The Best Earbuds for Portable Audio in 2025

Bowers & Wilkins has borrowed tech from its high-end loudspeakers and flagship headphones to overhaul its premium earbud range, and it has paid off. These new buds improve on every aspect of the Pi7 S2, adding a more refined design with a much better fit, new colour finishes, increased battery life, and sound quality upgrades including 12mm “carbon cone” drivers that you’d find in B&W’s 700 Series loudspeakers and its excellent PX8 wireless over-ear headphones.

The Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 earbuds sit right at the top of the pile for true wireless audio, and they’ve got the price tag to match the specs. We know £349 is a lot to spend on earphones, but it’s worth it when you hear the precise sound quality these deliver.

They’re our top pick for an immersive wide soundstage, with pristine reproduction of instruments and vocals. Everything we listen to on the Pi8 sounds sensational, and they’re also impressive when it comes to noise-cancelling. With a good fit, you’ll find they silence most background sounds, whether you’re commuting or trying to sip your morning coffee in peace.

They’ve got a competitive battery life and the case works as an audio retransmitter for getting wireless sound out of an analogue source, such as a CD or vinyl player.

And, last but not least, they're seriously elegant, no matter which colour you pick – available in anthracite black, midnight blue, dove white, and jade green.

If you’re prioritising style above all else, we’re not going to judge. Look, you’re wearing these every day on your commute, in the office, around your home and when you pop out to the shops – they’re as much a part of your outfit as any accessory and they should look the part.

The good news is that you can pick up buds with some genuine refinement, attention to detail and personality without sacrificing sound quality and noise-cancelling capabilities, they just come at a bit of a price.

We love the sleek charging case, the glass touch panels, the aluminium detailing and the considered look of the waterproof buds from Danish designer Thomas Bentzen.

There’s substance here, too, we could hear all the precision within Hans Zimmer’s epic and otherworldly score for Dune, and we were impressed by the powerful ANC during our commute. Are they that much better than their cheaper rivals? Probably not. But they look far better than almost everything else out there while delivering proper acoustic resonance.

Only a few years ago, this British brand’s proud mission statement was to "save the world from s*** sound". This may have now changed to “making world-class audio accessible to all” but the sentiment remains the same. Cambridge Audio is out to ensure you’re hearing music at its best, and its first earbud launch since 2021 is serious about the fundamentals.

Here we’ve got 10mm dynamic drivers, audiophile-grade codec support, a customisable equaliser, wireless charging, a range of silicone and premium foam ear tips, and 10 hours of battery life with the decent hybrid active noise-cancelling mode on. That’s all for £169, which sure sounds like a bargain.

What about sound? We’re happy to say these don’t disappoint – they deliver a warm and rich sonic experience, prioritising hefty bass as well as clarity in the vocals.

The soundstage feels wide, and instrumental positioning is precise and controlled. We used these to play Billie Eilish, M83, the Oppenheimer soundtrack and all the latest tracks from Taylor Swift. They sound just as good as buds that cost twice as much.

We wouldn’t mind if the case and the buds were smaller, and if the touch controls were customisable, but these end up feeling like minor downsides at this price.

Oh, and you can change the voice prompt to Matt Berry in the app. Trust us, having Laszlo Cravensworth from What We Do in the Shadows tell you that you’ve just switched the noise-cancelling on is a very special feature.

Technics is renowned for its hi-fi legacy, and its new premium wireless buds are pitched as a serious contender. Thanks to unrivalled three-device multipoint connectivity that lets you pair them to your personal phone, work phone and laptop all at once, these are an ideal pair of premium buds for hybrid working.

We enjoy the clean and well-balanced quality. They sound excellent with all genres, from the smooth tones of Arctic Monkeys to the chugging guitars of the Queens of the Stone Age. They’re comfortable to wear for several hours.

We appreciate that the pocketable case can be popped on a wireless charger for refuelling, that the buds are water resistant and you’ll get up to 24 hours of listening from a single charge (with the ANC on).

It’s just a shame that the noise cancellation can’t compete with top buds in this price range. It's decent, but not enough to stop the loudest train sounds, However, it’s effective for coffee shop chatter, and they also perform well in the office and at the gym.

The companion app enables precise tweaking of all the settings, including adjusting the intensity of the ANC and ambient modes. These are a great buy if you are sick of constantly pairing your buds to other devices. That three-device multipoint alone earns them a spot.

Apple's successor to the OG AirPods Pro may look identical to their predecessors but they are better in every conceivable way.

