Best Headphones for Sound Quality (2024)

They feel really great on the head, and there are no hot spots where the headphones start to feel uncomfortable.

I found that I can sit and wear them for a long, long time, and these ear cups are incredibly soft.

In terms of clamping force, I would say they're tight, but they're not uncomfortable.

Secondly, they also improved the noise cancellation compared to the Mark III's.

The bottom line here is that you're not going to find a better pair of noise-cancellation headphones in terms of pure isolation.

Noise canceling is top of its class.

My biggest request was for multiple device support. It took them two years, but they finally did it.

It's just a much better experience than going into Bluetooth settings, unpairing, and then repairing manually every time.

When I first got these headphones, they didn't work very well at all, but they've been receiving software updates.

The battery life is advertised as 30 hours with the noise cancelling on.

With a 10-minute charge, you can get five hours of playback.

If you leave them to sit for a while, I left them to sit for months, and they still had plenty of battery.

Comfort was an area they really focused on with these earbuds.

They have done an excellent job when it comes to comfort and fit.

These are incredibly comfortable for me.

The silicone tips sit quite deep in the ear canal, which helps lock them in nicely.

The noise cancelling is okay; it gets the job done.

They perform really well against the competition.

They do a really great job of blocking out the lower frequencies.

These kinds of cut off at the right point, so you don't experience any cabin pressure.

They have Bluetooth 5.4 with multipoint connectivity.

They do support Google Fast Pair.

The case itself can be used to broadcast an aptX Adaptive signal to the buds.

You get 6.5 hours of playback with ANC on in the earbuds.

A 15-minute quick charge in the case can provide up to 2 hours of playback.

They do support Qi wireless charging.

They are extremely comfortable.

You receive one of the most extensive collections of replaceable ear tips I've ever seen included with these earphones.

I prefer the foam tip ones because you can really get a tight fit, which helps block out the sound.

Overall, the design is fantastic, and they are extremely comfortable.

I prefer the foam tip ones because you can really get a tight fit, which helps block out the sound.

Those offer an even tighter fit for me, which blocks out the noise a bit more.

These have that L-shaped aux jack, which I realize isn't always the best option, but I can live with it.

You have inline controls and a mic as well, so there is nothing lacking here in terms of features.

The PX8s are lightweight and feature soft Nappa leather.

They are described as having a premium feel and not being too heavy.

The headphones do not fold up.

The PX8s offer top-tier noise cancellation.

They perform well in noise cancellation tests.

The noise cancellation is not at the 'god-tier' level of some competitors.

The PX8s use Bluetooth 5.2 and support a wide range of audio codecs.

They can connect to devices via USB-C for high-resolution audio streaming.

There is a slight delay when watching videos wirelessly.

The PX8s offer a long battery life of 30 hours.

The quick charge feature provides 7 hours of playback from a 15-minute charge.

The ear pads are extremely soft.

Planers can be somewhat heavy, and the headband does a better job of distributing that weight.

There is no active noise cancellation, which makes the recommendation a little more specific.

A good closed-back can bring a decent amount of passive noise reduction.

The technology in these headphones uses Bluetooth 5.4.

You can also connect directly via USB-C.

Multipoint is available, allowing you to connect to two devices, but this will disable LDAC and LHDC.

The battery life on these is extremely impressive; on a full charge, you can get about 80 hours.

A 15-minute charge is going to give you 13 hours of use.

These are heavy headphones.

The mesh ear cups with memory foam are nice, soft, and very comfortable.

For me, I can keep these on for about eight hours a day. It's really no problem; they are super comfortable.

The mesh headband is also an innovative feature that I don't think I've seen in any other headphones.

The noise cancellation is also excellent.

These nine microphones do a fantastic job with white noise, producing a surprisingly natural sound.

This is the best transparency mode I've ever heard.

In my opinion, the noise cancellation on the AirPods Max is just too good to wear in public.

The awesomeness of AirPods pairing instantly with every Apple device you have is still pretty sweet.

