Walk Audio Wireless Bluetooth Sport Earphones - Black 60cm A100

Product Information

You really want app support: Audio-Technica's earbuds do excellently well without a companion app, but if you want a visual cue of the features, you won't get it here. Exercises like running (on a treadmill or the road) or cycling can become risky if your balance is off, especially if you exercise in busy traffic areas where you run the risk of falling and getting hurt. 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. On the audio front, Apple has included a new H2 chip with custom amp and driver that delivers better lower and higher frequencies, and you can use the iPhone's TrueDepth camera to create a personalized spatial audiosound to listen to some of the best Dolby Atmossound in any pair of earbuds. Noise cancellation is double what the original AirPods Pro offered, and is among the best we’ve yet to experience. 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.

Sony's XM-series earbuds go from strength to strength with each new generation. As the latest flagship, the WF-1000XM5 wireless earbuds are smaller and lighter, yet they're equipped with some of the strongest features and performance we've ever seen from a pair of wireless earbuds. They have some of the most dynamic and engaging sound we've heard, and their noise-canceling performance easily matches that of the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 or Apple AirPods Pro 2 Expanding that control, many manufacturers offer a significant and robust accompanying smartphone app. An app can add functionality like allowing for EQ controls, battery monitoring, and intelligent assistant adjustment. Some earbuds will enable you to adjust commands for the touch area using the app. In short, a well-made app can differentiate between a good experience and a great one. Another shared minor safety concerns: “I alternate between over-the-ear headphones and wireless in-ears. I very rarely have safety as my main concern –big headphones act as both my entertainment and a way to show people I don't want to be talked to. I only pause the music or turn the volume all the way down if I see a situation I'm not comfortable with,” explained Sohaib, 36. This is why cheap earbuds tend to sound tinny and thin. On the premium side of the market, brands use techniques like ported enclosures and digital EQ processing to give you additional low-end for the smaller drivers. But for genuinely bass-heavy performance, go for earbuds that sport slightly larger drivers when possible. You think aptX is the pinnacle of wireless sound quality: Sony doesn’t agree. LDAC is a good alternative and is supported by most newer Android phones (sorry, iPhone).

Wireless on-ear noise-cancelling headphones

Noise-cancelling is more important than sound quality: The WF-1000XM4s cancel noise well. But other true wireless buds (Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2) do it better. 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. As a result, most manufacturers choose to include a lot of software audio processing to boost bass or clarify the midrange of earbuds artificially. Therefore, if you like that flatter Bose sound, your ear will likely prefer Bose's wireless earbuds. If you prefer Sony or Sennheiser, go for their earbuds. You aren't getting a perfect audio representation like you would in a pair of wired studio monitors. Still, you're getting a top-tier manufacturer's best attempt at molding a quality sound spectrum for your ears.

You own an iPhone: For a seamless experience within Apple's ecosystem, you need to be looking to earbuds that offer a dedicated app for iOS.You don't have an iPhone: If you're in the Android world, you won't get as much benefit from these headphones (although it's not as bad as previously). For example, if you like fairly quiet music and want to listen on the bus or train, you'll need effective noise cancellation. Safety isn’t just a primary concern when looking at late-night walks. As touched on in an earlier response, the need to be safe when exercising is also a factor. Laetitia, 39, said it was her main safety concern: “When I run through a woodland area even for 30 seconds, especially at dawn, fear drives me to turn the music to silent, which I tell myself is total paranoia.”

There are some surprising features included here too, like on-earbud controls and built-in mics that we think are decent enough for making phone and video calls.

Urbanears Hellas Headphones

Every month seems to bring new sets of earbuds with longer battery life and more compact designs. As such, we can't list everything we like. But if you're still hunting, here are some other recommendations.