Whether you are a streamer or gamer, or you just like to listen to music and watch videos without disturbing others, it’s important to have good-quality headphones that can provide you with a great listening experience and improve your mic technique.
There are plenty of headphone devices from different brands in the market but, not all of them are worth buying and new ones are realizing every time, so if you are looking to get new headphones it may be hard to choose the right pick, to help you with that, we’ve made a list of the best headphones for 2024 that comes with high design quality and affordable prices.
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The best wireless headphones for 2024
We tested every product and service to make sure you get the best options available. Note that this list below is regularly updated according to what’s new in the market.
1. Sony WH-1000XM5: Best headphones overall
Sony has officially launched the new Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones, which offer a major upgrade to the previous generation XM4, which is considered one of the best wireless headphones, and the new Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones carry a new design that is different from previous generations, with enhanced noise blocking, improved sound quality, and up to 30 hours of listening before the battery needs to be recharged.
The new generation has a completely different design when compared to the previous generation xm4, the new design language is simple and gives the headphones a neat look but it cannot be folded after it has been used, which is the feature of the previous version and design. Silver Design Colors – Black (Black). The headphones are comfortable even with long listening time, weighing about 250 grams. these wireless earphones come with Bluetooth 5.2 which is compatible with all smartphones tablets or desktops and supports connecting to more than one device at the same time and switching between them intelligently and easily.
Sony wh-1000xm5 is one of the leading headphones in ambient noise isolation through technologies developed and improved by the company and the new generation has received some noise isolation improvements. The headphones are equipped with a microphone system that isolates high- and mid-frequency sounds more efficiently than ever before. Automatic noise cancelation optimizer helps you choose the proper isolation intensity for the environment and the sounds around you.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Noise cancellation: Yes
- Wireless: Yes
- Battery life: Up to 30 hours
- Weight: 0.55 pounds
- Water resistance: None
To learn more about these headphones, check out the full guide to the Sony WH-1000XM5 review.
2. Bose QuietComfort Ultra: Best noise canceling
The QuietComfort Ultra headphones cost around $400 which may seem a lot to pay for headphones but they are pretty good as they are one of the main competitors of the Sony WH-1000XM5 and the Apple AirPods and other high-rating headphones this year.
The design of these pairs is a unique combination of the previous flagships from the Bose brand the QuietComfort 45s and the noise-canceling headphones 700, the QC headphones have an aluminum yolk and arms with dual thing design. This Bose model experiences a mix of volume strips along with physical control buttons, which make it easy to reach, there is also an ear-detection feature that will cause audio to stop automatically when you take off the headphones from your ears and resume playback when you put them back.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Noise cancellation: Yes
- Wireless: Yes
- Battery life: 24 hours
- Weight: 0.56 pounds
- Water resistance: None
To learn more about these headphones, check the full guide to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones wireless review.
3. Edifier W820NB Plus: Best headphones for under $100
Edifier W820NB Plus is one of the best budget headphones you’ve ever seen, for only around $80 you will receive great build quality earphones that fit comfortably in the head making them perfect for physical activities, they also able to be stretched up and down, but even though it still important to mention that they made entirely of plastic.
One of the main features of these headphones is the dynamic 40 mm that produces a great sound and, they also provide good noise cancellation (ANC) through microphones on each earpad side in case you don’t want to use this feature you can easily turn it off. For the battery, according to our testing, the headphones can provide over 40 hours of music listening on a single charge.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Noise cancellation: Yes
- Wireless: Yes
- Battery life: Up to 49 hours
- Weight: 1.15 pounds
- Water resistance: None
For more information about budget options, check out the full guide to the best cheap headphones 2024.
4. Bose QuietComfort 45: Excellent sound and battery life
Even though it’s been around 3 years since the release of the Bose QuietComfort 45, they are still worth it in 2024. These headphones use Bluetooth 5.1 which means they don’t support all features like LE Audio and other things more common among other headphone options like the focal baths and specifically the USBC listing which simply means you should use wire to get a better audio listening.
For audio files, there is an SPC and AAC which work fine for most uses like Spotify and other streaming apps. From the building side, these headphones are pretty light only around 0.5 pounds with very thick padding, the battery life is also pretty good you can spend a whole listening to music on a single charge. In general, if you need decent headphones that come with a noise-canceling feature and for a good price, the Bose QuiteComfort45 may be a great option for you.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Noise cancellation: Yes
- Wireless: Yes
- Battery life: 24 hours
- Weight: 0.5 pounds
- Water resistance: None
For more information about these earphones, check out the full Bose QuietComfort 45 review.
5. Sony WH-1000XM4: Best Upper mid-range headphones
Sony WH1000-XM4 comes with a solid carrying case. Aside from headphones, the bag contains an Aux cable, an AC adapter, and a USB-C charging cable. The contents are similar to what you get with the Sony WH1000-XM3. Sony XM4s look almost identical to XM3s. I distinguish one from the other based on the ANC logo. XM4s has a perfectly engraved black ANC logo. The ANC has been more than helpful to me. Apart from the ease of communicating with my Android device, it also helps me distinguish between my right and left earpieces.
