Best-Sounding Wireless Earbuds in 2024: Get Top Sound Quality

When Sony's WF-1000XM4 earbuds came out in 2021, we awarded them a CNET Editors' Choice. And while they're excellent, we had some quibbles -- they're on the large side and aren't a good match for certain ears. Clearly, Sony took those gripes to heart when it set out to design its next-generation WF-1000XM5 flagship noise-canceling earbuds. Not only are the XM5s smaller, but they also offer improved performance pretty much across the board, with better noise canceling, sound and voice calling. Are the XM5s perfect? Not quite. At $300 -- $20 more than their predecessor -- they're costly, too. Overall, they're really impressive -- easily among the very top earbuds on the market.

You should expect a lot from earbuds that cost $300 -- and yes, that's still a lot to pay for headphones, even if plenty of people seem to be willing to pay upwards of $450 for the likes of Apple's AirPods Max headphones. Overall, Panasonic has done a nice job of creating an all-around top-performing set of buds that offer an improved fit with terrific sound, very good noise canceling and a robust feature set.

Voice-calling capabilities are decent but don't quite live up to their billing (yet). Hopefully, we'll see some firmware upgrades that improve the voice-calling experience in noisier environments. Despite that caveat, as long as they fit your ears well, the Technics EAH-AZ80 is right up there with the best wireless earbuds on the market right now.

Whenever a new pair of Momentum True Wireless earbuds drops, I always find myself saying, "Wow, these sound good." Sound quality has always been the MTW's biggest strength, and that remains the case with the fourth-gen version. 

There's been some modest improvements in other areas, particularly with the noise-canceling performance and the reliable, hiccup-free Bluetooth connection I had with my phone. At the same time, the voice-calling performance could be better, and I'm a little disappointed that these aren't even more of an upgrade over their predecessor. Still, the Momentum True Wireless 4 are excellent earbuds that I have no problem recommending.

While the QC Ultra Earbuds aren't a major upgrade over Bose's excellent QC Earbuds 2 that were released in 2022, they're a little better. They should fit most ears very well, and they feature superb noise canceling, arguably the best out there. A natural-sounding transparency mode with a new ActiveSense feature kicks in some ANC should the sound get too loud around you (it's sort of similar to the AirPods Pro's Adaptive Audio feature). They also sound slightly better overall, with a touch more clarity, and their new Immersive Audio feature opens up the sound a bit.

Earfun has put out a series of wireless earbuds over the last couple of years with one important commonality: They're very good values, made more so by frequent discounts. The company's Earfun Air Pro 3 earbuds feature the latest Qualcomm QCC3071 system-on-a-chip with AptX Adaptive for Android and other devices that support the new LE Audio standard and LC3 audio codec, which is superior to the SBC codec (they also support AAC for Apple devices).

Lightweight and comfortable to wear -- I got a good seal with the largest ear tip size -- these aren't a huge upgrade over the Earfun Air S, but they are better. They have slightly larger wool-composite drivers (11mm versus 10mm), slightly improved noise canceling and better battery life (up to seven hours with noise canceling on, according to Earfun).

In short, the Earfun Air 3 delivers strong performance for its modest price, with robust bass, good clarity and a relatively wide soundstage. They also pack in a lot of features, including a wireless charging case and "multidevice" connectivity. (I could pair them to two devices simultaneously but had to pause the music on one device and hit play on the other for the audio to switch.) They're IPX5 splash-proof and also work well (though not exceptionally well) as a headset for making calls. 

Use the code EAP3CNET at checkout at Amazon to drop the price to just less than $50.

Pros:

• Relatively inexpensive
• Good sound and overall performance for their price
• Wireless charging and support for new Bluetooth LE Audio standard

Cons:

• Voice calling performance is only OK

The AirPods Pro (2nd generation) are powered by Apple's new H2 chip, which delivers more processing power while being more energy efficient, according to Apple. The new chip, combined with new low-distortion drivers, allows for improved sound that offers better clarity and depth. The noise canceling is also improved -- Apple says the new AirPods have "double" the noise canceling of the original AirPods Pro. Additionally, the new AirPods add an extra hour of battery life, up from five to six hours with noise canceling on. Plus, a speaker in the case that emits a sound that helps locate your buds via Find My, should they decide to hide from you.