The new Pros outperform others at noise cancellation, feature a smarter transparency mode, extended battery life, and refined bud controls, including a satisfying swipe gesture for adjusting volume. The charging case comes with a built-in speaker and several clever "Find My" functions to ensure you never misplace an earbud again.

For iOS and iPhone users, the AirPods Pro gives us that “they just work” convenience we’ve come to expect from Apple, while also delivering noticeable improvements in sound quality. The soundstage is wider, bass nuances are enhanced, and they offer more punch and clarity.

We enjoyed using these earbuds to listen to tracks optimised for Apple Music's 360-degree "Spatial Audio," as well as movies and shows with cinematic surround sound on platforms like Disney+ and Apple TV+, like Andor and Severance. During testing, we were particularly impressed by the enhanced bass detail in songs from The xx and Massive Attack.

Disappointed with your older AirPods' battery life? The AirPods Pro lasts for six hours with active noise cancellation—an impressive improvement. They also support various chargers, including the option to conveniently refuel them using an Apple Watch charger.

As much as we love premium tech, we’ve got to be honest, you don’t need to spend over £50 to find decent earbuds. The CMF Buds are an affordable pair and ideal for those on a tighter budget.

They pack noise-cancelling, dust and water resistance, customisable sound and app control into a pocket-friendly package. You won’t have any trouble carrying around the slim charging case, which looks a lot like a coloured version of the transparent Nothing Ear (because CMF is the inexpensive arm of the British tech brand).

The CMF buds work with the Nothing X smartphone app on Android or iOS, where you can tweak the sound using an equaliser and turn on or off the “Ultra Bass” mode for even more thump. These are bass-heavy by default and you’ll need the in-app equaliser to bring things under control. Unless you’re a serious basshead, leave “Ultra Bass” turned off and dial in the mids and highs with the app. To our ears, the results are decent. We may never be able to fully tame the punch of the low end on these buds, but they can deliver a satisfying sound for pop, electronic and dance music.

You’re also able to tweak the controls and they’ve got in-ear detection to pause the music when you take a bud out. That’s a feature you won’t often find in the budget tier. The ANC? It’s okay for commuting. The build quality? It’s fine. You’re not about to mistake these for anything high-end, but they’re solid. They’re small and comfortable to wear too. Honestly, if you’re after value and only the basics, these deliver where it counts.

Need a serious all-rounder that’ll deliver when it comes to travel? We think your priorities have to be excellent noise-cancellation, long-lasting battery life, a sleek design and a compact charging case. These upgraded Sony buds tick all the boxes, and they’re 25% smaller and 20% lighter than their predecessors.

Our music sounds energetic when coming from these little buds and they manage to draw out loads of detail in the tracks we played. They have more extensive codec support and they have the edge when it comes to battery life over the Bose earbuds, although we find the fit of the Bose more customisable. The Sony buds have a hybrid foam material, which some may find hit-or-miss. It feels a lot like having earplugs in, which should make them work well on flights.

You control many of the functions – including the awareness and ANC – by tapping on the exterior, although these controls are both trickier to remember and less customisable than the options from rivals. We find them a bit of a letdown, but the rest of the app does offer you loads of settings to get them working for you, and you can adjust the equaliser to find your dream settings.

One of our favourite features is Sony’s fantastic auto-switching between noise-cancelling and awareness depending on your activity. It’s great for keeping you alert to your surroundings while walking before transitioning to ANC when you sit down on the train to work.

Right now, there simply aren’t any other earbuds that are as stuffed full of next-gen features as the JBL Tour Pro 3.

These buds have a bigger screen on their charging case, Auracast for audio sharing, audio retransmitter support when connected to analogue sources, spatial audio (with head tracking), a hearing test, an ear tip fit test, Bluetooth multipoint, a customisable equaliser, and upgraded noise-cancelling and voice calls. And that list still doesn’t quite cover everything that JBL’s managed to load into these advanced earphones.

In use, we find them excellent no matter what we’re listening to. They’re an upgraded version of the Tour Pro 2 and the Live Beam 3 – and you can tell. The sound is rich and detailed from the improved dual driver setup, and the noise-cancelling is far better at tackling more external distractions, including even high-frequency ones like voices. JBL says these buds monitor your ​environment ​over 50,000 times per second to mute annoying noises, and we believe it given how well the ANC performs. The ambient awareness mode and even more capable “TalkThru” setting are just as impressive too.

