00:00We've tested the best earbuds to help you find your perfect pair.
00:03So whether you're after the best overall, the best value, or the best for ANC,
00:07this buying guide has a lot of great picks,
00:09and you'll find deals for everything that I'm sharing linked down below.
00:12Our best overall pick are the Sony WF-1000XM6.
00:16These wireless earbuds deliver the best combination of sound quality,
00:20noise cancellation, and battery life of all the options that we've tested.
00:24Out of the box, these are very comfortable for all-day wear.
00:27These use spongy ear tips, which, unlike traditional silicone ones,
00:31expand in your ears to provide a better seal
00:34and further help filter out those unwanted noises.
00:36You can expect about 12 hours of battery life with ANC off
00:40or eight hours with ANC enabled.
00:42With the case, this extends battery life playback to around 24 hours.
00:46And with fast charging, a five-minute top-off
00:49will get you around an hour of listening time.
00:51These support a ton of codecs, including SBC, AAC, LDAC, and LC3,
00:56along with DSEE Extreme Streaming.
00:58These also offer one of the most customizable listening experiences.
01:02There's a full 10-band EQ, 20 levels of noise modes,
01:05and you can change what the touch controls do.
01:08The redesigned case is kind of awkward, if I'm being honest,
01:11and the call quality isn't the best in its class.
01:14But still, the XM6 offers the sound quality and feature upgrades
01:18that a lot of fans of the series have been waiting on,
01:20and it deserves our overall best pick.
01:23That said, for Apple users,
01:25the AirPods Pro 3 are the best earbuds for iPhone.
01:28They've got a great mix of sound quality, noise cancellation,
01:31and several Apple-exclusive features.
01:34Compared to the AirPods Pro 2, which I'm still rocking,
01:37the 3 has pretty much improved on everything.
01:40Sound quality gets a big upgrade, especially with its bass performance.
01:44ANC is twice as strong,
01:45and while still not being as effective as the XM6,
01:49the Pro 3s are better than most other picks at this price point.
01:52Battery life also gets a boost to 8 hours up from 6,
01:55with a total of 24 with the case.
01:57The Pro 3s offer an adaptive EQ to adjust their sound
02:00to fit your unique hearing and ear shape,
02:03alongside an automatic loudness setting.
02:05But if you really like to dial in your listening experience,
02:08you might be disappointed to learn
02:09that there's no manual equalizer here.
02:12Just like the AirPods,
02:13you can instantly pair these and switch between your other Apple devices
02:16on the same iCloud account,
02:18which includes MacBooks and iPads.
02:20You can listen to your music through your phone,
02:22start playing a game on your iPad,
02:24and then continue working on your Mac,
02:26and the headphones will automatically switch over between those devices.
02:29The Pro 3s use the newer U2 chip in their case
02:32to help you find them when lost,
02:33which is pretty awesome.
02:35Besides media, though,
02:36there's also live translation,
02:38which can be handy when you're traveling.
02:40The AirPods Pro 3 are also the first AirPods
02:43to include a dedicated heart rate monitor sensor inside
02:46for tracking your fitness without needing an Apple Watch.
02:49And so, for iPhone users,
02:51the AirPods Pro 3 aren't just the best AirPods,
02:53they're the best all-around wireless earbuds
02:55that you can buy today.
02:57Now, if I caught your attention with the Sony WF-1000XM6,
03:02but you don't want to spend over $300 on your next pair,
03:05and let me introduce you to the Sony WF-C710N.
03:10Horrible name, but these are currently Sony's
03:12most affordable noise-canceling earbuds,
03:14and if you're willing to forego a few of the premium features
03:17that you find here,
03:18these are the best-value earbuds that you can buy right now.
03:21Unless you're an audiophile
03:22and also need some Kodak support like APTX and LDAC,
03:25then for most people,
03:26the sound quality is going to be very comparable
03:28to even the XM6.
03:29Even noise cancellation performance isn't that far off.
03:32Battery life is actually slightly better than the XM6
03:35with eight and a half hours of playback with ANC
03:38or up to 12 hours with it off,
03:40and with the case, you get about 30 hours.
03:42Sure, you won't find any wireless charging here,
03:44but between its really slick,
03:46transparent, crystal clear color that you can get
03:48and its much smaller case,
03:50I personally don't mind it as much.
03:52The C710Ns normally retail for around $120,
03:56but I'm frequently finding these go on sale for around 80 bucks,
03:59which is a really great deal for what you're getting here.
04:01You're getting about 80 to 85% of the XM6 experience,
04:05but for almost a third of the price,
04:07which makes these a great value choice.
04:11Now, for the best noise-canceling earbuds,
04:14the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Gen 2
04:16still holds the crown.
04:18Bose's original QuietComfort Ultra earbuds
04:20were already very impressive,
04:21but the Gen 2 brings some big internal upgrades
04:24that makes these even better.
04:26ANC is improved,
04:27and they've also added wireless charging,
04:29which makes these feel more on par feature-wise
04:31with the other best premium earbuds that we have.
04:34It's six hours of battery life and 24 hours,
04:36while this case puts these a little bit behind our other picks,
04:38but the real reason that you get these
04:40is for their ANC performance.
