ad

Bluetooth Headphones - These are the best models in 2025

THE ARTICLE WAS UPDATED WITH NEW MODELS: 2025.01.17

Earlier we wrote a Bluetooth speakers, Bluetooth earphones and even Bluetooth headphones are organically connected to this topic. We hardly know anyone who doesn't have one at home, but there are always new models and functions coming out, and the ones that fail need to be replaced. However, their selection is not as simple as it seems. Bone vibration, in-ear, half-in ear, filter noise or not? And what about the microphone? Should the sound follow the head movement? Countless questions may arise regarding Bluetooth earphones and this is only the tip of the iceberg. Fortunately, our team has more than 10 years of experience on the subject, so we would like to pass this knowledge on to you. Let's see what we have experienced in a decade!

contents

Bluetooth earphones can be classified into several categories, depending on the purpose for which these devices are intended. We have tried to include in our list models that cover several special tasks. We had to select them based on sports, work, conversation in noisy environments, headset use, TWS function and a thousand other criteria. Let the best Bluetooth earphones come, on a strictly subjective basis!


These are the best Bluetooth earphones (2025)

The Bluetooth earphones on our list have been selected based on the following criteria:

  • more than 10 years, based on our own experience as testers
  • we all own several models and use them on a daily basis
  • based on the service experience and long-term tests of our previous partners
  • based on individual research, which is based on domestic and international customer opinions
  • based on opinions read in various forums and special groups

Bluetooth Headphones - These are the best models in 2025 2

Source: 1More

1More Evo EH902 Bluetooth Earphone - The best TWS earphone with excellent sound

Advantages of Bluetooth earphones:

  • excellent noise reduction
  • great quality, cool look
  • its control can be reconfigured from the app
  • wired fast charging combined with wireless
  • very high sound quality is achieved due to the LDAC transmission

Specification

  • Type: in-ear
  • Drives: hybrid (DD+BA)
  • Data connection: Bluetooth 5.2
  • TWS: yes
  • Battery time: 20+8 hours
  • Upload speed: 15 hours of operating time in 4 minutes
  • Delay: N/A, but very low
  • App: yes
  • Audio transmission coding: LDAC
  • Noise filtering: single-stage ANC
  • Microphone: 6 DNNs

Who we recommend it to

1More Evo won the title of the best 1More BT headset of all time. It is a real small jewelry box, which resides in an aluminum charging cradle and is protected from damage by some kind of ceramic coating. This was the peak two years ago, and since then we haven't seen anything better than it among Chinese earphones, if we look at the overall performance. It's not a cheap piece, but it does everything, there's nowhere to connect it. We recommend it to those who are looking for a high-quality, durable piece for everyday use that can pretty much do everything that can be done these days.

Why is it out of stock?

Let's start with the sound, which is amazingly well done. This is no accident, not only the usual dynamic drivers work in it, but also the vibrating tongue armatures responsible for the chiseled sound. It has a long operating time, uploads insanely fast, even wirelessly, can be remotely configured from an app, is capable of high-bandwidth LDAC encoding, and even has a low-latency mode. Its ANC is great, and half a dozen microphones work so that you can make phone calls with it. We would say that we would buy it for ourselves, but that happened two years ago, and we have been happily using it ever since.

Bluetooth Headphones - These are the best models in 2025 3

Source: Earfun

Earfun Air Pro 4 Bluetooth earphones - A dry solution, one of the best

Advantages of Bluetooth earphones:

  • excellent noise reduction
  • has a transparent way
  • great quality, cool look
  • its control can be reconfigured from the app
  • Very high sound quality is achieved due to LDAC transmission

Specification

  • Type: in-ear
  • Drives: 10 mm dynamic
  • Data connection: Bluetooth 5.4
  • TWS: yes
  • Battery time: 41+11 hours
  • Upload speed: 10 hours of operating time in 2 minutes
  • Delay: 400 ms
  • App: yes
  • Audio transmission coding: aptX, LDAC
  • Noise filtering: single-stage ANC
  • Microphone: 6 pieces, Qualcomm cVc

Who we recommend it to

We previously tested the Earfun Air Pro 2, its successor two generations later is the Earfun Air Pro 4. We are quite big fans of the company, we use a Uboom Lt which is also excellent. The Earfun Air Pro 4-stem TWS earbuds have what the 1More Evo berry has. It can do everything, even a few extras, and this design is even better for a headset. We recommend it to those who prefer a stem to a berry design and want to bring home a full, modern Bluetooth earphone at a realistic price.

Why is it out of stock?

The beauty of the Earfun Air Pro 4 is that a company that was founded in 2018 was able to make almost perfect earphones. It charges quickly, transfers electrons wirelessly, is capable of LDAC, has a very long operating time, has a microphone, and the BT standard is extremely modern. What is a little weaker is the delay - but this is compensated for by the player in the case of video and SVoD applications - and the sound image is loaded with bass due to the dynamic drivers. On the other hand, it is cheaper than the 1More Evo, so we consider both to be excellent buys.

Bluetooth Headphones - These are the best models in 2025 4

Source: Sony

Sony WF-1000XM5 Bluetooth earphones - Eye-wateringly rough technology

Advantages of Bluetooth earphones:

  • categorical noise filtering
  • this is the pinnacle of earphones right now
  • its control can be reconfigured from the app
  • great quality, cool exterior, recycled materials
  • Very high sound quality is achieved due to LDAC transmission

Specification

  • Type: in-ear
  • Drives: 8,4 mm dynamic
  • Data connection: Bluetooth 5.3
  • TWS: yes
  • Battery time: 20+12 hours
  • Upload speed: 2 hours
  • Delay: N/A
  • App: yes
  • Audio transmission coding: LDAC
  • Noise filtering: single-stage ANC
  • Microphone: 6 DNNs

Who we recommend it to

Sony also has two legendary series, the WX-1000XM, which are headphones, and the WF-1000XM, which are TWS-capable Bluetooth headphones. We have one of the first in our field of vision, and its noise filtering is such that when you turn it on, people actually start to gape, without sound effects, an astonishing experience. The WF-1000XM5 is their latest high-tech Bluetooth earphone that surpasses even its predecessors. Recommended for those who don't care about money and want the best noise cancellation on the market. Plus a ton of extras.

Why is it out of stock?

Of the noise-generating devices we've tried so far, Sony's noise filter was by far the best. There are devices that are cheaper, have a longer operating time, and have a newer BT standard, but none of them provide such a consistent performance as the WF-1000XM5 earphones. And they don't have as many extras as this one: tap to Spotify - dedicated button to start the streaming service -, Tap to Talk - Quick Attention - which mutes the music when you touch it, multipoint connection, so it can be used with several devices at the same time, and 6 microphones ensure that you can not only listen to music, but also have a great conversation with it. It uses the deep neural network algorithm learned at 1More Evo to clean the sounds. In addition, the WF-1000XM6 is about to be introduced, which is said to be even more rugged and presumably even more expensive than the WF-1000XM5.


 

Bluetooth Headphones - These are the best models in 2025 5

Source: Anker

Anker Soundcore Sport X20 Bluetooth earphones - All-round sports equipment for the gym

Advantages of Bluetooth earphones:

  • bull time
  • it's really for sports
  • Speck, ear hook solution
  • It resists everything according to the IP68 standard
  • available in several colors, sporty, fashionable

Specification

  • Type: in-ear hook
  • Drives: 11 mm dynamic
  • Data connection: Bluetooth 5.3
  • TWS: yes
  • Battery time: 36+12 hours
  • Upload speed: 5 hours of operating time in 2 minutes
  • Delay: N/A
  • App: yes
  • Audio transmission coding: SBC/AAC
  • Noise filtering: single-stage ANC
  • Microphone: 6 pieces, AI supported

Who we recommend it to

Anker's strengths are more in headphones than in Bluetooth earphones, but the X20 is still a remarkable device. It is designed for direct sports use, which roughly means that it is unbreakable. In addition, it has a special, flexible hook that can be hung on the earlobe, so you could even do sit-ups with it. We recommend it to those who want a typical gym wireless earphone, constant focus and protection against external influences are important.

Why is it out of stock?

The creators of the Anker Soundcore Sport X20 know well that sound quality is one thing, but there are situations when ambient noise and resistance are more important. In noisy environments, excellent ANC is worth a lot, as are sweat and drops. That's why the Sport X20 received IP68 protection, which can even be used for swimming, although this is not what the earphones were designed for. Since people don't listen to Chopin sonnets while kneading, but to motivational music, it got a huge 11 mm dynamic driver, which is especially strong in the bass. And that's fine anyway, since this is the main line here, rough sports.

