How to Choose Earbuds
We strive to create the world's most honest, thorough, and helpful product reviews. We take our work very seriously, assembling expert teams composed of sound specialists to construct and implement rigorous testing protocols. To that end, we recruited a panel of audio experts to listen to each earbud in the test for days using a carefully curated playlist to cover a wide range of genres and tastes and ranked them, as seen in the chart below.
Along the way, we analyzed each earbud's soundscape in myriad situations and evaluated every function and feature to find the right earbuds for you.
We also built a state-of-the-art audio test studio, complete with a Brüel & Kjaer Type 5128 Head Simulator and cohort software, SoundCheck. Combining the real-world experience of our human testers with Darwin's objective analytics gives us the information we need to reach our ultimate goal — to help you find the best earbuds for your needs and budget.
If you're not sure what your needs are, you've come to the right place. We'll walk you through some of the most important questions to ask yourself before you decide which pair of buds is just right for you.
What's Your Budget?
Whenever you're making a new purchase, you'll need to decide how much you can afford to spend and what features you want. That said, we've tested a wide range of earbuds, and we have to say, you can get excellent sound quality at even the lowest price points. There are tradeoffs, though.
We'll walk through those tradeoffs below. We're just trying to get your gears spinning here because, after you nail down your price point, you'll need to decide which features you want to prioritize.
What Are Your Priorities?
You can get excellent sounding earbuds at wildly affordable prices, but they're likely to have wires. If you want wireless options, you may have to pay more than you'd like, even if they don't sound that great. Or, you may be able to find affordable wire-free earbuds that sound great but only offer subpar noise cancellation.
To keep your head from spinning off, consider writing down which features you really need, which you merely want, and how much you can reasonably spend. Keeping those elements in mind will make the shopping process feel more effortless.
Your priorities could be any of the following:- Price
- Sound quality
- Comfort and fit
- In-ear security and ruggedness for active use
- Battery life
- Active noise cancellation (ANC)
- Call quality
- Earbud location tracking
If you're not sure yet, keep reading, and we'll help you sort it out.
Where Will You Use Them?
One of the most important drivers of all of these decisions is where you plan to use your earbuds. Here's a quick rundown of possible answers paired with related concerns. This should get the wheels spinning.
In the Office: Offices are loud, and we find ourselves using the active noise cancelling (ANC) feature often to help improve our focus. We want a comfortable option if we're wearing it for hours at a time, but they don't need to be that secure if you're just sitting at the desk all day.
While Traveling: We also love solid ANC on buses and planes. It can do wonders to reduce our anxiety in small, loud spaces. It's also important to consider comfort, security, and solid battery life when you're on the go.
On Your Commute: In contrast to a plane ride, a commute might mean crossing busy streets, riding the subway, or biking near traffic. When you need to be alert, you want earbuds that have a solid transparency mode, which will allow sounds to get past the physical barrier of the buds themselves.
Exercising: If you're going to work up a sweat, you need secure earbuds with a water resistance rating of at least IPX4.
Relaxing: If you're just there to focus on the music, movie, or podcast without involving your housemates, excellent sound quality is probably your top concern. Solid ANC and a comfortable fit will only help your relaxation levels.
House Projects: Wires may get in the way whether you're working on a DIY project or putting away the laundry. We like ANC for chores like vacuuming and mowing the lawn, though housemates can scare the tar out of you when they come around a corner.
Are You Ready to Ditch the Wires?
While few of us want to voluntarily invite more wires and cords in our lives, wired earbuds offer some significant advantages over their more convenient counterparts.
First off, you don't have to charge wired earbuds, ever. That means you never run out of juice in the middle of a six-hour flight and have to strategize how to handle yourself between recharges. That also means that they don't have an internal battery that will eventually die.
You can blast your music without weighing how quickly you're willing to kill your battery. Their audio quality is also more reliable and consistent since you don't have to worry about lag rates associated with Bluetooth communication. Wired earbuds are also far less expensive than their wireless counterparts.
That means wireless earbuds are more expensive, won't last as long, require frequent recharges, and can suffer sound quality issues related to lagging data transfer rates. They sure are convenient though, and it's much easier to move through the world when you aren't physically tethered to your devices.
What's Your Sound Preference?
There is a lot of science and theory that goes into how companies mix the bass, mid, and treble frequencies in a pair of earbuds to make them sound best for most people. Their unique profile can be charted in a frequency response curve, and we have an idea of what the ideal curve looks like for most models.
In the chart below, you can see our GearLab House Curve compared to the frequency response of other earbuds we tested.
If you like to have more control over your listening experience, you'll want to choose earbuds that offer manual EQ, or equalization, adjustments. That way you can have some control over the sound profile.
Many of the earbuds we tested excel in one or two frequencies but aren't as strong in another. Here's a general guide to help you optimize your earbuds based on your favorite genres.
Bass Frequencies: Electronic dance music, hip hop, dub, and reggae often incorporate a strong bass line. If any of these genres are your jam, be sure to choose earbuds with power in those registers.
Middle Frequencies: If your favorite genres are rock, pop, R&B, soul, country, or folk, you'll want rich, warm, and clear mid tones.
Treble Frequencies: Classical, jazz, metal, pop, and electronic music all rely on clear, brilliant high notes to reach emotive heights.
Audio Compression
There are sound profile preferences, and then there's just plain old sound quality. If you're using wired earbuds, the audio files are communicated along the wires, which is a relatively straightforward process when you compare it to wireless transmission.
Bluetooth communication employs programs, known as codecs, to compress, transmit, and then unscramble data sent from one device to another, like your phone and earbuds. The process usually results in some level of reduction in sound quality, causing distortion, artifacts, or added noise. But tech advancements mean they're getting better than ever and may be poised for a breakthrough.
