# Best-sounding wireless earbuds? what do you think?



## JohnG (Nov 12, 2019)

Can anyone recommend the best-sounding wireless earbuds? Preferably with noise cancellation?

I heard the Apple ones are pretty good, but thought I'd ask.

here's a CNET article if anyone else is interested: *








The Best Sounding True Wireless Headphones of 2019


Many people are looking for cheap true wireless headphones, but if you're looking for something with top-notch sound, this is the list for you.




www.cnet.com




*
I'm an Apple user -- iPad, iPhone, FWIW.

Thanks!

John


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## colony nofi (Nov 12, 2019)

I am testing the wireless apple buds with noise cancellation at the moment.
They're pretty good. The noise reduction can impact on some music depending on the environment in a pretty nasty way - but nothing unexpected. I'm comparing them to bose wired QC20's (the noise reduction in the bose feels slightly better - but perhaps only because they seem to fit me better!) and the sony over ears (which are my go-to for flights and superb noise reduction!) . 

Now the apples shine in usability. Being able to connect a couple pairs to one phone is fun to share music with a partner / friend. Easy to go between laptop and phone. Like crazy easy. And awesome for video conferencing in loud environments. 

Sounding? I don't know. I have a friend with the new powerbeats pro's (non noise cancelling) and they sounded better to me on the short test I did. BUT once I listened to some wav files with the apple buds, the quality felt much better - which means (I think) that what I'm hearing with the apple's is the noise cancellation algorithms showing up the inadequacy of streaming audio / lower quality audio files. 

A slightly good thing about the apple's is you can grab them for 14 days risk free to try them!


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## kgdrum (Nov 12, 2019)

While I haven’t tried the new Pro version of the AirPods I’m sure they’re pretty good.What won me over on the regular AirPods was the how convenient they are and the portability factor.While the sound was OK the other attributes outweighed the negatives. 
What I prefer & also have while they are not earbuds are the Sennheiser M2 (over ear headphones).They are not cheap but I got a great deal from Amazon either Black Friday or the Holidays 2 years ago($199).They really sound great and hold a charge for quite a while.
Sennheiser also has great customer service,1 year after buying them I inadvertently screwed up the charging port by trying to force in a cable that was not their proprietary charging cable.
I sent them back hoping there’d repair them for a reasonable cost,they didn’t instead they sent me a new pair of the updated model at no cost!
Again this was my screwup not a manufacturing defect,great headphones and a really nice company.
Highly recommended 😍


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## Guffy (Nov 13, 2019)

I really love my Galaxy Buds. Good battery, very comfortable and the sound is impressive for earbuds. Some people might find them a bit on the bright side, but i like that. As far as i know, they work with all phones.


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## Land of Missing Parts (Nov 13, 2019)

I didn't want to like the Air Pods, but after first trying the Jabra Elite 65t, I returned them and settled on Air Pods instead. And I _love_ them, and use headphones more and more than I ever used to.

But for me it's not so much the sound or noise cancellation, it's the convenience. I think they sound good for music and podcasts. Of course I'd never use them for critical listening, but I do bounce tracks out and listen to songs in progress while on the go. And with my Air Pods I'll notice some fine details and flaws that I wouldn't have noticed with my more serious headphones/monitors.


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## erikradbo (Nov 13, 2019)

I preordered these. Not true wireless, but an exciting idea where they measure your hearing and adapts the output. The predecessors seems to have been pretty accurate.


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## JohnG (Nov 13, 2019)

thanks for the replies

my favourite thing so far is the 14 day trial! Maybe I'll pop into an Apple store and see what's what.

edit: although my favourite wired earbuds of all time were Sennheiser.

Hmmm


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## chimuelo (Nov 15, 2019)

Or some 24 way drivers from JHAudio.
Roxannes, Layla’s are what I’ve been using for years.

But I master with these so that might be overkill for guys just wanting to do comparisons.

The guy who invented these owns most of the patents for IEMs.
Im sure no matter what you get you’ll like his drivers.


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## Dewdman42 (Nov 15, 2019)

The new ear buds might make my xmas list. They are sure pricey though. I couldn't wear the old ear buds, but my buddy absolutely loves them. They didn't fit my ear right. The new ones will work with a wider range of ear canal shapes and sizes..


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## JohnG (Nov 15, 2019)

chimuelo said:


> Or some 24 way drivers from JHAudio.
> Roxannes, Layla’s are what I’ve been using for years.
> 
> But I master with these so that might be overkill for guys just wanting to do comparisons.
> ...



