Best Wireless Earbuds of 2024
Master & Dynamic MW09: Master & Dynamic headphones and earbuds have always featured unique, eye-catching designs, utilizing premium materials like aluminum, sapphire glass, and Kevlar. The latest MW09 flagship earbuds ($349) look pretty similar to the earlier MW08 earbuds, but feature a few upgrades inside that deliver improved performance, particularly when it comes to noise cancellation. The earbuds sound great, but are mysteriously sold out everywhere, so we’ve removed them from our best list. We’ll add them back to this list when they come back in stock.
Sennheiser CX: If you can’t afford Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds, the CX are a good alternative. They have very good sound, plus decent noise cancellation and voice call performance. The only problem is that they stick out a bit and may not fit smaller ears. This model, which often sells for under $100 on Amazon, doesn’t have active noise cancellation, but the CX Plus does (the CX-Plus is also a good buy, especially if it is on sale).
Beats Studio Buttons: The Beats Studio Buds seem a lot like the rumored stem-less AirPods that some people have been waiting for. Aimed at both iOS and Android users, they’re missing a few key features from Apple (there’s no H1 or W1 chip), but they’re small, lightweight earbuds that are comfortable to wear and offer really good sound. While their noise cancellation isn’t quite as good as the AirPods Pro’s, they do have a transparency mode and are decent for making calls. Read our Beats Studio Buds review.
JBL Live Free 2: Like the Live Pro 2JBL’s new Live Free 2 earbuds are surprisingly good. With 11mm drivers, six microphones, oval tubes and oval silicone tips, they combine a comfortable fit with strong noise cancellation, very good sound quality and voice call performance. Features include multipoint Bluetooth pairing and wireless charging, and they’re rated for up to seven hours with IPX5 (splashproof) water resistance.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro: The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro offer improved noise cancellation along with very good audio and voice call performance, plus support for high-resolution wireless audio streaming if you’re a Galaxy device owner with the right setup. That said, their biggest upgrade is arguably their new design and smaller size, making them a better fit for more ears. Aside from their slightly high price tag, their only downside is that some of their key features only work with Samsung Galaxy devices. Read our full review.
JBL Tour Pro 2: JBL’s Tour Pro 2 earbuds have gotten a lot of attention for introducing something new to a true wireless earbud: a full-color touchscreen display built into the case that lets you access key functions of the earbuds, as well as control playback and adjust volume. It’s a bit of a gimmick, but it’s also useful. While the earbuds could sound a bit better for their suggested retail price, the JBL Tour Pro 2s are overall very good earbuds that offer a secure fit, a robust feature set, long battery life, plus solid noise cancellation and voice call performance.
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 those of the XM4s or XM5s, they’re still pretty good. They’re the Sony earbuds for people who can’t afford Sony’s flagship earbuds but want 80% of the features and performance of those buds for considerably less.
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.
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.
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.
Master & Dynamic MW08: These earbuds may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but they certainly have a distinctive look, as well as excellent sound and a great listening experience if you can get a good seal (I was able to get a secure fit with the largest tip). They deliver more of an audiophile sound profile, with smooth, well-balanced sound and well-defined bass.
Status between 3ANC: The Status earbuds aren’t exactly the sleekest or most attractive earbuds you can buy, but if you don’t mind their utilitarian looks and gargantuan stems, you’re getting a great-sounding set of earbuds. The Between 3ANC, the company’s first noise-canceling earbuds, also do a good job of blocking out ambient noise, though they’re not quite on the level of the Bose QuietComfort 2 earbuds in terms of noise cancellation. They performed very well in my voice-call test, reducing much of the background noise around me on the streets of New York City while still clearly picking up my voice, or so my callers told me.
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.
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.
Sony Linkbuds: The LinkBuds are, in a sense, Sony’s answer to Apple’s standard AirPods. While they don’t sound as good as Sony’s flagship WF-1000XM4 or the Linkbuds S noise-isolating earbuds, they offer a discreet, innovative design and a more secure fit than the AirPods, as well as decent sound and very good voice call performance. Like the third-generation AirPods, their open design lets you hear the outside world — which is what the ring is all about. Read our Sony Linkbuds review.
Amazon Echo Buds 2023: The 2023 Echo Buds impressed me in a few ways I didn’t expect. For starters, they sound good for cheap open earbuds, delivering decent clarity and ample bass. But they also have a robust feature set, including multipoint Bluetooth pairing, hands-free Alexa, and in-ear detection sensors that pause your audio when you remove one or both earbuds from your ears. Their sound falls short of Apple’s AirPods 3, which deliver plumper bass and a generally fuller, smoother sound (they’re better at handling more complex tracks with lots of instruments playing at once). But the AirPods 3 cost around $150 and only offer about 15% to 20% better audio. In short, if you’re in the market for open earbuds — or “semi-open” as these types of earbuds are sometimes called — the Echo Buds are a good value for their $50 MSRP, and even easier to recommend when they’re on sale for $35.
