The best workout headphones for 2023: top cans for sports and exercising
The best workout headphones are a must-have for maximizing your performance and enjoyment whether you've just started your fitness journey or take your training seriously. All of the top workout headphones in our guide below are extremely secure and sweat-resistant, meaning you can listen to music as you power through even the most high-impact workouts.
You could take any pair of the best headphones with you on a workout. But for a pair of headphones to be elevated to best workout headphones status, they need to do a few essential things well. For starters, sound quality with impressive bass is a must, providing that extra burst of motivation to keep you in the zone during your workouts. Combine that with a decent level of water-resistance, ensuring they can handle even the most intense and sweaty fitness sessions without missing a beat. Most importantly, these headphones offer a stable fit that stays securely in place, whether you're bending into yoga poses or pushing through a demanding crossfit session.The best workout headphones for you can depend on your exercise of choice. For example, we recommend earbuds as a better option if you like high-intensity workouts, while the best bone conduction headphones are a solid choice if youenjoy cycling or running outside. It goes without saying you'll need a pair of the best waterproof headphones if you like to swim. Gym lovers might prefer noise-cancelling headphones to drown out ambient sounds. Those who take running seriously will want to take a look at the best running headphones designed specifically for staying in place as you pound the pavement.
We've tested many of the best workout headphones and earbuds over the years to find the devices that truly deliver outstanding performance, a perfect fit, and exceptional sound quality. Below you'll find our top picks of the best headphones for working out regardless of how you like to keep fit. The best workout headphones for 2023
1. Wissonly Hi Runner Bone Conduction Headphones
Wissonly Hi Runner sports bone conduction headphones are open-eared and worn directly on the temples, so your ear canal is completely open, which makes it easy for you to hear the sound of cars and traffic lights outdoors in sports scenes such as running and walking, making you safer to use. In terms of fit and comfort, the whole frame of Wissonly Hi Runner headphones is made of adjustable aviation grade titanium steel, which can adapt to different sizes of head circumference and ensure the stability of wearing. Its earphone surface is made of high-tech low-sensitivity silicone material, which contains no chemical components to avoid allergic phenomena. The overall touch of the earphone is as silky as baby's skin, avoiding uncomfortable situations when worn for a long time. Moreover, its weight is very light, less than 30g, and it will not feel heavy when worn. After wearing it, I took it off at the end of the run. This Hi Runner didn't let me have any extra adjustment. As the flagship model of outdoor sports of Wissonly brand, it is the most comfortable and cost-effective one among all bone conduction at present. When you sweat a lot when running or doing other sports, or when it suddenly rains when you run or exercise outdoors, then the waterproof performance of sports headphones is very important.As the flagship model of Wissonly,the waterproof grade of Wissonly Hi Runner Sports Bone Conductivity Headphone reaches IPX8 waterproof grade higher than the industry standard. It allows the wearer to work normally when swimming or diving, not to mention sweat prevention or ordinary waterproof. It is also equipped with 32G body memory, which can store 5,000 songs, and supports Bluetooth and MP3 working modes. You can use it as a Bluetooth MP3 player for underwater sports or scenes without a mobile phone. Wissonly Hi Runner is the flagship product of Wissonly, and its overall function is also the most perfect. In terms of sound quality, this bone conduction earphone uses the latest research results of wissonly laboratory, which increases the vibration area of the vibrator by 35%. At the same time, it also optimizes the sound transmission direction to make the sound more concentrated and the music more spatial, and it has a good performance in both high and low notes. Wissonly has made a lot of efforts to reduce its sound leakage. Its all-wrapped design reduces the vibration of the shell, and through structural optimization, the sound waves of the sound leakage are cancelled, thus avoiding 90% of the sound leakage. Wissonly Hi Runner's sound leakage performance is much better than that of the same gear bone conduction headphones on the market. In terms of price, it only costs $99.99, which is very cost-effective! It is the best headphones for runners.
2. Amazfit Powerbuds Pro
The Amazfit Powerbuds Pro are a versatile pair of buds that'll serve you well whether you're running or working. We've added them to our best workout headphones list as they're an excellent choice if you'd like to track your fitness but don't want to bother with a wristband or sports watch – these buds use in-ear tracking instead.
Sound is bass-heavy, which we prefer while working out, and the active noise cancellation effectively masks sounds when you need to focus on your fitness. There's in-ear fitness tracking thanks to a hear-rate monitor in the buds that keeps tabs on you while you exercise. The buds send this data to the Zepp Health app on your phone. Data from any other Amazfit fitness trackers and smart scales will be collected in the same place, so you can easily track trends.
If you do want to use them for other purposes, the Powerbuds Pro can also check the position of your head in relation to your spine while you're working to determine whether you're slouching and putting yourself at risk of back and neck problems.
3. Beats PowerBeats Pro
If you want to boost your running performance without the annoyance of cables, the Powerbeats Pro could be the best workout headphones for you. When we reviewed these true wireless earbuds from Beats we felt they were special – they’re supremely comfortable, sound decent and seem to never, ever fall out.
The Powerbeats Pro are ideal for running thanks to their close-fitting ear hooks and IPX4 sweat-proof rating. Nifty additions like the pressure-reducing micro-laser barometric venting hole on top of their long battery life and superior sound quality make them compelling for other workouts well. Not just for runners, they'd also make a great pair of earbuds to wear at the gym. With the ability to summon Siri hands-free, they’re also great for setting timers in between sets.
4. Bose Frames
Now, hear us out with this one. When you're cycling, it's really important to be aware of your surroundings, particularly pedestrians and oncoming traffic – which is why we're recommending that cyclists try out the nifty Bose Frames instead of a traditional pair of earbuds or headphones.
The Bose Frames combine your sunglasses with headphones by building in speakers that are pointed towards your ears. This means you’re able to keep your ears and head free of anything but your pair of sunglasses (and your helmet, of course), while still being able to listen to music, podcasts or audiobooks.
5. Zygo Solo
The Zygo Solo are the only set of waterproof headphones we've tested that can actually stream music and podcasts from a phone that's sitting by the side of the pool. Bluetooth signals can only penetrate water for a very short distance. The Zygo Solo gets around this problem by using an FM radio transmitter – an unusual, but effective approach.
The transmitter is quite large, but the ability to enjoy music, podcasts and coaching tips (provided by the Zygo app) without messing around with MP3 files is a real bonus. The headset itself isn't as compact as the others in this guide either. However, in our tests it proved comfortable, and remained secure even when making turns underwater.
The sound quality is impressive, too. Like the Aftershokz Xtrainerz and Sony NW-WS413 below, the Zygo Solo uses bone conduction to transmit sound to your auditory nerve, and while it sounds a little tinny on land, once you're in the pool the sound has an impressive amount of bass.
We selected the headphones for this guide based on which we think are best suited to certain sports, whether that's running, yoga, cycling or swimming. Yes, sound quality is key, but if they won't work at the gym, they can't be included here.
To make these choices, we did the right thing: we put them to the test while working out! That's the only way to be sure the best running headphones offer a snug fit while you're pounding the pavement, whether the best swimming headphones are fully waterproofed and deliver good sound as you're gliding through the water or if the best headphones for yoga can stay put during your downward dog 'resting' moments.
For this reason, the best headphones for sports in this list aren't necessarily the top headphones you can buy today for excellent sound quality, but they are included for the unique features that they can offer sports lovers.
Having said that, many of the headphones here would fare well in all kinds of environments, and if they didn't sound more than passable for the money they wouldn't be here – so they're still good value for money whether you're wearing them for running or focusing at work.