Lol @chimuelo -- sometimes you crack me up. Given that there's an 80% chance I will lose these on the first trip I take with them, I think I will skip the $1,800 price tag (or whatever).


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## JohnG (Nov 15, 2019)

colony nofi said:


> The noise reduction can impact on some music depending on the environment in a pretty nasty way - but nothing unexpected.



How about on a plane? Have you tried that by any chance? My Bose gave up so I would like a noise canceling replacement.


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## colony nofi (Nov 15, 2019)

JohnG said:


> How about on a plane? Have you tried that by any chance? My Bose gave up so I would like a noise canceling replacement.


Not taken a LONG flight with them yet, but have had 3 between syd and melb. And once I got tips to fit kind of right, they're pretty damn good. I'd say they are still under what the QC20's could do for MY ears - I'm sure ear shape impacts greatly. I have this problem in the air where they just slowly come out of the ears over around 30mins or so. I've tried all 3 tips, and the medium are definitely the best, but still suffer from this. So I end up just pushing them in again. No biggie.

They are still very very good - and made watching some content on my mac a pleasure, and listening to podcasts in the sky nice and easy / not needing to have high volume. If i were doing the long route to london often again, I'd definitely pack over-ears though. (I'm a massive fan of the sony's after using bose for years.) Better battery life, and better noise cancelling. Maybe both are useful though - sometimes your ears need a break from overears.


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## JohnG (Nov 15, 2019)

colony nofi said:


> sometimes your ears need a break from overears.



very true.

Thanks for the detailed reply!


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## Dewdman42 (Nov 20, 2019)

I tried Apple's new AirPods Pro and Sony's popular 'AirPods killer' earbuds, and if you care about sound quality, the winner is clear


The new AirPods Pro have the best features for iPhone users, but the Sony WF-1000XM3 earbuds have the best sound quality for everyone.




www.businessinsider.com


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## jbuhler (Nov 21, 2019)

Dewdman42 said:


> The new ear buds might make my xmas list. They are sure pricey though. I couldn't wear the old ear buds, but my buddy absolutely loves them. They didn't fit my ear right. The new ones will work with a wider range of ear canal shapes and sizes..


Ear buds have never fit me right either. Or I just don't like things in my ear, not sure which. Looking for something less bulky than headphones though.


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## Fry777 (Nov 21, 2019)

JohnG said:


> How about on a plane? Have you tried that by any chance? My Bose gave up so I would like a noise canceling replacement.



I know a lot of people use the Bose QC35 nowadays for commuting, but having compared the two, I much prefer the Sennheiser Momentum 2 (over ear). A bit bigger but very comfortable, and I found the sound to be less "metallic"/far warmer than the QC35 for listening to instrumental soundtracks and scores. Perfect for these long plane trips.
I now see Sennheiser released a Momentum 3 actually...


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## tav.one (Nov 22, 2019)

+1 for Airpods Pro


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## Rob Elliott (Jul 16, 2020)

owners of Sennheiser Momentum 2 - still like it as a solid 'check of mixes on another set 'speakers'?


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## NoOneKnowsAnything (Jul 16, 2020)

JohnG said:


> Can anyone recommend the best-sounding wireless earbuds? Preferably with noise cancellation?
> 
> I heard the Apple ones are pretty good, but thought I'd ask.
> 
> ...


I had them briefly and did not like them. Maybe try Bose or JBL.


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## jbuhler (Jul 16, 2020)

I just got some Airpod pros. Decent sound for earbuds, noise cancellation is ok, not great, but they don't quite fit my ears with the standard inserts (and keep falling out of my ears) so now I have to try some of the other inserts to see if they give a better fit.


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## kgdrum (Jul 16, 2020)

Rob Elliott said:


> owners of Sennheiser Momentum 2 - still like it as a solid 'check of mixes on another set 'speakers'?




Yes they are wonderful!
If you don’t need them immediately they’re usually are some nice discounts around BF


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## Rob Elliott (Jul 16, 2020)

Good to know - I have some older airpods now and for sure can wait for BF. Thanks!


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## devonmyles (Jul 16, 2020)

Jaybird Vista. Sound great and on my morning runs, they actually don't fall out. Very comfy and are a tight fit. Three sizes of ear buds as well.









Jaybird Vista review


Near-perfect fitness earbuds




www.techradar.com


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