If you leave these out for an extended period, such as longer than a day or even a couple of hours, without putting them in the smart case, they will sometimes disconnect from all of your devices.

You can use these with Android just like normal Bluetooth headphones. However, at this point, you're missing out on many of the smart features.

The battery life on these headphones is fine. They do reach the advertised 16 to 20 hours, even with noise cancellation on.

If you leave these out for an extended period of time, such as longer than a day or even a couple of hours, without putting them in the smart case, they will sometimes disconnect from all of your devices.

I wish we had USB-C on the AirPods Max; these still have a Lightning connector.

The headphones feel durable and are surprisingly lightweight at 254 grams.

Bose representatives told me that the QC Ultras are designed to fit a wider range of head types.

They did clamp slightly more than the Sony's, but I was able to wear them for a couple of hours straight without a problem.

Bose mentions that both this over-ear Ultra model and its new QC Ultra earbuds feature world-class noise cancellation.

The headphones really muffled everything around me, including people's voices.

The voice calling performance is also excellent.

They do, however, have Bluetooth 5.3, which gives them a nice, stable connection at a longer range.

I had better luck with multi-point pairing.

You may have problems actually getting Apex to work with your device.

The headphones are rated for up to 24 hours of battery life at moderate volume levels with noise canceling on.

The number dips to 18 hours when immersive audio is engaged.

If you set your headphones down somewhere and forget to turn them off, they'll go into sleep mode to conserve battery life.

They fit my ears really well.

The earbuds are approximately 30% smaller than their predecessors.

Bose has replaced its one-piece tips with a two-piece fit kit system that includes separate ear tips and stability bands, available in three different size options.

I ended up choosing the large tips with the medium stability band, and that really locked the buds in my ears.

They have great noise-canceling capabilities.

The noise-canceling feature essentially silenced it completely.

The noise cancelling is really impressive, probably the best out there right now.

The transparency mode, which Bose calls 'aware mode,' is also improved. It does sound more natural and lifelike.

As for Bluetooth versions, these are equipped with Bluetooth 5.3, and they use the AAC and SPC audio codecs.

I was particularly disappointed by the lack of multi-point Bluetooth pairing.

The first and most annoying downside I've encountered with these buds is that sometimes they simply refuse to connect to my phone.

Another annoying issue I've run into with these buds is audio cutouts.

It is rated for six hours with noise cancelling on.

You get about three extra charges from the new, slimmed-down charging case.

It features USB-C charging but not wireless charging, which seems a bit unfortunate since most earbuds in this price range, including the AirPods Pro 2, offer wireless charging.

They are very, very comfortable; I've worn them for long stretches of time.

The clamping force is strong, and the foam on the side is plush.

The pads here are removable, but I haven't had an occasion to remove them.

The pads are more compressive, if that makes sense, as they have an easier time compressing.

In terms of noise canceling, though, when you have the ANC on, you do hear a slight increase in the noise floor.

It's not the best; it's not as good as what you get from Apple or Sony.

There are two noise-canceling modes: the stronger mode and the weaker mode.

They are compatible with all the Bluetooth codecs you would expect: SBC, AAC, aptX, and aptX Adaptive.

One interesting thing about these headphones is that they include a USB DAC.

Having many physical buttons makes things much easier to use.

They claim it has 30 hours of battery life.

If you combine all of those things—the fact that you can turn them off and USB-C charging—there are much better and easier headphones to live with.

When you use it wired, it's still on, still active, and the noise canceling is still functioning.

The ear pads are also quite soft, meaning that even if you wear glasses, they shouldn't cause too much discomfort.

The overall clamping force is quite strong.

The top headband actually sank into my head a little bit.

These headphones do a tremendous job of blocking out exterior noise.

The only caveat is that with ANC enabled, the overall audio performance is slightly degraded.

Bluetooth version 5.3 is supported.

The headphones support Bluetooth multipoint.

The connectivity to the headphones themselves is absolutely excellent.

The Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 offers up to 60 hours of battery life with noise-cancelling.

You also have the ability to give them a quick 5-minute charge, which will provide you with roughly 2 hours of playback.