The screen on the case (which is 30% bigger than on the Tour Pro 2) may feel like a gimmick to some. But we find it genuinely useful for switching modes, viewing the track playing, accurate battery levels and turning on head-tracked spatial audio without having to dig out our phone. It won’t be for everyone, but it’s not there just for the sake of it.

Most of the earbuds on this list have silicone or foam ear tips to give you great passive isolation from your surroundings, enhance any built-in noise-cancelling or ambient modes and make it easier to hear the subtleties of your music.

But, is that always practical? If you’re always using only one earbud or are constantly in “transparency” mode, you might be better off with a pair you don’t have to jam into your ears. We’ve tried a few rivals from the fitness-focused Shokz brand, Cleer and Soundcore – but the best of the bunch comes from Bose.

The Ultra Open earbuds may have a luxe price tag, but they are a brilliant set of open earbuds that are portable and convenient. Everyone’s reasons for needing a pair like this will vary – maybe you like to hear the sounds of nature while walking the dog in the morning, want to be able to make idle chit-chat without taking your buds out, or want to use them when out for a jog and would rather not absent-mindedly run into traffic. For us, the biggest benefit has been letting us listen to our playlists or podcasts while working from home without missing the doorbell ringing.

These fit so well it feels like they’re barely there, with a light grip on the back of your ears. They have reliable and customisable button controls, immersive spatial audio modes, multipoint support and an impressive seven hours of playback time before you need to pop them back in the compact charging case (which holds an additional 19.5 hours of charge).

Here’s some proof you don’t need to spend over £100 for properly good ANC buds in 2024. Nothing’s Ear (a) does a great job of striking a balance between size, features and performance. Nothing launched these alongside its updated £129 Nothing Ear (also terrific), and we’re impressed both pairs add improvements without making the earbuds bigger or clunkier. As ever, the semi-transparent design is unique and aesthetically pleasing.

The battery gets a bit of a boost compared to the Ear, the “pillbox” design case is small and pocketable (but doesn’t support wireless charging), and the earphones offer additional features like multipoint connectivity, a basic equaliser, a bass enhance mode, and an ear tip fit test. Despite not reaching the level of Sony, Apple or Bose models here, the Ear (a) provides satisfactory active noise-cancellation and transparency for commuting and office use.

What sets these earbuds apart is their affordability and exceptional sound quality. Nothing has prioritised audio performance, resulting in a balanced, clean, and enjoyable listening experience that rivals more expensive competitors like the AirPods Pro 2. They remain detailed even at low volume, surpassing the performance of many other tested earbuds.

We highly recommend the Ear (a) for their style, sound, and versatility. The brand has successfully delivered on its promise to "make tech fun again" with these buds (especially if you go for the yellow variant), and considering the price, we couldn't ask for more.

For the best noise-cancelling experience in a compact form, the Bose QuietComfort Ultras are unbeatable. These earbuds excel at blocking out external sounds whether you're commuting, flying, hitting the gym, or working in a coffee shop, they deliver blissful silence.

No challengers can defeat them. Our usual test for ANC sees us wear earphones for multiple commutes in the London Underground’s Central Line, but to challenge these further we wore them for a journey along a large stretch of the Northern Line (which has received the most noise complaints from Londoners).

Before we popped them in we were struggling to hear ourselves think in the screeching din, but with these at work, you’re left in complete silence. We wore them around the supermarket, in the office, at coffee shops and more – in real-world testing, they beat all rivals including the Sony, Apple and Jabra pairs.

The customisation via the app is excellent, too. You can create a profile for your surroundings, and then choose the noise cancelling level you need from one (low) to 10 (high). We maxed it out for our London train journeys but used a separate profile to keep it lower when working from home.

While touch controls may not appeal to everyone and a lack of wireless charging in the case is a shame, those are some of the only downsides.

If you’re after something to assist in your training programme, the Beats Fit Pro is an excellent exercise companion. Utilising similar features to Apple’s all-powerful AirPods Pro, these buds offer a more fitness-focused design, with a silicone wingtip to fit snugly in the inside curve of your ear to keep them secure.

We doubt any of you are spending six hours at the squat rack, but these will keep up with your routine if you’re wearing them to and from the gym without popping them back in the charging case. They pack in sweat and water resistance, as well as on-bud button controls that are much simpler to use the touch surfaces and taps.

