Bose QC Extremely (left); Bose QC Extremely 2 (proper)
Jada Jones/ZDNET
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Over time, your favourite pair of headphones or earbuds can grow to be simply as important to your each day life as your smartphone. When you’re like me, forgetting your AirPods at residence can break your day. It is vital to think about all of your headphone and earbud choices, as the appropriate ones for one individual might not work for an additional.
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That is why, at ZDNET, we assessment loads of headphones and earbuds for all functions and budgets. Completely different headphones and earbuds have completely different use circumstances, and our testing strategies align with these use circumstances. We regularly publish long-term opinions and revisit a headphone’s efficiency after steady use to find out which options excel and which of them fall flat.
How we take a look at headphones and earbuds in 2026
Our consultants sleep, work, run, swim, hike, watch motion pictures, and hearken to music to check headphones and earbuds. Throughout testing, we place our each day drivers of their carrying circumstances and use the assessment unit in our on a regular basis lives to see how the units carry out in real-world conditions.
Often, we obtain assessment items from producers earlier than they’re accessible to the general public. We use the interval between receiving the product and publishing our assessment to spend as a lot time as attainable placing the assessment unit by each day use and wear-and-tear. We additionally take a look at the product’s software program options and comply with up with producers if wanted.
Here is a basic overview of our headphones and earbuds testing methodology, so you may higher perceive how a pair of headphones or earbuds makes it to certainly one of our lists of suggestions.
How we determine which pair to advocate
A pair of headphones or earbuds is ZDNET Really useful when our testing concludes that the system is above common in no less than certainly one of our testing classes. As soon as we have made that dedication, we add headphones or earbuds to certainly one of our purchasing guides, that are tailor-made to these in search of headphones serving a selected goal.
We perceive that everybody has completely different makes use of, desires, and desires when in search of headphones and earbuds. Our mission is to advocate a variety of merchandise that greatest serve everybody’s particular person preferences.
Some headphones might excel in design and luxury however fall quick in noise cancellation. Regardless of that product’s shortcomings, we perceive that some folks don’t need headphones with robust noise cancellation and like ones that provide higher consolation. We deal with all metrics equally throughout testing, however we make a degree of letting our readers know when a product will not serve their greatest pursuits. Listed below are the highest elements we take into account when testing headphones and earbuds.
Consolation and design
Your headphones and earbuds ought to provide hours of consolation, particularly in the event you plan to put on them whereas working, finding out, or touring. Like many headphone and earbud benchmarks, consolation will be subjective as a result of everybody has completely different head and ear shapes.
To stay as goal as attainable, we put on headphones and earbuds for hours on finish and observe in our opinions once they grow to be uncomfortable.
Headphones and earbuds are available in numerous materials finishes. Some are largely manufactured from plastic, whereas others are produced from extra sturdy supplies, like aluminum and chrome steel. As a result of headphones and earbuds accompany you all through your each day actions, we put on them for prolonged intervals to evaluate their sturdiness.
We consider whether or not headphone earpads tear, rip, or crack, decide how nicely a pair of headphones or earbuds can face up to drops, and bend and fold headphones to pay attention for any creaking or unnatural noises.
Noise cancellation
Noise-canceling properties are much less subjective, because the variety of decibels a pair of headphones or earbuds cancels will be measured on a noise-level chart. Nevertheless, a few of our readers could also be much less concerned with a chart and extra involved with how headphones or earbuds carry out in particular environments.
Additionally: One of the best noise-canceling earbuds of 2026: Professional examined and reviewed
To provide the greatest thought of how nicely a tool cancels noise, we put on noise-canceling headphones and earbuds in environments with various noise ranges, together with grocery shops, places of work, trains, planes, gyms, and occasional retailers. We file which noises we will hear and that are masked or considerably dampened to indicate you which ones noise-canceling headphones or earbuds will carry out greatest in your each day life.
Sound high quality
Sound high quality is essentially the most subjective metric when testing and reviewing headphones and earbuds. Everybody’s ears understand sound in a different way, and listening to is a spectrum. Moreover, headphones and earbuds can sound completely different relying on whether or not noise canceling is enabled, your most popular music streaming service, your listening system’s working system, and which Bluetooth codec your headphones or earbuds might use.
To see this subjectivity in motion, learn certainly one of our headphone opinions, evaluate our knowledgeable opinions with our contemporaries’ views, and observe the variations in sentiment. We describe how we hear the sound come by a pair of headphones or earbuds and clarify which elements might contribute to our conclusions.
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Our consultants take a look at sound by listening with transparency and noise-canceling modes, which allow us to notice any variations in sound. We additionally pay attention on iPhones, Android telephones, laptops, TVs, and tablets to doc noticeable sound distinctions. There will be noticeable variations in sound high quality when listening to Apple Music versus Spotify, so we take a look at for that, too.
Moreover, we take a look at wi-fi headphones with their included wires to find out whether or not a pair will be listened to actively or passively.
Battery life
Battery life is an goal benchmark when testing headphones and earbuds, however it may be affected by a number of elements. Battery life can differ from the producer’s claims relying on how loud you hearken to headphones or earbuds, whether or not noise canceling or spatial audio is enabled, the size and frequency of cellphone calls taken whereas sporting the headphones, and the settings of your listening system.
We monitor battery life by utilizing the entire headphones’ options to gauge how nicely they match the marketed variety of hours of steady use.
Distinctive use circumstances
Some headphones and earbuds are higher suited to particular use circumstances than others, and it is our job to let our readers know which pair will greatest go well with them. To take action, we watch motion pictures, hearken to music, journey, work, and train whereas sporting the headphones and earbuds we take a look at to see which actions they carry out greatest in.
We take into account software program limitations and distinctive options to make sure you understand how nicely a pair of headphones or earbuds integrates along with your private system ecosystem.
We assessment many headphones and earbuds for all use circumstances and budgets to indicate you your choices. Nevertheless, shopping for a pair of headphones or earbuds is a extremely customized choice, and you must take into account your desires and desires earlier than buying. Right here are some things to think about earlier than making a purchase order.
Assess how usually you may put on headphones to find out how a lot steady battery life you want. When you plan to put on headphones usually in public, spend money on ones with robust noise cancellation. Think about how a lot you are keen to spend on headphones, as we have reviewed and really helpful headphones starting from $60 to $1,000+.
