There are many headphones to select from. Whether or not you need them over-the-ear, just like the AirPods Max 2 or the in-ear just like the AirPods 4. Then there are numerous options, like energetic noise cancellation and spatial audio, that nearly immediately make you a audiophile when you seek for the proper pair. That limitless maze of analysis stops right here.
Our readers selected CNET’s People’s Picks to share their favourite headphones with you. CNET’s Individuals’s Picks is a survey-powered awards program the place our readers inform us concerning the merchandise they love and use probably the most. Hear up, this is what they suggest.
CNET’s Individuals’s Picks
Sony is the general Individuals’s Decide winner for the most effective headphone model. It wins in a number of classes, together with consolation and audio high quality. Sony’s over-the-ear headphones, the WH-1000XM6 is CNET’s finest headphone decide for its noise cancellation and battery life — two extra awards the model will get recognition for.
Winner: Audio high quality, energetic noise cancellation, battery life, consolation, deep focus and creativity, over-the-ear wi-fi headphones, sleep and leisure, and video modifying
Apple is a family model we’re all accustomed to, and its AirPods are well-loved for just a few causes: name high quality, ease of use and connectivity. Apple wins for each wireless earbuds, giving a nod to the AirPods and AirPods Professional fashions, but additionally the wired earbuds, EarPods, that Apple gives. They’re nonetheless part of readers’ properties and heads.
Wins for: Model loyalty, name high quality, sturdiness, earbuds, ease of use and connectivity, listening to music, audiobooks and podcasts
CNET specialists say that in order for you the most effective sound high quality, wired headphones are the best way to go. And readers say Sennheiser is it. Sennheiser gives high-quality wired and wi-fi headphones at an inexpensive worth for audiophiles, such because the Sennheiser HD 505 and Sennheiser 660S2.
Wins for: Wired headphones
Which headphones must you decide: wired or wi-fi?
Selecting between wired and wireless headphones boils all the way down to the way you wish to join to listen to sound. Wired headphones imply you will not have to fret about Bluetooth connectivity points or battery life, whereas wi-fi headphones provide the freedom to keep away from tangled wires and hold your telephone in your pocket whereas utilizing your earbuds. You may additionally wish to ensure that there is a headphone jack since most smartphones do not embrace it anymore. Based mostly on CNET’s findings, most respondents have wi-fi earbuds.
By model, Apple is the most well-liked decide for each wired and wi-fi earbuds, with standard fashions together with the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Max and AirPods Max 2. Sennheiser wins for wired headphones, whereas Sony wins for wi-fi headphones. Here is a better look:
Over-the-ear or in-ear headphones
Earbuds or in-ear headphones could also be a well-liked alternative in order for you one thing extra compact and light-weight, however should you’re searching for higher sound high quality or plan to put on headphones for hours and desire a safe match, you could contemplate over-the-ear headphones.
Sony is the most well-liked decide for over-ear wi-fi headphones, with fashions just like the WH-1000XM5 and WH-1000XM6. Bose is an in depth runner-up. For in-ear picks, readers love Apple’s AirPods and AirPods Professional fashions.
The headphone options that actually matter
Past selecting between wired and wi-fi headphones, or whether or not you need headphones that cowl your ears, there are different options that matter every day — whether or not you are commuting and taking a name or listening to music on a protracted flight. Listed here are the options that matter most, and what CNET readers suggest.
Lively noise cancellation
Winner: Sony
Runner-up: Bose
Lively noise cancellation could make a giant distinction whether or not you are on a name or listening to music. David Carnoy, CNET’s govt editor and headphones professional, has examined dozens of pairs of headphones, and CNET has critiques on a number of the hottest picks, just like the Apple AirPods Pro 3 and the Sony WH-1000XM6. It is the shopping for issue it is best to pay shut consideration to.
“Headphones and earbuds with good energetic noise canceling could make an actual distinction in relation to shielding you from loud noise,” Carnoy says.
On the subject of energetic noise cancellation, Sony wins over many CNET respondents, scoring 4.39 out of 5, whereas Bose and Bowers & Wilkins are shut runners-up — scoring 4.33 and 4.23, respectively. CNET’s finest all-around headphones are the Sony WH-1000XM6 over-ear headphones, they usually even have the most effective energetic noise cancellation.
The Sony XM6 over-the-ear headphones price $428, however should you’re searching for a extra inexpensive choice, you may contemplate different Sony or Bose headphones with stable ANC efficiency or earbuds just like the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) and the Sony WF-1000XM5 — which each price $300.
Learn extra: Some of Our Favorite Sony Headphones Just Hit a Near-Record Low
Watch this: Sony WH-1000XM6 Overview: Cream of the Noise-Canceling Crop
Audio high quality
Winner: Sony
Runner-up: Bose
Listening to music is without doubt one of the hottest makes use of of headphones, adopted by podcasts and audiobooks, so audio high quality is a giant deal. And whereas many manufacturers might boast about their sound high quality, CNET respondents have a favourite.
Sony wins once more for audio high quality, scoring 4.55, with Bose as an in depth runner-up, scoring 4.53 and Beats scoring 4.48. One potential purpose for the win is Sony’s LDAC audio codec, which permits high-resolution audio. So it is undoubtedly one function to look out for when selecting Sony headphones. The Sony WH-XB910N over-the-ear headphones have further bass and assist the LDAC audio codec. The Sony XM6 and XM5 are two different choices.
