The best wireless earbuds for travel

The Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds are 25% smaller and 20% lighter than their predecessor, offering increased comfort for longer listening sessions thanks to improved, more flexible ear tips and angled nozzles. These earbuds are packed with features, including the Sony Sound Connect App for custom EQ profiles, Ambient Sound adjustments, Sony 360 Reality Audio, and DSEE Extreme, supporting Bluetooth 5.3 with LDAC and LE audio, and Bluetooth multipoint. Our testing shows the sound quality is excellent for most people, though we noticed an emphasis on lower frequencies where kick drums and bass synths can sound overrepresented, yet vocal and instrument clarity is retained with a wider soundstage. While Sony puts a lot of engineering effort into its microphone quality, we found that the mics do not hold a candle to the over-ear WH-1000XM5. The WF-1000XM5 earbuds offer excellent active noise canceling performance, effectively attenuating over 30dB of low-frequency outside noise and providing great wind noise reduction. We measured the battery life at an impressive 9 hours and 32 minutes on a single charge.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds feature a chunky yet light design with an ear fin and an ovoid-shaped nozzle that sits firmly in the ears without excessive pressure. These earbuds offer advanced features like Snapdragon Sound with aptX Lossless support for Hi-Res audio, low-latency listening, Google Fast Pair, and an IPX4 rating, all managed through the essential Bose Music app for EQ and other customizations. In our listening, the sound quality will appeal to those who prefer strong bass and treble, with rap and electronic music potentially rattling your skull and cymbal-heavy content sounding shrill. The microphone array is suitable for phone calls, but we found that tiny microphones like these are primarily meant for that purpose and unlikely to rival dedicated podcasting microphones. We found these earbuds deliver some of the best ANC we’ve measured, effectively quelling outside noise across a wide frequency range and providing excellent isolation from your surroundings. The battery life clocked in at 6 hours and 11 minutes on a single charge in our standardized test.

The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 earbuds sport a fashionable design with metallic accents, though their large housing may stick out, but we found the three sizes of concha fins help ensure a secure fit for most ears. These earbuds are feature-rich, boasting an IP54 rating, capacitive touch controls, and the comprehensive Sennheiser Smart Control app for personalized tuning, a 5-band EQ, geofencing, and firmware updates, along with Bluetooth 5.4, aptX Lossless, LE Audio, Auracast, and Multipoint. We can confidently say that these earbuds sound great, with our virtual panel of listeners finding the tuning and immersiveness to be stellar out of the box, which is particularly beneficial for gaming and movies. Our testing revealed that the microphone performance is well below what we expect for higher-tiered true wireless earbuds, with highly variable speech quality and poor suppression of environmental and wind noise. The ANC performance is quite good, achieving an 83% average noise attenuation in our lab tests, and the passive isolation physically blocks almost 50dB in some ranges with a good seal. We measured the battery life at 7 hours and 45 minutes of music playback on a single charge.

The Edifier NeoBuds Pro 2 present an angular, futuristic lollipop design, and we appreciate the inclusion of seven different ear tip sizes, though the circular nozzle may not suit all ear shapes, but the thin charging case easily slides into pockets. These earbuds are rich in features for their price, offering an IP54 rating, customizable LED on the case, and an Edifier Connect app that allows control over Bluetooth codecs, custom tap controls, passthrough modes, and EQ settings, all while supporting LDAC and LHDC codecs via Bluetooth 5.3. We found the sound quality should be quite good for most people, especially those who enjoy extra bass, though we noted a significant peak in the highs characteristic of hybrid systems with Knowles balanced armature drivers. In ideal conditions, the microphone quality is quite decent, handling voices well despite a slight bass emphasis, but we found that wind noise processing suppresses voices considerably, potentially leading to intelligibility issues outdoors. The noise canceling performance does a fair job, falling behind the top-tier earbuds, yet the passive isolation is good at blocking outside noise. We measured the battery life at only 4 hours and 22 minutes, which is below average.

