The Best Black Friday Headphone Deals This Week*
*Deals are selected by our commerce team
When people find out I’ve written more than 1,000 audio reviews for PCMag over the last 13 years, the first thing they usually want to know is which headphones are the best. But, to me, that’s like asking what type of music is best. Sure, we all have favorites, but the category is too broad to break down so simply. The real question is, what are the right headphones for you? And to answer this, you have to consider your sound preferences, desire for extra features, and, of course, budget.
With that in mind, we’ve gathered the absolute best headphones (and earphones) we’ve tested here, for a range of users and budgets. Read on for our top picks, followed by everything you need to know to find the perfect pair for you.
AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)
Best Earphones for iPhone Users
Bottom Line:
The second-generation AirPods Pro deliver exceptional ANC and audio performance, making them the best noise-cancelling true wireless earphones for Apple device users.
PROS
- Rich, well-balanced audio performance
- Excellent active noise cancellation
- Adaptive Transparency mode is genuinely impressive
- Charging case has a useful built-in speaker
- Seamless integration with Apple devices
CONS
- No hi-res codec support
- Offers only non-adjustable EQ presets
Bose QuietComfort 45
Best Noise-Cancelling Headphones
Bottom Line:
Though the competition is stiffer than ever, the Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones continue to lead the industry with the best active noise cancellation you can buy.
PROS
- Best-in-class noise cancellation
- Sculpted audio with rich bass and crisp highs
- Exceptionally comfortable
CONS
- ANC can’t be adjusted
- Sound signature isn’t accurate for true audiophiles
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II
Best Noise-Cancelling True Wireless Earphones
Bottom Line:
The true wireless Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II set a new standard for in-ear active noise cancellation while delivering a powerful, bass-forward audio experience.
PROS
- Engaging audio performance with deep lows and bright highs
- Fantastic low- and high-frequency noise cancellation
- Useful Active Aware mode
- Water-resistant build
CONS
- No way to turn off noise cancellation altogether
- Case doesn’t support wireless charging
Jabra Elite 45h
Best Low-Cost On-Ear Headphones
Bottom Line:
The on-ear Jabra Elite 45h headphones deliver excellent wireless audio and a ton of useful features for just $99.
PROS
- Powerful, bass-forward audio performance
- Useful app with adjustable EQ
- Comfortable on-ear fit
- Works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant
- Strong mic clarity
CONS
- Combined volume/track navigation controls make it easy to accidentally skip a track
Sony WH-1000XM5
Best Noise-Cancelling Headphones for Audiophiles
Bottom Line:
Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones pair top-notch noise cancellation with class-leading audio quality in a comfortable, attractive design.
PROS
- Excellent audio performance with robust bass depth and crisp highs
- Top-notch active noise cancellation
- Intuitive on-ear controls
- App offers an adjustable EQ and other customization settings
- Comfortable, stylish design
Jabra Elite 7 Pro
Best True Wireless Earbuds for Runners
Bottom Line:
The true wireless Jabra Elite 7 Pro earphones offer quality active noise cancellation and top-notch mic performance in a waterproof build.
PROS
- Powerful audio performance with deep bass and crisp highs
- Adjustable ANC and EQ settings
- Excellent mic intelligibility
- Fully waterproof, dust-resistant earpieces
CONS
- Tunable ANC requires more work than other models
- Sculpted sound signature not for purists
Urbanista Los Angeles
Best for Eco-Conscious Music Lovers
Bottom Line:
The stylish Urbanista Los Angeles headphones deliver deep bass, sculpted highs, and solid active noise cancellation in a unique design that supports solar-powered charging.
PROS
- Solar-powered charging
- Impressive audio performance with rich, deep bass and crisp highs
- Quality noise cancellation for the price
- Stylish design
CONS
- No in-app EQ
- Noise cancellation slightly impacts sound signature
Anker Soundcore Space A40
Best Value
Bottom Line:
The Anker Soundcore Space A40 earphones deliver quality active noise cancellation and balanced, detailed audio for a modest price.
PROS
- Rich, detailed audio performance
- Quality active noise cancellation for the price
- App includes customizable EQ and controls
- Strong battery life
- Water-resistant build
CONS
- Light on sub-bass
- Noise cancellation mode slightly affects sound signature
Rode NTH-100
Most Affordable Studio Headphones
Bottom Line:
The studio-focused Rode NTH-100 headphones deliver clear, accurate audio and are comfortable to wear over extended listening sessions.