Battery life
Winner: Sony
Runner-up: JBL
Sony picks up one other Individuals’s Picks award with its battery life, scoring 4.52. Each the XM5 and the XM6 have 30 hours of battery life if the quantity is about to average and noise cancellation is on. In any other case, battery life can last as long as 40 hours. JBL is an in depth runner-up on this class by scoring 4.41 and Beats scores 4.33.
For comparability, battery life on Apple’s AirPods Professional 3 is as much as 8 hours, and Bose’s Immersive Audio hurts the battery life for a few of its headphones, like Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) — each over-the-ear wi-fi headphones.
Model loyalty
Winner: Apple
Runner-up: Sony
It’s possible you’ll contemplate a model that you just’re extra accustomed to, particularly should you already personal different gadgets from the identical model. On the subject of model loyalty, most Apple respondents would purchase the identical model of headphones, however a more recent mannequin. However Sony and Bose headphone customers are loyal to their ecosystems, too. Many Sony respondents would purchase the very same model and mannequin in the event that they misplaced their headphones, and most Bose respondents would purchase the identical model, however a more recent mannequin. Here is a have a look at the highest 5 manufacturers.
Watch this: AirPods Max 2 vs. Sony WH-1000XM6: Which Headphones Are Higher?
Name high quality
Winner: Apple
Runner-up: Sony
Dealing with calls hands-free is without doubt one of the perks of getting the best headphones. Nonetheless, not having the ability to hear on the opposite finish, or somebody not having the ability to hear you, generally is a ache. If name high quality is a giant deal, CNET readers extremely suggest Apple.
Carnoy seen good voice-calling efficiency within the newest Apple AirPods 4, and a slight enchancment in voice isolation in Apple’s AirPods Max 2, for higher calls that concentrate on the voice and fewer on background noise.
Watch this: Palms-On with AirPods 4 and New AirPods Max
Consolation
Winner: Sony
Runner-up: Bose
Carnoy says there is a tendency to suppose that sound high quality is an important issue when shopping for headphones and earbuds. Nonetheless, match is most necessary, particularly with noise-isolating earbuds that includes silicone eartips. “If you do not get a good seal, sound high quality and noise canceling will endure,” Carnoy says.
Sony and Bose go head-to-head once more because the closest prime contenders in consolation. Sony wins for consolation with 4.44 out of 5, whereas Bose will get 4.25 for consolation and Sennheiser scores 4.15. A few of Sony’s over-the-ear headphones are light-weight, such because the Sony CH-520, Sony CH-720N and Sony XM4. In case you’re OK with wired headphones, the Sony MDR-7506 is famous for its consolation over hours and is priced at $115.
CNET editors additionally contemplate Bose headphones to be light-weight and really comfy, so it is no shock that respondents make it an in depth runner-up to Sony. Each Bose’s earbuds and over-the-ear headphones are designed with consolation in thoughts. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds have Match Equipment eartips for consolation, whereas CNET editors additionally like that the Bose QuietComfort Headphones are designed with consolation in thoughts.
Connectivity
Winner: Apple
Runner-up: Sony
In case you’ve ever had bother connecting your headphones to gadgets, CNET respondents suggest Apple for headphones that simply hook up with gadgets, and Sony is a runner-up.
There are two options value noting when connecting Apple headphones. When you’ve got an iPhone or Apple machine, you will press and maintain a button on the headphones for a pop-up to seem in your display screen, which helps you to join. Nonetheless, if in case you have an Android machine, you could want to attach through Bluetooth in your machine’s settings. And in case your headphones routinely join whenever you open the case, if the machine is acknowledged.
Sturdiness and reliability
Winner: Apple
Runner-up: Sony
Selecting headphones which are well-constructed and dependable will be arduous simply by taking a look at them. Likelihood is, you will not know the way nicely they’re designed till you place them to the check, whether or not it is rain or dropping them. And the way nicely they maintain up over time issues simply as a lot should you do not plan to purchase new headphones yearly.
CNET respondents shared their opinion on how sturdy and dependable their headphones are. On the subject of sturdiness, most Apple homeowners have saved their headphones for greater than three years, and respondents from different standard manufacturers have saved their headphones for a similar period of time, together with Sony and Bose.
Nonetheless, in order for you headphones which are dependable and might stand up to incidents, CNET respondents suggest Sony and Apple due to the injury checks the headphones stand up to, together with heavy rain, intense sweating, dropping on concrete and unintentionally being left in a sizzling automotive.
Learn extra: You Should Have Exactly 3 Pairs of Headphones. Here’s Why
How you utilize your headphones
Winner: Apple
Runner-up: Sony
How you utilize your headphones may additionally decide which of them you favor. Apple wins amongst respondents who primarily hearken to music, podcasts and audiobooks on their headphones. Different prime contenders embrace Bose and Sony for a similar use circumstances. On the subject of taking calls on the go, Apple wins once more, however Sony is an in depth runner-up, particularly for video calls, the place Apple wins by just one respondent.
There are some classes the place Sony shines above all different manufacturers. Sony is the popular headphone alternative for deep focus and inventive considering, sleep and leisure and video modifying.
Methodology
CNET commissioned Alchemer to conduct the Individuals’s Picks survey to compile knowledge. The survey was carried out on-line, and all figures are from Alchemer. The overall pattern comprised 1,071 adults. The figures have been weighted and are consultant of all US adults (aged 18 plus). Fieldwork was undertaken April 6 – April 30, 2026.
