Best Headphones 2025: Enjoy unparalleled music playback

Against increasing competition from the likes of Bose, Sennheiser and Apple, Sony has still managed to stake its claim as the go-to all-rounder, with headphones that do a bit of everything incredibly well, and thankfully that concept has been elevated to new heights in the Sony WH-1000XM6.

Fixing a key complaint from the previous Sony WH-1000XM5, the company has reintroduced a folding mechanism to the XM6 which allows them to be more easily transported, or in the more compact carry case.

The overall design has also had an update with angled earcups and a revised power button that’s just a lot easier to locate in a pinch.

Sony has never had a problem with audio fidelity, and now the overall soundscape just feels even more refined on the XM6.

Levels of clarity and detail are better than they were on the XM5, while the soundstage is wider and bigger; plus there’s a more even sense of balance with these headphones with the highs more detailed, voices clearer and bass bigger but without dominating tracks. That said, we do find the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 sound even better.

Active noise cancelling has also seen a boost, and the best compliment we can give it is that the XM6 can now go toe-to-toe with the brilliant Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones.

When taking the XM6 to the London Underground, the headphones suppress alot of noise which can go a long way towards making the commute to work far more enjoyable.

Call quality is up their with the best in terms of providing clarity and detail, though the Px7 S3 just edge this pair in terms of the amount of noise they let in.

You can expect up to 40-hours of use without ANC switched on, and a 30-hour stint with the mode toggled, but fast-charging has been improved as you can claim three hours from a three-minute charge… as long as you have the right cable (which Sony doesn’t include with the headphones).

There’s a lot of competition and as you might have noticed, these headphones haven’t scored five-stars. Don’t let that take away from an excellent pair of wireless headphones

If you’re looking for an excellent-sounding pair of wireless over-ears, look no further than the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3.

While the headphones look similar to the Px7 S2e, Bowers have changed have several aspects of the design.

The headband is wider and angular to fit more heads, the controls reshaped to make them easier to find; while the earcups are slimmer avoding a blocky appearance.

The Px7 S3 come with noise cancelling and a transparency mode. The ANC isn’t designed to as suppresive as the likes of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones or the Sony WH-1000XM6, and in practice the ANC performance doesn’t seem to be much better than the older model.

The transparency mode isn’t the clearest either, so if you’re after a pair for noise-cancelling, there are better around this price from the likes of Bose and Sony.

The custom-designed 40mm drivers are angled to provide a wide soundstage, while the new amplifier and updated DSP has been updated to offer even greater levels detail, dynamism and loudness than before.

The levels of detail are better, the headphones sound more dynamic and enegertic, and the increase in terms of the width of the soundstage gives more space for instruments to strut their stuff. For the money, we haven’t heard a better-sounding pair of wireless headphones.

You can customise the sound in the Bowers & Wilkins Music app with the new addition of a five-band EQ. The app also lets you customise the Quick Action button on the headphones and consolidates several popular streaming apps into one place.

The 30-hour battery life is enough to get you through any long journey or multiple days of on-and-off listening. When it does come time to recharge, 15 minutes of fast charging will give you a generous seven hours of listening.

The Px7 S3 sound even better than its predecessors and the competition, but it doesn’t cancel noise as well as others. Great sound but the ANC could use a boost.

Technics has been trying to crack the true wireless market for years, and in the EAH-AZ100 they’ve created not just its best pair yet, but one of the best wireless earbuds currently available.

They are a fantastic all-round effort that give the Sony WF-1000XM5 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds a run for their money in several categories.

The Technics bests them as far as call quality is concerned, latching onto your voice clearly and blocking out sounds around you. It’s the best call quality we’ve experienced on a true wireless so far.

The sound is rich and detailed, with an improved bass performance over the AZ80 model and a more dynamic and musical presentation. The soundstage is wide, highs are clear, the midrange is detailed. We find them just a little more entertaining than either Bose or Sony alternatives.