The JBL Tour Pro 3 earbuds feature a familiar lollipop stem design with short, ovoid nozzles that fit easily into the ear canal, and despite their large and somewhat heavy housings, we found they nestle securely with proper ear tip selection. These earbuds are incredibly feature-dense, highlighted by the Smart Charging Case which doubles as a standalone user interface and an audio transmitter for USB, 3.5mm, and wireless connections, alongside an IP55 rating, a 10-band EQ in the JBL Headphones app, Bluetooth 5.4, LDAC, LC3, Auracast, and Multipoint. Our virtual panel of listeners confirmed that the JBL Tour Pro 3 sound really decent and are definitively geared toward a consumer-friendly audience, achieving high marks across timbre, distortion, and immersiveness. We found the microphone quality to be exceptionally good at eliminating or avoiding noise, handling office noise, street sounds, and wind with insane effectiveness, though it struggles a little with echoes. The noise canceling is very effective, hushed away about 83-84% of outside noise, with excellent isolation even from the silicone ear tips. We recorded an impressive 8 hours and 17 minutes of battery life with ANC enabled.

The Beyerdynamic Amiron 300 earbuds boast a premium design with a small, soft matte charging case in a cream colorway with metallic accents, but we struggled to get a secure fit due to the slippery matte plastic finish and the absence of foam ear tips or wings. These earbuds feature Bluetooth 5.3 with SBC, AAC, and LDAC support, along with Auracast, and the Beyerdynamic app offers standard features like battery info, control customization, and a five-band equalizer with several EQ presets. In our sound quality assessment, we were not blown away, finding the sound suitable for casual listening, with a default frequency response that slightly emphasizes bass and treble but shows a drastic drop-off above 8 kHz, resulting in less detail in the highest ranges. Equipped with six onboard microphones and background noise cancellation, the Amiron 300 works well for taking calls on the go, as we found voices remain intelligible in various environments. The active noise canceling performance is on par with other premium ANC earbuds, with passive isolation blocking an average of 62% of noise and ANC reducing external noise loudness by 83%. The rated battery life is up to 10 hours of playback for the earbuds, with an additional 28 hours from the charging case.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) maintain a chunky design best suited for larger ears, but we found the three sizes of concha fins and ovoid nozzle provide a good seal, and they carry an IPX4 rating for moisture protection. These earbuds are loaded with features accessible through the Bose app, including spatial audio, EQ adjustments, Multipoint, aptX Lossless via Snapdragon Sound, and a transparency mode that blunts loud sounds, plus the charging case now includes wireless charging. Our virtual panel of listeners indicated that the sound quality is quite good, particularly for those who prefer boosted bass and treble, though we note the in-app EQ presets and tool are sub-par and may not satisfy all preferences. The microphone array is rather solid for calls, but we observed that processing voices can be difficult, allowing echo, wind, and nearby noise to come through clearly in recordings. These earbuds excel at noise canceling, reducing the loudness of external noise by 85%, which is among the best we’ve tested, although we did detect a faint noise introduced by the ANC unit itself. The battery life is slightly below average, lasting 5 hours and 34 minutes in our tests.

When comparing these wireless earbuds, we see a clear divide between those prioritizing features and those focusing on raw audio performance or noise canceling. For the ultimate feature set and future-proofing, especially for Android users, the JBL Tour Pro 3 stands out with its innovative Smart Charging Case that offers wired connectivity options and a robust app experience, alongside impressive battery life and excellent mic quality for calls. If top-tier noise canceling is your primary concern, both the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds and their 2nd Gen iteration, along with the Sony WF-1000XM5, deliver some of the best ANC on the market, effectively quieting your surroundings. For those who prioritize stellar sound quality and future-proof codecs like aptX Lossless and LE Audio, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 offers an outstanding audio experience, though its microphone quality is a significant trade-off. The Edifier NeoBuds Pro 2 offers great value for those looking to dip into high-bitrate audio with decent sound, but we found it falls short on battery life and high-end ANC. The Beyerdynamic Amiron 300 provides a premium design and good all-around performance, but it lacks unique standout features to justify its higher price compared to other capable earbuds. Ultimately, if you seek a do-it-all earbud with cutting-edge tech and superior versatility, the JBL Tour Pro 3 is our top recommendation for the everyday consumer, while the Sony WF-1000XM5 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (either generation) remain excellent choices for exceptional noise canceling.