In addition, you must also fold your headphones so that you can put them in the box. The ANC logo also helps me distinguish the side from the correct mode. The button’s placeholders are also similar to XM3.
The NC/Ambient button is properly renamed to “Custom” in XM4. The right earpiece comes with a touchpad with controls similar to XM3. You can double-click to play/pause music, drag up/down to increase/decrease the volume, and scroll left/right to skip songs.
Sony XM4 has a feature called an adaptive voice which you can use through the Sony Headphone app in your smartphone to detect your activity like walking, running, etc. You can also identify places you frequently visit. Accordingly, the feature modifies and customizes the sound for an optimal listening experience.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Noise cancellation: Yes
- Wireless: Yes
- Battery life: Up to 30 hours
- Weight: 0.6 pounds
- Water resistance: IP54 waterproof
To learn more about these headphones, check out the full Sony WH-1000XM4 review.
6. Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S2: Great sound and premium design
If you’re looking for wireless active noise canceling headphones with a budget of around $300, Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2 might be the right choice for you.
By canceling advanced noise, massively enhanced audio quality, and refined aesthetic, the PX7 S2 can be the best value-for-money headphones on this list. In addition, they fill in aptX Adaptive to improve stability and latency between headphones and your device also, they bring a high-quality (24-bit) aptX HD feed to the ear.
One of the best wireless headphones that has been around for a while now, providing high wearing comfort, they are also quite lighter than the previous model generation the PX7 at less than 0.6 pounds, these headphones come with a pretty good design and great sound features.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Noise cancellation: Yes
- Wireless: Yes
- Battery life: 30 hours
- Weight: 0.67 pounds
- Water resistance: None
To learn more information about these headphones, check out the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 review.
7. Anker Soundcore Space Q45: Long Battery Life
Anker Soundcore Space Q45 is an over-ear headset with 40mm drives placed in deep cups connected by a comfortable headband. It supports Bluetooth 5 and Sony LDAC data lossless audio encoding. They arrive in a solid carrying case with a USB-A cable to USB-C for shipping, a 3.5 mm stereo cable, and a combined aircraft adapter in a hand-held silk bag.
There is the pair button, power status indicator, USB-C charging port, and noise cancelation button in the left side. The latter calls for several modes designed for different types of ambient noise. Spoiler: They all work well. The Q45 also features a temporary auto-stop function that pauses music/video when headphones are taken off and resumes playback when put in them back. Double microphones are used in phone calls and for noise cancelation (capturing the ambient noise of a negative phase version).
While the Q45 Soundcore is just good in the big scheme of things, Active Noise Cancelation) is beautiful. we’ve noticed a zero volume difference with ANC on or off; It does a very good job of stopping ambient noise as well.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Noise cancellation: Yes
- Wireless: Yes
- Battery life: Up to 65 hours
- Weight: 0.65 pounds
- Water resistance: None
To learn more these model, check out the Anker Soundcore Space Q45 review.
8. Apple AirPods Pro 2: Best Apple headphones
AirPods Pro 2 stands out as the best Apple headphones so far, bringing with it significant noise canceling capabilities and an improved design from the previous generation for a more convenient, more stable chassis within the ear.
Unfortunately, it can’t be considered the best fully wireless earbuds (the Sony WF-1000XM5 monopolizes this status to date), and regardless of their overpriced price, it’s the best choice for iPhone users, especially for those who’ve been fed up with the old AirPods due to its brittle position and easy frequent fall from the ear. The story doesn’t stop with the new design of course.
We have an improved user experience in general, with additional microphones to serve noise cancelation technology, especially during travel and running, in addition to Transparency mode, which brings you the atmosphere of the world around you without you having to take the headset off from your ears. Audio quality has also seen significant improvements over the old pairs, where we see greater amplification of decision frequencies, singing choirs, and spoken speech. It will suit the most natural audio lovers, without exaggeration.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Noise cancellation: Yes
- Wireless: Yes
- Battery life: Up to 24 hours
- Weight: 5.3g
- Water resistance: IP54 waterproof
To learn more about the AirPods Pro 2, and other Apple options, check out the full guide to the best Apple AirPods to buy in 2024 .
How to choose the best headphones for you
If you want to buy a new pair of headphones, the most important thing you should consider is the design as they should be suitable for you’re wearing style and you should feel comfortable while you wearing them for a long time.
there are three main types of headphones (Over-Ear, On-Ear, In-Ear) which are designed to envelope different parts of your ear by sending and blocking a certain amount of external noise. Once you decide on your preferred style, you can start looking into the audio quality and connection availabilities. Noise cancellation (ANC) is also one of the features you should think of as it works on reducing the impact of outside background noise to produce at the end a better listening experience.
What are the best headphones brands?
Sony and Bose are considered to be the most know brands in the headphone industry as they both provide high-quality products, great performances with comfortable designs at pretty reasonable prices. However, nowadays there are plenty of headphone brands that also provide great options that are also good quality and well-priced options.
When it comes to your choice, it’s better to consider important factors as we explained above, and also consider your budget.
How we test
To come up with this list of the best headphones in 2024, we spent hours testing each model across different hardware and software aspects including audio performance, build quality, battery life, and testing other features, we also considered the product design and pricing in our review, to provide confidence in the quality of our users’ choices.
