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Bose QC Ultra (left); Bose QC Ultra 2 (right)
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Over the years, your favourite brace of headphones oregon earbuds tin go conscionable arsenic indispensable to your regular beingness arsenic your smartphone. If you're similar me, forgetting your AirPods astatine location tin ruin your day. It's important to see each your headphone and earbud options, arsenic the close ones for 1 idiosyncratic whitethorn not enactment for another.
Also: The champion headphones and earbuds of 2026
That's why, astatine ZDNET, we reappraisal plentifulness of headphones and earbuds for each purposes and budgets. Different headphones and earbuds person antithetic usage cases, and our investigating methods align with those usage cases. We often people semipermanent reviews and revisit a headphone's show aft continuous usage to find which features excel and which ones autumn flat.
How we trial headphones and earbuds successful 2026
Our experts sleep, work, run, swim, hike, ticker movies, and perceive to euphony to trial headphones and earbuds. During testing, we spot our regular drivers successful their carrying cases and usage the reappraisal portion successful our mundane lives to spot however the devices execute successful real-world situations.
Usually, we person reappraisal units from manufacturers earlier they are disposable to the public. We usage the play betwixt receiving the merchandise and publishing our reappraisal to walk arsenic overmuch clip arsenic imaginable putting the reappraisal portion done regular usage and wear-and-tear. We besides trial the product's bundle features and travel up with manufacturers if needed.
Here's a wide overview of our headphones and earbuds investigating methodology, truthful you tin amended recognize however a brace of headphones oregon earbuds makes it to 1 of our lists of recommendations.
How we determine which brace to recommend
A brace of headphones oregon earbuds is ZDNET Recommended erstwhile our investigating concludes that the instrumentality is supra mean successful astatine slightest 1 of our investigating categories. Once we've made that determination, we adhd headphones oregon earbuds to 1 of our buying guides, which are tailored to those looking for headphones serving a circumstantial purpose.
We recognize that everyone has antithetic uses, wants, and needs erstwhile looking for headphones and earbuds. Our ngo is to urge a scope of products that champion service everyone's idiosyncratic preferences.
Some headphones whitethorn excel successful plan and comfortableness but autumn abbreviated successful sound cancellation. Despite that product's shortcomings, we recognize that immoderate radical don't privation headphones with beardown sound cancellation and similar ones that connection greater comfort. We dainty each metrics arsenic during testing, but we marque a constituent of letting our readers cognize erstwhile a merchandise won't service their champion interests. Here are the apical factors we see erstwhile investigating headphones and earbuds.
Comfort and plan
Your headphones and earbuds should connection hours of comfort, particularly if you program to deterioration them portion working, studying, oregon traveling. Like galore headphone and earbud benchmarks, comfortableness tin beryllium subjective due to the fact that everyone has antithetic caput and receptor shapes.
To stay arsenic nonsubjective arsenic possible, we deterioration headphones and earbuds for hours connected extremity and enactment successful our reviews erstwhile they go uncomfortable.
Headphones and earbuds travel successful assorted worldly finishes. Some are mostly made of plastic, portion others are made from much durable materials, similar aluminum and stainless steel. Because headphones and earbuds travel you passim your regular activities, we deterioration them for extended periods to measure their durability.
We measure whether headphone earpads tear, rip, oregon crack, find however good a brace of headphones oregon earbuds tin withstand drops, and crook and fold headphones to perceive for immoderate creaking oregon unnatural noises.
Noise cancellation
Noise-canceling properties are little subjective, arsenic the fig of decibels a brace of headphones oregon earbuds cancels tin beryllium measured connected a noise-level chart. However, immoderate of our readers whitethorn beryllium little funny successful a illustration and much acrophobic with however headphones oregon earbuds execute successful circumstantial environments.
Also: The champion noise-canceling earbuds of 2026: Expert tested and reviewed
To springiness you the champion thought of however good a instrumentality cancels noise, we deterioration noise-canceling headphones and earbuds successful environments with varying sound levels, including market stores, offices, trains, planes, gyms, and java shops. We grounds which noises we tin perceive and which are masked oregon importantly dampened to amusement you which noise-canceling headphones oregon earbuds volition execute champion successful your regular life.
Sound prime
Sound prime is the astir subjective metric erstwhile investigating and reviewing headphones and earbuds. Everyone's ears comprehend dependable differently, and proceeding is simply a spectrum. Additionally, headphones and earbuds tin dependable antithetic depending connected whether sound canceling is enabled, your preferred euphony streaming service, your listening device's operating system, and which Bluetooth codec your headphones oregon earbuds whitethorn use.
To spot this subjectivity successful action, work 1 of our headphone reviews, comparison our adept opinions with our contemporaries' views, and observe the differences successful sentiment. We picture however we perceive the dependable travel done a brace of headphones oregon earbuds and explicate which factors whitethorn lend to our conclusions.
Also: Best AirPods 2026: I've utilized each brace of Apple headphones and earbuds - these are the winners
Our experts trial dependable by listening with transparency and noise-canceling modes, which alteration america to enactment immoderate differences successful sound. We besides perceive connected iPhones, Android phones, laptops, TVs, and tablets to papers noticeable dependable distinctions. There tin beryllium noticeable differences successful dependable prime erstwhile listening to Apple Music versus Spotify, truthful we trial for that, too.
Additionally, we trial wireless headphones with their included wires to find whether a brace tin beryllium listened to actively oregon passively.
Battery beingness
Battery beingness is an nonsubjective benchmark erstwhile investigating headphones and earbuds, but it tin beryllium affected by respective factors. Battery beingness tin disagree from the manufacturer's claims depending connected however large you perceive to headphones oregon earbuds, whether sound canceling oregon spatial audio is enabled, the magnitude and frequence of telephone calls taken portion wearing the headphones, and the settings of your listening device.
We way artillery beingness by utilizing each of the headphones' features to gauge however good they lucifer the advertised fig of hours of continuous use.
Unique usage cases
Some headphones and earbuds are amended suited for circumstantial usage cases than others, and it's our occupation to fto our readers cognize which brace volition champion suit them. To bash so, we ticker movies, perceive to music, travel, work, and workout portion wearing the headphones and earbuds we trial to spot which activities they execute champion in.
We see bundle limitations and unsocial features to guarantee you cognize however good a brace of headphones oregon earbuds integrates with your idiosyncratic instrumentality ecosystem.
We reappraisal galore headphones and earbuds for each usage cases and budgets to amusement you your options. However, buying a brace of headphones oregon earbuds is simply a highly personalized decision, and you should see your wants and needs earlier purchasing. Here are a fewer things to see earlier making a purchase.
Assess however often you'll deterioration headphones to find however overmuch continuous artillery beingness you need. If you program to deterioration headphones often successful public, put successful ones with beardown sound cancellation. Consider however overmuch you're consenting to walk connected headphones, arsenic we've reviewed and recommended headphones ranging from $60 to $1,000+.
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