04:42Even with the recently released Sony XM6,
04:44our team finds the QuietComfort
04:46to better filter out ambient sound
04:47like the hum of an AC
04:48or the rumble of a jet engine more effectively,
04:51and more importantly,
04:52especially for me,
04:54background conversations.
04:55While the design remains largely unchanged
04:58from its predecessor,
04:59the new fitting wings and redesigned tips
05:01makes finding the perfect fit much easier now.
05:04Sure, the bulkier design
05:05and the lower battery life
05:07had me very interested to see
05:08what Bose comes up with for a Gen 3 successor,
05:11but for right now,
05:11when it comes to ANC performance,
05:13there's no better pair of earbuds
05:15to block out noise.
05:17Now, for all you audiophiles,
05:19the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4
05:21are the best-sounding earbuds
05:23that you can get right now.
05:25These might be the oldest model on our list,
05:27but they're still going strong.
05:29Out of the box,
05:29the Sound Signature,
05:30especially with its mids and low frequencies,
05:32has excellent detail and bass energy.
05:35While plenty of other earbuds
05:36have very punchy bass,
05:37the Momentums still have the edge.
05:40Codex support includes APTX Adaptive
05:42so you can access low-latency streaming
05:44for videos
05:45or high-quality connectivity
05:46for listening to music.
05:48And with compatible devices,
05:49they can also use AuraCast and LE Audio.
05:52With ANC off,
05:53the earbuds are rated
05:54for about seven and a half hours
05:55of battery life
05:56and up to 30 hours
05:57with the charging case.
05:58Their adaptive ANC
06:00and passive isolation
06:01performs really well,
06:03blocking out a lot of the sharp,
06:05trebly sound
06:05and mid-range chit-chat.
06:07But it's not quite to the level
06:09of the Sony XM6
06:10or the Bose QuietComfort
06:12Ultra Earbuds Gen 2.
06:14Yeah, I'm not a big fan
06:15of the chunkier case
06:16and the overall bulkier design,
06:18which isn't the best
06:19if you have smaller ears,
06:20but this still has the edge
06:21with Sound Signature
06:22and its wider audio codex support,
06:24making these a fantastic pick
06:25for diehard music fans.
06:28Those are our main top picks,
06:29but we've also got
06:30a few more other quick options
06:31that you definitely need to check out.
06:34For your runs and your workouts,
06:36we recommend the Beats
06:37Power Beats Pro 2.
06:39They're incredibly comfortable,
06:40but they still stay secure.
06:42Just like the AirPods Pro 3,
06:44these also have a heart rate monitor
06:46built in for tracking those stats.
06:47They're not going to win
06:48on sound or ANC quality,
06:51but for fitness,
06:52they're hard to beat.
06:53The JLab Mini is just $39
06:55and delivers really strong performance
06:57in a super compact,
06:59small ear-friendly design.
07:01Yes, they lack ANC,
07:02but their passive noise blocking
07:04works surprisingly well.
07:06And if you ask me,
07:06these are arguably
07:07the cutest little earbuds
07:08they can get today,
07:09and they're perfect for looping
07:10on a keychain or bag.
07:12They also make really great gifts
07:14and stocking stuffers
07:15that don't suck.
07:17Now, if you don't like
07:18the feel of in-ear earbuds
07:19or you want to be
07:20a little bit more in tune
07:21with your surroundings,
07:22you got to check out
07:23the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds,
07:25one of the most comfortable,
07:26best-sounding,
07:27and stylish open-ear earbuds.
07:29No, these aren't bone conduction,
07:30but the open-ear design
07:32with limited sound leakage
07:33and premium spatialized audio features
07:35might actually make you
07:36a believer in this form factor.
07:39If you have a Samsung Galaxy phone,
07:41the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro
07:43are the best earbuds
07:44for convenience.
07:45They connect straight
07:46out of the box
07:46and on your compatible phone,
07:48you'll find a quick panel
07:49shortcut for adjustments.
07:51This year's model
07:52uses a bigger woofer
07:53and you'll get that deeper bass
07:55and more crisp treble performance.
07:57And ANC is also greatly improved.
07:59So if you've got a Samsung phone,
08:00these should definitely
08:01go on your shortlist.
08:03The JLab GoPods ANC
08:05are the best super cheap earbuds
08:06on the market.
08:07For only $36
08:09and often found for under $25,
08:11their sound quality,
08:12ANC,
08:12and other premium features
08:13are very impressive.
08:14And I especially like
08:16the built-in USB-C cable
08:17for convenient charging.
08:19These actually outperform
08:20all other budget earbuds
08:21at this price point
08:22and even give some $99 pairs
08:24a run for their money.
08:26And because of that,
08:26these are a no-brainer
08:27if you're on a tight budget
08:28and want earbuds
08:29that actually sound good.
08:30So those are the best earbuds
08:32that you can get today,
08:33but I'm curious which pair
08:34you're currently rocking
08:35or if you're planning to upgrade
08:36to any of our picks here today.
08:38And if there are any other pairs
08:39that you want me to test for next time,
08:41let me know in the comments too.
08:42Again,
08:42you can find the best deals
08:43for everything linked down below
08:44along with our full reviews.
08:46Be sure to stay subscribed
08:47for more Tom's Guide videos.
08:48Follow me to see what else
08:49I'm reviewing.
08:49And until the next one,
08:50I'll catch you later.
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