These feature ANC too, and it’s every bit as good as its main rivals. When turned on, these silence all the noise of the gym just as well as they mute the sound of a train or the chatter of colleagues, and they have Apple's class-leading transparency mode on board too. Ideal for when you need a bit of awareness while on a run and need to amplify external sounds.

The audio reproduction from these is also comparable to some of the best devices on this list and while they might be on the expensive side of the spectrum, they’re our top pick if your buds need to work for your gym sessions, your commute and everything in between.

We know what you’re thinking, isn’t JLAB known for budget buds? Yes, before this release, the brand hadn’t unveiled anything remotely in this price tier. We like to imagine the seasoned audio engineers at JLAB rejoicing at being able to unleash their ideas without the compromises made with sub-£50 models. With its Epic Lab Edition, the brand is finally delivering a serious flagship killer.

The highlights? They come in a sturdy metal case, have active noise-cancellation, foam and silicone ear tips, wireless charging, high-resolution audio, wear detection, water and dust resistance, and over nine hours of playtime. It’s a lot.

The buds use a dual driver configuration with Knowles' balanced armature (BA) drivers. This helps them deliver improved fidelity over traditional drivers. That’s especially true once you use the JLab app to enable the “Knowles Preferred Listening Response Curve”. It's an equaliser setting based on over 200 samples from the last 20 years of the Billboard Hot 100 to determine the best sound for streaming music.

Whatever science has gone into this, it works. These sound tremendous and offer a crisper treble and more well-rounded sub-bass than many pairs we’ve tried. There’s nothing we’ve thrown at these that didn’t sound excellent. We’re also fans of the understated look and the handy low-latency USB-C dongle for gamers.

The noise-cancelling is capable, but it doesn’t beat higher-end rivals, and the non-slip surface on the bottom of the case is a bit of a dust magnet. Overall, though, these are outstanding all-rounders.

If you’re on a lot of calls at work, chances are you’re used to Jabra headsets. They’re known for reliable gear in the office and top-notch wireless earbuds. And, despite their quality, Jabra doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves. The brand’s flagship earbuds are seriously impressive, ticking all the boxes and offering supreme comfort.

Even the best earphones get tiring to wear all day. That is, until the Jabra Elite 10 came along. They’ve become our go-to because we can wear them for hours without discomfort. With a soft silicone exterior and comfy oval-shaped ear tips, they sit nicely in your ears without digging in, and they’re secure and comfy.

Now in their second generation, the Elite 10 buds add a smarter charging case that works as a Bluetooth transmitter, so you can use it to beam audio over from an in-flight entertainment system or your record player, for example. They also come with improved ANC, better call quality and optimised Dolby Atmos support over the older version.

We can confirm they sound amazing with excellent head-tracking spatial audio. The audio performance is lively and detailed, and although they lack high-res codecs, we don’t notice their omission. The active noise-cancelling is fantastic too (surviving our London Underground tests), and we love the app and simple, customisable button controls. These earbuds are winners in every department.

Jabra claims the Elite 8 Active Gen 2 – a slight step-up from last year’s first-generation 8 Active – are the “world’s toughest earbuds,” and honestly, they might be right. We’re all about those IP ratings, and these buds boast some of the highest durability specs we’ve seen.

We know the details can look a bit puzzling. These noise-cancelling buds boast an IP68 level and MIL-STD-810H certification. Translation? They're sweatproof, drop-proof, and have top-tier dust and dirt protection, plus waterproofing that can handle submersion for over 30 minutes. They've also passed military-grade testing for shocks, pressure and temperature changes – it's a lot.

But toughness isn’t their only trick. They fit well, stay put thanks to an anti-shake coating, sound great, and cancel noise as well as Jabra's flagship Elite 10 buds. The charging case (which is also protected from dust and water splashes) has the same audio transmission features present in the second-gen Elite 10, too.

Whether you’re running or climbing, braving torrential rain, or accidentally putting the Elite 8 Active through the wash, these earbuds are up for the challenge. The only minor gripe? The deep in-ear fit might get a bit uncomfortable after a marathon listening session, but you won’t notice it until hours in.

Do you wish AirPods Pro didn’t only come in white? Or are you after an alternative that plays well with Android phones? The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 is the model we’d recommend to most listeners.

The buds have an AirPods-lookalike style in a dark translucent design, with some of the best sound quality you’ll find at any price. The xMems tech for the drivers is impressive, delivering a clean, detailed and engaging reproduction of your playlists.

