Articles by Peter Cao

Headphones come in all shapes and sizes, and it may be challenging to find the right one that suits you. If we’re being honest, most wireless earbuds have awful microphones. Luckily, not all are bad. You just have to know where to look. We’ve put together a list of wireless earbuds and headphones with great microphones from each major headphone type.

Convenient conversations

Staff Pick

Apple AirPods Pro – White

The AirPods Pro are among the most popular wireless earbuds on the market. With the convenience of excellent active noise cancelation (ANC), they also deliver some of the best voice and microphone quality on any set of wireless earbuds.

$197 at Amazon $230 at Best Buy

Gamers unite

Razer Opus Active Noise Cancelling ANC Wireless Headphones

Razer knows something about wireless gaming, and the Opus over-ear headphones feature THX certification and excellent ANC for a nice combination when it comes to using the microphone for voice chatting with friends.

$200 at Amazo…

Bose is known not only for comfortable headphones, but for excellent sound quality, so getting a pair of the best Bose headphones might be worth the investment. Bose’s Noise Canceling Headphones 700 are the company’s most innovative option to date. They feature 11 different steps of active noise cancelation, great battery life with up to 20 hours on a single charge, USB-C charging, and solid sound quality.

Best overall: Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700

The Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 aren’t the newest headphones the company has to offer, but they’re still, by far, the most innovative.

The headlining feature here are the NCH 700s’ active noise-cancelation (ANC) capabilities. The outgoing Bose QC35 II had solid ANC but were clearly showing their age. However, the NCH 700 now feature some of the best ANC available on the market today. With new ANC algorithms, they’re able to block out nearly all bass/low-end noise and a decent amount of midrange and treble. They also fea…

Sweatproof earbuds are essential, especially when you’re working out. Typically, an IPX4 rating (sweat and splash-proof) is fine for most types of workouts, but some wireless earbuds take it a step further by trying to isolate any water from entering your earbuds. We’ve gathered a list of the best sweatproof true wireless earbuds out there.

Best overall

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro

Staff Pick

Samsung tried to address many things with the Galaxy Buds Pro, not least of which was their durability. By moving them up all the way to an IPX7 rating, these earbuds have the kind of ruggedness that makes any activity easier to handle. Not quite for swimming, mind you, but when it’s time for a long run or hard workout, these earbuds will keep on playing.

$180 at Amazon $180 at Best Buy $180 at B&H

Runner up

Jabra Elite Active 75t

Take everything great about the Jabra Elite 75t and tack on even better water and dust resistance, with an IP57 rating, and you get the Elite Active 75t. Th…

Bose is known not only for comfortable headphones, but for excellent sound quality, so getting a pair of the best Bose headphones might be worth the investment. Bose’s Noise Canceling Headphones 700 are the company’s most innovative option to date. They feature 11 different steps of active noise cancelation, great battery life with up to 20 hours on a single charge, USB-C charging, and solid sound quality.

Best Overall: Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700

The Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 aren’t the newest headphones the company has to offer, but they’re still, by far, the most innovative.

The headlining feature here are the NCH 700s’ active noise-cancelation (ANC) capabilities. The outgoing Bose QC35 II had solid ANC but were clearly showing their age. However, the NCH 700 now feature some of the best ANC available on the market today. With new ANC algorithms, they’re able to block out nearly all bass/low-end noise and a decent amount of midrange and treble. They also fea…

Fast Pair is a technology that lets you quickly pair your best wireless earbuds and best wireless headphones to your Android phone without having to dig through multiple menus. Simply place them into pairing mode and bring your headphones and phone close together. There aren’t too many options on the market (yet), but the Harman Kardon Fly are the best we can find thanks to their overall battery life, sound quality, and comfort.

Best Overall: Harman Kardon Fly ANC

Harman Kardon makes headphones under its own branding, though you may not have known that given the Samsung subsidiary’s penchant for in-car audio. These were one of the very first headphones to support Google’s Fast Pair feature, so you can bet the quick pairing process leads to a good head start. JBL is a Harman property, so there are some similarities here.

