Audio performance is also upgraded over the original Pros, with new drivers and amplifiers. During our testing, we rated the sound on offer from the Pro 2 as excellent – there’s rich audio across genres and a wide and expansive soundstage. You're looking to save money: With so many brilliant budget earbuds out there, these are perhaps an unnecessary expense. But they are a perfect 'big present'. 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 want a pair of wired earphones: Whether you're worried you'll lose true wireless or you don't like the feeling of big and bulky over-ears, it's good to have the option.

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.

Blukar sound

ANC is top of your list: There's no active noise cancellation here, sadly, although the hear-through feature works beautifully to stay aware of your surroundings. The best earbuds for you should sound good to your ears. Which means if you're a dedicated audiophile, look for buds that support Hi-Res Audio codecs, like LDAC and aptX HD Bluetooth for stellar connectivity. The Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus earbuds have a helpful app, easy-to-use controls and boast excellent connectivity. There’s no noise cancellation on offer here, but the sound isolation is very good, provided you find a good fit with the eartips included in the box. In any case, when we had music playing, we couldn’t hear much of our surroundings.

We also recommend you consider your budget. If you want cheap earbuds you may have to sacrifice features, like ANC or a long battery life. It’s all about weighing up what’s more important to you. You want wireless: It goes without saying that if you've become accustomed to wireless earbuds, you're not going to be happy with these.If you’re looking for excellent call quality, the Elite 7 Pro are still the better buds, with bone conduction sensors that aren’t included with the Active model. But if you’re on the hunt for a new pair of affordable buds solely for fitness, the Elite 7 Active are a solid choice and good value. You’re on a tight budget: It’s easy to argue that the ANC and sound performance of the QCE II are well worth every penny, but these are expensive earbuds.