The battery life depends on the AZ100’s mode. In the AAC mode they can last for a long time, but with LDAC we got less than six hours from the battery. The Bluetooth performance is mostly strong, though we found that in busy areas the signal can get choppy. They do boast Bluetooth multipoint, and what’s unique to this model is that they can connect to three devices at once.

The noise-cancellation is excellent, stripping away sounds for a quiet performance whether we were travelling on a plane, a bus or on the London Underground. The transparency mode is strong, though we don’t find it to be as clear as the one on the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds.

With lots of features, excellent sound and noise-cancellation, the Technics AZ100 are top-tier wireless earbuds.

It doesn’t matter if you’re looking to simmer down the noise of the morning commute or make it easier to work at your local cafe, if the main feature you’re after in a pair of earbuds is top-tier noise cancelling then you don’t really need to consider another option than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen.

Bose has long since been the frontrunner when it comes to ANC but with its latest pair of premium earbuds the company has just taken the feature to a whole new level. The moment you put these buds in your ears, it’s like they create a bubble around your very being that the hustle and bustle of the world just cannot penetrate.

In both our review testing and the daily use of TR writers who own a pair of these buds, they’ve gone up against some extreme situations and won. If you’re trying to focus on a film during a busy flight then you can do exactly that with ease, and even when trying to operate with the sound of a leaf blower in the background, Bose’s buds still made it possible to listen to a podcast.

Although ANC is very much Bose’s bread and butter, don’t think that the company has left the audio quality to fall by the wayside – far from it. There’s a great amount of detail to be found here and a soundscape that does a great job of amping up the highs of any given track, so if you like to focus on the lyrics (and maybe sing along) then you’ll appreciate what Bose has put together here.

Circling back to ANC, the feature is also put to use when it comes to taking calls on the buds. Bose is able to enact its same technical wizardry to dispel any loud sounds around you and place the focus on your voice, so the person on the other end never has to ask for you to repeat yourself. It’s just a great package overall, and we can only dream about how Bose might try to improve upon itself in a follow-up.

The Composer are Austrian Audio’s first pair of professional headphones. They feature an over-ear, open-backed design with soft memory foam earpads, tilted earcups and a two-tier headband that keeps the headphones secure and prevents your head from getting sweaty.

Inside the headphones are two 49mm full-range dynamic drivers. These drivers are coated with Diamond-Like Carbon to keep them strong and lightweight, while their 5Hz – 44Hz frequency response dips below and pushes beyond the range of human hearing.

We connected the headphones to the 4.4mm output of one of iFi’s iDSD Diablo 2 headphones amplifiers and found that the audio offered an enormous sense of space with a wide and deep soundstage. The Composer pay attention to the finest of details and sound effortlessly dynamic, though they don’t deal well with small, compressed digital audio files with the headphones making them sound exactly that.

All-in-all, The Composer are a fantastic and capable pair of professional headphones with a comfortable design and revealing audio. You’ll need a similarly capable source to make the most of them, but if you pair them with a solid headphone amplifier you should be good to go.

When it comes to premium wireless headphones, there’s a growing list from the likes of Apple, Master & Dynamic, Mark Levinson, and Bowers & Wilkins, and at the top is the Focal Bathys.

Priced at £699 / $799, the Bathys come in either a black/silver finish or the dune colourway that we reviewed. They are a distinctive looking pair of headphones, sporting and elegant and tasteful look that lives up to the premium price, the flame logo in the middle of the earcups can light up for added style.

The area we’re perhaps less convinced about the design are the buttons, which a little rudimentary and don’t offer the kind of feedback we’d like.

The audio performance is the main reason to purchase these headphones. The Bathys present a crisp, clean, and defined soundstage without sounding too sharp or too hard, producing a more natural sound than the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 delivers with its more musical and flowing sound.

There’s excellent balance achieved in terms of tone, enough dynamic headroom to allow voices and instruments to flourish. Listen to it through a connection and it sounds even better.

The ANC isn’t as strong as the Px8, offering a lighter touch but still good enough to keep most external sounds at bay. Walking through the streets of London and we felt our listening experience wasn’t disrupted much, but on public transport and planes, there are better headphones that can deal with louder noises. The transparency mode is very good: clear, natural, and without producing much noise either.

