Wireless earbuds are one of those ideas that sounded like a dream at first: Pop a little headphone into each ear and listen to music or take calls untethered from everything. The first wireless buds were gigantic, died after a few hours, and had a bunch of other problems. Times have changed. There are now tons of new models that sound fabulous and work perfectly. After testing hundreds over the past four years, these are our favorite wireless earbuds, in a wide range of styles and prices.

Cambridge Audio may be best known for its high-end audio equipment, but in recent years the British company has branched out into the world oftrue wireless earbuds.Its first offering, theMelomania 1, earned a place among thebest wireless earbuds thanks to their stellar sound quality. And the newer Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus are better still, putting many other earbuds in the shade with their audio performance, battery life, and ease of use. With so many wireless earbud options to choose from, you may find it difficult to settle on one. There are several factors to weigh up, and which one is most important depends on personal preference. Follow out list of considerations to factor in when choosing the best wireless earbuds for you.Bluetooth Multipoint: This allows earbuds to remain connected to more than one source simultaneously and is particularly useful if you regularly switch between using your buds with your laptop, tablet and phone. Sony Linkbuds: The LinkBuds are, in a sense, Sony's answer to Apple's standard AirPods. While they don't sound as good as Sony's flagship WF-1000XM4 or the Linkbuds S noise-isolating earbuds, they offer a discreet, innovative design and a more secure fit than the AirPods, as well as decent sound and very good voice-calling performance. Like the third-gen AirPods, their open design allows you to hear the outside world -- that's what the ring is all about. Read our Sony Linkbuds review. 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. Master & Dynamic MW08: These buds may not fit everyone's ear equally well, but they certainly have a distinct look, as well as excellent sound and a great listening experience if you can get a tight seal (I was able to get a secure fit with the largest tip). They deliver more of an audiophile sound profile, with smooth, well-balanced sound and well-defined bass.

These buds also boast support for the new Bluetooth wireless standard, Bluetooth LE Audio. Right now that doesn't mean much as few other devices support it – e.g. major smartphones – but that could make the Air Pro 3 even more of a no-brainer choice in the future.

We test true-wireless earbuds based on five key criteria, comparing similarly styled and priced models. These criteria are design, sound quality, features, voice-calling performance and value. Active noise cancellation is tested in various real-world scenarios that reflect common use cases such as tube journeys, walks through crowded urban areas and days in the office. We conduct side-by-side comparisons with similarly priced earbuds to assess performance and will always try out every feature a pair of buds has in its arsenal. These include microphone quality – tested during phone calls, conference calls over platforms like Google Meet and by recording voice clips – and the functionality of a companion app where available. AT has not tried to emulate any other earbuds, or indeed any competing brand here and we love the Tokyo audio outfit for it. These buds are available in no fewer than six delicious-sounding colorways (Caramel, Popsicle, Cupcake, Blueberry, Liquorice and Popcorn –try that for size, ice-white-only AirPods) and you're getting Bluetooth 5.0, 20 hours of battery, a beautiful product that fits comfortably, on-ear controls that work well (including volume) plus a low-latency mode, a hear-through function and a sound that's more expansive, clearer and generally better than anything else you can buy for this money. A more compact design means that the WF-1000XM4 buds are more comfortable than the XM3s, we found the fit to be great during our testing and suitable for all-day wear. Their accompanying control app makes it easy to adjust the EQ settings of the buds, which means you get a more personalized sound and can tweak frequencies to suit your preferences. 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.

To test isolation, we took a sample of pink noise at 90dB(SPL) at one meter, once with the headphones off and another with the headphones on. We then subtracted one curve from the other.JBL Live Free 2: Like the Live Pro 2, JBL's new Live Free 2 buds are surprisingly good. With 11mm drivers, six microphones, oval tubes and oval silicon tips, they combine a comfortable fit along with strong noise canceling, very good sound quality and voice-calling performance. Features include multipoint Bluetooth pairing and wireless charging, and they're rated for up to seven hours with IPX5 water-resistance (splash-proof). Earbuds are small and therefore their battery is smaller too. They heavily rely on their charging cases to ensure you won't run out of power while on the move, but that's not always convenient if you need to use them at the same time. Whatever type you choose, make sure the earbuds are well built and comfy to wear for about 1 to 2 hours daily. The downside is the codecs: these use SBC, the least good kind of Bluetooth audio; there's no support for aptX, LDAC or the like. However, they're perfectly good for audiobooks and podcasts, and while they might not be as clearly musical as their more expensive rivals they're not bad either. It's key that the earbuds you buy fit your ears well. They should offer a comfortable, secure fit. If you don't get a tight seal with noise-isolating earbuds, sound quality and noise canceling can be dramatically impacted for the worse. Open earbuds don't have that issue, but they should be comfortable to wear and sit securely in your ears. Performance and sound quality

We've reviewed hundreds of true wireless earbuds, including every pair listed above. In each case, we give the product plenty of time in a range of environments before evaluating their sound quality across a variety of music genres, games, movies and podcasts, from several sources, against known class-leaders in the category. Sound quality at TechRadar is, and should always be, a priority when listening to music on the go.The earbuds should also be mildly splash and sweat resistant. Although our focus in this guide is not on headphones specifically designed for working out, you never know when you’ll get caught in a heat wave or a downpour on your commute. The next-gen buds build on traditional Bose hallmarks, but we feel battery life, special features, and touch controls could be bettered at the price. Despite these shortcomings, though, we found their ANC and sound quality performance carry the QuietComfort Earbuds 2 to the top echelon of ourbest wireless earbudslist. This next-gen flagship model are highly recommended for anyone seeking the ultimate ANC experience from a pair of earbuds.