PROS
- Accurate audio performance with a focus on clarity
- Comfortable, cool design
- Headband features locking mechanisms for a consistent fit
- Detachable cable
CONS
- No inline remote or mic cable options
1More SonoFlow
Best Budget-Friendly, Noise-Cancelling Headphones
Bottom Line:
If you can look past a weak app and cumbersome on-ear controls, the 1More SonoFlow headphones reward you with quality audio performance and surprisingly robust active noise cancellation for under $100.
PROS
- Bass-forward, sculpted sound signature
- Effective noise cancellation
- Attractive, comfortable over-ear design
CONS
- Clunky, beta-like app
- No customizable EQ
- Odd layout of on-ear controls
Buying Guide: The Best Headphones for 2022
Should You Pick Earphones or Headphones?
Earbuds do not seal off the ear canal and typically offer the worst audio performance of the bunch. Earphones seal off the ear canal and therefore offer better bass response, a more balanced stereo mix, and a more secure fit.
On-ear headphones (which are also called supra-aural headphones) typically have smaller earcups that rest on the ear. Over-ear headphones (aka circumaural headphones) have larger earcups that rest around the ear. All of these headphones can be wired or wireless.
How to Buy Wireless Headphones
Over-ear headphones are typically going to provide a more immersive experience than on-ear headphones, but this isn’t a rule—plenty of on-ear models sound amazing, and can even offer a little bit of passive noise isolation with the use of well-cushioned earpads. The main reasons to consider one over the other are comfort (this varies from person to person) and portability (on-ear pairs are often smaller and more travel-friendly).
Are Wired or Wireless Headphones Better?
Ever since Apple eliminated the headphone jack on the iPhone, wired headphones and earphones have faded from the forefront of this category in favor of Bluetooth models that require no cable at all. And true wireless headphones don’t even have a wire connecting the two earpieces.
Audiophiles probably still prefer a cable, particularly for home listening (and a small cable adapter is available for iOS devices with no headphone jack). If you prefer wired headphones, there are still lots of options available, but it’s also worth noting that plenty of wireless headphones come with a cable that lets you use them in a passive mode. That use case doesn’t drain the battery and gives you the best of both worlds.
The sonic advantage of wired headphones is still quite significant, even if Bluetooth audio has improved dramatically in recent years. No matter how much better Bluetooth has gotten, it is still based on a lossy codec stream, making it inherently inferior to a wired audio connection. If sonics are important to you and you want to go wireless, make sure your headphones have the right high-end Bluetooth codecs that work with your phone, like LDAC and AAC, and don’t simply use the lower-quality SBC codec. Our guide to Bluetooth codecs explains everything you need to know about picking the right headphones for your needs.
Bose QuietComfort 45
(Credit: Tim Gideon)
What Are the Different Types of Headphone Drivers?
Headphones most typically have dynamic drivers, whereas earphones might have dynamic drivers or balanced armature drivers. Especially in headphones, dynamic drivers are the most common, because a larger dynamic driver—which the ear enclosure for a pair of headphones can accommodate—can get louder and produce more bass depth. In earphones, the dynamic drivers have to be much smaller; this can often affect bass response.
Many manufacturers, especially those in the business of making custom-molded in-ear monitors for musicians and engineers, turn to balanced armature drivers instead. Balanced armatures have the advantage of being tiny, which allows the earpieces to be smaller. Or, in the case of the aforementioned custom in-ear monitors, the earpieces can be quite large—freeing up room internally for several balanced armatures per ear, with each driver handling a specific frequency range and tuned accordingly. Generally speaking, it’s possible to get excellent audio—or poor audio—from both dynamic and balanced armature drivers, although the two styles have dedicated fan bases.
In both headphones and earphones, a somewhat new type of driver is emerging, the planar magnetic driver. Pairs with those drivers are typically (much) more expensive. But the advantage of planar magnetic drivers is that they, ostensibly, produce a more precise sound because of the flat, larger-than-a-dynamic-driver film that vibrates between two magnets to create sound.
Electrostatic speakers and headphones are similar to planar magnetic headphones in that they use a large, thin surface area to deliver the audio. But we see far fewer electrostatic headphones than any other type—they are typically through-the-roof expensive and best for home use.
What Is Active Noise Cancellation?