Bluetooth Headphones - These are the best models in 2025 6

Source: Edifier

Edifier NeoBuds Pro 2 Bluetooth Earphones - Excellent headset in a hot case

Advantages of Bluetooth earphones:

  • tons of extras like Sony
  • peak, Edifier style, with great sound
  • cool spatial audio
  • futuristic design, excellent use of materials
  • 8! microphone for perfect call quality

Specification

  • Type: in-ear
  • Drives: hybrid (DD+BA)
  • Data connection: Bluetooth 5.3
  • TWS: yes
  • Battery time: 16,5+5,5 hours
  • Upload speed: 15 hours of operating time in 2 minutes
  • Delay: N/A, but low
  • App: yes
  • Audio transmission coding: LDAC/LHDC
  • Noise filtering: single-stage ANC
  • Microphone: 8 piece

Who we recommend it to

Edifier is a veteran in the production of audio products, they have one or two excellent speaker series, but they are also strong in Bluetooth headphones. We also tested the predecessor of the Edifier NeoBuds Pro 2, the NB2, and we really liked it, on the one hand, because it had a great design, and on the other hand, with a lot of forward-looking solutions, e.g. it had connectivity to multiple devices, a great application, and last but not least, excellent sound quality. We recommend it to those who are looking for a separate, attractive solution with excellent sound quality and would also like to protect their headphones from dust.

Why is it out of stock?

For some reason, few manufacturers remember that not only liquids, but also dust can be fatal for electronic equipment. That's why the Edifier NeoBuds Pro 2 received the IP54 standard. It also comes with hybrid drivers, the brutal bass is provided by the 11 mm dynamic driver, and the vibrating tongue armature provides the chiseled sound image. The Edifier stuff always has a great app, everything can be adjusted from it, and you can also freely switch between several connected devices. It has a weak point, its operating time, but in return it listens to your speech with 8 microphones and with honor - and with ENC - filters the noise, even when listening to music. It also has a proximity sensor, if you take it out of your ears, it stops, and if you put it back, it starts the music. It is also capable of surround sound, which is called spatial audio here.

Bluetooth Headphones - These are the best models in 2025 7

Source: Redmi

Redmi Buds 6 Active Bluetooth earphones - Low budget maximum in price

Advantages of Bluetooth earphones:

  • wind noise filtering
  • very cheap
  • youthful design, four colors
  • not in-ear, but half-ear design
  • huge 14,2mm wide dynamic drivers

Specification

  • Type: half/semi-in-ear
  • Drives: 14,2 mm dynamic
  • Data connection: Bluetooth 5.4
  • TWS: yes
  • Battery time: 24+6 hours
  • Upload speed: 1 hours
  • Delay: in less than 90 ms
  • App: yes
  • Audio transmission coding: SBC/AAC
  • Noise filtering: wind noise and ENC
  • Microphone: 2 piece

Who we recommend it to

Anyone who thinks that basic BT earphones like the Redmi Buds 6 Active - and Vitality, because it has another variant - doesn't offer much for those with little money, is wrong. Quick connection - when the pop-up menu appears with the charge -, app-based settings, surround sound, voice assistant, Redmi Buds 6 Active can do it all. We recommend it to those who are looking for one of the best low budget earphones and do not swear by rubber bell solutions.

Why is it out of stock?

Redmi Buds 6 Active will be the Bluetooth earphones of the masses. It doesn't cover the family budget, but it knows a lot of useful things. There is no ANC, which is understandable, since this is a semi-in-ear solution, i.e. from the side into the ear. Since many people hate rubber bells, it is an ideal choice for them. Its membrane will push huge, deep bass at high volume, which will be necessary, since there is no ear-fitting seal. In return, there is spatial audio, a pop-up with the battery charge, fast connection and automatic device detection, and a decent operating time, which was not reduced by ANC either. Not incidentally, the range and stability of the BT 5.4 are outstanding.

Bluetooth Headphones - These are the best models in 2025 8

Source: QCY

QCY AilyBuds HT10 Pro Bluetooth Earphones - Noise-cancelling half-in-ear headphones? Yes, it exists

Advantages of Bluetooth earphones:

  • adaptive ANC
  • LDAC support
  • compared to what you know, it's very cheap
  • not in-ear, but half-in-ear design
  • 6 microphones, supported by AI noise filtering

Specification

  • Type: half/semi-in-ear
  • Drive: dynamic
  • Data connection: Bluetooth 5.3
  • TWS: yes
  • Battery time: 28+5 hours
  • Upload speed: 1 hours
  • Kreasoning: 80 ms
  • App: yes
  • Audio transmission coding: LDAC
  • Noise filtering: ANC, wind noise
  • Microphone: 6 pieces, AI supported

Who we recommend it to

QCY has always been a budget brand, but in the case of the QCY AilyBuds HT10 Pro, they managed to cram an incredible amount of extra stuff into the 40-50 USD segment. Music-side noise filtering in the case of a semi-in-ear earphone? According to their claim, there is, which is surprising, since there is no sealed space due to the lack of a rubber bell. Of course, the sound waves can also be extinguished. We recommend it to those who are looking for a real curio on the cheap and can't stand in-ear solutions with rubber bells.

Why is it out of stock?

It is surprising in itself that the QCY AilyBuds HT10 Pro can filter noise for such a price. What's more, it can connect to several devices at the same time - multipoint connection -, it has 6 microphones, the control can be set from the app, and due to the low latency of less than 80 ms, it is also suitable for gaming. And the fact that with the help of LDAC transmission you know three times the usual transmission, resulting in much higher musical detail? So what can't you do? For example, surround sound, but that doesn't make the world come crashing down. The real Péter Fekete, or secret contender among Bluetooth speakers, is the QCY AilyBuds HT10 Pro.

Bluetooth Headphones - These are the best models in 2025 9

Source: JBL

JBL Tour Pro 2 Bluetooth Headphones - Essential cutting-edge technology

Advantages of Bluetooth earphones:

  • adaptive noise cancellation
  • LDAC support
  • display on the dock (smart case)
  • surround sound and head rotation tracking
  • 6 microphones, supported by AI noise filtering

Specification

  • Type: in-ear
  • Drives: 10 mm dynamic
  • Data connection: Bluetooth 5.3
  • TWS: yes
  • Battery time: 30+10 hours
  • Upload speed: 2 hours
  • Delay: N/A
  • App: yes
  • Audio transmission coding: LDAC
  • Noise filtering: adaptive ANC
  • Microphone: 6 pieces, AI supported

Who we recommend it to

When someone hears the name JBL, they don't have to think too much, they immediately remember that this is the king of the consumer category. The JBL Tour Pro 2 is their top-of-the-line headphone - although they have just introduced the 3, which is not yet available - which boasts specialties such as a display built into the dock, so that all functions can be controlled without a phone. We recommend it to those who believe in the brand name and are willing to pay for excellent sound quality and spec features.

Why is it out of stock?

JBL's sound is special, well-defined, and their devices have a sound image that most people like, and in this regard, the JBL Tour Pro 2 is no exception. Its noise filtering is adaptive, which means that it changes dynamically according to environmental influences, trying to maintain the quality of the music, but also to filter out disturbing sounds. Of course, the JBL Tour Pro 2 also has surround sound, an app, and a thousand other fashionable functions, since such a big name cannot afford to lag behind its competitors.


 

Bluetooth Headphones - These are the best models in 2025 10

Source: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro Bluetooth Earphones - If you want the latest

Advantages of Bluetooth earphones:

  • adaptive noise cancellation
  • Samsung SSC audio encoding
  • traditional and wireless charging
  • 6 microphones, supported by AI noise filtering
  • extreme integration with the Samsung ecosystem

Specification

  • Type: in-ear
  • Drives: 10,5 mm dynamic, 6,1 mm planar
  • Data connection: Bluetooth 5.4
  • TWS: yes
  • Battery time: 23+7 hours
  • Upload speed: 1 hour, there is a quick charge
  • Delay: N/A
  • App: yes
  • Audio transmission coding: SSC
  •  Noise filtering: adaptive ANC
  • Microphone: 6 pieces, AI supported

Who we recommend it to

Samsung is one of the leading mobile manufacturers, so their Bluetooth earphones are top quality. The Galaxy Buds3 Pro is their latest product, which puts the finishing touch on the i. They work with their own adaptive audio coding, SSC, with the earpiece Auracast, it can also stream music to other devices, and you can even automatically switch to your other Samsung products within its own ecosystem. We recommend it to those who have used Samsung devices before, as the integration here is the best, and it is a premium headset anyway.

Why is it out of stock?

The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro practically has all the top functions, which the competition also has. Surround sound, great sound quality, high-bandwidth sound coding, AI-supported noise filtering on the conversation and music side, countless microphones, great quality. What is surprising is that it can recognize certain sound patterns, such as the siren of an ambulance, and in such cases mixes it into the music. The worst part is that there is a "listener" and a "conversation" mode, where the software recognizes the language and then translates it into another, naturally with the support of AI.


 

Bluetooth Headphones - These are the best models in 2025 11

Source: Huawei

Huawei FreeBuds 6i Bluetooth earphones - The king of the middle category

Advantages of Bluetooth earphones:

  • very good ANC
  • LDAC and L2HC support
  • it loads surprisingly fast
  • very good value for money
  • everything can be customized from the app here as well

Specification

  • Type: in-ear
  • Drives: 11 mm dynamic
  • Data connection: Bluetooth 5.3
  • TWS: yes
  • Battery time: 27+8 hours
  • Upload speed: 40 minutes
  • Delay: N/A
  • App: yes
  •  Audio transmission coding: LDAC, L2HC
  • Noise filtering: ANC
  • Microphone: 6 piece

Who we recommend it to

Although Huawei phones have fallen out of favor in the US, their accessories are still very good. The Huawei FreeBuds 6i belongs to the "nothing special" group, but it is so high that it is difficult to find a better one in the mid-range category. For example, its noise cancellation is shockingly good, rather high-end. Its operating time is also perfectly fine, that is, it has a charm when everything just works smoothly and well. We recommend it to those who are not interested in this whole earphone misery, they just want a good mid-range product that is strong enough in everything.