Don’t worry about the jargon involved. All you need to know is xMems solid-state speakers can produce a wider range of sounds in a driver that’s much smaller than a traditional dynamic driver. They resist distortion, are more durable, and can blast out frequencies faster than other drivers. That’s why the Aurvana Ace 2 sounds better than most rivals, yet costs well under £200.

We notice nuances in vocals, low-end notes we hadn’t picked out before and more high-end detail. The instrumental separation is among the best of any earbuds we’ve tried and they’re worth it if you use high-resolution audio services. If audiophile-grade sound is one of your priorities, these should be at the top of your list.

They’re not without some flaws. The case interior is a gaudy gold, the construction feels plasticky, the adaptive noise-cancelling is merely fine, and the touch controls are fiddly. On the plus side, at least the fit is comfortable to wear for a long time and they offer a competitive battery compared to similar rivals.

These look like nothing else out there. They're unconventional, and the charging case is undeniably enormous. But let's get one thing straight: Japanese audio brand Final isn't only thinking about convenience here. These earbuds are for serious music aficionados craving unparalleled sound quality.

Following the original ZE8000, we’re impressed that the MK2 delivers noticeable upgrades. It improves the in-ear seal and delivers a far more capable noise-cancelling performance. There’s also now multipoint for dual connections. But it’s sound that’s the selling point, and that’s where these excel.

We couldn’t quite get our heads around the touch control system, so we turned it off to keep the focus on the music. Thankfully, these sound outstanding. They’re some of the best buds for unveiling hidden instrumental nuances and subtle details in familiar songs. The level of depth and control pushes the limits of what we’d assumed Bluetooth could convey.

Final's app features a comprehensive equaliser, refined volume controls, and an "8K sound" mode. Don’t worry about what "8K" means. It's a minor difference that makes these earphones sound even better and clearer at lower volumes.

Of course, recommending these to the average listener is tricky. The far-from-pocketable case is an obvious drawback. The buds themselves are quite unwieldy too, protruding noticeably from the ears.

However, if sound quality is your top priority, these buds are worth considering. They cater to audiophiles with a subtle and balanced signature, and audio enthusiasts should prepare to fall in love with them.

After true wireless earbuds that feel more personal? Or you're a tinkering audiophile who wants to get the most out of your music? We’d recommend you go for the Denon PerL Pro, which is a remodelled and revived version of a previous favourite around these parts, the NuraTrue Pro. Now Denon has acquired Nura, it has released earbuds boasting the Australian startup’s personalised sound tech, and the results are pretty special.

We love how these greet you each time with a “welcome back” and the connected app does a great job of creating your own sound profile. It does this by playing a series of frequencies and tones to measure otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) in your inner ear. From there, you can enhance the “immersion” level and enjoy spatial audio effects, which are some of the most natural-sounding we’ve heard from any pair. You can also set a safe volume limit in the app and store multiple different custom preferences.

The top-spec ANC is powerful too, and we’ve had no trouble using these on the commute. There are a couple of downsides we’d note, including a range of ear tips that we couldn’t quite get to feel fully comfortable, and an unusual (albeit distinctive) circular bud design.

We’ve had no trouble with battery life or charging though, and we do absolutely love the richness, detail and spaciousness of the sound quality on offer with the PerL Pro.

There’s a lot to like with these refined Sennheiser buds. The real appeal is that these offer a lot for anyone fixated on the next generation of Bluetooth. They include Auracast audio sharing, LE Audio, low latency for gaming and faster app connectivity.

We love the sleek metal look and it's evident how much Sennheiser has upgraded the internals. They're especially great for fans of the wide soundstage, richness and detail that is characteristic of the Sennheiser sound. There's also a great personalised hearing test for customised sound and programmable touch controls. While the ANC doesn’t rival the Boses, Sonys or AirPods Pro of the world, it can still cut out most background annoyances too.

They aren't free from issues, though. The charging case is too big for pockets and the fabric scuffs. And, while these sound impressive, they’re no longer the last word in quality. They also still don’t cancel as much noise as many rivals manage to.

We’re excited by the idea of upgrades like Auracast. It will enable the beaming of audio over to multiple Bluetooth headphones at once. Potential applications include tuning into gate announcements at the airport, hearing the audio on public TVs (in any language) and sharing audio with mates. But, at the moment, this is so niche that most buyers won't be able to experience it for a few years.

We’d recommend these earbuds if you like the sound of those future-ready features and love Sennheiser’s audio quality. The competition is fierce, but these are still up there with the best.