If you can't quite afford the AirPods Pro 2, the Edifier NeoBuds Pro 2 may be a good alternative. They aren't a huge upgrade over the original NeoBuds Pro, but their list price is around $50 less and they have a lightweight premium design, good sound for their price, effective noise cancellation and come with seven sets of ear tips to help you get a good fit. They also have ear-detection sensors and spatial audio with head tracking.

With support for the LDAC, LHDC, and AAC audio codecs, they're good for both iPhone and Android users (many Android devices support LDAC audio streaming). Equipped with four microphones in each bud, I also thought they worked well for voice calls, although not quite as well as the AirPods Pro 2, which are marginally better overall. While I was slightly disappointed with the limited touch control and thought the spatial audio and battery life could be a little better (they're rated for around 4 hours with noise canceling on and 5.5 hours with it off), the NeoBuds Pro 2 offer a good combination of mostly impressive performance in a nice design. You can tweak their sound in their companion app for iOS and Android.

There a lot of new gaming earbuds out there but what makes the Sony Pulse Explore earbuds special is that they feature planar magnetic drivers, a speaker technology typically found in high-end over-ear audiophile headphones but rarely in earbuds. While they're missing some features fond in typical premium earbuds (noise canceling and ear-detection sensors), that they're as good as they are for listening to music and making calls is a revelation. In fact, they sound clearer and more articulate than Sony's flagship WF-1000XM5 earbuds, with tight, powerful bass. That doesn't necessarily mean they sound better than XM5s, which sound a little fuller. But I wasn't expecting them to compete at all with the XM5s for music listening.

There's been some hype recently around solid-state semiconductor Micro-Electromechanical System, aka MEMS, speakers and you can find xMEMS drivers in Creative Labs' Aurvana Ace ($130) and Ace 2 earbuds ($150). The newer Ace 2 has support for Qualcomm's AptX Lossless for the limited number of devices that support that audio codec but otherwise the two models seem nearly identical, except for their color schemes. While the Ace 2 is missing features like ear-detection sensors that are often found in buds in this price range, they do sound quite impressive (if you get a tight seal), with nicely detailed, accurate sound and well-defined bass that has some warmth to it (it does help to play around with the companion app's equalizer settings to optimize the sound to your liking). I found their adaptive noise canceling good, though not necessarily great. The same was true for the voice calling performance.

Overall the buds are well-designed and have some eye-catching design elements that help them stand out from other earbuds with stems. They're IPX5 splash-resistant, are rated for up to 6 hours of battery life on a single charge at moderate volume levels and offer wireless charging. For their price, they deliver good bang for your buck, particularly when it comes to sound quality.

Status Audio's earbuds aren't exactly the sleekest or most attractive earbuds you can buy, but if you don't mind their utilitarian look and giant stems, you are getting an excellent-sounding set of earbuds. The Between 3ANC, the company's first noise-canceling earbuds, also do a good job muffling ambient sound, though they aren't up to the level of the Bose QuietComfort 2 earbuds for noise-canceling prowess. They did perform very well in my voice-calling test, reducing much of the background noise around me in the streets of New York while picking up my voice clearly, or so callers told me.

While they have multipoint Bluetooth pairing -- you can pair them to two devices simultaneously -- they are missing a few features, including ear-detection sensors, and they only support the AAC audio codec (they're equipped with Bluetooth 5.2), not LDAC or aptX. Some people with Android devices that support those codecs may not be thrilled with that, but, as I said, they sound quite good using AAC, offering clean sound with punchy bass and good clarity. That's in part due to their driver design, and why the buds are on the larger side -- they feature two balanced armature drivers, plus one 10mm dynamic driver in each earbud. 