Noise cancellation used to be one of the most expensive features you could find in headphones, but we are seeing more and more (relatively) affordable options in both the headphone and earphone realms. Not only that, but the shift from wired to wireless headphones in terms of popularity has meant that most of the active noise cancellation (ANC) pairs we see are now wireless.
That’s excellent for convenience, but never assume that all ANC is the same. Simply put, the best of the ANC realm is quite effective, with Bose leading the category, but plenty of other manufacturers from Apple to Sony offer top-notch options. See how we test noise cancellation to understand how it works and what we look for.
When ANC goes wrong, and it often does when you spend less than $200, there are three common characteristics. One, it’s just not very effective—it doesn’t tamp down low-frequency rumble like it should, or the overall reduction in surrounding noise isn’t profound enough to make it a compelling feature. Two, the ANC circuitry creates a faint hiss—not necessarily unpleasant, but certainly audible (similar to white noise or tape hiss). This is often to mask the fact that the ANC circuitry can’t effectively tamp down some higher-frequency sounds, so the attempt is made to cover it with a hiss. And lower-quality, wireless headphones often have ANC modes that unfortunately affect the sound signature.
Sony WH-1000XM5
(Credit: Tim Gideon)
When we describe headphones with excellent noise cancellation, it’s more or less the opposite—they squash the low frequencies effectively, tamp down surrounding chatter and typical environmental noises, and don’t produce much of a high-frequency hiss (if any). The sound signature also shouldn’t sound wildly different when this mode is active. Beyond that, several manufacturers, like Bose, offer apps that let you adjust the intensity of the noise cancellation mode or even which frequency range it should try to tackle.
An increasing number of noise-cancelling headphones now include mics that power ambient listening modes. The point is to allow you to hear your surroundings as if you didn’t have your headphones on, so you can converse with friends without removing them or hear train station announcements. It’s become a popular-enough feature that plenty of non-ANC pairs now have this feature too. Apple’s adaptive transparency mode is one of the best implementations.
For more, see the best noise-cancelling true wireless earbuds and the best headphones for your home office.
4 ways you’re using your headphones totally wrong — Clarification Please
What Are the Best Headphones for Exercise?
Aside from sometimes offering ambient mics for hearing your surroundings, exercise-focused headphones and earphones typically offer water-resistant builds, extra in-ear fit security accessories, and, in some cases, apps that help you monitor your workout.
Recommended by Our Editors
The most important feature of any exercise-focused headphones remains the IP rating. IP stands for ingress protection, and you often see ratings such as IPX7 or IP65. The first number presents protection against solids like dust (X acts as a placeholder, usually because the manufacturer didn’t officially test against dust or solids), while the second number describes protection against fluids like water and sweat. For more, see our guide to IP ratings.
As mentioned, another consideration is in-ear fit. We all have different ears, and some earphones fit better than others. If you’ve had trouble getting in-ears to stay in place in the past, consider a pair that comes with multiple eartips or earfins that sit against the ear to help add stability. It’s also worth considering foam eartips (which sometimes ship with in-ears, but are less common than silicone) because they expand in the canal to create a stronger seal, much like earplugs. They also often have the benefit of increasing bass response.
For more, see our picks for the best Bluetooth headphones for running and the best true wireless earbuds for running.
Do Headphones Work With Voice Assistants?
Most wireless headphones now include a button that summons your phone’s built-in voice assistant. But the next frontier is headphones that are always listening, like smart speakers. We’ve only tested a few thus far that can summon a voice assistant with a wake word or phrase (like “Hey Siri” or “Alexa”), but it seems the trend is likely to gain steam.
How Much Should You Spend on Headphones?
Quality and performance can certainly cost money, though that isn’t always the case and they aren’t the only factors that dictate the price of headphones. Currently, certain technologies—true wireless and active noise cancellation are the two most obvious examples—tend to drive up the price. That doesn’t mean you can’t find affordable true wireless in-ears, but the higher-quality options tend to kick in around $150, while most excellent noise-canceling headphones start around $300. Iconic branding—think Apple, Beats, and Bose, to name a few—also impact pricing.
In short, you can pay as little as $50 for good earphones or headphones and far more than $1,000 for audiophile models. Generally speaking, the range we see most quality options fall in is from $100 to $400. Plenty of strong in-ear, over-ear, and on-ear models are available in the $100 to $200 range, however.
Once you find the pair that’s right for you, make sure to take good care of them with our five easy tips to extend the life of your headphones. We also have an article on the eight ways you’re using your headphones wrong.
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