The 8 Best On-Ear Headphones for 2024: Sony, Beats, Sennheiser and More
What are the best on-ear headphones overall?
While around-ear or over-ear headphones usually provide the best sound and listening experience, not everyone wants to walk around with full-size headphones, which can sometimes be a bit bulky. Well, headphones that fit on top of your ears isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, on-ear models with smaller earcups are more compact and travel-friendly, and usually cost less (several models on this list cost less than $50). They are also good for people with smaller heads, including children. Keep in mind that most on-ear headphones don’t offer active noise cancellation, although some do.
I tested all the models on this list, assessing their design, comfort level, sound quality, voice calling performance, and noise-canceling skills (if they offer that feature). They are all wireless headphones, but most also offer a wired connection. I recently added the Beats Solo 4 and JBL Live 670NC to the list and will continue to add valuable on-ear models as they hit the market. If none of these headphones pique your interest, you can take a look CNET’s other best headphones listslike ours best wireless earbuds list and our best noise canceling headphones list.
Best on-ear headphones for 2024
Sony has released its new entry-level CH-720N noise-canceling headphones in 2023. They’re pretty good, but if you can’t afford them (they cost $150), then so are the company’s new budget on-ear WH-CH520 headphones. an intriguing option for only about $50.
They don’t have noise cancellation and are quite basic, but they offer good sound for their price, are lightweight and quite comfortable for on-ear headphones, and also have excellent battery life (they have a lifespan of up to 50 hours at a moderate volume Levels In addition, they have multipoint Bluetooth pairing, so you can pair them with two devices at the same time (such as a smartphone and a computer) and switch audio. Voice calling performance is decent, but not at the level of what you get with the CH-720N.
Note that there is no wired option: these are wireless headphones that only work via Bluetooth. The CH-520 offers an overall balanced sound with decent clarity. The bass has some punch, but it’s not distracting, and you won’t get as wide a soundstage as with Sony’s more expensive over-ear headphones. But these definitely sound better than Sony’s previous on-ear headphones and sound better than I thought they would. I tried the white color, but they are also available in blue and black.
The Soundcore H30i is a cheap wireless on-ear headphone that competes with the Sony CH-520 and JBL Tube 510BT (the Tune 520BT is the new-for-2024 successor). There’s no active noise cancellation and the headphones are quite basic, but they do offer decent sound quality with enough bass for a low price and you can pair them with two devices at the same time (multipoint Bluetooth). I’m a little more in favor of the Sony CH-520, which are a little more comfortable and sound a little better (they have a little more clarity). That said, the H30i have a foldable design, and while they don’t come with a carrying case, they do come with a headphone cord for wired listening (the Sony’s are wireless only).
Battery life is impressive: the H30i is rated for up to 70 hours of listening at moderate volume levels. And while you shouldn’t expect great performance on voice calls, it’s acceptable in quieter environments. I also appreciated that you can adjust the sound profile in the companion Soundcore app for iOS and Android.
Bottom Line: The Beats Solo 4 on-ear headphones look pretty much the same as the 3s on the outside, but some notable improvements on the inside boost their performance by about 25% to 30% when it comes to sound quality, battery life, and calling .
Would I pay $200 for it? No, I wouldn’t do that. But if you look at what’s happened to the prices of the Studio Pro – they’re sporadically reduced to $200 or $150 from their list price and even dropped to $180 for Prime Day – the Solo 4s won’t always be $200. I’m sure we’ll see them pretty soon for what the Solo 3s cost now, which is around $130. They make a lot more sense at that price, especially if you’re looking for more compact on-ear headphones and no active noise cancellation need.
JBL’s Live 670NC and Tune 670NC are among the relatively small number of on-ear models that offer active noise cancellation. They’re both relatively affordable, but the Live 670NC version has a premium look and feel, with better ear cushions that are noticeably more durable. The sound is also slightly better, with 40mm drivers offering good detail and powerful bass. Battery life is up to 65 hours (or 50 hours with ANC enabled) and an additional four hours of battery life with just five minutes of charging. This model includes the latest Bluetooth 5.3 (with LE Audio) and multipoint Bluetooth pairing. It also features JBL’s Ambient Aware (transparency mode) and TalkThru features. It is available in black, white, blue and sandstone and comes with a cord for wired listening.
The main phone list costs $130, but regularly drops to $100.
I was a fan of Creative’s original Sound Blaster Jam headphones, which came out in 2015 and had a decidedly retro look and feel with good sound for the money. Now the headphones are available in a 2.0 version with some major upgrades including Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C charging, improved call quality and multipoint Bluetooth pairing that lets you pair them with two devices at the same time. The battery life is up to 22 hours.
I was able to pair the headphones with a Mac Mini and an iPhone and then switch the audio between them. Often when pairing Bluetooth headphones with Mac and Windows PCs you can run into some issues, but once I paired the headphones with both my PC and my phone they made for a good pair of headphones for home use. Plus, the price is right for parents looking for decent kids’ headphones for distance learning and everyday use.
The Jam V2 are comfortable for on-ear headphones, are lightweight and have a nicely balanced sound with good detail and bass that is adequate but not overwhelming. Call quality was good in my tests, with callers saying they could hear me well even on the busy streets of New York. It doesn’t come with a carrying case, but you do get an extra set of foam earpads, which is good because they wear out over time.
The headphones have physical buttons for controlling volume and playback and there is aptX support for devices that support the wireless streaming codec.
Over the past few years I’ve written about quite a few new Sennheiser headphones, most of which had a higher price tag. But the company also has a newish $70 on-ear wireless model, the 250BT, which should appeal to those on a tighter budget. Equipped with Bluetooth 5.0, its features seem quite basic, but it has a 25-hour battery life, as well as support for the AAC and aptX audio codecs, and it also uses Sennheiser’s Smart Control app, which allows you to adjust the sound to your liking can adjust. bit.
Sennheiser describes the 250BT as having a club-like sound, and that’s a fairly apt interpretation. There’s a lot of energy in the bass and some sparkle in the treble. These are what I call exciting headphones: dynamic, fun. I can’t say it has a premium build quality (it looks and feels more like a budget model). But it’s lightweight and comfortable for an on-ear model, although there’s no padding inside the headband, so I had to make occasional adjustments to relieve a little pressure on the crown of my head.
You can use the 250BT as a headset for making calls – it works quite well for that – but Sennheiser doesn’t really talk about call quality, only mentioning that the headphones have a built-in microphone. The noise-isolating ear cushions dampen background noise, giving you a better listening experience. These headphones are more about the sound and over time they have grown on me.
Skullcandy’s Riff is the spiritual successor to the Grind Wireless, which I liked for the money. It comes in multiple color options, costs around $50, and has puffy, cushion-like ear cups that make these comfortable headphones an on-ear model. It also has great sound for its price, with open, detailed sound quality and thick bass that’s relatively well defined. My only gripe with the design of the earcups is that the top doesn’t have a padded headband (on the crown of your head) and it feels a bit cheap, with no metal parts. That said, it’s nice and light and has a double hinge that allows the headphones to fold up and down. No carrying bag is included. The battery life is only 12 hours, but thanks to the fast charging function you can get 2 hours of charge after 10 minutes of charging (this has micro-USB charging and not USB-C).
There’s nothing special about the Edifier WH500 on-ear headphones. They’re lightweight and relatively comfortable for on-ear phones, and they sound decent for the money. These have a companion app so you can upgrade the firmware and customize their sound (there are some EQ settings to play with). Battery life is up to 40 hours, and the headphones work fine as a headset for calling (just not great). They are available in three color options.