Why is it out of stock?

However, before anyone writes off the Huawei FreeBuds 6i, this Bluetooth earphone is also capable of LDAC and Huawei's own audio coding, L2HC, both of which enable high-bandwidth audio transmission. Huawei's batteries are fully charged in 40 minutes, which is quite fast, we don't even remember such a speed in this category. Of course, this can also be customized from the application, there is a digital EQ, there is an Ambient mode that lets in external noises, so it knows a lot of things that the competition does.


 

Which didn't make the list, but is worth noting

The list is amazingly wide, Apple products have now been left out, even though it is AirPods it is the category-creating product in the semi-in-ear category, so we would look at the 3rd generation of AirPods, but since it is on every list, we did not put it on this now.

A bone tremor We haven't seen any Bluetooth headphones that we can highly recommend, the Klatre LS1 it was best if someone needed it anyway. Also running out of technology is the collar, that is, a neck strap If you really want one, you should look for the Yamaha EP-E70A, the Sony WI-X1000M2, and the 1More Triple Driver models.

Then there are the real audio companies, Sennheiser with the Momentum and Accentum series, Bose with the QuietComfort stuff, and then let's not forget manufacturers like Jabra or Beats, and the list could go on and on. In the run-of-the-mill category, Hama's bluetooth earphones are there, but there are also many bottom-shelf items that can be found at any gas station or technical store. The best value for money stuff comes from Chinese brands, and the top ones are those belonging to the Western sphere of interest. There is a lot to choose from, and we wish everyone the best of luck!



Everything you need to know about Bluetooth headphones

A Bluetooth headset is a device that transmits sound wirelessly using the Bluetooth standard. Although Bluetooth headsets are popular in the common language, it really just means that the device uses some version of the protocol. Since it is a wireless transmission technique, Bluetooth earphones are also called wireless earphones. But are all Bluetooth earphones really wireless earphones? The answer is no.

Let's jump back 15-20 years in time, when wired earphones still predominated. In this design, the sound source and the earphones were connected to the sound source by one wire - better said, 1 per side, so two. It could have been anything, a telephone, a speaker, a CD player or even a walkman, the point is that the source and headphones were connected via a jack connector. These were stereo earphones, as the left and right channels had separate audio tracks. You could remove the cable of some models - for example and ZS10 Pro -, this is called the MMCX standard, and it can be replaced by a Bluetooth module - for example KZ aptX HD -, from then on these were classified as wireless earphones.

The first Bluetooth headphones worked in such a way that the left and right noise-generating membranes were connected by a cable, on which a battery, a few buttons and a Bluetooth module were located somewhere. This was an actual Bluetooth headphone, and there was indeed no wire between the sound source and the headphone, but the two sides were still physically connected. This can actually be called a wireless headphone, if by this we mean that there is no galvanic connection between the source and the destination. In the past, such models were for example the Xiaomi Collar or the 1More Dual and Triple Driver 1001 BT, but they died out from the market, and instead ear-hook solutions – Anker Soundcore Sport X10 and X20 – became popular, as you can see in the top list above.

A few years ago, Bluetooth headphones with a charging cradle appeared, where a larger battery was placed in the station responsible for charging. In this dock, the left and right sides of the pair of earbuds must be inserted separately, and there is no physical connection between the two sides. So how does the sound get through? Using the so-called TWS protocol, which stands for True Wireless Stereo. In other words, when we say Bluetooth earphones in 2025, we usually mean TWS-capable, stereo, wireless earphones, which makes up 99% of the market.

There are also iterations and misspellings of the above, which is due to the pronunciation peculiarities of the English language and the fact that we love to inflect in Hungarian. That's why there are variations of Bluetooth, bluetooth, bluetooth, and bluetooth in almost every expression. We always mean the same tool - that is, the device explained above - by the following terms:

  • Bluetooth earphones
  • BT earphones
  • Bluetooth headphones (Hungarian transcription of the English pronunciation)
  • Wireless earphones
  • Wireless earphones (the English equivalent of the former)
  • Noise-cancelling headphones (most have this function)
  • earphone with microphone (headset)
  • Bluetooth headset (Bluetooth earphones with microphone, nowadays they all have it)
  • Bluetooth earphones (one of the funniest spellings)
  • Wireless earphones (same, written in reverse)

The above can be varied as desired. Why did we write all this down? Because even though speakers, earphones and headphones work very similarly technologically, they are devices belonging to a separate category, as you will see below.

Bluetooth earphones or Bluetooth headphones: what's the difference?

People often confuse the terms earphones and headphones. The main differences between the two are the way of use and what these tools are for. Bluetooth headphones differ from earphones mainly in that they are not worn in the ear or on the ear cup, but above it - on-ear - or they specifically surround the ear - over-ear. Since this is a much larger noise-producing membrane – they can be 40-50 mm in diameter – they can produce a much richer sound, and some models also insulate very well.

Perhaps their most important feature is that they do not penetrate the ear canal and do not cause the feeling of tightness that many people find unpleasant, which BT earphones do. Since they are relatively heavy, a padded strap connects the two sides, which can be especially sweaty in the summer. Due to their larger size, they can also fit a much larger battery, nowadays operating times of 60-70 hours are not uncommon. On the other hand, wearing them on the street is quite uncomfortable and sweaty, and they are completely unsuitable for sports. They are not all-round solutions, primarily for listening to music, other things related to daily activities were not considered in the design.

Since the two tech gadgets work very similarly, let's take a look at exactly how Bluetooth earbuds and headphones produce sound.

How does a Bluetooth headset work?

Most of the above lines are in the “Best Bluetooth Speakers 2025 – Not just JBL, these sound good too”, but where necessary, we modified the text.

Bluetooth headphones actually consist of nothing more than a vibrating membrane and a damped oscillating coil inside a magnet, which is attached to the membrane. A current is applied to the coil, which moves the sheet - the cone - which, depending on the strength of the current, deflects in space. This deflection generates air pressure in the roughly 20-20 Hz range, which we perceive as sound. In other words, a BT headset is nothing more than a device that converts electrical signals into acoustic signals, the transmission protocol of which is Bluetooth.

The most common solution is the dynamic driver - in English dynamic driver, or DD -, you can read its description above - it is dynamic because the coil moves in it, but there is also a design that works on another principle, the vibrating armature solution, which in English is called balanced armature. that is, they are called BA. These were originally developed for hearing aids, and their essence is to provide very high detail and excellent sound fidelity, much better than dynamic drivers, but they are more expensive and take up more space. BA drives use an electronic signal to move tiny metal pins that balance between two magnets and vibrate there.

Why doesn't everyone make Bluetooth headphones with BA drivers when you can achieve a much better sound image with them? This is because this more expensive solution and the dynamic drivers basically make today's fashionable, bass-filled music sound beautifully.

The two technologies are also used to be mixed, this is called hybrid or multi-driver earphones, where the radiation of deep sounds is solved by the dynamic drivers in the case of Bluetooth earphones, while the middle - this includes human speech and vocals - and high sounds are handled by the vibrating tongue part . It's worth listening to a pair of KZ brand BA earphones, one of our best musical experiences is connected to an AS12.

Where manufacturers do not state which technology is used in their Bluetooth earphones, they almost always use dynamic drivers. And where the earphone design is strange - KZ, Campfire, Oriveti, etc. brands - there is a good chance that they are BA drives, because they take up more space than coil-shaped dynamic drives, so it is more difficult to place them in a small berry. However, this can be solved, as you could see in the list of top devices.

But what about the Bluetooth module for audio transmission? This will be discussed in the section below.

What does the Bluetooth module do?

This section is also included in the “Best Bluetooth Speakers 2025 – Not just JBL, these sound good too", but where necessary, we modified the text.

Bluetooth is a wireless data transfer standard, similar to Wi-Fi. It differs from the latter in that it requires significantly less power for its transmission, so it consumes much less, ideal for portable devices where sound and other data need to be transferred. Lower consumption means lower radiation power, so the range is also shorter, depending on the version of the standard, 5-30 meters in an open space.

You can guess from the version number of the Bluetooth standard how modern the BT variant is, we are now somewhere around 5.4. The more modern the standard, the greater its range - 15-30 meters - and the more stable the data connection. You can try this by using a 5.x version number after a newer 4.x standard device, the difference will be surprisingly big.