Battery life is claimed to be around 30 hours, but in our tests we found that the headphones could longer, at least if you have an Android smartphone and an aptX Adaptive connection.

The wireless performance is excellent with only the briefest stutter experience in a busy area, while call quality is among the best we’ve heard with excellent voice pick-up and background noises being kept to a minimum.

Grado’s bread and butter remains its headphones, but it has taken steps into the wireless world, and the GW100x are one of its best efforts.

These are on-ears, so they won’t provide much, if any, isolation against external sounds. Used on the tube and it becomes very hard to hear whatever audio you may be listening to. If you’re regular commuter, these aren’t really the headphones for you. They also don’t come with a carry case for travel.

Aside from that, they’re a typically stylish pair from Grado. They’re comfortable enough to wear for an on-ear design, thanks in part to Grado’s WS ear cushions and a clamping force that isn’t too tight. An at 188g, they don’t weight much on the head either.

In terms of features you won’t find many here. Battery life is 46 hours, but we found that they could go for around 50 hours, so battery is very good.

They support Bluetooth aptX Adaptive (with compatible Android phones), but the wireless performance can be a bit spotty in busy areas. There’s no app support, so these headphones can’t be updated.

The sound quality is typically Grado too. There’s plenty of energy and dynamism to music, the midrange is crisper and the bass punchier compared to the original GW100.

Vocals are handled better, the soundstage is wide and open thanks to the open-backed design. They’re not as detailed as perhaps they could be due to the headphones’ warm presentation, but these are a fun, lively listen that work well across a range of genres.

Anyone familiar with the Grado brand will be able to identify the SR325x as one of their headphones in a heartbeat.

A pair of on-ears with an open-backed design, it’s an approach that’s been at the heart of Grado’s offering for decades, the open-backed design grants these headphones a bigger, more spacious soundstage.

It does make them a leaky-sounding pair of headphones, so if you’re using these on public transport, be prepared to to have people looking at you.

The Grado SR325x offer terrific consistency in their balanced approach to music, emphasising a natural tone and fantastic clarity with instruments and vocals. We found the stereo image to be full of depth, the sharpness and definition, giving music a great sense of fidelity.

You will need high quality audio files to get the best from them but with their 38 ohm impedance, you’ll be able to connect these headphones to a range of devices without the need for further amplification to drive them.

We found the design to be of premium quality, the metal housing for each earcup offers a durable finish, and the brand’s ‘F’ type earcups are ones we felt were especially comfortable during use. As seems to be the case with on-ears, you may experience a degree of pinching depending on the size of your ear, in which case an over-ear such as the Monolith M1070 or Austrian Audio Hi-X65 may be preferable.

Nevertheless, these are an insightful, precise and detailed pair of on-ear headphones, an audiophile pair of cans without the price tag to go with it.

The WH-CH720N are Sony’s most affordable noise-cancelling headphones, putting in the strongest performance we’ve heard at its sub-£100 / $100 price.

The CH720N are mostly constructed from recycled plastic, and the build quality is good with no noticeable creaks or groans. Using plastic keeps the headphones weight down to 192g, and the padding on the headband and earcups ensures they’re comfortable to wear.

The lack the stylistic flourishes and premium feel of more expensive headphones, but they do a job for the asking price.

Features for a headphone of this price are extensive with active noise-cancellation and transparency mode included, along with Bluetooth multipoint to connect to two devices at once, app support (for more customisation) and voice assistance in both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Battery life is long, as we estimated these headphones could last as much as 40 hours with noise-cancelling on.

Noise-cancellation is solid at this price. It focuses on reducing low frequency sounds and clearing away ambient noise, making the daily commutes and journeys more tolerable. Compared to the Soundcore Space One we feel they clear out more noise.

The sound quality puts an emphasis on smoothness and bass, with a punchy low-end, clear and detailed midrange and a treble performance that’s bright and clear enough to enjoy.