The Fly ANC produce sound quality on par with JBL cans in the same price range, which is to say that they pump out enough bass to satiate most tastes. The mids a…

Bose is known not only for comfortable headphones, but for excellent sound quality, so getting a pair of the best Bose headphones might be worth the investment. Bose’s Noise Canceling Headphones 700 are the company’s most innovative option to date. They feature 11 different steps of active noise cancelation, great battery life with up to 20 hours on a single charge, USB-C charging, and solid sound quality.

Best Overall: Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700

The Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 aren’t the newest headphones the company has to offer, but they’re still, by far, its most innovative.

The headlining feature here are the NCH 700s’ active noise-cancelation (ANC) capabilities. The outgoing Bose QC35 II had solid ANC but were clearly showing their age. However, the NCH 700 now feature some of the best ANC available on the market today. With new ANC algorithms, they’re able to block out nearly all bass/low-end noise and a decent amount of midrange and treble. They also fea…

Sony’s latest cans are great, but might not be worth upgrading over the previous generation.

With most of us working from home and not really traveling a whole lot, it’s hard to justify purchasing a set of high-end active noise-canceling headphones. Especially when Sony’s WH-1000XM3 continuously go on sale and are still the best noise-canceling headphones on the market.

The new WH-1000XM4 are unquestionably a spec bump upgrade, but a few of those upgrades made may be enough for some to choose the XM4 over the outgoing XM3.

At A Glance

Sony WH-1000XM4

Bottom line: ANC travel headphones are a tough justification right now. However, the WH-1000XM4 are easily the best over-ear ANC headphones on the market with great new additions such as dual device pairing and “wear detection” that automatically pauses your music when you tempor…

JBL isn’t as popular as it once was but the brand still makes some great headphones and other audio products, especially ones at reasonable price points. The JBL Live 650BTNC are our best overall pick for having excellent sound, battery life, and comfort.

Best Overall: JBL Live 650 BTNC

The JBL Live 650 BTNC have the best combination of sound, battery life, and comfort. So let’s start with their strong suit: battery life. While there’s no fast charging of any sort, the Live 650 BTNC last 30 hours on a single charge. You can get through a long flight and still have some juice leftover. Unfortunately, they use the older Micro-USB connector for charging, which isn’t ideal in 2020 where most gadgets are now using USB-C.

The sound quality is exceptional. Despite the bass being boosted, which gives the sound a rather warm sound signature, the rest of it is still balanced and great. Dynamic range is excellent but the soundstage is rather mediocre — it sounds narrow and unnatural.

Th…

Great package

Sony WF-SP800N

$200 at Best Buy

Pros

Long battery life
Bass heavy, customizable sound
Excellent comfort
USB-C for charging
Great ANC performance

Cons

Lacks wireless charging case
Case is a bit large

The WF-SP800N feature ANC, customizable sound, hands-free Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, and longer buds battery life. However, their charging case is much larger than the Pixel Buds’ case.

Compact in every way

Google Pixel Buds (2020)

$180 at Best Buy

Pros

Wireless charging case & USB-C wired charging
Compact case
Integration with Google Assistant and Android
Solid sound

Cons

Lacks EQ of any sort
Can be uncomfortable after longer listening sessions

The Pixel Buds integrate super well with the Google Assistant and Android. They are super compact and feature USB-C and wireless charging. However, they lack ANC and the buds don’t last as long as the WF-SP800N.

The WF-SP800N offer longer buds battery life and ANC, something the Pixel Buds (20…

Smartphones are slowly but surely getting rid of the 3.5mm audio jack from smartphones and tablets, so users are turning to wireless as the next viable option. The Jabra Elite 75t are currently the best overall true wireless earbuds you can buy. They feature solid sound, long battery life, and they’re incredibly comfortable and portable.

Best Overall: Jabra Elite 75t

The Jabra Elite 75t feature a very bass-heavy sound out of the box, which is surprising. The bass is boosted quite a bit to the point where some may dislike the bass overall. For bass heads, this will be the earbud for you. Fortunately, you can adjust the Elite 75t’s sound signature with their smartphone companion app.

Battery life is excellent here as well with up to 7.5 hours of listening on a single charge. The included charging case gets you roughly 20 additional hours of listening, totaling around 28 hours of listening time with the charging case. Unfortunately, they still don’t feature wireless charging for th…