In the case of audio transmission, the Bluetooth standard is only the "carrier", the quality of the transmission is determined by many other factors. One of these is that the audio information must be coded and decoded, and manufacturers use different coding procedures for this. In order to understand how this works, we need to step back a little, to the concept of uncompressed and compressed music, which basically depends on the quality of the music. Music can be:

  • It is uncompressed, i.e. lossless: in this case, the music preserves the entire sound spectrum, we can say that this is "100% quality", or at least the file contains all the information emitted by the original sound source. Such a format is, for example, wav. The disadvantage is the extra large size.
  • Compressed but lossless: these formats were invented because of their large size, they can be used to reduce the file size, such as files with the flac extension.
  • Compressed and not lossless: small file size, but a part of the entire spectrum is lost (this is why it is often said that the "stage" is not wide enough), in return, a relatively large amount of music can be stored on portable data storage devices. Such are mp3 files. Streaming services also use this or a similar format - e.g. Spotify - to keep data traffic low. There are exceptions, such as Tidal.

Of course, the file format in which you store a song is only one piece of data, you should know it sampling frequency – kHz, i.e. how many samples of the given signal the converter takes per second during digitization - the higher the better. You need to know the bitrate – kbps, which tells us how much data we use to store one second of music -, the “higher the better” principle also applies here, and there are thousands of other parameters. By the way, you can check the latter under Windows under file information.

Now that we know what the music carrier is, let's go back a bit to the operation of BT, in connection with which I already mentioned that it is a low-power, economical standard, but its bandwidth is also small, which of course has increased along with the increase in versions. BT transfers the sound using different sound coding procedures, let's look at them in more detail now.

Bluetooth audio coding procedures

The sound has to be coded and decoded, as you store it in digital form - in a file - and this has to be converted into analog vibration using the diaphragms of the BT earphones. The big question is how much transmission speed the BT standard supports and what encoding process it uses. If a device does not display this data, then SBC is the basis for Android devices, and AAC for Apple products, but of course there are encoding procedures with a higher bandwidth. The list is quite extensive:

  • SBC (low complexity subband coding): widely used standard, used by all stereo BT earphones and headphones. In theory, it can transfer a maximum of 345 kbps data, with 44,1 kHz sampling. In practice, it provides maximum average sound quality.
  • AAC (advanced audio coding): the coding procedure used by Apple's iTunes platform, theoretically assumes better quality than SBC. It is capable of a transmission speed of 250 kbps.
  • aptX: Developed by Qualcomm, designed for wideband stereo audio compression, capable of speeds of around 350 kbps. There is also an aptX LL version, which has a particularly low latency of around 40ms.
  • aptX HD: an improved version of the former standard, with a transmission speed of 576 kbps and a sampling rate of 48 kHz, plus the engineers added some other accessories - e.g. lower latency, less background noise, etc. – also boosted the coding procedure.
  • aptx Adaptive: the adaptive version of the former, which can change the bandwidth, depending on the use for which the sounds must be broadcast. Its maximum transmission speed is 420 kpbs.
  • LDAC (lossless digital audio codec): Sony standard, as you can guess from its name, it is a lossless coding process. It can transfer 990 kbps, which is roughly the minimum you should use to play flac files.
  • lHDC (low latency high-definition audio codec): developed by Savitech, capable of 900 kbps transmission and 48 kHz sampling with very low latency. This also has an LL version, the delay of which is around 30 ms.

The term delay was mentioned several times. This means nothing more than how fast the earphones are able to play the music compared to when the source sent it to the device. By default, BT earphones play the sound with a delay of 200-300 ms - roughly a fifth/third of a second - which is not disturbing when listening to music. On the other hand, while playing a game or watching a movie, you may feel that the sound is constantly lagging behind the picture, so it "slips". Therefore, following the lower the better principle, you won't notice the delay much after 100 ms. Of course, the delay is lowest if the sound is not transmitted using the BT standard, but with a cable, but the new, low-latency encodings already know almost the same thing, you can expect a delay of roughly 30-40 ms, which is no longer perceptible.

An important addition is that Windows 10 does not yet, but Windows 11 already supports the LDAC audio transmission standard. In other words, if you listen to music in a Windows environment, then there is one more reason to switch to the new operating system, where you can achieve much better sound quality than with the previous SBC encoding. Assuming that your source also provides music of adequate quality.

Take this with you

In connection with Bluetooth speakers, we wrote that the above is not so important due to the specifics of the location, but this is not true for Bluetooth earphones and headphones. The majority of Bluetooth earphones achieve excellent sound quality by isolating the sound with an earpiece - this is called a brain-plugging solution. In this way, the acoustic characteristics of the environment do not affect the propagation of the sound, it remains in your ear canal and sounds relatively isolated from external influences. More or less the same is true for Bluetooth headphones, with the difference that the seal there is more difficult to solve, but today there are effective noise filter - ANC - procedures to solve the problem.

However, the musical experience is still influenced by unique characteristics, such as age, how much frequency range you can still hear - younger people have a wider range, older people have a narrower range - what your musical taste is like, and we could go on and on. The bottom line: music is a very subjective genre, but you can strive to bring home the best-sounding Bluetooth earphones for the same amount of money.

The design of the Bluetooth earphones

One of the most important features of Bluetooth headphones is their design. This means nothing more than how the device fits into your ear canal and ears. Many people do not like it when a rubber bell enters their ear canal, while others are bothered by the fact that the other solutions are not able to seal it sufficiently, which can cause the music quality to drop drastically. In addition, you have to give up some functions for the open variants - for example, the noise filtering on the music side - because you cannot seal the space where the music is playing.

The in-ear Bluetooth earphones

Another name for the above Bluetooth earphones is the rubber bell, because here a rubber cone is located directly after the sound-generating membrane. This is the most common solution currently on the market. The solution rests on the wall of the ear canal and isolates the vibrating space, which is bounded on one side by the ear and on the other by the eardrum, and surrounded by the ear canal. This is very beneficial in terms of musical experience, because the sound waves beat in a closed space, separated from the sound of the outside world. This is how you can achieve the highest music quality, and active noise filtering solutions - ANC, active noise cancellation - can work really well here.

This means nothing more than that they cancel out the noise of the outside world with opposing sound waves, but this worsens the sound quality, as a subtle "hiss" will be heard in the sound image. Don't fall for the marketing gimmick where they refer to passive noise filtering, because it's nothing but the tightness itself. Of course, in the case of better rubber bells or Bluetooth headphones, the thicker padding can also be a passive noise filtering element, and even the brick wall behind which you are sitting, but this has nothing to do with active noise filtering.

The disadvantage of in-ear Bluetooth earphones is that many people are bothered by the sensation of the rubber bell entering the ear canal, and that these sealing membranes sometimes need to be cleaned or replaced. A solution to the discomfort is a memory foam ear insert that can take the shape of the ear canal, or you can choose a different design. Most of these models come with a TWS design with a charging cradle.

The half- or semi-in-ear Bluetooth headset without an earpiece

Apple introduced the semi-in-ear Bluetooth earphones without earplugs, or semi-in-ear, with the Apple AirPods product, and practically everyone has been copying them ever since. The point is that the BT headphones do not cling to the ear canal with a rubber bell, but turn into it from the side. There is no seal, but there is no irritation either, in return the sound quality is worse if the external noise is significant, and due to the lack of seal, it is not possible to do meaningful music noise filtering.

Nevertheless, the technology has matured enough, so the more expensive solutions already provide excellent sound quality, and when listening at a higher volume, you can suppress environmental noise quite well with this type of Bluetooth earphones.

ANC is very rare for these Bluetooth earphones, but on the microphone side - ENC - they are able to filter noise. Most of these models come with a TWS design with a charging cradle.

The open-ear Bluetooth earphones

Bluetooth earphones with an open speaker are quite rare on the market, such as the QCY Crossky model. Nothing else happens here, except that the sound is beamed into the ear canals with a speaker mounted on the end of the profile hung on the ear.

In our opinion, it is a rather immature solution, because it is a hybrid of the previous two categories, without their advantages. First of all, there is no seal here either, and secondly, due to the flanged design, it cannot be placed in a charging cradle or equipped with TWS technology. There is no need for this anyway, as there is a physical connection between the left and right side, i.e. a cable connects the two sides. ANC is not here, but ENC is.

The bone vibration Bluetooth earphone

The bone vibration technology is completely different from those listed so far. In its design, the QCY resembles a Crossky, which means that there is usually - but not always - a physical connection between the left and right speakers. First of all Klatre LS1, for the latter a OneOdio OpenRock Pro is a good example.

The essence of Bluetooth earphones with bone vibration is that they do not turn into the ear canal from the side, but lean on the "ear bone" and physically vibrate the cartilage. Music is made up of the frequency changes of this vibration. In order to compensate for the many disadvantages associated with this technology, an additional speaker is built into the Bluetooth earphones on each side, which actually plays music in the same way as in the case of other solutions.

Overall, bone vibration Bluetooth earphones have not convinced us so far, in our opinion the technology is still in its infancy. In addition, we consider it rather impractical - and sometimes dangerous - to use, for example, the recommended earplugs, especially since such devices do not mix external sounds into the music.

Design: berry, collar or stalked solution

Manufacturers have experimented a lot with the form of Bluetooth speakers in recent years. The most "berry" shaped, this means that the earphones have no stem, you have to push them into the ear canal and either they stop by themselves or a silicone hook helps them hold on. The advantage of this is that it is almost invisible, you can even wear a crash helmet over it, and it stays well in the ear during sports. The downside is that there is quite a bit of space on it, so they all have touch-sensitive controls and their microphones are very far from your mouth, so the sound quality of the conversation is not very good in most cases.