They’re an improvement on the CH710N, and for those after a pair of affordable ANC headphones, the CH720N is our recommendation for the best choice.

On-ear headphones have their pros and cons, but they still remain a popular choice among commuters, and the SoundMagic P23BT are one of the best we’ve reviewed in recent years.

The P23BT are an affordable (£49.99), support aptX-HD Bluetooth for higher quality sound and can last for around 50-60 hours.

The design has the same issues that plague any on-ear, in that they can pinch around the earlobes (especially if you have bigger ears) and it can leak sound in from the outside world. Get past that and the SoundMagic have a lightweight and foldable design that made it easier for us to stow away when not in use. Touch controls are cleverly integrated into the earcups. In use, they’re surprisingly responsive.

Features are few for a pair of headphones such as these, with aptX-HD Bluetooth the most notable in offering wearers the chance to stream music at a higher quality bit-rate. Our reviewer found the headphones capable of much more subtlety than expected, with a midrange full of detail, treble that’s bright and sharp and detailed bass.

The Marshall Major IV are a great deal more bassy in their performance, but we find the P23BT more balanced overall.

Given the price these headphones are bargain, and for those not big on features and just need a simple pair of on-ears to listen to, we highly recommend the SoundMagic.

If ever you needed proof that you no longer need to spend a small fortune in order to get a great-sounding pair of earbuds then look no further than the Sony WF-C710N. Designed to be a slightly more feature-packed option than the super budget Sony WF-C510 earbuds, the WF-C710N are the ideal go-between that give you all the basics you could ever want but for a reasonable price.

As you might expect for any pair of Sony earbuds, the sound profile here is very enjoyable with pretty much any type of genre. There’s a good amount of bass which really uplifts songs, and there’s an impressive degree of clarity afforded to vocals as well. In fact, this also carries over to podcast playback so if you prefer listening to a podcast on your way to work then the WF-C710N are a solid pick.

The main thing that separates the WF-C710N from their cheaper alternative is the inclusion of noise cancelling. Being able to get Sony-quality ANC for just £99 is incredible and it makes the listening experience even better as it works to distill background noise and elevate what’s being played.

The ANC also comes into effect whenever you take a call as it can hone in on your voice amidst a sea of sounds so that the person on the other end of the line can get a clear sense of what you’re saying. It’s helpful that the WF-C710N pack a comfortable fit as well, so you can wear them for hours without ever coming across any sense of fatigue.

Speaking of which, the WF-C710N also have a level of battery life that’s surprising given their asking price. With the charging case factored in, you can enjoy 30-hours of use which is almost unheard of – it’s even more than the premium Sony WF-1000XM5 which cost more than double the WF-C710N.

If premium-level headphones from the likes of Sony and Bose are just too far beyond your budget then fear not, you can still find outstanding value in the Austrian Audio Hi-X20. With a price tag of only £120, it would be easy enough to overlook the Hi-X20 but they are easily some of the best headphones we’ve tested at that price point, earning a rare five-star rating.

For starters, the Hi-X20 do a great job of putting forward a more confident build than any previous pair of Austrian Audio headphones, with a sleek black finish that’s accentuated by metal hinges and a metal headband, all of which feels incredibly comfortable when worn for  long periods of time, which is helpful too given just how great the soundscape is here.

The 44mm full-range dynamic drivers pave the way for a loud, stadium-filling sound that works brilliantly with the included cable for a bit of lossless playback. Regardless of which genre takes your fancy, you’re still getting a very enjoyable experience here, and the weighty bass helps to elevate all other parts of a song.

Circling back to the design, the earcups are easily replaceable which is helpful after long periods of use, and not a feature that you tend to see on every pair of headphones nowadays. The headphones can also be folded in on themselves to create a smaller footprint and, by extension, be more portable when flung into a rucksack.

It’s also worth mentioning that the included cable is quite long at 3m which might be a bit cumbersome for some but if you have a PC gaming set-up where your tower computer is out of sight then having a longer cable can come in handy to reach your PC’s location. For the sound quality and the price alone, the Austrian Audio Hi-X20 just can’t be beat.