Despite being heavier than earbuds like Apple's AirPods Pro 2, they fit my ears comfortably and securely. Their case charges wirelessly and battery life is very good at up to 8.5 hours with ANC on. There's also a transparency mode that sounds only OK, not great (a physical button on the earbuds activates it) and they have an IPX5 water-resistance rating, which means they can withstand a sustained spray of water. The companion app for iOS is fairly basic, but you can upgrade the firmware and tweak the sound profile with a customizable EQ option.

Pros:

• Excellent sound and a comfortable, secure fit
  
• Good noise canceling and call quality
  
• Multipoint Bluetooth pairing 
• Good battery life

Cons:

• They're big
• No ear-detection sensors
• Transparency mode sounds only OK
  

Astell & Kern's original AK UW100MK buds offered excellent sound but were light on features for $300 earbuds. While the second-gen AK UW100MKII are still light on features (there's no active noise canceling but they do have ear-detection sensors, multipoint Bluetooth pairing and an ambient awareness mode), they do sound impressive, with an upgraded acoustic architecture and premium 32-bit DAC technology.

The company says that the position of the Knowles balanced armature driver "has been moved toward the inside of the ear to better deliver audio details more directly, and the acoustic chamber structure and mesh size have been redesigned in accordance with the new BA position to deliver optimal sound output. This new design took numerous attempts to minimize sound diffusion to provide a more delicate and dynamic performance and richer high-frequency expression."

I thought they sounded clean and clear, and while they don't deliver massive bass (as you'd expect from earbuds tuned for audiophiles who want a more neutral sound profile), the bass does go deep and is tight. The voice-calling performance is supposed to be improved, but it's still not great (callers had a hard time hearing me on the noisy streets of New York). Also, the buds -- while comfortable to wear -- are on the larger side. I did think they did a good job of passively sealing out a good amount of ambient sound, so the lack of active noise canceling was less of a factor than I thought it would be.

Battery life is strong -- the buds are rated for up to 9.5 hours at moderate volume levels -- and the case does offer wireless charging. Powered by a higher-end Qualcomm 5141 chip, the buds support SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive audio codecs. They do not appear to have a water-resistance.

Master & Dynamic headphones and earbuds have always featured unique, eye-catching designs that include premium materials like aluminum, sapphire glass and Kevlar. Its latest MW09 flagship earbuds look pretty similar to its earlier MW08 buds, but have some upgrades on the inside that deliver better performance, particularly when it comes to battery life and noise canceling (it's now very close to what Bose and Sony offer, though not quite at their level for ANC). They're IP54 dust- and splash-proof and despite being on the larger side, I found them comfortable to wear, and they stayed in my ears fairly securely.

If you can get a tight seal (seven ear tips are included), the MW09s sound great. They sound natural, with nice detail and deep bass that's well defined and not overpowering. A touch on the warmer side -- there's no treble push -- with an open, refined quality, they're earbuds you can listen to for long stretches without any listening fatigue. They're right up there with the best-sounding buds.

Other highlights include very strong battery life (up to 16 hours), Bluetooth 5.4 (up to 30-meter range and LE Audio ready) and multipoint Bluetooth pairing. While their voice-calling performance is good, it's not up to the level of the AirPods Pro 2 in terms of noise-reduction and voice clarity during calls. Maybe Master & Dynamic can improve in that area with a firmware upgrade, but either way, they're worth checking out if you're looking for high-end earbuds. They're available in multiple colors.

The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro offers improved noise canceling along with very good sound and voice-calling performance, plus support for high-resolution wireless audio streaming if you're a Galaxy device owner with the right setup. That said, their biggest upgrade may be their new design and smaller size, which make them a better fit for more ears. Aside from their somewhat high price tag, their only drawback is that some of their key features only work with Samsung Galaxy devices.

Pros:

• Very good sound and a more comfortable fit
• Good noise-canceling and voice-calling capabilities
  
• Assortment of extra features for Galaxy device owners

Cons:

• Somewhat pricey
• Some key features only work with Samsung devices
• No true multipoint Bluetooth pairing