Google Pixel Buds Pro: Pixel Buds Pro are Google’s first headphones with active noise cancellation. While it’s nice to finally have a feature that many true wireless earphones have had for a while, what ultimately makes the Pixel Buds Pro stand out and make them worth considering (especially for Android users) is their unique design and winning fit. This helps improve their performance in terms of sound quality and noise reduction. While not great for voice calls, they also perform well as phone headsets. Read our Google Pixel Buds Pro review.
Anker Space One Soundcore: Available in three color options, the Soundcore Space One is Anker’s latest noise-cancelling headphones and at around $100, they’re a great value, offering a strong feature set as well as good sound quality and performance. They can’t compete sound-wise with many premium noise-canceling models, but you won’t feel like you’re giving up that much in terms of sound to save a ton of money. They lack the natural, refined quality you’re looking for in a great set of headphones, but the Space Ones sound great, with decent clarity and bass definition, and stack up well against the more expensive Soundcore Space 45 comparable. Anker has developed a version of Sony’s Speak-to-Chat feature — Anker calls it Easy Chat — that automatically pauses your music and enters transparency mode when you walk up to someone and start a conversation. The headphones feature wear-detection sensors, a feature not typically found at this price point, and include a carrying bag. Android users can use LDAC audio codec support.
Shure Aonic 50: Many of us like Shure’s original Aonic 50 headphones, but their noise cancellation is pretty mediocre. Well, the 2nd gen version fixed that – the noise cancellation was much improved – Shure more than doubled the battery life to around 45 hours (they now have fast charging) and also shrunk The carrying capacity of the headset is a bit of a problem, although it’s still not that compact. These upgrades make the Aonic 50 Gen 2 top-tier noise-canceling headphones. While the Aonic 50 Gen 2 are quite heavy at 334 grams, they’re solidly built and comfortable, with nicely padded earcups. They have excellent sound quality, good clarity, and clear bass. Shure calls them “studio headphones,” so the sound profile is fairly neutral, but you can add more bass in the EQ settings in the Shure iOS and Android companion apps (using the Spatializer settings in the apps will add a little more bass). Extends the soundstage but doesn’t add bass) No big difference).
JBL Tune 670NC: The JBL Tune 670NC are one of the few on-ear headphones to offer active noise cancellation. It’s a great value model – carrying case not included – but it does have memory foam earpads to keep the on-ear headphones comfortable. It delivers clear bass and powerful sound, features 32mm drivers, and offers improved battery life over its predecessor, with up to 70 hours of battery life (44 hours with ANC on) with just 5 minutes of charging. Provides an additional 3 hours of battery life. This model includes the latest Bluetooth 5.3 (with LE audio) and multipoint Bluetooth pairing. It also features JBL’s Ambient Aware (transparent mode) and TalkThru features. It’s available in black, white, and blue, and comes with a power cord for wired listening.
Mark Levinson No. 5909: The No. 5909 are the first headphones from premium audio brand Mark Levinson, and yes, they are indeed expensive, priced at $999. But they are also very good. They have a sturdy design that doesn’t feel heavy on your head (read: they’re sturdy, but not too heavy), and they’re easy to wear for long periods of time thanks to their well-padded (and replaceable) leather earcups and headband. Comfortable. read our Mark Levinson No. 5909 Hands-On.
focus abyss: French audio company Focal is famous for its high-end speakers and headphones. You could call it the French Bowers & Wilkins. Now, it’s finally done what many high-end audio companies must do in this era of mobile wireless music listening: make active noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones. These $699 headphones sound great and are great overall, but their noise cancellation is pretty weak, so don’t buy them just for the ANC feature.
Master and Power MW09: Master & Dynamic headphones and earbuds always feature unique, eye-catching designs and include premium materials such as aluminum, sapphire glass and Kevlar. Its latest MW09 flagship headphones look very similar to the earlier MW08 headphones, but have some internal upgrades that offer better performance, especially in terms of battery life and noise cancellation (it’s now very close to what Bose and Sony are offering , although not) quite at the level of ANC).
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro: Galaxy Buds 2 Pro offer improved noise cancellation, very good sound and voice call performance, and support for high-resolution wireless audio streaming if you’re a Galaxy device owner with the right settings. That said, their biggest upgrades may be their new design and smaller size, which makes them fit better in more ears. Their only drawback, besides their higher price, is that some key features are only available on Samsung Galaxy devices.
Beats Studio Buds Plus: Alas, for anyone who purchased the original Beats Studio Buds (which are still on the market), I’m sorry to report that these new Plus headphones are significantly improved, with better sound, noise cancellation, and Battery life. In addition, they now offer best-in-class voice calling performance.
Beats Fit Pro: While the Beats Fit Pro are technically not AirPods, they are built on the same technology platform as the AirPods Pro (yes, Apple owns Beats). Unlike Beats’ earlier and less expensive Studio Buds and the new 2023 Studio Buds Plus, the Beats Fit Pro contain Apple’s H1 chip and have most of the features of the AirPods Pro, including active noise cancellation, spatial audio, and adaptive equalizer. I’d venture to call them the sporty AirPods you’ve always wanted.
TechnologyEAH-A800: The Technics EAH-A800 has a bit of an old-school vibe – and it’s not just the Technics brand that Panasonic has revived over the past few years. Their design is a bit retro, but the headphones are comfortable and fold and lay flat. They have a big, vibrant sound, strong bass, and good detail (however, they take a day or two to break in).
Technics EAH-AZ80: Panasonic has done a good job of creating an all-around top-performance headphone that offers an improved fit, great sound, good noise cancellation, and a strong feature set.
