As someone who loves listening to music, podcasts, and movies, I know that the best headphones are a must-have. They’re not only essential for regular travelers like myself, but they’re also great for video calls, focusing while working, or staying motivated while working out. While wired headphones provide the best sound quality, wireless options offer the convenience of cable-free listening. In fact, there are so many wireless headphones and true wireless earbuds available that there are separate guides for each.
These headphones and earbuds have many common features that make them easy to recommend. They all have a comfortable design, class-leading audio performance, and useful extras like built-in voice assistants or strong wireless connectivity. Whether I’m using my smartphone, laptop, or MP3 player, I’m always satisfied with the sound quality of these headphones. However, if I’m specifically looking for gaming headphones with built-in mics, I check out the best PC gaming headset guide, as it’s focused on gaming performance, surround sound, and in-game chat.
The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones are my personal favorite as they deliver excellent noise cancellation and sound quality in a comfortable and lightweight design. Although they look similar to their predecessors, the WH-1000XM3, they have many new features such as multipoint pairing, DSEE Extreme upscaling, conversational awareness, and auto-play/pause using a built-in sensor. They also support Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format, which provides spatial audio on stereo headphones, and the LDAC codec that can send a bitrate of up to 990 kbps. However, they no longer support aptX or aptX HD, so hi-res audio support may vary.
Since the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus received a permanent price cut, I’ve been eyeing them as a great option. Their price has been cut down to more than half of the original cost, making them an even more appealing choice. Even at their original price, they received a five-star rating in our review.
Compared to their predecessors, these earbuds offer excellent audio performance, a helpful app, and easy-to-use controls. During testing, I found that the audio quality was exceptional with tons of dynamism and character, a lively presentation, high accuracy, and a lot of detail.
Although there’s no noise cancellation, the sound isolation is very good. When used in low power mode, the battery life is impressive, offering up to nine hours of playtime per earbud charge and up to 45 hours with the case.
The Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus earbuds are a clear upgrade from their predecessors, and with the price cut, they are an even more attractive option. My experience with the Cambridge Melomania 1 Plus earbuds revealed that they have a battery life above average with 35 hours in High Performance mode (which is how I tested them), and an impressive 45 hours in Low Power mode. I was able to use them for a solid week and a half before needing to recharge, which I consider to be excellent. However, the standout feature of these earbuds is their audio quality. Equipped with 5.8mm dynamic drivers, the Cambridge Melomania 1 Plus deliver sound quality that surpasses what you would expect from earbuds that are priced under £100, especially when used in High Performance mode.
Samsung has released its latest earbuds, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, which are a departure from their usual futuristic design in favor of a comfortable fit and high-quality 24-bit sound. I believe that other top manufacturers like Apple, Sony, Bose, and Sennheiser should take note of what Samsung has accomplished with these earbuds. They are simply good.
The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are smaller, more comfortable, and less ostentatious than their rose gold, kidney-bean-shaped predecessor, the Galaxy Buds Live. These earbuds have several useful features like excellent active noise cancellation, voice detect, wearer detection, customizable on-ear controls, and IPX7 water ingress protection.
The standout feature, however, is the 360 audio with optional head-tracking, which is available if you own a Samsung Galaxy device. This allows you to use your phone as the central point to direct more of the end-to-end 24-bit high-res audio to your preferred ear. This feature alone makes the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro an attractive choice for anyone looking for high-quality earbuds.