The opposite is a stalk design, where a stem is formed along your face. The microphone is closer to the mouth, there is more space for the padding, but it moves out of the ear relatively easily, so this shape is not the right one for running, for example.

The third is already mentioned with a collar or a neck strap – collar – a design where a strap connects the two sides, which rests on the neck. It is actually the ideal choice for intense movement, because it is very difficult to move out of the ear. Instead, he can bounce while running, and for example, he can turn from the neck when sitting up. Another advantage is that you can put physical buttons and other controls on it, so those who don't like touch-based control can still find wireless earphones with this design, but the format is dying out. Most of them now have a Type-C port integrated into the stem, so these Bluetooth headphones are also capable of fast charging.

In-ear hook, i.e. the hook accessory

It is not only an in-ear accessory, but can also be found with other earphones. The bottom line is that the earpiece gets a flexible silicone hook, so the noise maker not only rests on the wall of the ear canal, but also climbs onto the ear cup. This is great for gym use, running and other sports activities. It is mainly combined with the berry design, but theoretically it could also be applied to the others.

Control your Bluetooth headphones

Wireless earphones can basically have two types of control, physical button and touch-based. In the former case – typically with the neckband design – there is enough space to implement the control with actual, physical buttons or multi-position switches. Their big advantage is that they are easy to touch and work perfectly even with sweaty hands. For this reason, they are better for sports because they can be adjusted on the go. In return, fewer functions can usually be controlled from such interfaces.

The other solution is the touch-based - "upholstery" - design, where the berry itself or, if the design is stemmed, the surface of the stem must be touched for control. This also means that two such areas are available in total - the right and the left. In other words, it is easy to figure out that commands must be entered with gestures, which means nothing more than that the number and time of touches can be varied. There are basically two problems with this:

  • the sensitivity is not always adequate, and in some cases - sweaty hands - it is not even possible to enter the commands
  • the wireless headset sometimes "misunderstands" commands

For example, of the one, two and three touches, if only one is not detected by the BT headset, then it can be zero, one and two, which will activate a completely different function than what you want. This is no longer necessarily a problem because, on the one hand, the left and right sides do different things - volume up and down or scrolling right to left - and, on the other hand, smart watches are also able to control music, where there are completely clear physical buttons.

What does noise filtering come from: ANC, ENC, passive noise filtering

Az ANC az Active Noise Cancellation stands for active noise cancellation. This is nothing more than a counter-frequency – of the same amplitude but opposite phase – that cuts off the noise that typically occurs at low frequencies. Since electronics cannot 100% separate the music from the background noise, it always degrades the quality of the music to some extent, you will hear a soft, soft hum in the background, and a strange, popping sound may also occur, but the noise actually disappears. The amount of noise filtering is given in dB, and the standard deviation in its quality is extremely large. Sometimes it's just worth something, and other times it generates a particularly brutal, deaf room effect. There are also Bluetooth earphones with multi-stage noise filtering, and some models can even filter wind noise. Its prerequisite is a closed vibration chamber, so it is not usually implemented in, for example, semi-in-ear earphones (although QCY has such a model).

It is the achievement of Western brands adaptive noise filtering, Samsung, Sony and JBL also use it. The essence of this is that the algorithm filters according to changes in environmental noise, now with the help of AI. And it lets in certain sound samples on purpose, such as the siren, so you will hear when an ambulance is approaching. This is often combined with artificial intelligence or DNN, which stands for deep neural network.

A passive noise filtering it means nothing more than physical isolation from noise sources. For example, the ear piece of wireless headphones, the ear cushion of BT headphones, or even a concrete wall or an iron door can be called passive noise filtering, as it prevents the propagation of sound waves.

Az ENC az Environmental Noise Cancellation abbreviation, it is also called microphone-side noise filtering. This is also active technology, with the difference that here the external noise is recorded by the microphones and they try to filter it out so that it does not interfere with the conversation. It can be integrated into all types of Bluetooth headphones.

Will sweat eat BT earphones?

Unlike Bluetooth speakers, this is a very important feature for Bluetooth earphones, and the level of protection usually follows from the design. This is also indicated by the IP protection rating, which usually consists of two numbers, roughly something like this: IP67.

The IP standard shows the protection against environmental influences of the enclosure that protects the circuits of technical equipment, based on two classification lists. The first applies to solids and the second to liquids. That is, for IP67, this means that:

  • 6: fully protected against dust
  • 7: protected against immersion in water for a limited time (15-60 centimeters for 30 minutes)

Sometimes there is an "X" instead of one of the numbers, e.g. IP6X, in which case the product is only protected against dust, not liquids. In most cases, wireless headphones cannot be immersed in water for an extended period of time, but they can be wet, so they are, for example, protected against being spilled, and even against dust in most cases.

This is important because they have to withstand salty sweat, which is quite a corrosive substance. We have had several Bluetooth earphones in which the contact connectors of the charging cradle have oxidized. In other words, the IP rating above applies only to the earphones, not to the charging cradle. Where there is no charging cradle, the connector can usually be sealed with a silicone cover plate, by definition the IP standard is also given for the closed state.

Good advice: don't put the earphones back in the charging cradle when you're sweaty, but either wipe them dry or let them dry, otherwise the contacts may be damaged.

What is TWS technology?

A TWS stands for True Wireless Stereo, which is nothing but stereo sound on a wireless basis. Today, it can be considered basic for Bluetooth earphones, at least in the case of in-ear and semi-in-ear types.

As I wrote before, in the past all earphones were connected by a cable, these were the wired solutions. Later, there was only a physical connection between the left and right sides, the BT module placed on the cable managed the data transfer. The main problem with these Bluetooth earphones was that they had a relatively short operating time, usually 6-8 hours.

That is why they invented the charging cradle solution, where the left and right sides are a separate unit, each containing a mini battery. The operating time of these is also 4-8 hours, but the charging cradle contains a larger battery, which provides an additional 20-40 hours of operating time. The whole thing is not very big, so it can be put in your pocket relatively easily. However, the problem with this BT earphone design is that you have to somehow synchronize the sound between the sides, since there is no physical connection between them. This is what TWS was invented for, where the two earphone sides are connected and synchronize the sound between them, at the same time separating the left and right sound channels, creating a stereo sound effect.

Bluetooth headset software features

Unlike Bluetooth speakers, software integration is now a must-have feature for Bluetooth headphones. Simply because you can only put a touch interface on the tiny surface, so you have to learn all kinds of gestures, which on the one hand are difficult to remember, and on the other hand, you wouldn't be able to set them without an app. There are also many situations where the touchpad of the BT headphones cannot be used for some reason, for example, the ends of your fingers are sweaty or you are wearing gloves, the application helps in these cases as well.

Therefore, we recommend that you only buy headphones that can connect to the factory application. The exception is if a "dumb BT headset" is for some reason extremely cheap, then buy it, but calculate that its control will remain fixed. In the following, I will use the terminology of 1More, some manufacturers may differ from this, because everyone likes to name their own functions differently.

Change control

One of the most important functions of wireless headphones is that you can adjust the control. In the vast majority of cases, this can be done from the app. Often, for some reason, the volume control is not paired with one of the gestures by default, but with the voice assistant, for example. We almost always change these to the commands for volume, scrolling between tracks, switching on noise filtering and stop and start.

Normal, ANC, transparent mode, wind noise filtering

All Bluetooth earphones have a default state, when the sound is not interfered with by the modifying functions. You can change this with upholstery or from the application. ANC is nothing more than noise filtering, transparent mode - not all manufacturers call it that, there are ambient or pass-through - and the opposite, in which case the Bluetooth earphones mix external noises into the music with the help of microphones. It comes in particularly handy for outdoor sports or transport.

Some models can only cut wind noise, which is a kind of special ANC. When running and cycling, the problem with ANC is that it picks up background noise, but not the wind noise that occurs at the edges of the earpiece. This function is good for that.

Spatial audio and head tracking

Surround sound is nothing more than a 3D sound that is generated so that the listener feels that sound waves are flowing towards him from all directions. This is a kind of home cinema sound, the basic logic of which is that the listener sits in the center of the space, and the sound sources are scattered around him in a 360-degree space. Thus, the sounds are much more spacious than without it, and the overall effect is also more pleasant.

Head rotation tracking, or dynamic headtracking in English, is a service in which the 3D sound is generated by calculating the movement of the head and the position of the ear. How does the Bluetooth headset know which way you turn your head? From the fact that they pack the headphones with sensors - gyroscopes and accelerometers - and calculate the head movement from their state changes. The bottom line is that the sound feels much more realistic, as if the sound sources are moving with you. It is almost always implemented with surround sound.

BT encoding conversion

One of the most important options. The more serious manufacturers – 1More, Anker Soundcore, Edifier, etc. – they are able to transmit sound with aptX or LDAC encoding, which enables much better sound quality than traditional SBC or AAC. Some manufacturers - Sony, Huawei, Samsung - use self-made, so-called also "proprietary" encodings, which are protected by a trademark, so you can only find them in the products of the given company. Although Android also allows encodings to be set, according to our experience, this does not really work, in contrast to the manufacturer's apps. It's a shame that Spotify doesn't support this, so even if you switch there, SBC/AAC will remain.

