Best Sounding Wireless Earbuds in 2024
Sony LinkBuds S: Unlike the “open” LinkBuds, the LinkBuds S are traditional noise-isolating earbuds with tips that you plug into your ears. They’re more compact and lighter than Sony’s former flagship WF-1000XM4s, and also feature Sony’s V1 processor. (Sony has since released the more compact WF-1000XM5s .) While their sound and noise cancellation don’t quite match the XM4s or XM5s, they’re still pretty good. They’re the Sony earbuds for people who want 80% of the features and performance of Sony’s flagship earbuds for considerably less.
Jabra Elite 10: Yes, the Elite 10s have some potential drawbacks: Their noise cancellation is lighter compared to competitors, they’re pricey at $249, and they’ll likely need to be a bit cheaper to better compete with the AirPods Pro 2 — at least for Apple users. Still, they’re a really good pair of earbuds that are not only comfortable to wear for long periods of time but sound excellent, too. Read our full review.
Bang & Olufsen Beoplay EX: Bang & Olufsen’s $399 Beoplay EX earbuds are the company’s best true wireless earbuds. They have a comfortable, secure fit (except maybe for those with really small ears), top-notch build quality, great sound, solid noise cancellation, and improved voice-call performance over B&O’s EQ-enabled earbuds, with three microphones in each earbud helping to reduce background noise while picking up your voice. While they’re out of most people’s budget, they’re arguably the best stem-type earbuds available, offering a slightly better sound than the AirPods Pro 2, with better clarity, deeper, punchier bass, and richer, more accurate audio.
Audio-Technica ATH-TWX9: Audio-Technica has released a number of true wireless earbuds over the past few years, but none of them have been good. That changes with the ATH-TWX9, which bring a premium design, premium sound, and a fairly robust feature set including strong active noise cancellation, multipoint Bluetooth pairing, and a case equipped with wireless charging and UV LED sterilization. You’ll also find a plethora of eartips in the box, and I found them to be well sealed and comfortable. These earbuds are IPX4 splash-proof and have a battery life of 6 hours at moderate volume levels.
1More Evo: Known for delivering value for money, 1More has released a more premium set of earbuds that come equipped with a 10mm dynamic driver paired with a balanced armature. They support Sony’s LDAC codec for high-resolution wireless streaming over Bluetooth with music services like Qobuz or Tidal that offer high-resolution music files. The Evo earbuds sound better than the company’s other earbuds, offering better clarity and bass definition, as well as a relatively wide soundstage. They also feature solid noise cancellation, multipoint Bluetooth pairing, wireless charging, a transparency mode, and an IPX4 splashproof rating. Battery life is rated at 5.5 hours with ANC on and 8 hours without ANC off. A 15-minute quick charge will give you 4 hours of juice.
Beyerdynamic Free Byrd: Beyerdynamic may be late to the game, but it has finally introduced its first true wireless earbuds, which offer active noise cancellation, up to 11 hours of battery life (with noise cancellation off), and impressive sound quality. Read our Beyerdynamic Free Byrd review.
Sony WF-1000XM4: Sony’s WF-1000XM4, released in 2021, won a CNET Editors’ Choice Award. They’re still excellent earbuds, but Sony has now released the next-gen WF-1000XM5. They can be a great option if you can find them at a good discount.
End Audio ZE8000: Japan-based Final Audio, which makes a number of high-end audiophile headphones, including the $4,299 D8000 Prohas released its ZE8000 ($199) true-wireless earbuds, which feature a unique stick design and excellent sound. The larger tips fit comfortably and securely in my ears, although they do stick out a bit.
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3: The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 were among the best new true-wireless earbuds of 2022. They’re still among the best true-wireless earbuds, but Sennheiser has released the upgraded Momentum True Wireless 4. The newer AirPods Pro 2 and Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds are also demonstrably better, so only buy the Momentum True Wireless 3 if they’re significantly discounted.
JBL Live Pro 2: JBL has released some decent true-wireless earbuds over the years, but nothing that really got me excited. That’s finally changed with the arrival of the new Live Pro 2 And Live Free 2 buds. Both sets of buds — the Live Pro 2 has stems while the Live Free 2 has a pill-shaped design — offer a comfortable fit along with strong noise cancellation, very good sound quality and voice call performance, plus a robust feature set including multipoint Bluetooth pairing, an IPX5 splash-proof rating, and wireless charging.
