Why You Need Wireless Headphones

Convenience is everything. True wireless headphones have always been about ergonomic convenience, and they’re so much fun to use!

Everything we do is enhanced when we’re not bogged down with wires. Commuting in the mornings, enjoying music while we work, going for a light jog in the evening, or working out at the gym — all these activities are easier and more satisfying when music is playing, adding extra inspiration and motivation.

Important Features to Consider for Wireless Headphones

Today, the best wireless headphones have many features making them simple to use, seamless to connect, and highly satisfying to listen to.

Wireless headphones come with a wealth of attractive features. Active noise-canceling, hands-free smart controls, and built-in microphones are popular among wireless headphone users. However, because there are so many options, it can be confusing to determine which wireless headphones are perfect for your scenario. So, we’ve taken the guesswork out of it and compiled a list of the top features you should look for when shopping for wireless Bluetooth headphones.

Interested in learning how Audio Advice rates our headphones as the best? Read our Headphone Buyer’s Guide to learn everything there is to know about the best-sounding headphones, wireless and wired included. There’s a pair of headphones for everyone, but getting the most out of your music sometimes requires more than one pair.

Performance Test

We tested each pair of headphones with the same three songs. If you can visit one of our showrooms, we encourage you to do the same testing to see what you hear!

"Instrumental" by Black Country, New Road is a really fun track with many dynamic sounds and will test your headphones’ overall balance. You hear the thumping bassline in the back, the electric guitar jamming in the midrange, and the synth doing its thing in the higher frequencies. On top of all that, add in drums and the horns at around 2:20, and your ears are filled with instruments playing in all the frequency ranges. We’re listening to see which ones stand out more than others and if you can hear them all separately without sounding muddy.

"Lay Me Down" by Crosby & Nash is perfect for testing the midrange quality due to its beautiful vocals and harmonies. We’re listening for clear, detailed vocals not overtaken by the other high or low frequencies. It’s important that the low end is strong enough to support the midrange to allow the vocals to sound full and realistic. We’re also listening for how spacious and stable the harmonies are throughout the song.

"Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish is undoubtedly one of the most fun songs to test on headphones. It has plenty of bass and some really well-done vocals panning all around you. Her brother, Finneas, produces her songs and has a way of perfectly blending the low, high, and whisper tones she uses throughout many of her songs. We’re listening for how well it handles the bass and her voices' overall immersion and separation. Also, who doesn’t love some good bass drops at the end of the song?

Best Noise Canceling Headphones

In our testing, these were some of the most comfortable headphones on this list. They are very lightweight, and pressure is evenly distributed around your head, so they are great for working out without worrying about constantly adjusting them. The XM5s are extremely versatile and perform great when taking calls in the office, running errands downtown, and even just lounging around listening to music at home. For their price point, they have the best noise canceling, every feature you should need, and they sound fantastic.

"Instrumental" by Black Country, New Road: The XM5s performed admirably in reproducing the intricacies of this composition, maintaining a neutral and uncolored tonality throughout. The bassline was conveyed with satisfying weight and impact, even as the soundstage was filled with a plethora of other instruments. The ability to discern each individual instrument amidst a complex and dense mix was truly impressive, and the overall balance of the headphones made for an enjoyable and engaging listening experience.

"Lay Me Down" by Crosby & Nash: This is one of my favorites to test midrange quality. The XM5s did a great job producing clear vocals with a warm, full sound. The low end was a bit overpowering, and I found that adjusting it in the app made the harmonies in this song shine even more.

"Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish: XM5 pairs extremely well with this song. If you love bass, these handled it easily while still producing Billie’s voice clearly and upfront. The noise canceling detached me from the world, making the harmonies and whispers in the background even more realistic.

High Notes

• Battery Life: Full charge: 30 hours of playback | 3-minute charge: 3 hours of playback
• Bluetooth: 5.2
• Supported Audio Formats: SBC, AAC, LDAC

Best Wireless Headphones for Music Under $500

They’ve gone as far as angling the drive units inside the earcups to be perfectly aligned so the music can directly enter your ear canals undisturbed. This attention to detail isn’t something you usually find in headphones in this price category, and we love that they used trickle-down tech from some of their flagship products to develop the Px7 S2s.

Right away, these headphones feel and look more premium than the XM5s. We love the distinct contrast between the durable cloth and the shiny accent rings on the earcups. They create a tight seal and distribute the weight perfectly for long listening sessions. We would still recommend the XM5s if you’re looking for a headphone for the gym or absolutely need the best noise canceling possible. But if you want something more stylish with premium materials and musical sounding, the Px7 S2s have the leg up.

"Instrumental" by Black Country, New Road: The bass immediately felt tighter and cleaner than the XM5, which I expected with all the engineering Bowers & Wilkins put into these headphones for their music quality. The instruments were even easier to distinguish and had an effortless sound, even when they played simultaneously.

"Lay Me Down" by Crosby & Nash: The soundstage is incredibly immersive, fully immersing the listener in a sonic landscape of pristine clarity and crisp vocal reproduction. As the first chorus commences, I was treated to a truly spatial experience, with the vocals expertly separated and positioned, one seemingly closer and more intimate, the other slightly recessed and elevated, providing a truly mesmerizing listening experience.

"Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish: The bass is extremely fast and actually feels like you’re in a room with a subwoofer instead of wearing headphones. Immediately, you can hear Billie's slightest breaths, even in her backing vocals. This song is extremely immersive with the right pair of headphones, and the Px7 S2s did not disappoint.