Smart playback

This is what 1More calls the proximity sensor-based music stop and start. For this, you need a proximity sensor, which is built into the body of the earphone and monitors the change in the distance measured from the skin surface. If it moves away from your ears, it stops the music, and if you put it back in the ear canal, it starts it up. You can parameterize its operation and sensitivity from the app, but based on our experience, it is not really reliable.

Smart Loudness

A volume compensation function that evens out distortions at higher volumes.

Tap-to-talk

Anker Soundcore calls the function this, while Sony calls it Quick Attention. The point is that the music fades out when the headphones are touched. This comes in handy when you don't want to take the device out of your ears, but you see someone talking to you, such as buying a ticket for a vehicle.

Equalizer

The equalizer is nothing more than the ability to adjust the sound image. Countless profiles can be mixed, lows or highs highlighted, but most applications await you with a range of predefined options.

OTA software update

OTA is an over-the-air software update option. While writing the test, we updated our 1More Evo Bluetooth earphones for the sake of the test and added new functions to the application. Among other things, the OTA update is suitable for these, but manufacturers also tend to fix errors.

Soothing Sounds

Also known as a sleep aid function. This is typically a pre-recorded loop of repeating natural sounds - storm, raindrops, sea waves, birds chirping, etc. means We've tried it several times, it really helps you fall asleep, the disadvantage compared to other devices is that most wireless headphones are too big to sleep comfortably in. Fortunately, there are tools designed for this purpose, but for example the 1More Comfobuds Mini is also suitable for it, due to its small size.

Bluetooth earphones as exercise support devices

Health awareness is gaining more and more space in our lives, so manufacturers are coming up with different activity meters and smart watches, but today you can also hang a mountain of sensors - heart rate chest strap, pedal sensors, speedometers, locators, wattmeters - on yourself during training.

A couple of years ago, the Amazfit watch manufacturer figured out what it would be like to measure the heart rate with a PPG sensor in the ear canal, and this is how the Amazfit Powerbuds Bluetooth earphones. It doesn't do anything other than what your smart watch does: it measures your heart rate with the help of hairs in the ear canal. The disadvantage is that to track the data collected by the wireless earphones, you will need a display, for which a compatible sports watch is best suited.

Operating time of Bluetooth earphones

The operating time of Bluetooth headphones consists of several things. By default, this is given by the manufacturer in an interval, which depends on many things, but mostly on the volume. As we wrote in the case of Bluetooth speakers, these values ​​are given with 50% volume and additional functions turned off. Although there is no electron-sucking LED in the case of wireless headphones, there is noise filtering instead, which reduces the operating time by roughly 25%. The same is true for transparent mode and all kinds of filters, such as wind noise. Basically, it is enough to read the data given in the manufacturer's specification, you can see here how much it is.

If we are talking about modern, wireless, TWS-capable charging cradle solutions, then there is not one battery in the set, but three. There are two of the same size in the earcups and a much larger one in the charging cradle. These data are usually provided separately - e.g. 4-6 hours for the earbuds and +20 hours for the charging cradle - or they simply describe the maximum.

Our own experience is that the battery in the two earphones can degrade in different ways. The two sides of our two-year-old Bluetooth headphones no longer have the same operating time, but this required around 1000 recharges - roughly 3 years.

It is also important to know how quickly a wireless earphone can be recharged. This value is usually a few hours, but some models are capable of fast charging, which allows you to push 5-10 hours of operating time into the batteries in 2-3 minutes.


On what basis should you choose Bluetooth earphones?

If there is a place where you have to choose a device based on personal preference, even within its own category, it is Bluetooth headphones. Some models are regularly hated by certain groups, while others adore them. Remember, sound and comfort are very subjective, so you have to think not only in terms of price range, target task and the like. Nevertheless, we try to give you some clues:

  • Design, comfort: let's start with this because it's the most important. Some people like in-ear headphones, some don't. Our editors do not agree on this issue either, it is decided on the basis of a completely individual preference. If it bothers you, choose a half-in-ear or bone-vibration design.
  • Price range: the second most important aspect. You usually pay more for extra features and better sound quality. Of course, the brand name also costs thousands, but fortunately, the Chinese do not yet price this much into their products, unlike Western companies. What we are happy to pay for: longer operating time, ANC, better sound quality, a good app in which you can configure the control. Why not: proximity sensor, extra earpieces, voice assistant, bone vibration technology, but of course these are just our needs, the opposite may be the deciding factor for you.
  • Aesthetics and size: since you wear the Bluetooth earphones in your ears, it is not unimportant what material it is made of and how it looks. The bigger it is, the weirder it is, and in some cases - for example, if you want to lie on it or hide it under a hat - they can be uncomfortable.
  • Running Time: one of the most important aspects. Solutions with charging cradles last much longer, but we would basically buy one that also has fast charging (it is true that this erodes the batteries more)
  • sounding: for popular music, it doesn't matter which type you choose. However, if you want outstanding sound quality, you should buy hybrid or BA headphones. These are quite rare - and especially expensive - in charging cradle design, so the audio encoding and quality music source will be the deciding factor here. If possible, prefer aptX and LDAC.
  • IP standard: sweat or liquids mean the end of many BT earphones. The higher the better principle should be followed here. For average daily use, any wireless earphone from IPX4 and above will do.
  • Activity: it is very important what kind of activity you want to wear your Bluetooth earphones with. For sports - where you are constantly sweating - you need completely different stuff than for your daily commute or listening to music in your room. Listening to music in a noisy environment is quite typical, we definitely recommend something more muscular noise filtering here.
  • Additional functions: we don't know what is important to you, but the ANC, ENC and the like usually push a lot. It is worth scrolling through the product page.

Obviously, we cannot list everything, it may just be that what is important to you is different from what is important to us in relation to a BT headset. The Danube can be blocked with bluetooth devices, we also have 3-4 devices per person. Fortunately, the market already gives you the opportunity to cover each task with different devices, so it's worth getting several BT earphones, now you don't have to pay tens of thousands for such gadgets.


Tips and tricks for choosing Bluetooth headphones in 2025

Let's skip the usual slogans that are listed in most top 10 Bluetooth earphone selections and see what our real experiences are. We don't sell sack cats: wired earphones can certainly perish. How long it takes depends primarily on how much you use. We have a colleague in the editorial office who listens to music for 10-14 hours a day, he has about ten different noise-making devices, he buys 1-2 items a year. Someone pushes it more solidly and settles for 1-2 hours and gets away with a single wireless earbud for years, but also someone who runs several hours a week in them. So our experiences are completely different, but one thing is certain: expensive headphones can be ruined just like cheap ones. Drops and sweat are the two biggest enemies, if you don't count getting lost.

First rule of thumb: we take a target tool for a target task. All-round solutions are bad. You don't expect any car to drive like a Porsche 911, to fit 7 people in it, and to carry 2 tons of pig manure on its flatbed. The same is true for Bluetooth headphones.

  • Daily use: you need something that charges quickly, because transferring between two vehicles takes a few hours of operating time. Public transport is noisy so know some ANC.
  • General sport: sport involves movement and sweating. High IP standard and good maintenance are the most important.
  • Endurance sports: these usually last a very long time - 8-10 hours of hiking or a couple of hours of running - so everything we wrote about general sports is also true here, plus comfort and long operating time are also important. Don't forget, ANC eats up the operating time!
  • Noisy environment: noise filtering is the top priority for such wireless earphones.
  • Travel, flight: noise filtering, comfort, these are the most important. Here, you're better off with a Bluetooth headset than a Bluetooth headset, because it fits in your pocket, at most it will be unpacked at check-in at the airport, but that's all. On very long intercontinental flights, however, it is better to bring headphones.
  • To work: the work takes a long time and you basically have to concentrate during it. The Bluetooth earphones intended for such use should be comfortable and have the same sound image as the music you listen to while working. Some people listen to soothing ambient music, some people like pounding dubstep, you have to adapt to that.
  • For a headset: a good microphone and ENC - microphone-side noise filtering - should be important. It doesn't matter if the control is sensible and the device is easy to pick up and put down.

For sleeping people usually use special headphones that help them sleep. The common characteristic of these is that they are small, comfortable, and basically they are not designed for sound quality, but for playing all kinds of soothing sounds.

Sound quality is a very interesting thing, and here, too, individual preferences decide. The most chiseled sound image is provided by vibrating armature solutions, but these take up a lot of space, so most of these are either wired earphones or, if wireless, are still quite large. These are for listening to music, not for sports, so they perform well while sitting, walking or traveling. ANC ALWAYS reduces the sound quality, because it cuts off not only the noise, but also a part of the music, so daily solutions are always compromises. There is nothing new under the sun, you have to pay a lot for high sound quality. If sound quality is important, then the best value for money devices are manufactured by the KZ brand, how they look and how comfortable they are is another question.