There are an increasing array of codecs employed in today's earbuds. You can think of each one as a unique language. Every earbud speaks its own codec fluently, like a native tongue. It also understands a variety of others, but, like a second language, the conversation won't be seamless. Here's a rundown of the codecs you're likely to run into:
SBC: The low complexity subband codec is perhaps the most common. It's supported by most devices but delivers the lowest audio quality and is the lowest common denominator.
AAC (advanced audio codec): A step up from SBC, it's often used in iOS systems.
aptX: Higher quality than SBC with less transfer lag, it's often used in Android devices.
aptX LL: aptX Low Latency reduces the delay between visuals and audio when you're watching a video.
aptX HD: A step up from aptX, the HD stands for high definition and is more effective when transferring high-resolution files.
aptX Adaptive: This codec adjusts audio quality between aptX and aptX HD depending on the quality file and the wireless connection.
LDAC: This codec has a variable bitrate that can offer better sound quality options like SBC and aptX if your phone is set up to take advantage of it. It's often used in Sony and some Android devices.
Samsung Scalable: Released with the Samsung Galaxy Buds, it works to smooth the auditory experience and the connection by constantly adjusting streaming rates.
LHDC: The Low-Latency and High-Definition Codec will transfer more data than SBC.
LLAC: The Low-Latency and Audio Codec has low latency transfer rates that are optimized for gamers.
Bluetooth LC3: A more recent addition that supports higher-quality audio than the SBC default.
Do You Need Top Notch Tech?
Technologies like active noise cancellation and spatial audio scapes that respond to your head movements are great, but do you need them?
Active Noise Cancellation
We love noise cancelling earpieces to help us focus at the office and calm down in chaotic airports and droning planes. But, it's not awesome to have the noise canceling function turned on while commuting or working out.
Earbuds increasingly offer features that automatically bypass noise cancellation so you can seamlessly carry on a conversation or hear important sounds in the background. But, sometimes, we just want to hear some music while we go for a run and don't need all the bells and whistles. That could be true for you.
Call Quality
If you need to make a lot of private phone calls so that you don't disturb others around you, you'll need a pair of earbuds with good call quality. Having good call quality means two things: Your earbuds can replicate the cadence of your voice accurately and they block out background noise no matter if you're at the office, on the Subway, or on top of a mountain. These are daunting tasks for even the most modern earbuds to nail perfectly, and you'll likely need to make a bigger investment in your buds if you want this feature.
Spatial Soundscapes
Several earbuds we've tested offer spatial audio settings that create a surround sound effect. Some will even track your head movements and shift the sound accordingly to make it seem like you're seeing a live band or living the storyline in your audiobook.
When it works, which, to date, is rare, it's pretty fantastic. But the experience is so immersive that it's hard to do anything else but float in a sea of auditory bliss.
Comfort and Fit
How comfortable a pair of earbuds feels is somewhat subjective, but our panel of testers agree, some options are way more comfortable than others. Our benchmark test is to see if we can wear them for an hour or more at a time. If they don't pass that test, we don't give them our top recommendation. The same is true if the earbuds feel unstable or fall out of our ears often.
If you plan to wear earbuds while working out or walking or biking around town, a secure fit should be one of your top priorities. At the same time, they should breathe fairly well, especially if you'll be working hard enough to sweat. If that's the case, you'll also want a water resistance rating of at least IPX4, which can handle some splashes.
If you plan to wear your earbuds at the office or at home to relax, you may be able to get away with less comfortable earbuds. Taking them out often for meetings or to chat with colleagues will give you built-in breaks.
While traveling, you'll want the most comfortable and secure earbuds you can find. We hate being a few hours into the flight and having to leave our auditory bubble because our earbuds are pushing too hard on our ears or have run out of battery.
One important question to ask yourself about comfort is, can you sacrifice it for excellent sound quality? The answer for most of our test team is no. We tend to reach for the best sounding earbuds we can get that feel great in our ears. That may not be true for you.
Battery Life
Battery life varies wildly across the market, with some wireless earbuds lasting a full day or more and others needing a recharge way too quickly. And, of course, wired earbuds never require a recharge. It's one of their top selling points.
Keep in mind that running additional features, like noise cancelling, will drain your battery faster. If you plan on using those often, you should prioritize a more powerful battery. Long battery life is also important to us when we travel. As we mentioned, it's nice to count on your earbuds to calm you in stressful situations.
When you look at battery life numbers, be sure to factor in how many recharges the case will store for you. While you'll have to wait for them to power back up, at least you won't have to fight anyone for an outlet. Most of the cases also offer quick charges, giving you an extra hour of listening time after a short 3 to 5 minutes.
The User Experience
It's also nice to consider how easy your earbuds are to use. Do they have touch controls that allow you to control them without an app? How intuitive is that app anyway, and how much control does it give you over your experience?
Touch Controls
Touch controls placed on the earbuds themselves are great unless they're poorly placed. It's incredibly annoying if you accidentally pause your music or activate the noise cancelling feature every time you adjust your earbuds.
What to Look for in an App
We appreciate when an earbud's app offers us enough control to customize our listening experience. Most let you equalize (or EQ) the mix, raising or lowering the relative volume of the bass, mid, and treble. And almost all of them help you track their battery life and find your earbuds if you lose them. But not every set of earbuds offers these basic features. If they're important to you. Be sure to look for them.
Conclusion
We hope we've helped you make sense of what you should be looking for in a pair of earbuds. To find the best buds for your lifestyle and budget, head over to our earbuds review.