High Notes

• Battery Life: Full charge: 30 hours of playback | 15-minute charge: 7 hours of playback
• Bluetooth: 5.2
• Bluetooth Codecs: aptX™ Adaptive, aptX™ HD, aptX™, AAC, SBC

Best Wireless Headphones for Music Under $1,000

These are positioned alongside updated magnets (or motor systems) that reduce overall distortion in the Px8 for improvements in resolution & detail. Since carbon is extremely rigid, the diaphragm will remain stiff even up into the higher range of frequencies. This means that the stiffer carbon cone diaphragms can respond to transient attacks in a more pistonic manner as instruments and other nuances hiding in your music reach up into the higher frequencies.

The result is less distortion across a wider range of frequencies with substantial improvements to the resolution of details hiding in the top-end extension—especially on music where many instruments are playing simultaneously. Compared to the great-performing Px7 S2, the accuracy and timing improvements were immediately apparent after testing the Px8.

"Instrumental" by Black Country, New Road: Go to 4:44 in the song where all the instruments are playing, and a horn comes in to play a solo. The Px7 S2s seem to do a great job until you experience how well the Px8s can separate the horn solo from the rest of the instruments. The Px8’s shine in the higher frequencies, like that horn solo, due to the stiffer carbon cone driver, and it’s very apparent in this song. The horn sounds detailed and right up front without losing clarity in the remaining instruments.

"Lay Me Down" by Crosby & Nash: The vocals were presented in a pristine and lifelike manner, with a warm and crisp tonality, through the Px8. Compared to the Px7 S2's, the vocals were imbued with a fuller, richer, more dynamic quality. The soundstage was also notably expanded. Listening to the Px8 was a truly transformative experience, and I could not imagine reverting to the Px7 S2, as the sonic improvements were substantial and immensely gratifying.

"Bad Guy by Billie Eilish:" In comparison to the Px7 S2s, the Px8s delivered a truly expansive sound, with a notably larger and more complete presentation. Even during the most demanding passages, such as the bass drops at the end of this track, the headphones never betrayed the slightest hint of strain, instead conveying the music with an ease and effortlessness that was truly remarkable.

High Notes

• Battery Life: Full charge: 30 hours of playback | 15-minute charge: 7 hours of playback
• Bluetooth: 5.2
• Bluetooth Codecs: aptX™ Adaptive, aptX™ HD, aptX™, AAC, SBC

Best Luxury Wireless Headphones

These are the most expensive on our list, but they are also the most luxurious on the list. With all the effort they put into making these look great, you can tell these are clearly for someone who likes to travel with style. They don’t overdo it, but when you are close to them, you can tell these are not your average cheap-looking headphones. And their sound is just as premium as their looks.

Overall, № 5909 presented a wide soundstage that was neutral. The № 5909 had good bass reproduction that sounded natural across various frequencies. Mark Levinson utilized the same engineers behind their world-renowned amplifiers, turntables, and streaming players. Then they tuned the № 5909’s custom drivers using the famous HARMAN Curve to create a neutral sound across the entire frequency response. This is the same curve we use when installing super high-performance JBL Synthesis theaters in homes. The result is a well-balanced soundstage that will let you hear your music with neutral reference-quality sound and detail retrieval that is as close to what the artist intended as we have ever experienced from a wireless ANC headphone.

"Instrumental" by Black Country, New Road: These are simply some of the best wireless headphones we’ve heard. The bass was fast, tight, and articulate. They delivered an effortless sound with a perfect soundstage that really immerses you.

"Lay Me Down" by Crosby & Nash: The vocals were rich and enveloped by the bass in this particular track, drawing me into the point of losing myself in the music entirely, so much so that I momentarily forgot to analyze the headphones critically. The perfectly balanced sound made me want to listen to more of my favorite tracks.

"Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish: This track really revealed just how big and immersive the soundstage is in these headphones. It felt as if I was in a room with the music coming from all around me rather than from drivers directed into my ears. Everything was clean and detailed.

High Notes

• Battery Life: Full charge: 30 hours of playback | 15-minute charge: 6 hours of playback
• Bluetooth: 5.1
• Bluetooth Codecs: LDAC, AAC, and aptX™ Adaptive

Best Overall Wireless Headphones

The ability to seamlessly switch between wired and wireless connectivity while incorporating noise-cancellation technology is simply impressive. We tested them with some of our most intricate reference tracks, tracks that typically reveal the subtlest of nuances, and were thoroughly impressed by the level of detail and separation we could discern.

These headphones are a true triple threat. They possess the most impressive sound quality of any portable headphones we've had the pleasure of auditioning, capable of achieving near-reference level audio when utilized in USB DAC mode, akin to the Focal Clear MG, which retails at nearly three times the price. Additionally, they are versatile enough to be utilized in the office, with multiple noise-cancellation modes at your disposal. Kudos to Focal for delivering a resounding success in their debut high-performance wireless noise-canceling headphones.

"Instrumental by Black Country" by New Road: By far, my favorite headphone to listen to this track is on the Bathys. They sound warm and smooth at the same time. The instruments were so well separated, and these were the first headphones on this list that had me feeling like I could have been at a live concert with the band.

"Lay Me Down" by Crosby & Nash: Compared to the natural-sounding Mark Levinson’s, the vocals felt much warmer and richer on this track. Being able to plug them in and use the internal DAC brought the quality even higher and made them much more enjoyable.

"Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish: I did a blind listening test with all the headphones on this list and used this song. The Focal Bathys won first place because of its detailed sound quality. These headphones just sound phenomenal with any song you throw at them.

High Notes

• Battery Life: Full charge: 30 hours of playback | 15-minute charge: 5 hours of playback
• Bluetooth: 5.1
• Bluetooth Codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX™ Adaptive, aptX™