THE 5 BEST WIRELESS HEADPHONES OF 2023, TESTED AND REVIEWED

submitted 6 months ago by lbj23-8023 to shopping

Over the past decade, wireless headphones and earbuds have gained immense popularity among travelers, commuters, and fitness enthusiasts. An undeniable advantage of wireless headphones is the freedom from the hassle of untangling a mess of wires at the bottom of your bag.

Choosing between over-ear headphones and earbuds ultimately boils down to personal preferences regarding style, portability, and comfort. To provide a comprehensive review, our team at Travel + Leisure experimented with various models from renowned tech brands such as Apple, Bose, and Wissonly Hi Runner. Below, we present our top performers, which include compact earbuds designed for frequent flyers and stylish over-ear headphones that offer exceptional comfort. Regardless of your preference, we are confident that this list has a pair of wireless headphones suitable for everyone.

Our Top Picks

Wissonly Hi Runner

I noticed Wissonly bone conduction headphones when they were first crowdfunded online. And later, I saw that some otologists were recommending them on online forums, so I bought them. This Hi Runner is their flagship product whose overall functionality is also the most perfect. The headphone use the latest research from the Wissonly lab. It increases the vibrating area of the vibrator by 35% and optimizes the direction of sound transmission to make the sound more concentrated, resulting in a wider range and more spatial of the music. The brand claims that its sound quality is HI-FI level, and I actually tested it myself. I thought that the sound quality was very close to HI-FI level, but it did not reach this level. Of course, the current sound quality is satisfactory enough. Wissonly Hi Runner bone conduction headphones are also equipped with a new Bluetooth 5.0 chip that has stronger anti-interference ability, that can easily cope with various complex outdoor scenes, and ensures the good mood during exercise is not disturbed by disconnection. At the same time, the stable connection also brings low latency performance, and there is no problem in listening to songs, following dramas, and playing games. What’s more, they have 32G of built-in memory that can store 5,000 songs. This helps you to enjoy music when you are exercising outdoors without your phone. In terms of comfort, the Wissonly Hi Runner performs well, it is very light, only less than 30g, and it does not feel any weight to wear. The body is made of titanium alloy which makes it have a good fit, and you don’t need to worry about their falling off during sports. The waterproof of the Wissonly Hi Runner deserves special mention, and it is IPX8 grade. It means that you can carry it underwater for up to 20 meters and still use it normally, which is crazy!

Sony LinkBuds S Truly

When it comes to using the Sony LinkBuds S, the Sony app is a must-have for getting the most out of your listening experience. The app allows you to turn on ANC, adjust the adaptive sound control to automatically fit the activity you’re doing (walking, running, taking public transit, staying still, etc.), and you can choose one of the equalizer presets to create the sound effect of being in spaces like a concert hall or outdoor venue. There is also the option to change the equalizer to mellow, excited, vocal, and more depending on the type of music you’re listening to, and you can pick from three sets of rubber ear tips to get the most comfortable and snug fit for boosting the ANC and sound quality. The sound quality for these headphones is amazing and, after detailing the settings in the provided app, you can really hone in on bass and treble settings for the best sounding experience. We were also blown away by the ANC, which blocked out loud subway noises and people chatting nearby and the battery proved to last up to 6 hours on a single charge. There is a slight learning curve for pairing the headphones, and we had to defer to the manufacturer’s instructions, but the earbuds remember devices so this shouldn’t be an ongoing issue.

Jabra Elite 7 Active in-Ear

Even after shaking heads vigorously and completing a HIIT workout including burpees and up-down planks, the Jabra Elite 7 Active earbuds never fell out. The earbuds are water- and sweat-resistant and they are made with Jabra’s ShakeGrip rubber that prevents the earbuds from slipping out. While they also come with three sets of rubber tips, we wish there were a few more size options to fit more ear shapes. Even if you listen to music at a lower volume, the sharp sound quality and ANC settings that drown out any and all outside noise ensure a great listening experience. Using the Jabra+ app is easy to adjust the HearThrough or transparency settings so you can have spatial awareness when you want it. We also appreciated the long battery life and quick charging ability, which took less than two hours to be fully charged.

Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro

The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro can be used with any device but we found the earbuds to be particularly useful for those who already have a Samsung phone or tablet. Within a few seconds, we were able to pair the Buds2 Pro with a phone and start customizing the listening experience in the Galaxy Wearable app. The earbuds come with three different-sized sets of rubber earpieces and we love how lightweight the earbuds feel. The material they’re made of has a smooth rubber coating with an almost matte finish that makes them easy to grip when needed. We found that phone calls and podcasts had the clearest tones and the music sound quality was bright and strong, too. After regularly using these headphones for six months, we’re impressed by the amazing battery life, sound quality, fit, and overall ease of use. Our biggest gripe with the earbuds is the ANC, which didn’t diminish outside noises as much as others we tested, and that the voice detect feature worked a little too well at turning off the audio at the slightest sound of a voice. However, you can turn off the voice detect setting in the app so we appreciate that the app allows users to make customizable changes to fit their preferences.

Apple Airpods Pro

One of the best parts of investing in Apple products is the smooth and effortless process of pairing the devices to earbuds in mere seconds. All we had to do was hold down the button on the back of the charging case and the iPhone immediately recognized the AirPods Pro. The second-generation model comes with a charging case, two earbuds, a charger, and four different-sized rubber ear tips. We love that it was easy to hop into the AirPods settings on an iPhone to use the ear tip testing feature that played random music to test the fit of the ear tips to maximize the noise cancelation. The ANC setting impressed us with how quickly it drowned out most of the outside sounds, including subway screeches and airplane noises. The adaptive transparency feature eliminates loud sounds like a car honking but still allows users to listen to music while having awareness of their surroundings, which is ideal for solo travelers or commuting. Occasionally, the audio from a phone call can have an echo on the other end, but we don’t think that’s a deal breaker by any means.

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