Where the control can be adjusted, we always adjust it. For some reason, the manufacturers force the voice assistant, which is not good for anything in many cases, in contrast, the volume is not subject to gesture control, even though this would be the basis. Starting/stopping works on a sensor basis in many cases, so you don't really need to use a gesture for this either. What is important: volume, scrolling through numbers and noise filtering, picking up and hanging up the phone, we used to reorganize the functions for these.

You often ask are the JBL earphone variants good?, and the answer is that again. A big brand, pays attention to details, and in return prices its products higher. In light of this, buy such - and other Western - products. The same is also true for Apple AirPods products or Samsung Bluetooth earphones, these companies simply cannot afford very poor quality (except for emergency solutions packaged with some mobile phones).

In the case of Xiaomi, the situation is a little different, because today "everything is Xiaomi", even what is not. In the case of basic products, it is included the name Xiaomi or Redmi in the product name, or the company lists the product on the Mi.com website. These are the official Xiaomi Bluetooth earphones. There are companies closely associated with Xiaomi such as 1More, who tuned the company's headphones in the past, they have their own recording studio, a particularly serious band. There are more loosely connected companies, such as Haylou, which in principle is either Xiaomi or not, and there is, for example, QCY, which used to be part of the Xiaomi Youpin web store, but they do not have a close connection to the material company. So be careful when you read Xiaomi [BRAND NAME], because it is not at all certain that it will be a product manufactured by Xiaomi.

Of course, everyone drives for sales, which are sometimes also provided by stores such as Spar, where there was a JBL sale. Typically, in this case, you have to collect points, for which you get a discount. It is worth treating all of these with reservations and comparing the prices with those of other webshops, because you can often get a good deal from such promotions, but sometimes not. But for this comparison, for example, it is excellent Product searcher.

If it's not the brand that matters, but the price/value ratio, then an Aliexpress order should be the end of the matter, for that here's a pretty rough head expander. With 11.11, you can install a lot of things cheaply, we have already brought several excellent 1More/Anker/Edifier Bluetooth earphones at half price, and the older products are always discounted. The fact is that there is much less technological obsolescence in audio equipment than elsewhere, what sounds good will still sound good in 5 years, so there is no need to fear older models of Bluetooth earphones.


Pros and cons of using Bluetooth headphones

Bluetooth headphones are a special category in the sense that each type has different advantages and disadvantages due to their design, so we will now discuss them separately.

A wireless, neck strap - no charging cradle - advantages of Bluetooth earphones:

  • they have physical controls because the buttons fit on the neck strap
  • they often integrate a Type-C connector, easy charging
  • longer operating time than the berries of charging cradles (excluding charging cradle)
  • high IP protection
  • usually their microphone is closer to the mouth, better sound quality
  • there is a magnetic version of them that can be folded under the neck, so it is difficult to lose

A wireless, neck strap - no charging cradle - disadvantages of Bluetooth earphones:

  • their total operating time is shorter because the charging cradle is not added
  • they can bounce on the neck during sports
  • they are more difficult to pack than solutions with charging cradles
  • dying technology, there are fewer and fewer models on the market

All in all, collar-type, neck strap solutions have a right to exist to this day, we also use several of these types, mainly from the models of the 1More company.

A wireless, with charging cradle Advantages of Bluetooth headphones:

  • long operating time due to the charging cradle
  • most have a Type-C port and fast charging, so you can pump 5-10 hours of operating time into them in 2-3 minutes
  • easy to pack, can easily be cut into a pocket
  • fashionable shapes, many extra functions, such as the display on the cradle
  • they can be equipped with a silicone hook that clings to the earlobe or from the inside of the ear canal, making them ideal for sports

A wireless, with charging cradle Disadvantages of Bluetooth headphones:

  • the operating time of berries is usually shorter than other types of design
  • larger pieces can generate quite a lot of wind noise
  • touch only control
  • they are more difficult to pack than solutions with charging cradles

The above mostly differ in whether the wireless earphones receive a dock and whether the connection between the two sides is resolved using the TWS protocol or whether they are physically connected with a cable. Both solutions can be in-ear, semi-in-ear, open-ear or bone vibration variants, which are design differences.

Az in-ear Bluetooth headphones advantages:

  • best sound quality
  • ANC, transparent mode, wind noise filtering can be implemented
  • complete sealing, so there is passive noise filtering
  • there are also unique memory foam earplugs that take the shape of the ear canal
  • it can be made large enough to be a BA system

Az in-ear Bluetooth headphones disadvantages:

  • for many, the rubber bell penetrating the ear canal is an unpleasant feeling
  • the rubber bells need to be cleaned or replaced from time to time, and not everyone will be the same size
  • due to the highly isolated sound field, it excludes external noise, which can be dangerous when driving (but there is the transparent mode for that)

A semi-in-ear – turning from the side into the ear canal – Bluetooth headphones advantages:

  • no irritating rubber bells
  • almost all of them have a stem design, so the microphone is closer to the mouth, the quality of the conversation is better
  • there are pieces that produce particularly good sound quality, such as the AirPods series

A semi-in-ear – turning from the side into the ear canal – Bluetooth headphones disadvantages:

  • ANC is not effective, so it is not used in most cases (exception, e.g. QCY)
  • there is no sealing, because of this the noise can be heard

Az open-ear Advantages of Bluetooth headphones:

  • no irritating rubber bells

Az open-ear – turning from the side into the ear canal – Disadvantages of Bluetooth headphones:

  • everything in the semi-in-ear design
  • it is even further from the ear canal than semi-in-ear, lower volume, poorer sound quality

A bone tremor Advantages of Bluetooth headphones equipped with technology:

  • does not penetrate the ear, in principle it is more comfortable (especially for those who are bothered by it)
  • it can also be used with damaged eardrums due to the vibration-based technology
  • does not impair hearing even at high volume
  • it is easier to create protection given by a higher IP standard with it, because there is no open speaker membrane (of course there is the issue of the charging connector)
  • it can be sealed with earplugs if the first point is not important to someone
  • outside noise can be heard, which can be beneficial in some cases - for example, while running or cycling

A bone tremor Disadvantages of Bluetooth headphones equipped with technology:

  • the sound quality is poorer, the audible frequency range is narrower
  • its volume is lower
  • does not seal the ear, so the sound does not "vibrate" in a closed vibrational space
  • certain functions - e.g. ANC - impossible to implement in it
  • at close to maximum volume, unpleasant, strong vibrations can be experienced on the cartilage

As you can see, based on the above, everyone can choose the most suitable wireless earphone based on their individual preferences.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Bluetooth headset should I buy? 

There are few things where personal preference matters more than a pair of Bluetooth headphones. Primarily one that sounds comfortable and with adequate sound quality.

Which Chinese BT headset should I buy?

The Bluetooth headset market was conquered by the Chinese in the same way as the robotic vacuum cleaner, standing vacuum cleaner or projector segment. They have produced one or two quite drugstore products, but according to our experience, they still have a lot to learn in the high-end segment, for example in the area of ​​noise filtering. Despite this, they are coming up big both in the segment of wireless earphones and the same headphones. Without claiming to be exhaustive, we mention a few brands from which we were able to choose a model for ourselves.

  • Xiaomi: launches fairly high-quality products, which are usually tuned by the 1MORE company. In our opinion, the Redmi series does not need to be introduced to anyone.
  • 1More: we have a colleague who has 4 at home - Comfobuds Mini, Evo and 2 1001 BT -, they are very good at making BT earbuds, but they can be depreciated quite quickly.
  • BlitzWolf/AirAux: the latter is a sub-brand of the former, they used to launch great running stuff on the market. The two brands lag behind their competitors in terms of quality and price.
  • ear fun: a relatively new brand, but they also produce excellent headphones with a very good sound image in addition to their speakers.
  • Edifier: legendary shelf speaker manufacturer, and we really liked their NB series in TWS headphones.
  • QCY: typically the poor man's Xiaomi earphones, with a surprisingly good price/value ratio.
  • Hayle: they always advertise it as if it has something to do with Xiaomi, but it doesn't, but they actually sound pretty good, approx. the level of QCY.
  • Myth: we don't know if they have anything to do with the Mifa brand, but when we first held the O5 Professional in our hands, our jaws dropped. The company's products are characterized by excellent quality, excellent sound, and a comparatively low price.
  • Tronsmart: in our opinion, Tronsmart is more powerful in speakers, but they had a two-penny yet ridiculously good earphone like their Onyx Pure hybrid-powered TWS speaker.

Our secret tip: the 1More earphones have been the most convincing so far, but in the past there were also cheap GGMM earphones for a few thousand forints, we also recommend them if you can get into one.

Of course, there are a few million other Western brands – JBL, Sony, Samsung, Apple, Huawei, etc. - who also make excellent pieces, only much more expensive.

What are the best Bluetooth headphones?

It is an undecidable question, we can also say that it is possible to decide what is best for you based on individual preference. So that you don't have to read on without a real answer, the members of the editorial team use these Chinese Bluetooth earphones:

Don Kartács

  • TWS with charging cradle: 1More Evo, 1More Comfobuds Mini
  • Collar type: 1More Triple Driver 1001 BT
  • Wired, smartened up to wireless: KZ AS12

Atika

  • TWS with charging cradle: 1More Aero

Your ham

  • TWS with charging cradle: GGMM W600

These worked for us, but obviously in 2025 it is not certain that we would buy these for ourselves (but the one that was discounted to scrap).

