time and in all manner of situations, be that in a quiet room at home, running in the gym or on a busy commute. This ensures we’re able to give an informed opinion on how comfortable they are to wear, how secure the fit is and how well they withstand rain and sweat. Active noise cancellation is more effective than it was on the Momentum True Wireless 3’s predecessor and Sennheiser has introduced a clever new feature whereby you can have the buds switch noise-cancelling and sound modes when you move between certain locations. Sound quality – always a strong point of Sennheiser headphones – is excellent and there are a number of ways of tweaking it via the revamped Smart Control companion app.If you want don’t want your ear canals filled while listening to music, the Apple AirPods 3 are simply the best wireless earbuds around, particularly if you own an iPhone. With ANC on you’re looking at roughly four and a half hours of in-ear battery life, which is below average, but despite this, the FreeBuds Pro 2 remain a great-sounding choice with plenty of well-implemented features. Battery life is middling, and the codec support is limited to just SBC, but aside from these small issues, the House of Marley Redemption ANC 2 are well-rounded and great-sounding earbuds that are kinder to the planet than most. They do omit a couple of helpful features – active noise cancellation and control customisation – but access to an impactful graphic equaliser in the Sony Headphones Connect companion app allows you to tune audio to your tastes, which is very welcome. The WF-C500 will also prove a popular choice for those who aren’t fans of touch controls, as they use depressible buttons that take away any guesswork from controlling them.