Speaker 1: Hey there. So a few of you may have checked out my roundup of the best wireless noise canceling headphones of 2023. Those are all over your models, but this video is all about my top earbuds of the year. All of these are true wireless models, and just to be clear, in order to qualify, they had to be released in 2023. Sure Buds like the Sony WF 1000 x mark four, or Beats Fit Pro are great, but they were not released in 2023, so they're not eligible. But I've got five new ones that came out in [00:00:30] 2023 that are, and I'm also throwing in a couple of bonus picks. One is a value option and the other is a new set of gaming earbuds that have just hit the market. So let's get right to the picks. I've ordered them from highest to lowest price, and I've tested all of them and fully reviewed many of them.
Speaker 1: First up is the $300 Sony wf, 1000 X mark five, and Sony's WF 1000 x mark four earbuds came out in 2021. We awarded them a CNET editor's choice, and while they're excellent, we had some quibbles. They're on the large side in aren't a good match for certain ears. [00:01:00] Clearly, Sony took those gripes to heart when it set out to design. Its next generation XM five flagship noise canceling earbuds. Not only are the XM five smaller, but they also offer improved performance pretty much across the board with better noise canceling sound and voice calling. Are the XM fives perfect? Not quite. And at $300, $20 more than their predecessor. They're costly too, but overall they're really impressive easily among the very top earbuds on the market. Next, we have the $299 Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra Earbuds. [00:01:30] While the QC Ultra Earbuds aren't a major upgrade over Bose's excellent QC Earbuds two that were released in 2022, they're definitely a little bit better.
Speaker 1: They should fit most ears very well, and they feature superb noise canceling, arguably the best out there, and a natural sounding transparency mode with a new active sense feature that kicks in some A NC should the sound get too loud around you. It's sort of similar to the AirPod Pro Two's adaptive audio feature. They also sound slightly better overall with a touch more clarity and their new immersive audio feature [00:02:00] opens up the sound a bit. We're still waiting for them to get multi-point Bluetooth pairing. So you compare them with two devices simultaneously, but that's really their only weakness at this point. Moving on to number three, the AirPods Pro two USBC, which lists for two 50 but often sell for less than 200 on Amazon. Okay, so they're nearly identical to their Lightning predecessor delivering the same excellent sound, voice canceling and voice calling performance.
Speaker 1: That said, they offer some other small upgrades beyond the switch to USBC charging. They include additional dust resistance [00:02:30] and a new acoustic architecture that allows for lossless audio. With the Vision Pro Apple's upcoming wearable headset that's set to be released in early 2024 and cost $3,499. Is it possible that the new acoustic architecture makes the bud sound subtly different with current devices like the iPhone? I think they do. Either way, the USBC AirPods Pro two are easy to recommend to Apple users despite their high price. In number four, we have techniques flagship, E-A-H-A-Z 80 buds, which retail for 300, but have recently [00:03:00] been selling for closer to $225. 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. I initially didn't think their voice calling capabilities quite lived up to their billing launch, but the Buds did get a firmware upgrade that seems to have slightly improved performance across the board.
Speaker 1: They're a tadd on the big side, but as long as they fit your ears well, the techniques a Z eighties are right up there with the best wireless earbuds on the market right now, especially for sound quality. So for [00:03:30] my fifth pick, I'm going with the Beach Studio Buds plus they list for one 70, but often sell for less than one 50 compared to the original BEAT Studio Buds. This plus version is significantly improved with better sound noise canceling and battery life. Additionally, they now deliver very good voice calling performance. The transparent version received a lot of attention. Who doesn't like Transparent Electronics, but the big changes are on the inside. Beat says 95% of the components are new and improved and the Buds acoustic architecture has been revised. The speaker drivers remain the same, but the Studio Buds Plus are [00:04:00] powered by a new, more powerful custom chip set and have three new microphones in each bud, which are three times larger and more sensitive than the ones found in the Beach Studio Buds.
Speaker 1: Now, before I get into my bonus picks, I'm going to throw in some honorable mentions because there were so many great wireless earbuds this year, and I did have a hard time boiling my picks down, and I'm sure I missed a few. I was also considering the $400 master dynamic MW oh nine, the $250 Jabra Elite 10, and the status between three A and C Buds, which list for two 50 but are selling [00:04:30] for less than one 50 right now. They're all worth checking out, and you can find them on our various best earbuds list@cnet.com. As promised, I'll end with a couple of bonus picks. First up is my budget. Pick the Sound Core by Anchor Liberty four NC Buds, which lists for a hundred dollars but regularly get discounted to $80 compared to last year's Liberty four Buds. Yes, you heard, right? That's Liberty four without the NC at the end, why a company would name its products like this is Beyond Me.
Speaker 1: But this newer, less expensive model has improved noise canceling and better sound quality [00:05:00] along with support for the Leck audio codec for devices that support it. The Liberty four NC Buds have single drivers compared to Liberty Four is dynamic dual drivers and a completely different case design, but I thought they delivered more pleasant sound than the Liberty fours. Their trouble is a little smoother and they feature strong base performance. They came across as fairly open with a reasonably wide sound stage and with decent voice calling performance, a strong feature set including ear detection sensors and wireless charging. They an all around good performing set of buds for the money. Last but not least, for [00:05:30] my second bonus pick, I have an intriguing entry from Sony out of its PlayStation division. The new $200 Pulse Explorer earbuds, they're a bit weird, but in a surprisingly good way, the buds are ostensibly low latency gaming earbuds, somewhat bulky and a little bit strange looking in your ears.
Speaker 1: They're designed to be used with Sony's PS five gaming console and its new PlayStation portable remote player as well as Windows and Mac computers. And they can also be paired with your smartphone via Bluetooth that their good gaming isn't surprising, however, that they're as good as they are for [00:06:00] music Listening is a revelation. In fact, I think they sound clearer and more articulate than Sony's flagship WF 1000 x mark five earbuds, and they have tight, powerful base. That doesn't necessarily mean they sound better than the XM fives, which sound a little fuller, but I wasn't expecting them to compete at all with the x and fives for music listening. The reason for that sound seems largely due to the Buds planner magnetic drivers, which are typically found in high and over ear audio file headphones and rarely in earbuds was also impressed with their voice calling capabilities.
Speaker 1: Callers told me they [00:06:30] did a very good job suppressing background noise while my voice came through relatively clearly. Even on the noisy streets of New York, Alaska, they're pretty lacking in features. There's no active noise canceling or ear detection sensors, for example. But the Pulse Explorer buds do nail the earbuds basics, namely fit, sound quality and voice calling performance and make a strong case to be your everyday earbuds despite their slim feature set. And that's my list. As I said, if you're looking for even more top earbuds picks, we've got plenty of earbuds and headphones best lists on CNET that I update regularly. [00:07:00] But I want to hear from you. Did you get a new pair of earbuds in 2023 and should they be on this list? Let me know what you think in the common section. You found this video in form of it all. Hit the like button and subscribe if you haven't already. I'm David Carnoy. Thanks for watching.