What are the best cheap Bluetooth earphones?

Let's first define what we consider cheap. Nowadays you can get BT earphones for less than 15 USD, they are typically basic TWS earphones that can pretty much do nothing but play music. ANC-capable headphones start at around USD 25, while high-quality, long-lasting, app-programmable pieces can be taken home for around USD 50-100. Above USD 100, there are milled aluminum miracle pieces, which are bought by significantly fewer people. In comparison, Western brands easily ask for 150-300 USD for a top earphone.

Secret tip: If you only need an earful and you searched in the first category, then we say the currently cheapest model of Xiaomi Redmi as a secret tip.

What is a mini Bluetooth earphone?

There are extremely small earphones that fit under helmets, but you can also sleep with them. They do not hang out of the plane of the ear canal and do not press on the ear, such as the 1More Comfobuds Mini.

Are Bluetooth headphones compatible with all phones?

Basically yes. All smartphones that support the Bluetooth standard - today it is 100% - can communicate with such devices. In the case of dumb phones, however, there may be problems, although this is not the only problem here, for example, you cannot stream music from them, there are no installable applications, and the list goes on. However, devices with Android and iOS operating systems do not have such problems today.

What accessories can be bought for BT earphones?

An industry has developed for this as well, since more serious headphones can cost up to USD 200 or more. It makes sense to protect your charging cradle with a silicone case, but sometimes rubber bells need to be replaced, for which there are also memory foam solutions. There are also wrist straps that can be hung on the housing of the earphones, but I have also seen a factory carrying case for such a thing.

Is it possible to play sports in Bluetooth headphones?

In principle, it is possible, but the individual activities must be separated. Those suitable for running have a collar design, and for swimming you can get special devices with the IP67 standard. However, sweat can damage all of them in the long run. From this point of view, solutions with charging cradles are worse, because if you put the berries in the container wet, the charging connectors may oxidize and then the device will not charge (my own experience, which happened with one of our AirAux earphones).

Our experience is that for sports it is worth buying a separate Bluetooth headset, especially one that is recommended for this kind of thing (although, nowadays almost all of them have running in their press materials).

Are the multi-year models worth buying?

Yes, and no. The sound characteristic does not depend on the number of years in the case of an instrument or a music player. Rather, technical achievements are what make older devices obsolete. In the case of a speaker, this applies much less than in the case of a Bluetooth headset. There is, for example, the difference between the main version 4 and 5 of the BT standard: the former has a shorter range, consumes more and is more difficult to carry objects obstructing the signal, i.e. the transmission is more choppy.

Then there are the newer applications that didn't even exist a few years ago, even though you can set up a lot of useful things in them. Nevertheless, nowadays, buying a pair of Bluetooth earphones that are considered modern at the time for half the price is considered a particularly good deal.

Can Bluetooth headphones connect to multiple devices at the same time? Are they really treated well?

There are so-called multipoint Bluetooth devices, these can be found more often among Bluetooth headphones, but more recently earphones also get this function. Your device chooses which one works well, we have experience with the Anker Soundcore Q series and the 1More Sonoflow. They switch nicely between Windows and Android systems, but there are so many device and operating system combinations – iOS, Android, Windows, Linux distributions, Mac and their various versions, etc. - that it is almost impossible to test them all.

Are physical buttons or the touchpad the better choice?

Basically, physical buttons are easier and more reliable to press than touchpad gesture controls. The situation is similar to modern cars: it's quite a drag if the climate control doesn't have buttons, instead you have to fiddle with the controls on the fly from the bottom of the 8th submenu. However, in the case of BT headphones, this is not a fashion, but a necessity, the tiny surface no longer fits the physical buttons, as in the past. They continue to sell physical button solutions, such as neckband, non-TWS earphones.

How shockproof are wireless earbuds?

The ones with a plastic housing are moderately so, the lighter a BT headset, the more so. We've dropped them many times and 99% of the time they've been fine, apart from a few surface scratches. However, one of our QCY earphones cracked on the cobblestones, although it remained functional. Metal and ceramic coated materials are much more protected against scratches due to their hardness.

Due to their greater mass, charging cradles are less able to withstand this type of impact, and the closing mechanism can break on impact.

How long do Bluetooth headphones last?

Manufacturers usually give several values. In the case of BT earphones with a charging cradle design, you can see two types of operating time in the description: one is the berries themselves, the other is the operating time provided by the battery in the charging cradle. In this case, the two must be added together.

How long does it take for the batteries of BT headphones to fail?

This is quite dependent on use, because the devices themselves usually break down by then. The life cycle of batteries is usually given in terms of the number of recharges, here you have to think of the order of several hundred. If we start from the assumption that you only charge the batteries every second day, you can count on 180 charges in a year, so the batteries will last for at least 3-4 years. However, practice shows that we have a colleague who charges 1-2 times a day, but his devices still work, so in reality you can count on a higher number of cycles - i.e. recharging. Apps could count the number of reloads, but so far we have not seen such a solution.

What is a charging cradle?

For newer TWS-capable wireless earbuds, the berries need to be placed in a cradle that can charge both sides of the earbud. These are small holders with a battery and a status indicator, which can usually be charged via a Type-C connector.

What is the ANC?

ANC stands for Active Noise Cancellation, also known as active noise filtering, which reduces the effect of environmental noises on music, but in return worsens the sound quality.

What is aptX? Which is the best audio encoding?

aptX is a development of the Qualcomm company and basically results in a higher transmission - and thus a better sound quality - compared to the usual SBC/AAC encodings. There is an adaptive mode, which changes the bandwidth, and an LL variant, which has low latency. There is no such thing as the best audio encoding, LDAC provides the highest bandwidth.

What is the range of a Bluetooth headset?

This is primarily determined by the major version of the Bluetooth standard. BT 4.0 knew roughly 10-15 meters, starting with BT 5.0 it is more like 15-30 meters in an open area, where the signal is not broken. Starting with BT 5, the stability of the signal is also better, which you can test by standing behind a wall and seeing if the signal breaks or if the sound transmission becomes fragmented.

My own experience is that BT 4.0 was still quite easy to confuse, a human body standing in front of you is enough, and the signal can break. Moreover, even abdominal exercises can disturb it, since swinging the upper body and covering the hands also hinder the spread of the signal.

Does the headset make sense?

A headset, also known as a speakerphone, is a pair of earphones that have one or more microphones installed and are basically designed for telephone conversations. These sometimes work well, especially in a car where there is constant background noise, but sound quality problems can arise when driving around the city. Those capable of noise filtering on the microphone side - ENC - produce better sound quality.

What is a gamer Bluetooth headset?

What could be better with gamer phones than a gamer headset? One of the most important parameters for players is delay, so such BT earphones are equipped with a low delay mode, which typically means a value below 100 ms.

What is the IP standard for Bluetooth headsets?

The IP standard shows the resistance of electrical equipment against dust and liquids. The higher the number behind the IP marking, the more resistant the equipment is. For example, IP67 means dust and water resistance, the product can be immersed in a small amount of water for 30 minutes. This is important for BT earphones because, for example, sweat can penetrate the cover or attack the connectors. You can swim in some earphones, they are typically certified IPX7 or higher.

What is the sleep aid function?

Some BT earphones can also be controlled via an application, which may contain sounds that help you sleep. Playing them can make life easier for those who have trouble sleeping and help them fall asleep. However, these are not medical diagnostic tools, so the source of sleep problems - e.g. apnea - they cannot eliminate it. In this case, always consult a doctor!

Is it possible to listen to the radio from Bluetooth headphones?

Yes, it can, but actually the sound of the application running on the phone is output to the earphones.

What is EQ?

EQ is the abbreviation of equalizer, which means tone adjuster in Hungarian. These are usually predefined profiles, which can be used to change the tones, for example to emphasize the bass or vocals. In the case of most earphones, these can be adjusted from the app, but it is fashionable to entrust the tuning to a sound engineer who also has his own profile running under his name.

What is latency? Why does the sound slide during movies?

The delay tells you when the sound played by the sound source arrives at the speaker membrane and from there to your ears. This delay occurs primarily because the BT standard cannot encode and decode sounds in zero time. Its unit of measurement is the millisecond, that is, the fraction of a second that passes before you hear the sound. To put it a bit loosely, we consider the cable connection to have zero delay - not zero, but not perceptible -, in comparison, Bluetooth is delayed a lot. What do we consider good? Most users don't notice the delay below 100 ms.

The high delay can be annoying for two uses: watching movies and playing games, because in this case the sound slips. Therefore, if you are looking for a tool for one of the two activities, take this into account. When wired via a jack connector, the delay will be practically zero, which is why some manufacturers still use this input, and that's why there are headphones - e.g. the KZ models - which have a detachable connector on the berries and a cable or BT module that can be placed here.

If you couldn't find one of your questions in the FAQ, or if we didn't have a clear answer, then contact us at one of our contact numbers listed on the page or on Facebook. To the best of our knowledge, we try to answer all questions about Bluetooth headphones!



ad